New Developments in Space Launches: Vulcan’s First Flight and Ongoing Starlink Launches by SpaceX

January 4th to January 10th was an exciting week for space launches, with several significant missions taking place. One of the most anticipated events was the maiden flight of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket, which successfully carried the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Lunar Lander to the Moon. This launch marked several firsts, including the debut of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines and the demonstration of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

In addition to the Vulcan launch, China conducted two rocket launches during this week. The Kuaizhou 1A rocket successfully launched four Tianmu 1 meteorological satellites, while the Long March 2C booster sent the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite into orbit.

SpaceX also had two launches scheduled during this time, with one mission already completed and another delayed. The Falcon 9 rocket carried two batches of Starlink satellites, contributing to a total of 5,694 satellites launched by SpaceX.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these missions.

Kuaizhou 1A Rocket Launch
On January 5th, China’s Kuaizhou 1A rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. This rocket is known for its low-cost and reliable low earth orbit launches. The payload for this mission consisted of four Tianmu 1 meteorological satellites, which are used for monitoring atmospheric environmental elements. The successful launch of this mission marked the first Kuaizhou 1A launch of 2024, happening just eight days after its previous launch on December 2nd.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch
SpaceX had one successful launch during this week using their Falcon 9 rocket. The mission took place on January 7th from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket carried 23 Starlink V2 mini-satellites into orbit. After the second stage separated, it released the satellites around 54 minutes into the flight. This launch marked the third mission for SpaceX in 2024 and the second Starlink mission of the year.

ULA Vulcan VC2S Mission
The highly-anticipated debut launch of ULA’s Vulcan VC2S mission finally took place on January 8th. The launch occurred from ULA’s SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission featured several firsts, including the use of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines and the primary payload, the Astrobotic Peregrine Lunar Lander. This mission is part of NASA’s CLPS initiative and serves as a certification flight. The Vulcan rocket used for this launch consisted of a booster assisted by two Northrop Grumman Corporation GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters and a Centaur V upper stage. These components worked together to successfully hoist the Peregrine Lunar Lander and a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight Voyager payload into orbit.

Einstein Probe X-ray Satellite Launch
China launched the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite on January 9th from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. This satellite is a collaborative project between the Chinese Academy of Science, the European Space Agency, and the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics. Its purpose is to explore high-energy events in the cosmos and monitor the X-ray sky for at least three years. The Einstein Probe reached an orbit altitude of approximately 600 km and can observe nearly the entire night sky in just three orbits.

To wrap it up, the week of January 4th to January 10th was filled with exciting space launches. The highlights included the maiden flight of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, the successful launches of Kuaizhou 1A and Falcon 9 rockets, and the deployment of the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite. Each mission contributed to advancements in space exploration and scientific research, pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve beyond Earth.