No description available.
Launch Date
11/1/2022
Launch Site
KSC LC39A
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Launch Vehicle
Falcon Heavy (Falcon Heavy Family)
USSF-44 was SpaceX’s first direct-to-GEO operational mission requiring the Falcon Heavy upper stage to perform a long-duration coast and engine restart.
The next Falcon Heavy launch, designated USSF-44, is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2021-10-09.
The Space Force postponed USSF-44 and USSF-52 from 2021 to 2022 due to payload readiness and range scheduling issues.
USSF-44 was originally scheduled to launch in 2020 and was delayed multiple times before its 2022-11-01 launch.
USSF-44 was a direct-to-geostationary-orbit launch carrying two Space Force satellites and additional small rideshare payloads.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off 2022-11-01 at 9:41 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida carrying the U.S. Space Force USSF-44 mission to geostationary Earth orbit.
The USSF-44 mission is one of several Northrop Grumman payloads set to launch through the end of 2022 supporting customer missions that span human exploration, scientific discovery, communications, and national security.
Northrop Grumman provided hardware and software platforms on USSF-44 to deliver multiple missions for customers including highly complex payloads from multiple industry partners.
The previous Falcon Heavy launch supported the USSF-44 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on 2022-11-01.
USSF-44 is the first Falcon Heavy to launch since June 2019.
SpaceX plans to recover the Falcon Heavy side boosters from USSF-44 and refurbish them for a subsequent U.S. Space Force launch later 2022.
USSF-44 flew to geostationary Earth orbit on 2022-11-01 and was Falcon Heavy’s first national security launch.
The Northrop Grumman-built LDPE-2 launched aboard the USSF-44 mission in November 2022.
The side boosters used on USSF-67 were the same boosters used for USSF-44, which launched from the Eastern Range on 2022-11-01.
Northrop Grumman built LDPE-2, which launched aboard the USSF-44 mission in November 2022.
The Linuss experiment flew to geostationary Earth orbit in November on the USSF-44 national security mission launched by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy.
The Falcon Heavy side boosters that supported the Jupiter-3 mission had previously flown on the USSF-44 mission in November and the USSF-67 mission earlier in 2023.
The pair of Falcon Heavy side boosters used on USSF-52 completed their fifth launch and landing together after previously supporting USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission.
The Falcon Heavy first-stage boosters supporting the Europa Clipper launch flew their sixth and final mission on 2024-10-14 after previously launching NASA’s Psyche, USSF-44, USSF-52, USSF-67, and Hughes JUPITER 3.