MinXSS 2

Launch data: Designation  43758 / 18099A Launch date  03 Dec 2018 Launch site  Va, SLC-4E Launch vehicle  Falcon-9 v1.2 Mission  Astronomy, Solar X Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  573 x 588 km Eccentricity   Inclination  97.77° Period   min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Satellite for Solar x-ray data.

Mission details:

• A SpaceX Falcon 9 was launched from Vandenberg on Dec 3, 2018 with Spaceflight Inc′s SSO-A small satellite deployment mission.
• After launch at 1834 UTC, the first stage landed on the droneship Just Read The Instructions at 1842 UTC and the second stage entered orbit at 1844 UTC.
• At 1847 UTC the UFF (Upper Free Flyer) spacecraft separated from the MPC (Multi Payload Container) attached to stage 2. At some point after this the MPC deployed 4 medium-sized payloads and the UFF deployed a large number of payloads. Then the LFF (Lower Free Flyer) separated from the UFF (or the MPC) and deployed a cluster of cubesats. Deployments continued over several hours. Stage 2, with the MPC still attached, was deorbited at about 1945 UTC. Finally, UFF deployed a drag sail. Regrettably, Spaceflight Inc have not released details of the deployment timings or explained which payloads were deployed from which vehicle.

External links:

• Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking