The 362kg Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) satellite was launched for NASA by a SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2 FT Block 4 rocket. The Cape Canaveral launch which occurred at 2251 GMT on 18 April 2018, took the satellite into a long elliptical transfer orbit on its way the spacecraft’s final stable high Earth orbit close to the Moon. The Orbital ATK-built TESS will use an array of four cameras to watch out for slight dimming of stars when planets pass in front of them. The widefield nature of these cameras will allow some 200,000 stars to be monitored at a time.
Artist’s impression of NASA’s TESS spacecraft and close up of notional planetary transit across star. Courtesy: NASA
During the launch the reusable Falcon 9v1.2 FT Block 4 first stage separated from the second stage after 2 minutes and 29 seconds of flight before successfully landing on the recovery barge “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket’s expendable Stage 2 was sent into a heliocentric disposal orbit.
