This evening, SpaceX launched another rocket from Florida, but this vehicle took a very different kind of path than most flights from the East Coast. Rather than head eastward after launch as most Florida missions do, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket headed south after liftoff, skirting over Florida’s southeast coast and heading over Cuba.
That’s because this mission was headed to what is known as a polar orbit — a path that runs mostly north-to-south over the Earth’s poles. It’s a type of mission you don’t normally see taking place from Florida. In fact, this will be the first time since 1969 that a rocket taking off from Florida heads southward.
Up until now, most polar launches in the US have taken place from the southern coast of California. That way, the rockets fly over open ocean when they head southward and not over populated land. Rockets that launch from Florida head eastward toward the equator, so that they also fly over mostly open ocean before getting to space.
But back in 2016, the Air Force began studying the possibility of bringing polar launches to Florida after wildfires got significantly close to Vandenberg Air Force Base, the US’s main California launch site for all polar launches. The fire caused damage to surrounding infrastructure and delayed one launch for up to two months, according to Florida Today. The 45th Space Wing, which oversees launches out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, crunched the numbers and found that polar launches could be done — with some caveats.
As of today, only SpaceX can fly this unique path from Florida because of how its Falcon 9 rockets are designed. The company’s rocket has an automatic flight safety system, which means the vehicle can self-destruct on its own — without input from the ground — if it strays off its path or something goes wrong. That’s important for flying this polar route. Since the rockets will be flying close to populated areas, any deviation from flight must be handled swiftly to keep people safe on the ground. But it’s possible that the plumes of gas coming from the rocket’s engines could interfere with any signals that are sent from the ground to self-destruct. So the Falcon 9 has to be able to blow itself up without human help.
Future vehicles are expected to fly with these autonomous safety systems, which would allow them to fly southward from Florida, too. But for now, SpaceX is the one bringing polar launches back to the Florida coast. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:18PM ET out of SpaceX’s launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket then headed south, skimming the southeastern Florida coast near Miami and then flying over Cuba. The 45th Space Wing claims that Miami is not in any danger during these types of missions, and that Cuba should be out of harm’s way, as well. “It will overfly Cuba, but it’ll be at an altitude that we’re safe, just like when we’re going north,” Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander of the 45th Space Wing, said during a press call. “As we get up into the northern part of North America, we start to overfly some islands as well, but we’re at a safer altitude at that point.”
Schiess said that the Falcon 9 rocket followed the right path that will make sure people will be safe. “I know that we’re meeting all the safety requirements now, and it really comes down to being at the right altitude [and] speed at that time — to make sure that any debris that were to fall would be small enough, or not even impact any land, which makes this ability to launch that from a safe perspective.”
The main satellite on this launch was SAOCOM 1B, while two small satellites hitched along for a ride. SAOCOM 1B is the second of two identical Earth-observing satellites that SpaceX has contracted to launch for Argentina’s space agency. Together, the two satellites will use radar to observe the planet to hunt for disasters that could disrupt industries like agriculture, mining, fishing, and more. The satellite is going to a polar orbit known as sun-synchronous orbit. The path allows satellites to pass over the same patch of Earth at the same time each day, which is great for Earth observation satellites hoping to track changes to locations on the planet over time.
For this mission, SpaceX used a Falcon 9 rocket that’s flown to space three times before. After liftoff, the rocket successfully landed back on SpaceX’s ground landing pad near the launch site in Florida. SAOCOM 1B deployed just 14 minutes after takeoff, while the two small satellites will deploy about an hour after launch.
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.
