CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched a veteran Falcon 9 rockets on its seventh trip to space Sunday (Dec. 13) to carry a massive radio satellite into orbit for Sirius XM and then return to Earth.
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 hereat Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , marking the company’s 25th launch of the year. It carried the SXM-7 next-generation radio satellite into orbit for customer Sirius XM.
Approximately 9 minutes later, the booster’s first stage returned to Earth, landing on the SpaceX drone ship “Just Read The Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. The launch occurred midway through a planned two-hour window (it was originally slated for 11:22 a.m. EST) to await good weather conditions for both the launch and booster landing, SpaceX representatives said via Twitter.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Sirius XM satellite SMX-7 into orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Dec. 13, 2020. (Image credit: SpaceX)
The mission was originally planned to blast off Friday (Dec. 11), less than 24 hours after a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy launched a massive spy satellite for the U.S. government from a nearby pad.
The turnaround time between the two launches would have been just over 15 hours, marking the shortest time between launches here at the Cape since the 1960’s. In September 1967, a Delta-G and Atlas-Centaur took off from two different launch pads 10-hours apart. Last August, a Falcon 9 and an Atlas V rocket launched within 35 hours of each other, a first since May 1981.
But on Friday, SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt following multiple delays within the planned flight window. During the final minutes of the countdown, SpaceX called a hold and ultimately stood down from that attempt, citing the need for additional ground systems checkouts. The delay proved fruitful as the veteran Falcon 9 rocket leapt off the pad on Sunday for its 7th mission.
Another frequent flyer
For this mission, the 230-foot-tall (70 m) Falcon 9 successfully delivered the high-powered radio broadcasting satellite Sirius XM-7 (SXM-7) into orbit. Built by Maxar Technologies for Sirius XM, it’s one of two satellites to be launched by SpaceX to replace outdated ones currently on orbit.
The rocket’s first stage booster, now with seven launches and landings under its belt, touched down on SpaceX’s “Just Read the Instructions” drone ship, which was waiting in the Atlantic. It marks the 69th recovery of a first stage booster for the California-based rocket manufacturer.
The first stage of a veteran SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen on the drone ship Just Read The Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean after successfully launching the Sirius XM satellite SXM-7 into orbit on Dec. 13, 2020. (Image credit: SpaceX)
The rocket featured in Friday’s launch is another record-setting booster. Known as B1051, this flight proven booster embarked on its seventh flight — the second of SpaceX’s fleet to do so. The first, B1049, ferried a batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on Nov. 24, before touching down on the company’s other drone ship, “Of Course I Still Love You”.
To date, B1051 has carried an uncrewed Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of a 2019 flight test, followed by a trio of Earth-observing satellites for Canada as well as four different Starlink missions. For it’s 7th flight, it ferried a 15,432-lb. (7,000-kg) satellite into orbit for Sirius XM. The satellite will beam down more than 8,000 watts of content to Sirius subscribers across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
The Sirius XM satellite SXM-7 satellite separates from its SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage during a successful launch into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Dec. 13, 2020. (Image credit: SpaceX)
The SXM-7 satellite is based on Maxar Technologies‘ SSL-1300 satellite bus. It’s outfitted with two large solar arrays as well as batteries for on-orbit storage. SXM-7 will operate in the S-band spectrum, between 2.32 GHz and 2.345 GHz and is part of a pair that SpaceX is launching for Sirius XM.
SpaceX is contracted to launch another satellite for Sirius XM, called SXM-8, which is slated to launch next year. Each satellite has an operational lifetime of 15 years, and will replace two aging satellites already on orbit.
An artist’s illustration of the Sirius XM-7 satellite in orbit. (Image credit: Maxar Technologies)
The launch of Sirius XM’s SXM-7 satellite caps a busy week for the Cape and for SpaceX.
On Dec. 6, SpaceX launched its first upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The automated cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Dec. 7, and successfully docked itself to the space station for the first time. (Its previous iteration was berthed to the orbital outpost with the help of the station’s robotic arm.)
Meanwhile, the company launched a prototype of its Starship Mars rocket on a high-altitude test flight on Wednesday (Dec. 9). The 164-foot-tall (50 m) prototype rocket flew to an altitude of 7.7 miles (12.5 km) and was the first prototype to be powered by three of SpaceX’s methane-fueled Raptor engines. The stainless steel ship then performed a guided descent back toward a landing pad at SpaceX’s test facility in Boca Chica, Texas, located near the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
As part of its test flight, the Starship rocket performed a dramatic flip maneuver, which set itself up for landing, after the massive rocket did a mid-air belly flop, which sent it racing back to Earth. The rocket landed too hard, erupting in a dramatic fireball. Company founder and CEO, Elon Musk, hailed the test flight as a smashing success, saying teams got the data they needed.
Musk and SpaceX are building the reusable Starship as a means to eventually carry massive amounts of cargo into space, and to transport people to the moon, Mars and beyond.
To prepare for this flight, SpaceX test-fired the veteran booster on Monday evening (Dec. 7), then transported the rocket back into the hangar to be mated with its payload.
This flight marks the first time that a paying customer will fly on such a veteran rocket. Historically, SpaceX has reserved first stage boosters with more than three flights under their belts for its own Starlink missions. This could be a promising sign that companies are trusting the reusability factor and are more comfortable with these tried-and-true boosters.
It also marks the first time that SpaceX is flying a used piece of a payload fairing for a paying customer. The company has been amping up its reusability efforts to include more of the rocket. On this particular mission, one of the pieces of the protective nose cone flew on the Anasis-II flight this summer.
To facilitate this type of reuse, SpaceX has two boats that are outfitted with giant nets. These boats, named GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief, are able to catch fairing pieces as they fall back to Earth or scoop them out of the ocean and bring them back to port to be used again.
A few days before launch, GO Ms. Tree was deployed to the recovery zone. The net-equipped vessel is working solo this mission as GO Ms. Chief is still stationed at Port Canaveral.
Up next for SpaceX is the launch of a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. That mission is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s historic Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Dec. 17.
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
