On Sunday morning (Dec. 24), a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying two radar surveillance satellites for the German military took off.
At 8:11 a.m. EST (1311 GMT; 5:11 a.m. local California time), the Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base launched the SARah-2 mission to low Earth orbit (LEO). The flight was postponed one day in order to allow for more preflight inspections. It was initially scheduled for Saturday, December 23.
For the German military, the SARah-2 mission sent two synthetic aperture radar (or “SAR” in “SARah-2) reconnaissance satellites into orbit.
“The mission description from EverydayAstronaut.com states that the satellites will carry on the replacement process of the aging SAR-Lupe constellation.”
“SARah 2 and SARah 3 are two ‘reflector antenna’ satellites, meaning they will consequently fly in formation with SARah 1 to increase the resolution of the constellation,” the outlet added.
According to SpaceX, SARah-2 was the seventh launch of this specific Falcon 9’s first stage. After returning for a ninth landing, the booster landed at Vandenberg around eight minutes following launch.
It was planned for SARah 2 and SARah 3 to come into low-Earth orbit (LEO) from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 around twenty and twenty-five minutes after liftoff, respectively.
With Sunday’s launch, SpaceX’s busy 2023 continued. This year, the corporation has flown 94 orbital missions in addition to two unsuccessful test launches of its massive Starship rocket.
And before the calendar turns, there will be more SpaceX activity. For instance, on December 28, the X-37B spacecraft of the United States Space Force is expected to be sent into orbit by the company’s potent Falcon Heavy rocket.
