A country less than half the size of Ventura County is sending its first Earth observation satellite into orbit from the Central Coast. It’s a big move for the tiny Western European country of Luxembourg.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the country’s NAOS satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday morning.
NAOS stands for National Advanced Optical System. The satellite will orbit the Earth 15 times a day, sending back images for use by Luxembourg and NATO. Luxembourg is a NATO member.
The satellite will also be used for humanitarian projects like disaster tracking and environmental research.
The launch window opens at 11:53 a.m. There are also seven other small satellites on board the Falcon 9 rocket.
The reusable first-stage booster is scheduled to land at Vandenberg Space Force Base, so there could be sonic booms during takeoff and landing.
