Space Agency's Hera mission is poised for an inaugural launch on October 7, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, utilizing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket . This mission aims to investigate the asteroid Dimorphos, which was previously impacted by NASA's DART spacecraft in a landmark test of planetary defense strategies. The Hera probe will analyze the crater created by DART and assess Dimorphos's internal structure, thereby contributing critical insights into future asteroid deflection efforts
“The FAA has determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a reoccurrence of the mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission,” the agency stated. The second stage will propel Hera on an Earth-escape trajectory and thus will not reenter.
FAA added, though, that it is not clearing other Falcon 9 missions where the second stage does a deorbit burn. “Safety will drive the timeline for the FAA to complete its review of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mishap investigation report and when the agency will authorize Falcon 9 to return to regular operations,” it stated.
SpaceX has completed that mishap report and delivered it to the FAA on Oct. 4. The FAA stated it approved the Falcon 9 for “one mission only,” the Hera launch, the same day.
Didymos. The binary asteroid system was previously visited by NASA's DART spacecraft, which intentionally collided with Dimorphos in 2022 and changed its orbit around Didymos as a demonstration of a planetary defense technique designed to change the trajectory of a potentially hazardous asteroid.
If all goes well, Hera will arrive at Dimorphos in late 2026. The spacecraft will evaluate the size and depth of the crater created by DART, as well as the efficiency of the impact.
The FAA did not address plans to launch the Europa Clipper atop a Falcon Heavy rocket Thursday for its long-awaited mission to Jupiter and its ice-covered moon Europa.
Like the Hera mission, the Clipper's upper stage, the same one used for all Falcon-family rockets, will not return to Earth. Instead, it will burn all of its propellants to accelerate the probe to an Earth-escape velocity of 25,000 mph.
But FAA clearance to proceed, assuming it comes in time, likely will be a moot point, at least in the near term. It is unlikely the Clipper and its Falcon Heavy rocket will be moved to the Kennedy Space Center launch pad until after Milton has passed through the area.
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