NASA selects SpaceX to launch Dragonfly mission to Titan

Dragonfly mission NASA SpaceX Titan Falcon Heavy

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the Dragonfly mission using a Falcon Heavy rocket, with a target launch window starting no earlier than July 2028. The mission involves a nuclear-powered rotorcraft designed to explore Saturn's moon, Titan.

Dragonfly is intended to fly through Titan's dense atmosphere, land, and collect samples to analyze the moon's complex environment, which features weather, seasons, and liquid methane and ethane instead of water. The spacecraft will act as a mobile laboratory, moving between different sites to conduct scientific research. The journey to Titan is expected to take approximately six and a half years, with an estimated arrival in late 2034. The launch services contract with SpaceX is valued at approximately $256.6 million.

Entities

Dragonfly · Falcon Heavy · NASA · SpaceX · Titan

Sources

NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy in July 2028 and spend six and a half years crossing the solar system to land on a moon that has weather, seasons, rivers and seas — with methane and ethane flowing across its surface instead of water. [spacedaily.com]

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