Spacex Launch Sends 45 Satellites From Vandenberg
SpaceX is scheduled to launch 45 satellites to orbit in a spacex launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base early on May 3. The Falcon 9 is set for a 37-minute window opening at 2:59 a.m. EDT, with live coverage starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.
The mission is called CAS500-2 and carries the primary payload, an Earth-observation satellite developed by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute. SpaceX will stream the launch on its website and X account.
CAS500-2 and 44 payloads
CAS500-2 is flying with 44 other satellites from Argotec S.r.l, Exolaunch, Impulso.Space, Loft-EarthDaily, Lynk Global, True Anomaly and Planet Labs. The CAS500 program aims to operate five satellites in low Earth orbit, and two have reached orbit so far.
CAS500-1 lifted off on a Russian Soyuz rocket in March 2021. SpaceX says CAS500-2 had been booked to fly on a Soyuz in 2022, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sundered the international partnership behind that arrangement.
Vandenberg booster landing
The Falcon 9's first stage is expected to land back at Vandenberg about 7.5 minutes after liftoff. If that happens, booster B1071 will record its 33rd launch and touchdown, putting it one off the company reuse record.
CAS500-2 is set to be the first satellite to separate from Falcon 9's upper stage about 60 minutes after liftoff, and the other payloads will follow over the next hour and a half. For anyone tracking the mission, the immediate milestones are the launch window, the booster landing and the first deployment from the upper stage.
