The American private space company SpaceX successfully launched 114 satellites into space on January 3, 2022. A powerful Falcon 9 rocket took off from the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, the lower stage of which has already been used for the fifteenth time. This successful mission also marked the 200th launch of a SpaceX-developed rocket;
During this SpaceX Transporter-6 mission, a total of 114 satellites were launched into space. The first satellites were evicted 58 minutes after launch and the last 33 minutes later. In addition to dozens of small so-called “cubesats”, which often weigh no more than 5 kilograms, the first Earth observation satellite EOS SAT was put into orbit during this mission. EOS SAT-1 has a weight of 180 kilograms and was developed by the company EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA). This company wants to have a network of seven Earth observation satellites in orbit by 2025 that can be used to study crops, agriculture and forests in detail. The data these satellites will collect should, among other things, teach companies and scientists more about where is best to grow or which crops are best used in which locations. With the Transporter missions, SpaceX wants to give companies and scientific institutions the opportunity to launch small satellites such as low-cost CubeSats into space because they are launched in large numbers at the same time.
More than thirty satellites launched during this launch come from the American company Planet and are used for commercial Earth observation applications. Planet was founded in 2010 and has already launched several hundred small satellites into space. All these nanosatellites will be called “Dove” and will weigh no more than five kilograms. Planet is now also a listed company and has nearly 500 employees. The goal of this company is to photograph the earth’s surface comprehensively and in high resolution every day in order to quickly see changes and some trends.
Among the many small satellites were also the two Norwegian-Dutch nanosatellites Birkeland and Huygens. Satellites aren’t much bigger than a carton of milk. It is a further development of the equipment of BRIK II, the first satellite successfully launched last year. With both new satellites, experience can also be gained in control. This is not possible with BRIK II. The satellites are controlled by Norway and given tasks by Norwegian and Dutch operators. The nanosatellite names are references to Norwegian physicist Kristian Olaf Birkeland and Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens. The system flies in tandem formation at an altitude of about 550 kilometers in orbit around the earth, at a distance of between 15 and 25 kilometres. This allows satellites to simultaneously record signals and detect and identify specific radar systems. The satellites were developed under the MilSpace2 program. It is a collaborative project between the Dutch and Norwegian ministries of defence, the Norwegian FFI, NanoAvionics and the Dutch knowledge institutes NLR and TNO. The MilSpace2 project will ultimately deliver a strategic and operationally relevant niche capability. ‘Mutual strategic assistance in research and technology’ (SMART), military use of space (MilSpace) and scientific and technological cooperation are elements of the agreement between the Norwegian and Dutch defense ministries.
This was the 200th launch conducted by the American aerospace company SpaceX since Elon Musk founded it in 2002. During this launch, the same lower stage was also used for the 15th time. In 2023, SpaceX has launched no less than 60 Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rockets, making SpaceX the most successful space company in the world.
Bron: Defensie.nl
