▲CSG-2 emission delay image, the left arc is the ascending trajectory, the right is the landing trajectory
SpaceX's fourth round this year played some new meanings: SpaceX launched the first Space Mission by the Italian government, deployed the second radar surveillance satellite of the second generation of COSMO-SkyMed, further squeezed the European market; the first time it used a heavy Eagle flanking rocket to transform it into an F9 first-stage rocket; 30 consecutive successful recovery rockets, skillfully recovering the fait accompli of the first stage rocket; the rhythm of four or five launches per month is becoming normalized, targeting 52 launches per year.
● Launch speed glance
● Launch process
▲CSG-2 launch process image
▲ The first and second stage rockets separate their respective advances to form a wake that looks like a tiger's claw
SpaceX's fourth launch of the year suffered a dramatic delay, initially trying to launch on January 28, but due to unfavorable weather, it was delayed for three consecutive days, and the fourth day of launch was in sight, but the countdown to the T-33 was forced to stop, and had to be postponed for another 24 hours as a cruise ship sailed into the no-entry zone.
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this launch "oxtail becomes tiger's head". Coincidentally, the wake formed by the separation of the first and second stage rockets from their respective advances resembles a tiger's claw.
At 18:11 Eastern Time on January 31 (7:11 Beijing time on February 1, a difference of 13 hours), located at the Launch Site 40 of cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida, SpaceX played its fourth shot of the year, and B1052.3 took off in the third arrow, and flew south southeast after takeoff.
1 minute and 12 seconds after liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket passed through the maximum resistance point of the air (Max Q). At this time, it flies at an altitude of 12 km and a speed of 0.4 km/s. T+2 minutes and 15 seconds, the first stage rocket 9 Merlin engines shut down. One or two stages are separated after 4 seconds.
T+2 minutes and 27 seconds, the second stage rocket for the first time ignited propulsion, carried out a dogleg maneuver ( Dogleg maneuver ) , the direction of flight from southwest to due south , the purpose of the operation is two: one is to achieve the required retrograde orbit (orbital inclination of 97.86 °), the other is to avoid flying over the densely populated Bahamas, its three fairing controlled sea splash area can avoid the island land. This flight maneuver is similar to the launch of the Transporter-3 Transporter 3 mission on January 13 this year.
Five seconds later, at T+2 minutes and 32 seconds, the first stage of the rocket started three Merlin engines and performed Boostback Burn. The four grid wings on top of the first stage then unfold to adjust the attitude in real time. The fairing is then released.
In the re-entry stage, T+6 minutes and 11 seconds, the second ignition of three engines, re-entry re-push (Entry Burn), continuous ignition for 50 seconds. T+7 minutes and 22 seconds, the first stage rocket starts a central engine, performs the landing thrust (Landing Burn), and then unfolds the landing leg, using a reverse thrust slightly less than the weight of the rocket to achieve a soft jet landing.
T+7 minutes and 56 seconds, B1052.3 successfully recovered for the third time, which was also the third landing recovery, and all landed at the same landing site - Cape Florida Landing Zone LZ-1. The landing area is located about 9 km south of the Kajiao 40 launch site.
It is worth noting that when performing the offshore recovery procedure, the first stage rocket does not have to perform boostback burn, but directly performs the re-entry propulsion (Entry Burn) operation. Because when performing the land recovery procedure, a stage of rockets needs to turn back and fly hundreds of kilometers, and finally fly back to the land landing area. To perform the maritime recovery procedure, only a small angle attitude adjustment of the first stage of the rocket is required, and it continues to descend along the launch direction until the re-entry pushback, the landing pushback, and finally the soft landing, so less fuel is needed to push back.
This success is the 30th consecutive successful recovery of the rocket by SpaceX, the 104th recovery of the first stage rocket in total, the 22nd successful recovery of the Cape Florida LZ-1/2, and the 19th recovery of the LZ-1 rocket.
After more than 6 minutes of continuous propulsion, at T+08:44, the second stage rocket engine shut down for the first time (SECO 1) and entered a 47-minute space coasting phase. T+56:01, the second ignition of the second stage rocket engine, just 3 seconds later shut down again (SECO 2).
About 40 minutes after liftoff, two version 2.5 fairings were controlled and splashed in the waters of northern Cuba, 596 kilometers from the launch site, and were subsequently recovered by the Bob Bob multi-purpose vessel. This is also the 93rd and 94th fairings that SpaceX has completely recovered. The two fairings have supported three launch missions (1 has been used for The Transporter-1, Transporter-2, starlink mission; 1 has been used for the SAOCOM 1B, Transporter-2, Starlink mission), and this launch belongs to the fourth use and the third multiplexing.
