SpaceX / Orbcomm - OG2 Mission patch.
July 14, 2014
Falcon 9 carrying six OG2 satellites launch
After two months of delays, SpaceX says it will launch six second-generation Orbcomm communications satellites July 14 atop a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida.
The launch of New Jersey-based Orbcomm's six OG2 satellites has been repeatedly delayed due to technical and weather-related setbacks, beginning with a Falcon 9 first-stage helium leak that pushed the initial May 10 launch date to early June.
Orbcomm OG2 Falcon 9 Satellite Launch
SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday, delivering six communication satellites to Low Earth Orbit for satellite operator Orbcomm. Falcon 9 made a thundering liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 15:15 UTC, 11:15 a.m. local time. The vehicle completed a flawless ascent mission, culminating in the release of the six Orbcomm Second Generation satellites beginning 15 minutes after liftoff.
Orbcomm OG2 satellite
All six OG2 satellites were successfully separated from the Falcon 9 launch vehicle into the proper insertion orbit.
Launching six relatively light satellites left Falcon 9 with excess performance which allowed SpaceX to conduct the next boost-back demonstration of the first stage in the company's ongoing quest to reusability. Sending the second stage on its way into orbit, the first stage conducted a boost-back/braking burn followed by atmospheric flight and a landing burn for a soft splashdown in the Atlantic on four landing legs deploying just before contact with the water.
This was the most ambitious return demonstration performed by SpaceX as it actually involved the stage landing closer to land than in any previous attempt - building on the success of the first stage splashdown in April that returned the stage intact to the ocean only to have it destroyed by rough seas. Chances of a stage recovery were increased by landing closer to the coast, however, the stage suffered damage when impacting the water.
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Images, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX / Orbcomm / Günter Space Page / Orbiter.ch Aerospace.
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