COMPLETED MISSION
'Back to Base'
Mission Details
Mission Name: 'Back to Base'
Mission Type: Booster Guidance Return Test Flight
Vehicle: Nexus 2R Rocket
Launch Site: LC-5, Pacific Space Center
Launch Date: Friday, June 14, 2024
Liftoff: 1:30 pm PhST
Payload: Data, 6 onboard cubesats
Mission Update
The second flight of Nexus made major strides to bring us closer to a rapidly reusable future. Its accomplishments provided data to drive improvements as we continued rapidly developing Nexus into a reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
During the flight, the booster reached a specific altitude before executing a controlled descent back to Droo. Key objectives included validating the advanced navigation systems, testing aerodynamic control surfaces, and ensuring the reliability of landing algorithms. Achieving these goals represented a significant leap forward in reducing launch costs and enhancing the sustainability of space missions.
Payload
The payload of the mission is designed to gather as much data as possible to further refine future Nexus variants and the overall flight program. Additionally, it includes six experimental cubesats tasked with collecting data on vacuum conditions.
Launch Profile
The following graphic shows the flight profile for the key mission milestones.
Livestream
Watch the webcast replay of this mission on our YouTube and website.
no commentary would be present on the webcast
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