321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week
Busy week as Space Coast hosts three launches now that Ian has passed
It was a busy week on the Space Coast with three launches as launch providers were making up for time lost to Hurricane Ian.
The Space Coast's busy week of launches got underway Tuesday, Oct. 4, when a United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket vaulted from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The nearly 200-foot rocket was equipped with three solid rocket motors leaving behind a noticeable streak of "smoke" in the sky as it flew on an eastern trajectory after liftoff at 5:36 p.m. EDT.
Next up was SpaceX and NASA.
At Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A, a 230-foot SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at noon sharp Wednesday, taking NASA's Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, Japan's Koichi Wakata, and Russia's Anna Kikina to orbit in a Crew Dragon capsule. The mission known as Crew-5 is SpaceX's sixth crewed flight under contract from NASA and eighth overall when including private spaceflights.
Crew-5 marked the first time a Russian cosmonaut flew on an American-made vehicle since the space shuttle program. NASA agreed to swap assignments with one of its crew, leading to Astronaut Frank Rubio's launch to the ISS on a Soyuz rocket in late September. Kikina's flight on Crew Dragon completes the swap.
SpaceX also had the week's third launch, though it took a little longer than planned to get it off the gorund.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 liftoff on Saturday, Oct. 8, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station marked the company's third flight of the week. The 230-foot rocket vaulted away from pad 40 at 7:05 p.m. EDT into mostly clear skies just after sunset.
Saturday's launch vaulted two communications satellites to orbit for Intelsat, a Luxembourg-based satellite operator. Once in operation, the Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites will provide television services across the United States.
Saturday's launch vaulted two communications satellites to orbit for Intelsat, a Luxembourg-based satellite operator. Once in operation, the Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites will provide television services across the United States.
And yes, the twilight launch produced a "space jellyfish."
A 25+ year veteran of FLORIDA TODAY, John McCarthy currently oversees the space team and special projects. Support quality local journalism by subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY. You can contact McCarthy at 321-752-5018 or jmccarthy@floridatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week
