SpaceX is preparing to launch the latest pair of WorldView Legion satellites on behalf of Maxar Intelligence, a division of Maxar Technologies. The two satellites will launch into a mid-inclination Earth orbit (MEO) following separation from the Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff of the mission, dubbed Maxar 3 by SpaceX, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 6:13 p.m. EST (2313 UTC). If successful, it will be SpaceX’s second Falcon 9 launch of the day.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 first stage booster 1086 to launch this mission. It will be its fourth flight after previously launching as a side booster on the GOES-U Falcon Heavy mission and then as a Falcon 9 booster on two Starlink missions.
Less than eight minutes after liftoff, B1086 will target a touchdown at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If successful, it will be the 48th booster landing at LZ-1 and the 405th booster landing to date.
The first WorldView Legion satellite (fifth overall) will be deployed following the conclusion of the second burn of the Falcon 9 upper stage roughly 47 minutes after liftoff. There will be two more burns of the Merlin vacuum engine before the other satellite is deployed about one hour and 50 minutes into the flight.
More eyes in the sky
The two WorldView Legion satellites were manufactured by Maxar Space Systems, another division of Maxar Technologies. The company announced their arrive in Florida in early January to begin final processing ahead of the launch.
The two satellites were shipped from Maxar Space Systems’ factory in Palo Alto, California. Once on orbit, they will complete the company’s first block of satellites.
The twin spacecraft are designed to augment the company’s 30 cm-class satellite imagery capability. There are currently four WorldView Legion satellites operating in MEO and six other satellites in a Sun-synchronous orbit.
“With 3.6 million sq. km. of 30 cm-class collection capacity per day, Maxar will continue to lead the industry by offering customers the highest image quality and geometric accuracy available on the commercial market,” Maxar Intelligence said in a statement. “In fact, no other provider will have this amount of 30 cm-class capacity available.”
Maxar makes its images available through either a Maxar Geospatial Platform (MGP) Pro subscription to access individual images or through its Vivid Advanced Baseman for “a seamless view of Earth.”
With satellites now in sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits, the Maxar constellation has more capacity for tasking than ever before—an increase of 85% over the mid-latitudes of Earth!
📷: This GIF illustrates the MIO orbits of four WorldView Legion satellites.
Read more… pic.twitter.com/337YuBWtsL
— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) December 3, 2024
