Europa Clipper has been encapsulated inside its Falcon Heavy fairing
Europa Clipper has been encapsulated inside its Falcon Heavy fairing
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1842333550974247407
Teams encapsulated @NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft into Falcon Heavy's fairing earlier this week ahead of next week's Falcon Heavy launch from pad 39A in Florida
I'm so thankful, they gave us the opportunity to put our names on that thing. My GF really loved that as a birthday surprise.
That's so cool!!
The fairing looks spotless. I guess they're using a new one, at least partly for reasons of cleanliness? (Planetary protection and all that.)
With boosters we're at the point where "flight proven" is no longer just a euphemism for "second hand". I've felt that way myself for a few years. And NASA basically confirmed they agree a couple of months ago, when the brand new booster intended for Crew-9 was given a Starlink mission first, increasing confidence in it after a minor problem during transport. (IIRC)
But I'm not sure if we're at that point with fairings. Or even if we'll ever be.
Looks freaking cool!