SpaceX Will Deliver NASA's Dragonfly Helicopter To Titan, A Moon From Saturn

NASA's Dragonfly/DOK helicopter illustration

JAKARTA The US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has finally chosen a launch service provider for the Dragonfly mission. The space company selected to carry out this mission is SpaceX.

Dragonfly is a helicopter designed to explore Titan, the moon of Saturn's planet. Dragonfly's launch mission is under NASA's New Frontiers Program and is scheduled to be flown in mid-2028.

"Dragonfly is the fourth mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington," NASA said in a recent report.

NASA has submitted a contract worth USD 256.6 million (IDR 4.082 trillion) to SpaceX.

Dragonfly's mission management contract includes launch services, mission costs, and the use of the Falcon Heavy rocket to deliver the helicopter to space.

The launch period will open from July 5 to July 25, 2028. The plan is for Dragonfly to take off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, NASA's flight facility in Florida.

When Dragonfly lands on Titan, this drone will conduct explorations in various regions, similar to the Perseverance ride on Mars. However, Perseverance doesn't fly like Dragonfly.

While exploring Titan, Dragonfly will collect samples and characterize the feasibility of its stalled residence using scientific payloads from partners around the world. Dragonfly will also investigate prebiotic chemical developments on the Moon.

"Carbon-rich material and liquid water may have mixed for a long time (on Titan)," NASA said. "(Dragonfly will also) look for chemical indications whether hydrocarbon-based life ever existed in Saturn."