Watch live: Virgin Orbit to launch 7 satellites from airplane today, ,

Virgin Orbit plans to launch seven satellites Wednesday morning (June 30) on a mission called “Tubular Bells: Part One.”

The company’s Cosmic Girl carrier plane is scheduled to lift off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California between 9 a.m. EDT and 11 a.m. EDT (1300 to 1500 GMT). About an hour later, the LauncherOne rocket will separate from the plane and carrying the payloads to orbit.

You can watch it all live in the window above, courtesy of Virgin Orbit, or directly via the company. Coverage starts at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).

A total of 7 satellites will fly on LauncherOne for “Tubular Bells: Part One.” The full list of customers onboard this mission includes:

The U.S. Department of Defense, which is launching three CubeSat sets as part of the DoD Space Test Program’s (STP) Rapid Agile Launch (RALI) Initiative. This launch, also known as STP-27VPA, was awarded to Virgin Orbit subsidiary VOX Space by the DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), an organization working to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology into the U.S. military to strengthen national security. The Royal Netherlands Air Force, which is launching the Netherlands’ first military satellite, a CubeSat called BRIK II, built and integrated by Innovative Solutions in Space.SatRevolution, which is launching the first two optical satellites, STORK-4 and STORK-5 (A.K.A. MARTA), of the company’s 14-satellite STORK constellation.SpaceX Transporter 2 launch on Wednesday

A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 88 satellites on the Transporter 2 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Wednesday (June 30) and you’ll be able to watch it live here, courtesy of SpaceX. Liftoff is set for 2:56 p.m. EDT (1856 GMT), with a one-hour launch window. A launch attempt on Tuesday was delayed.

The Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40, with SpaceX’s webcast expected to begin about 15 minutes before liftoff. You can also watch directly from SpaceX here. SpaceX will have a one-hour window in which to launch the mission, which will fly on a polar trajectory into orbit.

From SpaceX

SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, June 29 for launch of Transporter-2, SpaceX’s second dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The 58-minute launch window opens at 2:56 p.m. EDT, or 18:56 UTC, and there is a backup opportunity available on Wednesday, June 30 with the same 58-minute window.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 03, Turksat 5A, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported Transporter-1 and a Starlink mission, and the other previously flew on SAOCOM 1B and a Starlink mission.

On board this launch are 85 commercial and government spacecraft (including CubeSats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) and 3 Starlink satellites. While there are fewer spacecraft on board compared to Transporter-1, this mission is actually launching more mass to orbit for SpaceX’s customers.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff.

Mission Profile:

LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DEPLOYMENT

HR/MIN/SEC EVENT

00:38:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load

00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway

00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway

00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading underway

00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch

00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks

00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins

00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch

00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start

00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff

00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)

00:02:15 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)

00:02:18 1st and 2nd stages separate

00:02:26 2nd stage engine starts

00:02:32 Boostback burn begins

00:03:42 Fairing deployment

00:06:34 1st stage entry burn begins

00:08:24 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)

00:08:24 1st stage landing

00:54:13 2nd stage engine restarts

00:54:15 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)

00:57:50 NASA’s PACE-1 deploys

00:57:57 Satellogic’s NewSat-19 deploys

00:58:04 The 1st ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-5

00:58:32 NASA’s TROPICS Pathfinder deploys

00:58:37 PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-2 deploys

00:58:44 Tyvak-0173 deploys

00:59:47 The 2nd ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-3

01:00:00 Tyvak-0211 deploys

01:00:08 Loft Orbital’s YAM-3 deploys from EXOPort-5

01:00:18 TU Berlin’s TUBIN deploys from EXOPort-4

01:00:23 UmbraSAR deploys

01:00:33 D-Orbit’s ION satellite carrier deploys

01:01:50 Space Development Agency/General Atomics/Peraton’s LINCS-2 deploys

01:02:16 Satellogic’s NewSat-20 deploys

01:02:30 Satellogic’s NewSat-21 deploys

01:02:40 Capella SAR satellite deploys

01:02:46 The 3rd ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-4

01:04:12 Space Development Agency/General Atomics/Peraton’s LINCS-1 deploys

01:04:29 DARPA/Space Development Agency/Air Force Research Laboratory’s Mandrake-2 Able deploys

01:05:33 The 4th ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-3

01:06:48 Swarm’s 1st SpaceBEE cluster deploys from EXOPort-4

01:07:10 Swarm’s 2nd SpaceBEE cluster deploys from EXOPort-4

01:07:17 NanoAvionics’ D2/AtlaCom-1 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:07:24 Spire’s LEMUR number 1 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:07:47 Satellogic’s NewSat-22 deploys

01:07:56 Loft Orbital’s YAM-2 deploys

01:09:51 Spires’s LEMUR number 2 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:09:58 DARPA/Space Development Agency/Air Force Research Laboratory’s Mandrake-2 Baker deploys

01:21:10 Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa-FX2 deploys

01:21:14 Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa-LTE1 deploys

01:27:35 Starlink satellites deploy

A robotic Russian Progress cargo spacecraft launched toward the International Space Station on Tuesday (June 29) with more than 3,600 lbs. of supplies. The freighter is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting lab on Thursday evening (July 1). Read more below.

Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated June 28, 2021, to provide an updated figure for the amount of cargo being delivered.

Live coverage of Russia’s Progress 78 cargo spacecraft’s launch and docking to the International Space Station will begin at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 29, on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

The uncrewed spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 7:27 p.m. (4:27 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Progress spacecraft will go into orbit for a two-day journey before automatically docking to the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the station’s Russian segment at 9:02 p.m. Thursday, July 1. Coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 8:15 p.m.

Carrying more than 3,600 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 65 crew, the Progress 78 resupply vehicle will spend almost five months at the station. The cargo craft is scheduled to perform an automated undocking and relocation to the new “Nauka” Multipurpose Laboratory Module in late October. Named for the Russian word for “science,” Nauka is planned to launch to the space station in mid-July.

Progress 78 will undock from the orbiting laboratory in November for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere that results in its safe destruction.

Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the “ISS Live” broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.

“Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During ‘loss of signal’ periods, viewers will see a blue screen.

“Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below.”

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