SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch Maxar satellites Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral

On Thursday morning, SpaceX will launch a different kind of payload. Not a Starlink, but two imaging satellites, will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket for Maxar, a space technology and manufacturing company.

While SpaceX has yet to confirm this mission, a navigational warning shows a launch window running from 9 a.m. to 12:28 p.m. EDT. While SpaceX tends to aim for the earlier part of the window, factors such as weather at the launch site and booster landing location plays a role.

The Maxar satellites are the next two in the company's WorldView Legion series − the first two satellites were launched from Vandenberg, California, on May 2, 2024. In total, the WorldView Legion series will consist of six satellites. The final two are expected to launch by the end of the year.

Maxar satellites will launch atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida

Amazing detail right down to architectural designs − that's what these satellites are capable of. Recently, Maxar posted to X (formerly Twitter), images taken with the first two WorldView Legion satellites. The images showcased design details on buildings in New Haraj Market in Saudi Arabia as if they were taken not too far above − yet they were taken from orbit.

These satellites can provide high quality imagery every 20-30 minutes, showcasing events such as natural disasters or human-triggered situations. "This will be a game-changer when time is critical during 24/7 national security missions, humanitarian crises and natural disasters," a statement on Maxar's website reads.

In a July press release, Dan Smoot, CEO of Maxar Intelligence, said the satellites will "generate more actionable insights in 2D and 3D."

These will be the first Maxar satellites to orbit in a mid-inclination − as other orbit the poles.

Quelle: Florida Today

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Update: 15.08.2024

MAXAR 2 MISSION

On Thursday, August 15 9:00 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched the Maxar 2 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the 16th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, O3b mPOWER, Ovzon 3, Eutelsat 36D, Turksat 6A, and eight Starlink missions.