Operator
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryManufacturer
NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryEuropa Clipper Mission
10/14/2024
NASA set a 2021-02-08 deadline for responses to its sources sought solicitation and released a follow-up notice on 2021-02-02 announcing intent to issue a formal request for proposals (RFP) for launching Europa Clipper.
NASA awarded a launch services contract to SpaceX on 2021-07-23 for the 2024-10-01 launch of Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
The Europa Clipper launch services contract awarded to SpaceX is valued at $178,000,000.
NASA’s fiscal year 2021 budget request estimated that using a commercial launch vehicle could save the agency over $1,500,000,000 compared to using a Space Launch System rocket for Europa Clipper.
NASA directed the Europa Clipper project to halt all planning for launching the spacecraft on SLS and to prepare to use a commercial vehicle one month after the passage of the 2021 omnibus bill.
NASA’s fiscal year 2023 budget proposal seeks to delay development of NEO Surveyor by at least two years to 2028 to address cost growth in flagship science programs such as Mars Sample Return and Europa Clipper.
NASA awarded SpaceX a Falcon Heavy contract for the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter in 2024 valued at $178,000,000.
NASA announced in July 2021 that it had selected Falcon Heavy to launch the Europa Clipper mission after discovering potential issues with loads on the spacecraft if launched by SLS.
NASA's planetary science division identified completing Europa Clipper and launching it in October 2024 as its top priority.
Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy during a three-week window that opens 2024-10-10.
Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy during a three-week window that opens 2024-10-10.
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission has a three-week launch window that opens on 2024-10-10 and requires Launch Complex 39A to support a Falcon Heavy launch.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launched NASA’s Europa Clipper mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT on 2024-10-14.
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.
NASA paid $178,000,000 under a 2021 contract for the Falcon Heavy launch of Europa Clipper, which launched 2024-10-14.