Perpetual SpaceX Thread (next launch 2018-03-29 - Iridium NEXT (Flight 5))

[tynopik]

It's not really worth starting a new thread for each launch since they're so routine now

completed:
2018-03-30 7:14am pdt (Vandenberg) - Iridium NEXT (Flight 5) - mission success, no booster recovery attempt, fairing recovery failed
2018-04-02 16:30 local (Cape Canaveral) CRS SpX-14 (ISS resupply mission) - successful launch
2018-04-18 - NASA TESS - mission success, booster landed safely on ship
2018-05-11 4:14 p.m. EDT Bangabandhu-1 (telecom for Bangladesh) - mission success, booster landed safely on ship
2018-05-22 Iridium NEXT 6/GRACE-FO - mission success
2018-06-04 SES-12 - mission success
2018-06-29 CRS SpX-15 - mission success
2018-07-22 Telstar 19 Vantage - mission success, booster recovered
2018-07-25 Iridium NEXT (Flight 7) - mission success, booster recovered

up next:
2018-08-07 Merah Putih (Telkom 4)

 

[tynopik]

crash of the falcon heavy center core

you can see the one engine that relit, but the two others failed to do so, causing it to crash into the ocean and damage the landing ship

 

[tynopik]

 

[feralkid]

Thanks...still get tingly watching.

 

[Thebobo]

Good call.

 

[tynopik]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/11/elo...dy-for-short-trips-by-first-half-of-2019.html

The billionaire told attendees that "we are building the first Mars, or interplanetary ship, and I think well be able to short trips, flights by first half of next year."

Mindful of elevating expectations too high, Musk hedged a bit. "Although sometimes, my timelines are a little, you know..." he said to laughter.

SpaceX's BFR rocket system is expected to have capabilities for interplanetary travel, and be fully reusable. A flight will cost less than the initial Falcon 1 flights, which Musk pegged in the $5 to $6 million range.

having test flights of BFR within just over a year is quite ambitious, especially considering I'm not even sure they've even fired a full sized version of their raptor engine yet (may be wrong on that)

 

[tynopik]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02967-2

A SpaceX rocket blows a hole in the atmosphere

A rocket launched in 2017 punched an enormous hole in Earth’s upper atmosphere that might have temporarily disrupted Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation.

. . .

The Falcon 9’s passage generated the first known circular acoustic shock waves made by a rocket. The team says that the waves probably owe their unique shape to the rocket’s unusual, nearly vertical trajectory into space. Earlier launches at lower angles produced V-shaped patterns.

The rocket exhaust also carved a 900-kilometre-wide hole in the ionospheric plasma. That disruption may have interfered with GPS signals travelling though the ionosphere to Earth, say the authors, who did not try to detect whether the predicted GPS errors occurred.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/40750271222/in/dateposted/

On February 28, SpaceX completed a demonstration of their ability to recover the crew and capsule after a nominal water splashdown.

SpaceX completed a demonstration of their ability to recover the crew and capsule after a nominal water splashdown. This marks an important recovery milestone and joint test. The timeline requirement from splashdown to crew egress onboard the ship is one hour, and the recovery team demonstrated that they can accomplish this operation under worst-case conditions in under 45 minutes. Further improvements are planned to shorten the recovery time even more as the team works to build a process that is safe, repeatable, and efficient.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/...tary-confirmed-as-second-falcon-heavy-launch/

Rideshare mission for U.S. military confirmed as second Falcon Heavy launch

More than two dozen satellites from the U.S. military, NASA and research institutions will ride into orbit on SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket launch, a mission currently scheduled for liftoff in June, a military spokesperson said.

. . .

Known as the Space Test Program-2, or STP-2, mission, the Falcon Heavy launch will launch with 25 spacecraft inside its nose cone, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center.

. . .

the target launch date is currently no earlier than June from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

. . .

Customer payloads will ride on future Falcon Heavy rockets, beginning with the Air Force-managed STP-2 mission, slated to loft small satellites for government and university builders and operators.

Passengers aboard the STP-2 flight include six weather research satellites — each weighing less than 500 pounds (225 kilograms) — part of the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate-2, or COSMIC-2, program. The joint U.S.-Taiwanese COSMIC-2 program is a follow-on to six microsatellites launched in 2006 to measure temperature and humidity conditions in the atmosphere by monitoring the attenuation of GPS navigation signals.

The measurements will be fed into numerical prediction models used by forecasters worldwide. NOAA and the Taiwanese government have partnered on the COSMIC-2 program, also known as Formosat 7.

 

[Thebobo]

 

[tynopik]

https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/978795278118653952

Positive update to our satellite and launch delay. Just been apprised there has been a technical resolution; satellites and F9 are in great shape and ready to go! Was ground harness test cable issue - now fixed. Launch now pulled back to Friday, 3/30 at 7:14am pdt! #GoTeam!

 

[tynopik]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/spacex-has-a-busy-weekend-ahead-of-it/

SpaceX has a busy weekend ahead of it
Company will attempt to launch two used boosters.

SpaceX has launched five rockets so far during the first quarter of 2018, but now the company will amp up that pace by tryng to go for two launches in four days. If successful with these flights, the cadence would put the company two months ahead of 2017's record pace, when SpaceX launched a total of 18 rockets. Last year, SpaceX didn't launch its seventh rocket until June 3.

The company's first attempt comes Friday, when SpaceX is scheduled to lift a batch of satellites for the Iridium NEXT mobile communications fleet. This is the fifth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites SpaceX will launch for Iridium. This flight will occur from the company's launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California. Then, on Monday, SpaceX plans to launch its 14th cargo supply mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

. . .

After these flights, SpaceX has a couple more missions planned for the month of April, including the launch of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite on April 16 and the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite at the end of the month. The latter flight is much anticipated, as it should see the debut of the aforementioned Block 5 version of the Falcon 9 rocket.

 

[Thebobo]

https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/978795278118653952

Positive update to our satellite and launch delay. Just been apprised there has been a technical resolution; satellites and F9 are in great shape and ready to go! Was ground harness test cable issue - now fixed. Launch now pulled back to Friday, 3/30 at 7:14am pdt! #GoTeam!

Looks like I have to power up the projector at work

 

[Darwin333]

Nice! I wonder if SpaceX uses the same crew to launch from both coasts? If so they will have a very busy schedule with travel and adjusting to the time difference.

 

[tynopik]

Nice! I wonder if SpaceX uses the same crew to launch from both coasts? If so they will have a very busy schedule with travel and adjusting to the time difference.

no, completely independent

theoretically they could launch from both coasts simultaneously

 

[tynopik]

you know how people scribble messages on dirty cars with their fingers?

https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/979026027690242050

A few weeks ago, @Iridiumboss made a special visit to our old friend from #Iridium3, in the midst of preparations for #Iridium5. In the soot of the #Iridium3 booster the most eloquent, compelling and Shakespeare-esque message was written, destined for space... #IridiumRocks!!

 

[PottedMeat]

huh, the 2nd stage video will be cut off due to NOAA restrictions?


lol

 

[tynopik]

huh, the 2nd stage video will be cut off due to NOAA restrictions?


lol

@NOAAComms

We are looking into questions on the broadcast interruption of this morning’s @SpaceX launch of #Iridium5. We will be in touch when we know more.

https://twitter.com/NOAAComms/status/979738481231650817



so far 7 of 10 sats have been successfully deployed

The Iridium Phoenix – Decoding the 5th Launch Patch

 

[JEDI]

It's not really worth starting a new thread for each launch since they're so routine now

up next:
2018-03-30 7:14am pdt (Vandenberg) - Iridium NEXT (Flight 5)
- this is a reused booster (the tenth time a booster has been reused) but there will be no landing attempt this time
live webcast


2018-04-02 16:30 local (Cape Canaveral) CRS SpX-14 (ISS resupply mission)

great idea in creating a general SpaceX thread.

did they catch the $6m nose cone in a net using a high speed boat?
and how fast does that boat go?

 

[tynopik]

did they catch the $6m nose cone in a net using a high speed boat?
and how fast does that boat go?

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/979764513233715200

GPS guided parafoil twisted, so fairing impacted water at high speed. Air wake from fairing messing w parafoil steering. Doing helo drop tests in next few weeks to solve.

all 10 satellites successfully deployed, mission success

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Air wake from fairing messing w parafoil steering.

I hate when that happens.

 

[JEDI]

ahh.. so even if the speedboat were able to be under it, the nose cone traveling at near terminal velocity would smash thru the steel mesh net and probably the boat itself

 

[tynopik]

They were apparently able to recover at least one of the fairings

SpaceX returns intact fairing half on clawboat in post-launch surprise

 

[Thebobo]

t-minus 6 minutes!

 

[Thebobo]

Launch went well no booster landing and no fairing because its carrying the dragon capsule. Dragon and ISS docking ~4am wednesday.

 

[tynopik]

next launch is April 16, 2018 at 1832 EDT/2232 UTC

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. TESS will launch aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, with liftoff targeted for August 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The total cost for NASA to launch TESS is approximately $87 million, which includes the launch service, spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry, and other launch support requirements.

TESS’s science goal is to detect transiting exoplanets orbiting nearby bright stars. During a three-year funded science mission, TESS will sample hundreds of thousands of stars in order to detect a large sample of exoplanets, with an emphasis on discovering Earth- and super-Earth-sized planets in the solar neighborhood.

The Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for management and oversight of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch services for TESS. The TESS Mission is led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with oversight by the Explorers Program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

 

[Thebobo]

check out this cool time lapse of the dragon capsule docking.

Little of the "open the pod bay door hal" look to it. ~

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1923659357666986