One hour after launch, T+1:00:05, the star and arrow separated, the only payload of this deployment mission: the Italian observation satellite CSG-2 directly into orbit, deployment orbit: SSO sun-synchronous orbit altitude of 619 km, equatorial inclination of 97.86 °.
After the star-arrow separation, the second stage rocket was controlled to adjust its attitude, ignited and propulsion again, and flew towards the re-entry point at an orbital speed of about 7.5 km/s, depleting the remaining propellant and eventually re-entering the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean and burning. The specific re-entry area is shown in the figure above▼
● The first stage rocket has a lot to offer
This launch uses B1052.3 as a first-stage rocket, which looks like it is only the third expedition, the seniority is still shallow, but it is very promising - it has twice soared as a heavy eagle flanking rocket (2019.4.11 heavy eagle second flight, 2019.6.25 heavy eagle third flight), and now the third expedition, finally officially turned from a flanking role, becoming SpaceX's first heavy eagle flanking rocket to a Falcon 9 standard first-stage rocket. The two rockets are slightly different , with flank rockets fitted with aerodynamic head cones and attachment fixtures. SpaceX has said that the Heavy Eagle flank rocket and the Falcon 9 first stage rocket are interchangeable, but the Heavy Eagle core stage is equipped with additional reinforcement structures to support the load of the two flank rockets, which makes each core stage rocket specially built for the Heavy Eagle.
The B1052 was also a first-stage rocket that was launched three times to perform three landing recoveries, all landing on LZ-1 in the Cape Florida landing zone.
▲ B1052 second flight: that is, the third flight of the heavy eagle, but also the first one-arrow multi-satellite launch: On June 25, 2019, one arrow and 24 satellites were deployed, which was known as SpaceX's most difficult and challenging launch mission
B1052 3rd flight, and first from flanking to forward launch: First deployment of satellites for the Italian Space Agency (CSG-2) on 31 January 2022
● What is CSG-2?
The mission code name CSG-2, full name COSMO-SKYMED SECOND GENERATION FM2 MISSION, translated as the second generation of the Mediterranean Regional Observation Small Satellite Swarm, belongs to an Earth observation satellite, funded by the Italian Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Defense, operated by the Italian Space Agency radar surveillance satellite, belongs to the military and civilian dual-use satellites, focusing on the Mediterranean region.
The first generation of COSMO SkyMed (Mediterranean Observation Small Satellite Swarm) consists of a small constellation of 4 dual-use Earth observation satellites, with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as the main payload, which can be monitored around the clock, operating in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 619 km, with a design life of 5 years. Deployed using Delta II rockets from 2007 to 2010.
The second generation of COSMO SkyMed (Mediterranean Observation Small Satellite Swarm) is intended to replace the first generation. Also composed of four Earth observation satellites (CSG-1, CSG-2, CSG-3, CSG-4), the design life is 7 years, two years more than the first generation. Satellite mass increased from 1.7 tons to 2.2 tons. The second generation of synthetic aperture radar is also an upgraded version of the first generation of X-band SAR payloads.
The second-generation CSG-1 was launched by Ariane Space Europe on December 18, 2019 using the Russian-made Soyuz ST rocket; this launch is the second CSG-2, and the only one currently deployed by a non-European launcher; the third CSG-3, the fourth CSG-4 is scheduled to be launched by Ariane's new rocket Vega C in 2024 and 2027.
Vega-C is scheduled to launch for the first time in May 2022, and Vega C was scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2020 as Ariane Space's flagship SSO launch market. Due to the impact of the epidemic, technology, supply chain, etc., it has been postponed many times so far. It is based on this that in 2021, the Italian space agency had to break the situation and transfer the CSG-2 launch mission to launchers outside Europe, giving SpaceX a chance to win this business. This also allows SpaceX to see future opportunities and pave the way for further entrapment in the European market.
● At a glance launch refresh data
The launch ushered in a back-to-back launch the next day, the deployment of the 4th orbital layer of the 7th mission is aimed at the launch of Beijing time at 02:56 Beijing time on February 2, and a day later it is planned to deploy the US National Reconnaissance Bureau's classified mission NROL-87, which is also a SSO deployment mission.
It's clear that SpaceX's four- or five-month launch cadence is normalizing, and the company's internal target has locked in 52 launches a year. This was recently revealed by an official from NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Group (ASAP).
This means that SpaceX will reach a high-frequency rhythm once a week in the future. Last December, it set a new record of five consecutive 19 days. It has also set a fast pace of 4 rounds per month several times before. With the impact of the pandemic weakening and launch demand expanding rapidly, the likelihood of achieving this goal increases dramatically.