An Earth-observation satellite built for Spain and two experimental satellites for internet service were successfully launched into orbit from California at dawn Thursday, creating a brief light show as it arced over the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, reusing a first stage that had flown on a previous launch, lifted off at 6:17 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
A SpaceX rocket carrying a Spanish satellite is seen over the sky in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. The rocket created a brief light show over Southern California after blasting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Falcon 9 rose above coastal clouds into the dawn sky Thursday and arced southward over the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Californians were hoping for a repeat of the spectacle that occurred during a Dec. 22 Falcon 9 launch during exceptionally clear twilight conditions, but this time the sky was much brighter, making the plume less brilliant.
The Falcon's first stage was used to launch a satellite for Taiwan last August and was recovered by landing it on a drone ship in the Pacific. This time there was no effort to recover the first stage and it fell into the sea.
The first stage was an early version of the Falcon 9 and SpaceX is "making room" for a new version that will be qualified for rapid reuse many times, said Tom Praderio, an avionics firmware engineer serving as launch spokesman.
SpaceX, however, was attempting to recover the fairing — the aerodynamic covering that protects the satellite during the early phase of launch and is usually discarded after reaching altitudes where the atmosphere's density is low.
A SpaceX rocket carrying a Spanish satellite lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. The rocket created a brief light show over Southern California after blasting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. (Michael Peterson/Vandenberg Air Force Base via AP)
SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the fairing system deployed a parafoil and there was an attempt to catch it during descent but that failed. He posted a photo of a ship with a net structure on the stern that he referred to as "a giant catcher's mitt."
"Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent," Musk tweeted. Recovering and reusing major pieces of rockets is one of Musk's key strategies.
The rocket's primary payload was a satellite named PAZ for Spanish satellite operator Hisdesat. It carries an advanced instrument for making radar images of Earth for government and commercial purposes, as well as sensors for tracking ships and weather.
The satellite was designed for a 5½-year mission, orbiting Earth 15 times each day at an altitude of 514 kilometers (319 miles), covering the entire planet every 24 hours. It joins two other radar satellites in the same orbit covering the same ground, increasing acquisition of data.
The rocket also deployed two small test satellites for a proposed system that would bring internet access to remote areas. The "Starlink" system would require thousands of satellites operating in low Earth orbit.
Musk tweeted that the satellites were named Tintin A and B and were communicating with Earth stations.
"Tintin A & B will attempt to beam 'hello world' in about 22 hours when they pass near LA," Musk added.
Praderio, the launch spokesman, said that even if the two satellites work as planned, "we still have considerable technical work ahead of us to design and deploy" the constellation.
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — California will open its first new state park in a decade this summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials announced Monday, as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands.
The 1,600-acre (648-hectare) Dos Rios tract in the state's crop-rich Central Valley is set to open June 12 as California's 281st state park. Located near the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers, it is surrounded by vast almond orchards and dairy pastures. Californians will be able to use the park for hiking and picnicking, with plans for swimming and boating access in the future.
Ali Manzo, a Central Valley native and California State Parks interpreter, said the new park will help bring people together and allow them to develop a deeper respect for nature.
“Dos Rios is not just a park," Manzo said. "It's a community treasure that offers peace, adventure and a vital connection to nature.”
Manzo joined the governor, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta to announce the new park.
The Earth-Day announcement comes as Newsom unveiled new targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions on natural lands. The plan sets out to reduce the risks of wildfires, expand forest cover and restore wetlands. Newsom said the targets would move the state closer toward achieving its mandate of carbon neutrality, meaning it will remove as many carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits, by 2045.
“These are stretch goals, unquestionably,” the Democratic governor said. “The good news is we're making real progress.”
Newsom did not say what success would look like for implementing the targets. His administration did not release an estimate for how much the plan would cost the state, which is facing a massive projected budget deficit.
The targets come out of a law Newsom signed in 2022 requiring the state Natural Resources Agency to work with other agencies to create a plan to reduce emissions from natural lands.
The plan aims to reduce the risks of wildfires across nearly 53,000 square miles (138,000 square kilometers) of land by 2045 through methods that include burning vegetation that can make wildfires more intense. The state also plans to plant 4.2 million trees, manage and restore 1.6 million acres (647,000 hectares) of grasslands, and protect more than 233,000 acres (94,000 hectares) of wetlands and seagrasses along that timeline.
California has spent about $9.6 billion since 2020 on efforts address climate change using the state's natural lands.
Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot called the plan “a big deal” because the state has focused much of its climate policy on reducing emissions from other areas, such as the energy sector, and less so from natural lands.
“We know we have to reduce pollution significantly, but we also need to improve the health of our landscapes to actually remove carbon dioxide from the air,” Crowfoot said.
In recent years, the state has approved the eventual phasing out of the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars, lawn mowers, large trucks that transport goods through ports and trains powered by diesel.
Sophie Austin reported from Sacramento. Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @sophieadanna
Gov. Gavin Nerwsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom plant a valley oak during the dedication for the new Dos Rios State Park in the Central Valley near Modesto, Calif., Monday, April 22, 2024. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta speaks during the dedication of the new Dos Rios State Park in the Central Valley, near Modesto, Calif., Monday, April 22, 2024. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
Gov. Gavin Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom laugh during a speech by Dolores Huerta during the dedication of the new Dos Rios State Park in the Central Valley, near Modesto, Calif., Monday, April 22, 2024. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks during a ground breaking ceremony at the Dos Rios property, in Modesto, Calif. on Monday April 22, 2024. The property is located in the state's crop-rich Central Valley region, where the state will open its first new state park in a decade this summer. The announcement comes as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
Civil Rights activist Dolores Huerta speaks during a ground breaking ceremony where the state will open its first new state park in a decade at the Dos Rios property, in Modesto, Calif. on Monday April 22, 2024. The announcement comes as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
Civil Rights activist Dolores Huerta participates in a ground breaking ceremony where the state will open its first new state park in a decade at the Dos Rios property, in Modesto, Calif. on Monday April 22, 2024. The announcement comes as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
First partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom plants a tree during ground breaking ceremony where the state will open the first new state park in a decade on Monday April 22, 2024 at the Dos Rios property, in Modesto, Calif. The announcement comes as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom breaks ground at a new state park in a decade on Monday April 22, 2024 at the Dos Rios property, in Modesto, Calif. The announcement comes as the state sets targets for cutting planet-warming emissions on natural lands. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)
