SpaceX aims to launch the European Space Agency’s Euclid Space Telescope from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 1 at 11:11 a.m. ET (15:11 UTC).
Originally to be launched on a Russian Soyuz 2.1 rocket, Russia’s illegal aggression on Ukraine forced ESA’s hand to change launch providers, and then in October 2022, SpaceX chose a Falcon 9 to launch the telescope.
Euclid will be launched 1.5 million km from Earth to Lagrange Point 2, in the same region as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Euclid will be used to create a 3D map of the universe. Uses time as a 3rd dimension. The telescope will collect data up to 10 billion light-years in both visible and infrared light.
Euclid’s Journey L2 (Courtesy European Space Agency)
This is the 2nd long-distance mission launched by SpaceX, behind the DART mission, which was sent 11 million km to intercept the asteroid moon Dimorphos.
Euclid arrived by ship from Cannes, France, to Port Canaveral, Florida, on May 3 and was then delivered to Astrotech for fuel. On June 16 the spacecraft was loaded with 140 kg of hydrazine and 70 kg of nitrogen, which would provide enough fuel for a 6-year mission. It was fitted to the Falcon 9 payload adapter on June 23rd and will be attached to the Falcon 9 payload fairing this week if not already completed.
After launch on Falcon 9, Euclid will use its 10 hydrazine-fueled thrusters to reach Lagrange Point 2, which will take ~30 days, and upon arrival, 6 nitrogen cold gas thrusters will be used to maintain the spacecraft. A standard platform for capturing images.
Euclid wasn’t the only mission transferred to the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. HERA, a mission to study the effects of a DART impact on Dimorphos, has been transferred from ESA’s new Ariane 6 rocket, which has been delayed until late 2023.
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