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SpaceX Launches ESA's Hera Probe To Dimorphos Asteroid
October 07, 2024
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday(Oct. 7) at 1452 UTC, launched European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft to interplanetary transfer orbit, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Hera will arrive in 2026 at Dimorphos, the target asteroid of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test(DART) mission.

“Planetary defense is an inherently international endeavour, and I am really happy to see ESA's Hera spacecraft at the forefront of Europe’s efforts to help protect Earth," ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a statement after launch. "Hera is a bold step in scaling up ESA’s engagement in planetary defence."

Unlike during typical SpaceX launches, this particular reusable Falcon 9 first stage(or booster 1061) was expended after successful stage separation, because it had to use up all its fuel to launch Hera on its asteroid mission.

"Farewell, 1061, and we thank you," SpaceX's John Insprucker, principal integration engineer, said to the booster after stage separation.

"Due to the additional performance required to deliver Hera to interplanetary transfer orbit, this is the 23rd and final mission for this Falcon 9 first stage booster," SpaceX explained on X. "This first stage previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, Korea 425, Maxar 1, ASBM, and 10 Starlink missions."

The Falcon 9 upper stage deployed Hera to interplanetary transfer orbit about 76 minutes after liftoff, and it has successfully phoned home for its signal acquisition, ESA officials said, delighting astronomer Alan Fitzsimmons, a Hera science team board member. "We've got a working spacecraft," he said. "We're now going back to Didymos and Dimorphos, we'll make those measurements and we'll make the world a safer place from the impact of asteroids."

Hera is currently on its multimillion-mile flight across the solar system, as it heads to the binary asteroid system Didymos, which became famous in September 2022, after NASA smashed its DART spacecraft into Didymos' smaller companion, Dimorphos. That impact altered the orbit of Dimorphos, demonstrating the utility of a planetary defense strategy that could help keep Earth safe from rogue asteroids.

SpaceX explained on X, Monday, "Hera is @ESA’s planetary defense mission that will study the impact NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft had on the Dimorphos asteroid, which launched on Falcon 9 in November 2021. Hera will provide valuable data for future asteroid deflection missions and science to help humanity’s understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.i

On the way in 2025, Hera will swing by Mars to avail itself of a gravity assist for its asteroid trip. The DART mission shortened Dimorphos' orbit by 33 minutes.

Hera will look at the depth and size of the crater that DART gouged out on Dimorphos and confirm the impact's changes on the little moon, if any, against early simulations.

The $398 million Hera spacecraft is accompanied by two smaller cubesats, named Milani and Juventas, which will examine the structure of Dimorphos along with its surface minerals and gravity.

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Trump Threatens Tariffs, After EU Hit Google With $3.5B Antitrust Violations

The European Union has fined Google $3.46 billion for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising market, accusing the company of creating inherent conflicts of interest by controlling both the buy and sell sides of online advertising. In response, US President Donald Trump has threatened to initiate a Section 301 trade investigation, which could lead to retaliatory tariffs, calling the fine "unfair" and "discriminatory" against American companies.

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President Trump reacted swiftly on Truth Social, calling the fine "unfair" and "discriminatory" towards US companies. He claimed the $3.5 billion penalty was taking money that would otherwise go to "American Investments and Jobs" and stated, "Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!" Trump explicitly threatened to start a Section 301 proceeding to "nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies."

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Trump also referenced a previous $17 billion fine against Apple, suggesting it should be reversed He claimed the total fines against Google from the EU now amount to $16.5 billion, including the latest penalty.

The fine marks the fourth antitrust penalty for Google from the EU The investigation focused on Google's dominance in online display advertising, where personalized banners and text ads appear on websites. The EU has previously warned that past penalties and requirements have not effectively curbed anti-competitive practices.

Google has rejected the decision, calling it "wrong" and stating it would appeal, arguing that the fine is unjustified and that the required changes would harm European businesses.

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The timing of Trump's threat is notable, as it comes just a day after he hosted Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, co-founder Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders at a White House dinner to discuss artififical intelligence implications with First Lady Melania Trump. This confrontation adds tension to a recently agreed-upon US-EU trade deal aimed at reducing US tariffs on EU imports.

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The Department of War was established by President George Washington in 1789 and served as the primary agency for the U.S. Army until 1947. In that year, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act, which merged the Department of the Army (formerly the Department of War), the Department of the Navy, and the newly created Department of the Air Force into the National Military Establishment. This entity was renamed the Department of Defense in August 1949.

The recent rebranding is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Hegseth to reverse policies deemed "woke" or politically correct, including reversing the renaming of military bases from Confederate names and renaming a Navy ship previously named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

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500th Falcon Landing: SpaceX Launches Starlink 10-57 Mission

SpaceX successfully launched the Starlink 10-57 mission on Friday, Sept. 5, deploying 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1232 UTC. The Falcon 9 first stage booster(B1069) landed about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the 'Just Read the Instructions' drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, completing its 27th flight, and marking the 500th successful recovery of Falcon, an orbital-class rocket, a significant reusability milestone for SpaceX.

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