A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
We have liftoff! NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, launched from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT.
The Falcon Heavy’s 27 Merlin engines are generating more than 5 million pounds of thrust, quickly pushing the vehicle through the atmosphere and away from the Florida spaceport. The Falcon Heavy first stage consists of three Falcon 9 boosters strapped together — two sides and a central booster. An upper second stage atop the central booster carries the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Coming up next, the launch vehicle will reach Max Q, or moment of peak mechanical stress on rocket, followed by side booster separation, then booster engine cutoff about two minutes later.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket stands at Launch Pad 39A on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Photo credit: SpaceX
Moments ago, mission teams polled “go” to begin fueling the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
The Falcon Heavy is a two-stage rocket with a central core and two side boosters that uses RP-1 (a refined kerosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX) to fuel its 27 Merlin engines, which combine to generate 5 million pounds of thrust. Loading of the RP-1 and LOX is now underway.
These two side boosters previously launched one year ago on NASA’s mission to explore the Psyche asteroid, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Europa Clipper will be the third Falcon Heavy mission for NASA’s Launch Services Program.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket stands at Launch Pad 39A on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. The spacecraft will complete nearly 50 flybys of Europa to determine if there are conditions suitable for life beyond Earth. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA just ramped up its coverage of today’s Europa Clipper launch, as the live broadcast with commentary has now begun, and you can watch coverage on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. Watch NASA launch coverage in Spanish on NASA+ and NASA’s Spanish YouTube channel.
The three main science objectives of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. This multidisciplinary field investigates the extremes of life on Earth to inform its search for life in the universe. It encompasses characterizing habitable environments in preparation to search for life.
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform nearly 50 close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate the moon. The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make approach altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface, soaring over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon.
You can also follow along on the launch blog, which originates from the NASA News Center here at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a few miles from Launch Complex 39A in Florida. There’s more to come, so stay with us.
Join the conversation, follow the launch, and get Europa Clipper mission updates from these accounts:
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is poised to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in the distance behind the iconic countdown clock at the NASA News Center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Jamie Groh
We remain a “go” for launch, with the latest weather update from the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicting a 95% chance of favorable weather today for liftoff. The primary weather concern for the launch area is the cumulus cloud rule.
Teams continue targeting liftoff of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission at 12:06 p.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The live launch broadcast will begin at 11 a.m. on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. NASA launch coverage in Spanish begins at 11 a.m. on NASA+ and NASA’s Spanish YouTube channel. You can also continue following along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile for the Europa Clipper mission.
NASA and SpaceX are moving forward with plans to conduct a Launch Readiness Review at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 13, ahead of a targeted launch for the agency’s Europa Clipper mission no earlier than Monday, Oct. 14. Teams stood down from a potential launch opportunity on Oct. 13, to double-check technical readiness of the Falcon Heavy rocket, as well as continued assessments for launch readiness following Hurricane Milton.
NASA issued an updated media advisory late Saturday with coverage details for prelaunch and launch activities.
NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Thursday, Oct. 10, launch attempt of the agency’s Europa Clipper mission due to anticipated hurricane conditions in the area. Hurricane Milton is expected to move from the Gulf of Mexico this week moving east to the Space Coast. High winds and heavy rain are expected in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island regions on Florida’s east coast. Launch teams have secured NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft in SpaceX’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the severe weather, and the center began hurricane preparations Sunday.
“The safety of launch team personnel is our highest priority, and all precautions will be taken to protect the Europa Clipper spacecraft,” said Tim Dunn, senior launch director at NASA’s Launch Services Program.
On Oct. 4, workers transported NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft from the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in the hangar as part of final launch preparations ahead of its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon. While Europa Clipper’s launch period opens Oct. 10, the window provides launch opportunities until Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Once the storm passes, recovery teams will assess the safety of the spaceport before personnel return to work. Then launch teams will assess the launch processing facilities for damage from the storm.
“Once we have the ‘all-clear’ followed by facility assessment and any recovery actions, we will determine the next launch opportunity for this NASA flagship mission,” said Dunn.
On Friday, Oct. 4, workers transported NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A on the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for launch.
Earlier in the week, technicians completed the encapsulation of the spacecraft inside a payload fairing at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on NASA Kennedy. The fairings will protect the spacecraft from aerodynamic pressure and heat during launch before eventually separating and falling back to Earth.
Soon, technicians will mate the spacecraft to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in preparation for launch, roll the rocket to the launch pad, and raise it to a vertical position ahead of liftoff. Europa Clipper’s launch period opens at 12:31 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 10.
The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, robotic solar-powered Europa Clipper will conduct the first detailed investigations of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and make nearly 50 flybys of Europa to determine whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with NASA JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
To learn more about the Europa Clipper mission, visit:
Technicians encapsulated NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside payload fairings on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA, SpaceX, and Europa Clipper mission managers met Friday, Oct. 4, to conduct a Flight Readiness Review at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the review, teams provided an update on the mission’s status and certified its readiness to initiate final launch preparation activities. Europa Clipper will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission’s main science objectives are to understand the nature of Europa’s ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the moon’s composition and geology. This detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Upon reaching its destination in 2030, Europa Clipper will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate the moon. The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make closest-approach flybys at altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface, soaring over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon.
Europa Clipper’s launch period opens at 12:31 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 10.
To learn more about the Europa Clipper mission, visit:
Technicians encapsulated NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside payload fairings on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairings will protect the spacecraft during launch as it begins its journey to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA and SpaceX technicians recently completed several important milestones as they prepare for the upcoming launch of the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
Technicians encapsulated NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside payload fairings on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Ben Smegelsky
First, teams connected the Europa Clipper spacecraft to the payload adapter on Thursday, Sept. 26, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With Europa Clipper securely attached to the payload adapter, the team then connected the combined assembly to the payload attach fitting on Monday, Sept. 30. These operations will enable the spacecraft to join with the rocket in the coming days.
Next, teams detached various coverings that shielded sensitive parts of the spacecraft during processing. Finally, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, teams encapsulated the spacecraft inside payload fairings, which will protect the spacecraft from aerodynamic pressure and heat during launch. After liftoff, the fairings will separate once the rocket’s second stage climbs high enough, approximately 5 minutes into the flight, and the fairings will return to Earth where SpaceX plans to recover them
NASA is targeting Thursday, Oct. 10, for launching Europa Clipper on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. This will start a years-long journey to Jupiter, where it will help scientists determine if the enigmatic moon has conditions suitable to support life.
To learn more about the Europa Clipper mission, visit:
This image shows technicians working to complete operations prior to propellant load for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Technicians completed loading propellants in the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 22, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Housed in the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, Europa Clipper’s propulsion module is an aluminum cylinder 10 feet (3 meters) long and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, and it holds the spacecraft’s array of 24 engines and 6067.6 pounds (2,752.2 kilograms) of propellant in two propulsion tanks, as well as the spacecraft’s helium pressurant tanks. The fuel and oxidizer held by the tanks will flow to the 24 engines, creating a controlled chemical reaction to produce thrust in space during its journey to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.
After launch, the spacecraft plans to fly by Mars in February 2025, then back by Earth in December 2026, using the gravity of each planet to increase its momentum. With help of these “gravity assists,” Europa Clipper will achieve the velocity needed to reach Jupiter in April 2030.
NASA is targeting launch on Thursday, Oct. 10, aboard a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with NASA JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
To learn more about the Europa Clipper mission, visit:
