The postponed Falcon and the Chinese lunar mission

The postponed Falcon and the Chinese lunar mission – Kosmonautix.cz

Astronautics fans will surely be pleased to be able to look forward to two live and Czech-commented broadcasts of rocket launches in the following hours. First, tonight we should see the launch of Falcon 9 with a pair of WorldView Legion imaging satellites, but with all due respect this launch will only be an appetizer. Tomorrow morning we will have the main event – the Chinese heavy rocket Long March 5 is to launch the Chang’e 6 lunar mission, which is to land on the far side of the Moon in the next few days, take samples there and transport them to Earth. If successful, it will be the first time in history that samples from the far side of the Moon will reach Earth.

Final overview:

Start time and date: May 2 at 20:36 CET
Start window: 20:36 – 20:50
Start location: Ramp SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force baseCalifornia
Rocket: Falcon 9 (first stage of B1061, which will make its 22nd flight)
Primary load: Two WorldView imaging satellites
Cargo weight: approx. 1,500 kilograms
Target Orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit

We will start our transmission from the Falcon launch about 15 minutes before the start, i.e. around 20:20 CEST. If you’re interested in joining the chat, click on the video title in the upper left corner to take you to the YouTube page for that broadcast.

Final overview:

Start time and date: May 3 at 11:30 a.m. CET
Start window: Immediately
Start location: Ramp LC-1, WenchangHainan Island
Rocket: Long March 5
Primary load: Chang’e 6 lunar return probe
Cargo weight: approx. 8,200 kilograms
Target track: TLI

We will start our broadcast from the start of the Long March about 15 minutes before the start, i.e. around 11:15 CEST. If you’re interested in joining the chat, click on the video title in the upper left corner to take you to the YouTube page for that broadcast.