SpaceX will conduct first mission of 2023 on Jan 3 to launch 114 satellites; Watch LIVE

After an immensely successful 2022, SpaceX is kicking off 2023 with its first mission on January 3. The Elon Musk-led firm will launch its reusable Falcon 9 rocket at a scheduled time of 8:26 pm IST from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Named Transporter-6, Falcon 9's sixth dedicated small sat rideshare mission, it will see the two-stage rocket lift off with 114 payloads. SpaceX says the payloads include CubeSats, microsats, picosats, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time.

The first stage Falcon 9 booster being used for this mission has flown for over a dozen times. According to SpaceX, it has previously supported GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33/G-34 and 10 Starlink missions. Once the booster pushes the second stage laden with the satellites into orbit, it will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

One of the primary payloads in this mission is the EOS SAT-1, which has been developed by EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA) and is the first of seven agriculture-focussed satellite constellation, Space.com reported. According to EOSDA's statement, its satellite is designed to scan roughly one million square kilometres of land which would help in examining the health of the crops. This would allow farmers to better design methods to care for their crops and extract other benefits such as reduce carbon dioxide emissions, limit energy consumption and water usage. Once EOSDA's constellation is complete, the satellites would scan around 12 millon sq. km every day by 2025.

Where to watch the launch live?

You can watch the launch live on SpaceX’s official YouTube channel when the live webcast for Transporter-6 begins 10 minutes prior to the lift-off. You can also tune in to the company’s official website, Twitter handle or other social media platforms for live viewing. 

SpaceX's 2023 plans

Apart from dozens of satellite launches, SpaceX will conduct manned missions to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). In mid-February, the company will launch NASA's Crew-6 mission including two NASA astronauts, Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev from the Kennedy Space Centre. Notably, Al Neyadi will be the first Arab astronaut launching on a long-term mission to the ISS. Crew-6 will be followed by Crew-7 and two astronauts-- NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA's Andreas Mogensen have been selected as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. These two will be joined by two other astronauts whose names and the date of launch are yet to be announced. 

In addition to this, SpaceX will also conduct its Starship rocket's first-ever orbital launch followed by two crewed launches. The first is for the dearMoon project, which has been sponsored by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to take nine eight artists for a week-long trip around the Moon aboard Starship. And the second is the Polaris Dawn which would launch a crew of four private astronauts in the highest orbital mission ever.