Falcon 9 launch announced for Tuesday, May 28 from Vandenberg Space Force Base
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. – SpaceX announced a rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, May 28, at 3:20 p.m. with a backup window announced for Wednesday, May 29 at 3:20 p.m.
The Falcon 9 launch will carry the ESA EarthCare (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) mission destined for a low-Earth orbit.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer satellite uses four instruments to measure the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating the planet's climate when reflecting solar radiation back into space as well as trapping infrared radiation emitted from the Earth's surface.
The EarthCare satellite is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the 2200 kg satellite is nicknamed Hakuryu, or 'White Dragon', due to the satellite's resemblance to the mythical creature with its white body and long tail-like solar panel detailed the ESA.
A live webcast of the launch will begin about 15 minutes before liftoff and can be watcher here.
Around eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster will return to land at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force base and there is the possibility that residents along the Central Coast may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing explained SpaceX in a press release about the launch.
This will be the seventh mission for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster which previously launched the following missions: Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, and two Starlink missions.
