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Additional Media

ESA’s EarthCARE launch (Official broadcast)

ESA’s EarthCARE mission is ready for lift-off! EarthCARE is a groundbreaking satellite mission designed to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s clouds and aeroso...

ESA EarthCARE Mission

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SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

EarthCARE

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Space Launch Complex 4E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
B1081 - Landing Zone 4

EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) is a joint mission of ESA and JAXA. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • May 28, 2024, 11:15 p.m.

Satellite signal acquisition confirmed.


Cosmic_Penguin • May 28, 2024, 10:33 p.m.

Spacecraft separation.


Cosmic_Penguin • May 28, 2024, 10:20 p.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • May 17, 2024, 10:01 a.m.

Added launch date and time.


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 28, 2023, 12:27 a.m.

NET May 2024.


Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549.0 T
  • Thrust
    7607.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    ―

Booster Info


B1081

Status: Active


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: August 26, 2023
Last Flight: October 16, 2026
Flights: 28
Landings Attempted: 28
Landings Successful: 28
Previous B1081 Flights

Landing Information

B1081 has landed at LZ-4 after its 7th flight.

Result: Successful Return to Launch Site landing at Landing Zone 4.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 728 Failures: 15 Pending: 137

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI
ESA

EarthCARE’s view of volcanic plume boosts air safety

When Anak Krakatau erupted a few weeks ago, the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite, orbiting above, captured vertical profiles of different constituents within the volcanic plume. Designed primarily to advance our understanding of…

ESA

A first: EarthCARE cloud data sharpen weather forecasts

The European Space Agency’s EarthCARE satellite was developed to make a unique set of simultaneous measurements that shed new light on the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate.

ESA

EarthCARE goes live with data now available to all

With ESA’s EarthCARE satellite and four measuring instruments all working extremely well and fully commissioned, the mission’s ‘first level’ data stream is now freely available.

ESA

EarthCARE profiles atmospheric particles in detail

Launched in May, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has been making waves, with the first images from three of its scientific instruments already delivered. Now, the spotlight is firmly on the atmospheric lidar, the most advanced of the satellite’s…

ESA

EarthCARE’s multispectral imager puts clouds into context

Launched less than two months ago, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has already returned images from two of its four instruments. Now, it has also delivered the first images from its multispectral imager, showcasing various types of clouds and cl…

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4E


Long March 2C
Success
1 day, 4 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
3 days, 19 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
4 days, 3 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 16 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 28
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Starlink Group 15-15
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
2 weeks ago
Yaogan 53-07 to 09/56-19 to 21
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

6 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Long March 6A
Success
2 weeks ago
Yaogan 50-03
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 50-03 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.