On March 9th, Falcon 9 spaceship performed a static fire test which consisted of starting its nine Merlin engines for more than here seconds. The test was meant to verify whether everything was working as planned before its launch from Florida which will take place next week. The spaceship will be initiated with a commercial television broadcast satellite.
- On March 9th, Falcon 9 rocket underwent a static fire test.
- The spaceship is bound to transport a commercial television broadcast satellite into the orbit.
- Falcon 9 rocket will be launched on March 14 from Florida.
All nine Merlin 1D engines were powered on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. EST at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A, deploying a grumble across the landscape of the spaceport in Florida. The static fire test represents a usual step in the launch campaigns conducted by SpaceX, offering specialists the opportunity to reveal whether something goes wrong and fix it.
They practiced the countdown procedures for the launch team and tested the ground systems. Experts had also verified the preparedness of the main propulsion system booster. After the static fire test, the rocket was returned to the hanger located at pad 39A where the EchoStar 23 spaceship will be attached. This is a commercial television broadcast satellite which will beam TV programs to businesses and homes in Brazil.
The launch of the spaceship was scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, at 1:34 a.m. EDT. The attempts to conduct the fire test on Wednesday and Tuesday were declined for unknown reasons. The space company refused to comment on the preparations for the final launch of the static fire test. Nevertheless, these delays forced the delay of the entire mission which was rescheduled from Sunday to Tuesday.
On March 9th, SpaceX confirmed that the static fire test was completed. Engineers will analyze the data from the test to check if all systems functioned as planned. Then, they will establish a launch preparedness review before the final countdown which will start on Monday night, March 13. EcoStar 23 was encapsulated within the payload of Falcon 9 rocket after fueling in a room at neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The composite was attached to the spaceship when the Falcon 9 rover when it was rolled back inside the hangar of SpaceX. EchoStar 23 was developed by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California. The satellite will be deployed into the geostationary transfer orbit, being favored by an elliptical loop around our planet which will work as a drop-off point.
Image source: wikipedia
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