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PAZ Mission

SpaceX is targeting a Falcon 9 launch of the PAZ satellite to low-Earth orbit on Thursday, February 22 from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenber...

PAZ & Microsat-2a, Microsat-2b

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Space Launch Complex 4E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Probability: 90%
B1038 - Pacific Ocean

PAZ is a military Earth radar observation satellite, designed and built by Airbus Defence and Space for Spain. The satellite is owned and operated by Hisdesat. The PAZ satellite is equipped with an advanced radar instrument designed for high flexibility, and the capability to operate in numerous modes allowing for the choice of several different image configurations. It will be able to generate images with up to 25 cm resolution. Designed for a mission of five and a half years, PAZ will orbit Earth 15 times per day, covering an area of over 300,000 square kilometres. On its slightly inclined quasi-polar orbit, PAZ will cover the entire globe in 24 hours, serving both government and commercial needs. Satellite is sharing the ride with two small SpaceX satellites. These will test the technologies for the planned satellite network called Starlink, which will consist of roughly 4000 satellites providing space-based Internet around the globe.

Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Full Thrust

The Full Thrust variants first stage includes all systems necessary for an operational re-use of stages while the second stage is operated as an expendable rocket stage.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    71.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    546.0 T
  • Thrust
    6804.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
  • Variant
    Full Thrust
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Full Thrust
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $50000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8305.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1038

Status: Expended


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: August 24, 2017
Last Flight: February 22, 2018
Flights: 2
Landings Attempted: 1
Landings Successful: 1
Previous B1038 Flights

Landing Information

B1038 was expended after its first flight.

Core will be expended.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 450 Failures: 13 Pending: 109

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4E


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 12-11
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 6-71
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 3
Success
3 weeks, 4 days ago
Shijian 25
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Technological demonstration mission for spacecraft refueling and satellite life extension services.


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 6 days ago
Thuraya 4-NGS
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Thuraya 4-NGS is a communication satellite being built by Airbus Defense and Space for the UAE based Yahsat. Based on the all-electric Airbus Eurosta…


Falcon 9
Success
1 month ago
Starlink Group 12-6
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


PSLV
Success
1 month ago
SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) is an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) technology mission to demonstrate autonomous docking between 2 spac…


Falcon 9
Success
1 month ago
Astranis: From One to Many (4x Astranis MicroGEO)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Four Astranis MicroGEO communications satellite to be inserted in a custom geostationary orbit, from where they conduct on-orbit maneuvers to reach t…


Falcon 9
Success
1 month ago
Starlink Group 11-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Kinetica 1
Failure
1 month ago
DEAR-3 & 10 other satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launched 11 satellites including AZSPACE's DEAR-3 prototype recoverable science experiment spacecraft and the French CASAA-Sat cubesat from the Marse…


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
1 month ago
Resurs-P No.5
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Resurs-P is a series of Russian commercial Earth observation satellites capable of acquiring high-resolution imagery (resolution up to 1.0 m).