SpaceX Launch for NASA’s IXPE Mission Set for Dec. 9

Image: @SpaceX on Twitter

SpaceX (@SpaceX) on Saturday announced via Twitter that the company has successfully completed the static fire test for Falcon 9’s upcoming launch of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, and is now eyeing Thursday, December 9 at 1:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 p.m. PT for liftoff.

Static fire test complete – targeting Thursday, December 9 at 1:00 a.m. ET for Falcon 9’s launch of @NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 4, 2021

In a follow-up tweet, SpaceX noted that the IXPE mission will be the company’s fifth launch to date for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Launch Services Program. On Friday, NASA announced plans to contract SpaceX for up to three additional crew flights to the International Space Station (ISS).

This will also be the fifth flight for this Falcon 9’s first stage booster, which previously supported launch of Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, and CRS-23 pic.twitter.com/uHHongbsk1

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 4, 2021

SpaceX also revealed that this is going to be the fifth flight for the reusable first stage Falcon 9 booster being used for the launch. The booster previously supported launches for the Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, and CRS-23 missions.

Last month, SpaceX launched NASA’s experimental Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which aims to determine whether the trajectory of asteroids can be altered in a meaningful and controlled manner by colliding with them.

SpaceX has also completed the first-ever 6-engine static fire test for its next-generation Starship rocket, which is currently awaiting regulatory approval for its first orbital flight.