SpaceX launches European Galileo satellites to medium Earth orbit

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the European Commission's Galileo L13 mission Tuesday, successfully delivering its navigation satellite constellation to a medium Earth orbit, despite questionable weather earlier in the day.

The mission to deliver two Galileo satellites launched on time at 6:50 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in a launch that also tested the limits of Falcon 9's first-stage booster's recovery capabilities.

"Liftoff!" SpaceX announced in a post on X just minutes after the launch.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/yG7YajyF2k — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2024

Earlier Tuesday, the launch faced only a 40% chance of favorable weather at liftoff, as the 45th Weather Squadron forecast called the recovery weather risk as "moderate."

"Several factors are in play for the weather this week. Primarily an area of low pressure spinning off the southeast U.S. coastline will gradually move onshore near South Carolina by Tuesday afternoon," meteorologists wrote.

"This circulation pattern, along with several waves of upper-level vorticity will help generate convergent bands of clouds and associated showers rotating through most of Florida into Tuesday," they added.

Less than an hour before launch, SpaceX announced the weather had improved.

"Propellant load is underway for today's Falcon 9 launch of the Galileo L13 mission from pad 40 in Florida. Weather is currently 60% favorable for liftoff," SpaceX wrote in an updated post .

Propellant load is underway for today's Falcon 9 launch of the Galileo L13 mission from pad 40 in Florida. Weather is currently 60% favorable for liftoff pic.twitter.com/R2Pv4Rnb2f — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2024

Tuesday's launch marked the second time that Galileo satellites launched from the United States. In April, the L12 mission flew on another Falcon 9 rocket.

"During the Galileo L12 mission earlier this year, the Falcon 9 booster was expended to provide the additional performance needed to deliver the payload to its orbit," SpaceX wrote on its website.

"Data from that mission informed subtle design and operational changes, including mass reductions and trajectory adjustments, that will allow us to safely recover and reuse this booster."

This was the 22nd launch for Tuesday's Falcon 9 first-stage booster, which landed less than nine minutes after launch on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship that was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

During re-entry, SpaceX admitted it "tested the bounds of recovery" for the booster as conditions were on the higher end over past missions.

"The booster re-entry trajectory resulted in higher heating and more dynamic pressure on the booster than many of our historical landings," SpaceX said, adding that Tuesday's landing will help them "innovate on future vehicle designs to make our vehicles more robust and rapidly reusable."

Falcon 9's first stage lands on the Just Read the Instructions droneship pic.twitter.com/YhH3fP7svM — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2024