Both Rocket Lab and SpaceX plan to launch missions on Friday (April 1), and you can watch the space double-header live.
A rocket lab The Electron vehicle is due to send two Earth observation satellites for US company BlackSky on Friday at 8:35 a.m. EDT (12:35 GMT) from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site.
Nearly four hours later, at 12:24 p.m. EDT (4:24 p.m. GMT), a SpaceX The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida, carrying 40 satellites into orbit for a variety of customers, weather permitting. Forecasts currently predict only a 30% chance that the weather will be good enough to take off, SpaceX tweeted Thursday (March, 31st).
Falcon 9 first stage will return Earth shortly after takeoff and land on an autonomous droneship parked in the Atlantic Ocean, if all goes as planned.
You can watch both missions here on Space.com when the time comes, thanks to both launch providers. You can also follow the action directly from rocket lab and SpaceX.
Related: The evolution of SpaceX rockets in pictures
The Rocket Lab launch, dubbed “Without Mission a Beat,” will be Electron’s 25th launch overall. If all goes according to plan, this will bring the number of satellites put into orbit by the California-based Rocket Lab to 112. according to a corporate mission statement.
Rocket Lab has worked hard to make the two-stage Electron’s first stage reusable, bringing boosters for splashes and gentle ocean recoveries on several previous missions. However, there will be no such activities on “Without Mission a Beat.”
SpaceX already routinely reuses rockets, and its Friday mission, called Transporter 4, will continue that trend. The Falcon 9 first stage in flight on Friday already has six launches and landings under its belt, according to a SpaceX mission description.
Friday’s two launches are part of a very busy and exciting day for space fans. Friday also marks the start of the three-day “wetsuit rehearsal” for NASA. Artemis 1 mission, which will use a massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to send an uncrewed Orion capsule around the moon.
During the wet dress rehearsal, Artemis 1 team members will follow many of their pre-launch procedures, including refueling the SLS. If all goes well with the test, Artemis 1 could take off as soon as May or June.
Mike Wall is the author of “The low(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom Or on Facebook.
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