Mission Report · Everything Space
Falcon 9 launches TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) from Cape Canaveral SFS
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Block 4 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on 18 Apr 2018 22:51:31 UTC. The flight succeeded.
The flight
The window opened at 22:51 UTC and ran 1 minutes; the vehicle flew at the opening.
The first stage, B1045, was making its 2nd flight.
It landed on Of Course I Still Love You, 302 km downrange.
The payload was bound for High Earth Orbit.
The mission
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a NASA space telescope, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method. TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. The principal goal of the TESS mission is to detect small planets with bright host stars in the solar neighborhood, so that detailed characterizations of the planets and their atmospheres can be performed.
Payload description as recorded by Launch Library 2.
By the numbers
SpaceX has now flown 730 launches in total. Its run of consecutive successful launches stands at 215.
It was the 401st launch from Space Launch Complex 40.
| Liftoff | 18 Apr 2018 22:51:31 UTC |
|---|---|
| Outcome | Launch Successful |
| Vehicle | Falcon 9 Block 4 |
| Provider | SpaceX |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 |
| Target orbit | High Earth Orbit |
| First stage | B1045 (flight 2) |
| Recovery | Landed — Of Course I Still Love You |
Written by Everything Space from Launch Library 2’s record of this flight — every figure above comes from that record. Fetched Sun, 20 Sep 2026 07:49:06 GMT.