At 11:14 Beijing time on June 29, 2024 (20:14 Pacific Daylight Time on the 28th), at the SLC-4E station of the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, SpaceX used the "Falcon 9" carrier rocket to carry several remote sensing satellites of the NROL-186 mission to launch the satellites into polar orbit.
NROL-186任务卫星为美国国家侦察局(National Reconnaissance Office,NRO)所有,为美国侦察局激增星座(proliferated constellation)发射升空的第二批卫星。 NROL-186任务卫星为太空探索技术公司(SpaceX)和诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司(Northrop Grumman)研制的遥感卫星,是两家公司为激增星座(proliferated constellation)——对地观测卫星星座研制的第二批卫星。 本次任务卫星数量不详。
In 2024, the U.S. Reconnaissance Agency's Proliferated Architecture plans about six launches. A little more than a month ago, Falcon 9 launched its first satellites for the surge constellation.
The Falcon 9 used the first stage B1081.8 of its eighth flight, using down-of-the-line recovery (ASDS), and the first stage landed vertically on the OCISLY automatic recovery ship (drone ship) located in the Pacific Ocean 8 minutes and 16 seconds after ignition launch, which was the 326th recovery landing (including return recovery) of the first stage module of the "Falcon" series rocket core. On the morning of May 29, Beijing time, Level 1 B1081.7 performed the EarthCARE mission, 31 days after the mission.
This launch is the 66th space launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle into orbit in 2024, the 22nd launch of Vandenberg Space Force Base, the 78th launch of the United States and the 123rd launch of the world.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou