At 16:52 Beijing time on September 12, 2024 (04:52 EDT on the 12th), the Falcon 9 carrier rocket carrying the first batch of BlueBird Block 1 to 5 satellites (BlueBird Block 1 #1-5) was launched at the SLC-40 station of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base on the east coast of United States, and the satellite was launched into low earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 525 kilometers after 1 hour, 8 minutes and 1 second.
"Blue Bird" constellation 1st batch 1 to 5 stars
BlueBird Block 1 #1-5 is a direct-connected low-orbit communications satellite developed and owned by United States AST SpaceMobile. This type of satellite is equipped with a large solar wing with an area of 64 square meters, which is the largest solar wing of a commercial satellite in low earth orbit, with a design life of 5 years.
The Falcon 9 launch vehicle used a multiplexed B1078.13 with RTLS, and landed vertically at the LZ-1 landing area of Cape Canaveral Space Force Base 7 minutes and 35 seconds after launch. On the afternoon of August 2, Beijing time, B1078.12 carried out the Starlink G10-6 mission, 41 days after the launch mission.
This mission is the 88th launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in 2024, the 47th launch of Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, the 104th launch of the United States and the 166th space launch in orbit in the world.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou