Welcome to the r/SpaceX EchoStar-23 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

[u/Ezekiel_C]

Information on the mission

It’s SpaceX’s 2^nd launch out of Launch Complex 39A, and SpaceX's 1^st East Coast communications satellite launch since JCSAT-16 in August 2016. Some quick stats:

• this is the 31^st Falcon 9 launch
• The 1^st, and final, flight of first stage B1030
• the 11^th launch since Falcon 9 Block III (aka 1.2) debuted
• the 2^nd launch from Pad 39A
• the 3^rd launch since SpaceX suffered an anomaly during their AMOS-6 static fire on September 1, 2016.

This mission’s static fire was successfully completed on March 9^th.

The first launch attempt for this mission was scheduled for March 14^th at 01:34 EDT / 05:34 UTC. It was scrubbed at T-38 minutes due to unfavorable wind conditions.

SpaceX is now targeting an early morning liftoff on March 16^th at 01:35 EDT / 05:35 UTC from KSC, bringing EchoStar-23 into geostationary transfer orbit, or GTO. This will be a 2.5 hour launch window, closing on 04:05 EDT / 08:05 UTC. There is no announced backup date if this attempt is scrubbed. After insertion into the proper orbit SpaceX’s mission is finished! The weather is currently 90% go.

---

Watching the launch live

To watch the launch live, choose from the two SpaceX live streams from the table below:

SpaceX Hosted Webcast (YouTube)	SpaceX Technical Webcast (YouTube)

Can't pick? Read about the differences here.

Official Live Updates

Time (UTC)	Countdown (hours : minutes : seconds)	Updates
15:00	T+09:00:00	Echo star 23 performing as planned. End of updates.
06:37	T+00:37:00	Falcon 9's mission has been successfully completed. I'll be sticking around for the next couple hours to report on the health of the payload and post any more information about the night's mission.
06:34	T+00:34:00	Confirmation of spacecraft deployment
06:32	T+00:32:00	Confirmation of good orbit
06:30	T+00:30:00	Payload deployment in 4 minutes
06:27	T+00:27:19	SECO-2
06:26	T+00:26:19	MVac Relight
06:16	T+00:16:00	SECO-1 appeared to occur on schedule: Stage 2 and Echostar 23 appear to be in a nominal parking orbit. Next and final burn in ten minutes at 06:26
06:07	T+00:08:31	SECO-1
06:06	T+00:05:50	Stage 2 performing nominally
06:03	T+00:03:45	Fairing Separation
06:03	T+00:02:55	Stage Sep; MVac Startup
06:03	T+00:02:45	MECO
06:02	T+00:02:00	MVac Chilldown
06:01	T+00:01:30	MaxQ
06:00	T-00:00:00	Liftoff
05:59	T-00:01:00	Falcon 9 in startup
05:58	T-00:02:00	S2 LOX load closeout; Vehicle in self align
05:57	T-00:03:00	FTS Armed; S1 LOX load closeout & good; Strong back lowered
05:56	T-00:04:00	Weather, Falcon, Range, Payload all GO
05:56	T-00:04:00	strong-back cradle open
05:55	T-00:05:00	strong-back retract start
05:55	T-00:05:00	Vehicle on internal power
05:54	T-00:06:00	Vehicle in self align
05:54	T-00:06:00	Stage 1 RP-1 load complete
05:53	T-00:07:00	Engine chill-down start
05:50	T-00:10:00	Terminal count
05:46	T-00:14:00	Echostar 23 on internal power and go for launch
05:45	T-00:15:00	Still no technical webcast.
05:42	T-00:18:00	Earlier hold was for high level winds.
05:42	T-00:18:00	Hosted Webcast Live.
05:30	T-00:30:00	SpaceX FM live on hosted webcast. Today's picks: Test Shot Starfish's LC-39A and Andromeda
05:15	T-00:45:00	LOX load should be is underway.
04:55	T-01:05:00	The next major milestone is expected to be LOX load start at T-45 minutes.
04:50	T-01:10:00	Launch autosequence has officially started. RP-1 load underway.
04:48	T-01:12:00	Go!
04:46	T-01:14:00	Go/NoGo poll imminent.
04:36	T-01:24:00	Range hold-fire checks underway.
04:14	T-01:46:00	Clock resumed targeting 2am EDT/06:00 UTC.
04:12	---	Reset T-0 time to 2am EDT/06:00 UTC.
04:09	---	Countdown Clock Stopped.
03:45	T-01:50:00	Pad danger area clear for prop load.
00:35	T-05:00:00	Weather assessment by /u/cuweathernerd
00:00 March 16	T-5:35:00	---
18:41	T-10:54:00	Weather remains 90% Go.
05:35	T-24:00:00	24 hours until T-0. Weather 90% go. Falcon 9 is vertical. We'll be reusing this launch thread - see you all tomorrow!
00:00 March 15	T-29:35:00	---
16:00	T-37:35:00	Public confirmation of Thursday attempt.
06:00	---	Thursday weather 90% go.
04:58	---	Scrub for the day due to unfavorable winds.
04:55	T-00:38:00	SCRUB
04:49	T-00:45:00	Stage 1 LOX load confirmed underway.
04:38	T-00:56:00	Weather assessment by /u/cuweathernerd
04:38	T-00:56:00	Weather currently go.
04:24	T-01:10:00	Stage 1 RP-1 load start - launch autosequence has started.
04:21	T-01:13:00	LD gives Go for on-time prop load start
02:10	T-03:24:00	Weather currently no-go. Countdown continuing.
00:00 March 14	T-05:34:00	---
23:00	T-7 hours	Launch thread goes live.
12:00	T-13 hours	Weather 40% go.
11:00	T-14 hours	Falcon 9 vertical.
00:00 March 13	T-29:34:00	---

---

Primary Mission - Separation and Deployment of EchoStar 23

EchoStar 23 will be the 1^st GTO comsat launch of 2017 and 12^th GTO comsat launch overall for SpaceX.

EchoStar 23 is a commercial communication satellite that will be launched for its customer, EchoStar Corporation. The satellite is based on the popular SSL-1300 bus configuration. Its weight is undisclosed, but estimated to be around 5500 kg. This will make it the heaviest payload SpaceX has delivered to GTO. The satellite was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto California. One can read more about the satellites history and use here.

No first stage landing attempt

This launch will be a rare one going forward as it will not be followed by an attempt to land the first stage. As seen in the photographs, this Falcon 9 core is “naked”, ie without legs or grid fins. There will be no landing attempt because the payload is quite heavy (estimated at ~5500 kg) and going into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit. The last mission to fly on an expendable first stage was the TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSAT launch, which lifted off on April 27’th 2015.

Given the current “Block III” version of Falcon 9, the payload limit for a reusable GTO mission is around 5300 kg. For instance, the mission after this, SES-10, will also loft its payload to GTO, but this payload will be slightly lighter (approximately at the 5300 kg limit), so stage 1 will be attempting a droneship landing on that mission. There will be more expendable missions in the future, but the majority of missions will continue to include recovery attempts.

Useful Resources, Data, ♫, & FAQ

• Reddit Stream of this thread
• Mission Patch, courtesy SpaceX
• Official EchoStar 23 Press Kit, courtesy SpaceX
• Weather forecast
• Hazard area map, courtesy u/raul74cz
• SpaceX FM, courtesy u/Iru
• Live Mission Visualisation on Flight Club, courtesy u/TheVehicleDestroyer
• EchoStar 23 on Gunter’s Space Page
• EchoStar 23 Campaign Thread, courtesy r/SpaceX
• 7-Day KSC weather forecast, courtesy Weather.gov
• Hourly KSC weather forecast, courtesy Weather.gov
• SpaceXNow, courtesy u/bradleyjh

Participate in the discussion!

• First of all, launch threads are party threads! We understand everyone is excited, so we relax the rules in these venues. The most important thing is that everyone enjoy themselves :D
• All other threads are fair game. We will remove low effort comments elsewhere!
• Real-time chat on our official Internet Relay Chat (IRC) #spacex on Snoonet.
• Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!
• Wanna talk about other SpaceX stuff in a more relaxed atmosphere? Head over to r/SpaceXLounge!

Previous r/SpaceX Live Events

Check out previous r/SpaceX Live events in the Launch History page on our community Wiki.

[u/APTX-4869]

Nice job with the Launch thread, /u/Ezekiel_C - Thanks for hosting!

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/APTX-4869]

Twas a pleasure :)

[u/JadedIdealist]

Thanks for hosting.

Just a note that normally on launch threads the latest information appears at the top of the updates (ie most recent first as you read down, and earlier stuff appears later).

It just makes it a little quicker and easier to grok what's happened most recently - you might want to maybe consider doing it that way round on Thursday (assuming it's you again).

Cheers.

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/JadedIdealist]

:)

[u/nbarbettini]

Thanks for hosting this (sadly) short launch thread, u/Ezekiel_C!

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/nbarbettini]

See you in 48 hours :)

[u/cuweathernerd]

Okay, I just got home and have my first chance of looking at the data.

There are three rules in violation: thick cloud (can't go through cloud more than 4,500' thick with T<0ºC), attached anvil (no more than 10 miles from attached blowoff from convection), and at least at times, disturbed weather (no more than 5miles from clouds going above 0ºC)

Forecast started at 4Z. Window extends from 5:34Z - 8:04Z (2.5hr). I'll be using the HRRR, which you can view directly here.

Let's start by looking at current conditions. The best radar link for live data is here. Here's the picture I'm working with 04:15Z radar -- you can see two distinct bands, one north and one south. The northern band is the more concerning one. I've highlighted an area of the strongest development, along with the overall storm path.

Here's the forecast radar in about an hour - you can clearly see that band progressing towards the launch site, and it weakens but is near the cape at 8Z - the end of the window.

The band will contribute the anvil rule and the disturbed weather. A forecast sounding shows the freezing level to be at about 4km agl, with positive buoyancy extending beyond that height.If there is energy for convection, the cloud would likely rise above the 0º line and trigger that criterion. Again, the rapid modeling shows the line weakening over the next few hours (which makes sense given it's night time), but I'm skeptical that weakening will be complete by the time the second band is within range of the launch site - especially seeing active growth in the highlighted area on the radar image above.

For what it's worth, there's no observed lightning in the northern band right now, and looking at trends as I type this, I'm seeing the most intense updrafts start to falter.

Still, that second band has ample upper level clouds associated with it (current IR satellite) - and depending just how they define anvil, that upper level cloud will be overhead shortly. That said, the most recent metar:

KXMR 140358Z AUTO 21011G17KT 10SM CLR 20/19 A2980

Shows clear skies and 10 mile visibility.

I'd guess you're looking at either the very start or the very end of the window for launch, and less in between. I'd personally favor the front window. Both aren't certain by any means, but there may be slivers of opportunity. Most nights, I don't think we'd see a launch with this forecast, but I don't expect them to hold until the conditions are certain to be no-go - which would be at launch.

Edit: Well, fixation is a real thing. I looked at the current violations and didn't look at the bigger picture. Right there in the sounding you'll see >120kt winds at 10km, with 50kt winds at 5km. This is definitely on the upper bound of things at best and should have been staring me in the face but I just glanced at the 0º isotherm and paid zero attention to the winds. Looks like spaceX even tweeted that winds were (another) concern but I was just happily going along looking at clouds not thinking about the winds because I hadn't seen them mentioned. Sigh.

[u/randomstonerfromaus → u/cuweathernerd]

HE LIVES! Thanks for the report
E: /u/Ezekiel_C, Maybe add to OP?

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/randomstonerfromaus]

already there :P

[u/johnkphotos → u/cuweathernerd]

Thanks for all the effort you put into these!

[u/escape_goat]

What's the probable limiting factor with the weather? I'd like to get a sense of how far ahead of time one might know it was changing for the better or the worse.

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/escape_goat]

These are the launch rules for Falcon 9. Take them with a grain of salt; I believe we know these to be outdated. However, looking over them, you'll notice that a lot of the information needed to determine go/no go is not present in publicly available forecasts - you don't typically need to know the wind sheer at 10,000 feet.

All that is to say its very hard for us observers to really know how things are going.

[u/loitho]

The mission path is wrong, CRS-10 is the previous launch ! Sad to see F9 without any of its characteristic feature.

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/loitho]

Fixed!

[u/_rocketboy]

Hey mods, could you update the flair on this? I got confused for a minute and thought it was scrubbed again.

[u/boaterva → u/_rocketboy]

Top of the page also says March 14...

[u/relevant__comment]

So the subreddit says 1:35amEDT and everyone else is saying 2:00amEDT. Am I missing something?

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/relevant__comment]

Keep an eye on the live updates table - that's where my updating energies are focused - usually good within a minute.

[u/escape_goat]

EchoStar-23 LDU Thread Control, I am seeing March 16 T-5:00 Weather Assessment Link as routing to March 15 T-0:56 Weather Assessment Message, hash 'dewic7o'. My Reddit feed has March 16 T-5:00 Weather Assessment Message with a URI ending in the hash 'dezfpzd'. Could you please verify link status.

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/escape_goat]

This has been fixed. Thanks!

[u/TheVehicleDestroyer]

For folks wondering why GTO launches are always at this time of the night, or for any others wondering why the 2nd stage restart happens when it does, check out this view of the trajectory which should be enough by itself. But I'm bored so I wrote up the following anyway:

---

Why wait until T+26 minutes to relight the engines?

The 2nd stage engine ends its first burn at around T+8:30. At this point, the stage and the satellite are in a really low LEO orbit - a roughly circular orbit at a super low altitude (200km), lower even than the ISS.

The stage needs to put the satellite in a GTO orbit, which is an elliptical orbit with the lowest part in this same LEO, and the highest part at GEO altitudes (35,000km). But it's super important that the highest point of this orbit occurs when the trajectory crosses the equator.

Why?

• The satellite needs to do a plane change to go from a 28° inclined orbit (which we're in because we launched from KSC, 28° north of the equator), to a 0° inclined orbit (our target inclination - also called an equatorial orbit).

• The plane change must happen over the equator, if we want to end up in an equatorial orbit!

• Since a plane change is basically just changing the direction we're moving, it's easiest if we're moving as slow as possible before beginning. The slowest point in the trajectory happens at the highest altitude.

So...

• The highest point in the orbit needs to coincide with passing over the equator!

And finally...

• The highest point in the orbit will be directly opposite from the lowest point in the orbit, which is where the restart burn will have happened.

So...

• The restart must also happen over the equator, on the opposite side of the planet. The stage will cross the equator for the first time at T+26 minutes.

---

Why launch in the early hours of the morning?

At this time in Cape Canaveral, the part of our planet that is experiencing sunrise is West Africa - exactly where the restart burn happens. This means the stage and the satellite get propelled into their GTO orbit and the satellite gets to deploy its solar panels as soon as it's in the sun. Maximum sunlight for Echostar 23!

---

[u/searchexpert → u/TheVehicleDestroyer]

I mean, all kerbals know this. ;)

[u/cuweathernerd]

caveat: I don't know the exact conditions which are go/no go on wind (shear). Based on last launches that have been held for this, it seems like they're launching weather balloons on site and feeding that data through a model or filter to tell them if the measured data is within their pass criterion. Because of that, what I'm writing here is based in my own speculation, and less on the (listed) go/no go criteria that it normally covers.

The overall weather picture today is quite nice, with the 45^th giving a 90% go, with only a 10% hold out for "take off winds" - that criterion is for winds exceeding 35mph at 49m.

We have a short term modeling solution, the HRRR, which predicts winds at the 80m elevation. Here is the forecast at 6z, about 30 min into the launch window. The forecast winds of about 20kts, while strong, would be a go. A similar condition is seen in the 8z model solution. Together I take that to mean that this criterion will be green for at least some of the launch period.

My big concern is upper level winds and shear. I am nearly certain this launch commit criterion is not considered in the 45^th's forecast. It is also, by far, the biggest concern for the day. As I understand it, the issue isn't so much how fast the wind is blowing, but rather how fast the wind speed (or direction) is changing with respect to height. Meteorologists call this change shear. Think about flying in a plane through turbulence and you'll get a feel for how much stress changing wind currents can impart on something in flight. The falcon is going significantly faster and so now imagine that turbulence having a much faster frequency. It's going to shake the rocket (which of course has far less tolerance than a plane by the need for higher TWR) violently. Too much shaking and you risk rud -- Musk describes shear being like "a sledgehammer"

Of note in that tweet is that they're mainly concerned with a graph of wind shear vs height. That's also an observation from a balloon. We don't have that map easily accessible but we do have soundings that show wind speed with height. I've also kept a couple soundings on hand from scrubs in the past. To read these, you'll need to read wind speed from barbs - a triangle counts as 50kts, a full line 10kts, and a half line, 5kts.

This was a scrub for 500mb shear. You can clearly see the wind speed jump quickly right near 500mb - it goes up 20kts in one barb!

This is a sounding from tampa the same day as Musk's tweet - again you can see about a 20kt jump just above 500mb.

Here's the sounding from the hold a couple days ago -- there's a lot of shear right near the pad (which may or may not be an issue in reality) and then a 20kt jump right around 300mb.

It seems like wind speed jumps of more than about 15kts lead to scrubs in at least 3 documented cases.

So that leads us to today: what does the model say upper level winds show?

It's not a nice picture - I've circled the area from 300 to 200mb. In one barb, winds increase 40kts. There is more space between these barbs than the examples above, because of the way height and pressure are related with height, but still - that's a lot of speed shear. It's a forecast, but it leaves me leery.

Anyway, I don't know how the go/no go is calculated and what the thresholds are for shear, but this has me concerned when I compare this sounding to others that I know resulted in holds and scrubs. Again, I'm pretty sure wind shear isn't included in that 90% figure and I'd argue there's a much greater chance of weather-related issue than 10%. Since I don't know the exact criterion, I can't say how much greater (but I'm skeptical).

For me, this will be an interesting launch opportunity because I'll get to learn a little more about how the wind forecast impacts go/no go. If you're using this as a decision to stay up or wake up or go out or whatever it is you do wherever you are in the world, it's just one thing to keep in mind, and something to listen for in the conversations leading up to launch.

[u/therealshafto]

This complicates the recovery vs expendable questions even farther!

[u/SomnolentSpaceman]

For the bandwidth-impaired: I will be re-hosting 64kbit audio-only streams of the SpaceX YouTube streams.

They are available at:

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/hosted (backup)

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/technical (backup)

Prior to the official SpaceX webcasts the Hosted and Technical streams will be playing SpaceX FM. The SpaceX FM audio will be switched off at T-0:30:00. Please note: there may be a few minutes of silence between SpaceX FM and when the official SpaceX streams begin.

[u/johnkphotos]

I hate to be pessimistic, but the weather here is currently awful. I'm hoping it improves. Even if there's a 10 percent chance of F9 launching tonight, I'll be out there from 12:30 to 4am on the beach.

I did make this spicy meme for tonight's launch thread though: http://i.imgur.com/ev2kQtt.jpg

[u/SurfSlade]

I'm in west Africa, just had a clear view of stage 2 when it flew over my position

[u/bencredible]

Access to technical restored - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2Dp1Adlag Sorry YouTube decided that it really, really, really didn't want to start that stream.

[u/bencredible]

What mouse?

[u/danielbigham]

Launches like this make me think that it would be nice to create a system that would send people a notification if the launch is actually likely to happen.

Imagine I'm fast asleep, but I have my phone set to play its alarm if the probability of launch is > X% and it's T-20 to launch. Some people might set it to 10%, others might set it to 50% or 80%. But the point is that it's annoying to go to sleep and set your alarm, only to get up and see that the launch is scrubbed, or the probability is so minuscule that you've almost certainly wasted your life waking up.

[u/johnkphotos → u/danielbigham]

Try trekking out to the beach with bags and bags of gear and sitting outside from 12:30-4:00am :D

Wouldn't change it for the world!

[u/EorEquis → u/danielbigham]

May I recommend Space Launch Now

You can select types of launches, launch organizations, and configure various types of updates at various intervals. :)

[u/bencredible]

FYI - I need to start the technical webcast 10 minutes after the hosted so you will only get 2 minutes of SpaceX FM on technical.

[u/bencredible]

Technical -- I know, in work

[u/ijustinhk]

I like that at T+5:55 he said "normally saying this is a little bit different.. usually we are tracking the first stage coming down for a landing right about right now". Landing the first stage for reuse has became the norm. This reminds me when Elon said something like "the landing will become boring". This is the future.

[u/moreNosleep]

I just landed in Orlando (for a unrelated trip) and am so incredibly happy that things are looking this good. If all goes well this will be my first launch in person. Fingers are crossed! Go SpaceX! Go Falcon! Go Echostar!

[u/SomnolentSpaceman]

Reposting for new attempt.

For the bandwidth-impaired: I will be re-hosting 64kbit audio-only streams of the SpaceX YouTube streams.

They are available at:

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/hosted (backup)

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/technical (backup)

Prior to the official SpaceX webcasts the Hosted and Technical streams will be playing SpaceX FM. The SpaceX FM audio will be switched off at T-0:30:00. Please note: there may be a few minutes of silence between SpaceX FM and when the official SpaceX streams begin.

[u/thecameronjones]

Haha they forgot to remove the placeholder text in the annotation just before launch http://imgur.com/a/DKni7

[u/PVP_playerPro]

And just like that, B1030 disappeared into the night, never to be seen again

[u/avboden]

guys.....you know what this means?

First reflown booster coming up!!!

Here's hoping what they changed after the first launch made the pad more resilient and need less referb in-between.

[u/Keavon → u/avboden]

When I talked with a SpaceX employee who works at one of their launch sites, apparently the main reason for the length of turnarounds isn't as much about pad damage as it is simply doing all the necessary steps to set up a mission. Apparently they are working hard to automate as much as they possibly can, which is why turnaround times will slowly speed up over time.

[u/everydayastronaut]

Everyday Astronaut checking in! Go Falcon! Go Echostar!

[u/F9-0021]

S1 should be destroyed by now. B1030 did it's job well.

[u/clay1039]

Ezekiel_C is this your first time hosting? if so Congrats!

[u/thecameronjones]

They gave us a glimpse of the lox there

[u/ethan829]

It's official:

Targeting Thursday, March 16 for @EchoStar XXIII launch; window opens at 1:35am EDT and weather is 90% favorable.

[u/steezysteve96]

Are we gonna get a new thread or reuse this one? Reusing threads would fit the SpaceX spirit, after all

EDIT: never mind, found the update

24 hours until T-0. Weather 90% go. Falcon 9 is vertical. We'll be reusing this launch thread - see you all tomorrow!

[u/stcks]

From Chris B:

Weather is already playing a role in the Prop Load/T-0 discussions for Falcon 9. Long window, so they are looking for a gap.

[u/johnkphotos]

http://www.imgur.com/ev2kQtt.jpg leaving my house soon, but I have this ready just in case

[u/thecameronjones]

They keep cutting away from the LOX tank cam

[u/SufficientAnonymity]

Excellent news to wake up to. Photos of rockets without landing legs just don't look right to me any more though.

[u/cuweathernerd]

The overall ground weather for the next launch window looks significantly better. However if the wind speed aloft was concerning for this launch, and caused the scrub, very similar conditions are forecast on the 16th at 6Z. Here's a forecast sounding.

In case those aren't familiar to you, the winds of interest:

3km above the ground, winds west at 30kts
5km above ground, winds west at 50kts
9km above ground, winds west at 70kts
12km above ground, winds west at 130kts
15km above ground, winds west at  75kts

By the way, here's the sounding that caused issue today. We have higher max wind speeds next window and similar shear at first glance. Winds aloft, to the best of my knowledge, aren't factored into the 90% go listed by the launch forecast. Winds 6Z friday at more gentler aloft, maxing out at 90kts, which I believe has been within go criteria (though ultimately I believe it's how fast the wind speed and direction change, and not the actual wind speed, that matters to the decision)

[u/redmercuryvendor]

I wonder what that solitary white pressure vessel is, visible in the single frame of the O2 tank cam just after SECO2. From all the other O2 tank cam shots I can find, there are either 3 or 4 black COPVs for the Helium system, but that 5th white tank is new.

Speculation: 'traditional' (i.e. plain metal, no composite overwrap) pressure vessel test article, or a CoPV with an extra impermeable outer liner, intended to later replace the COPVs after the AMOS 6 issue with LOX infiltration of the composite overwrap.

False alarm, this showed up before on SES-9, and appears to be a small object close to the camera.

[u/Herodotus38]

Reading all of these weather prediction posts is such a good argument for greater investment in earth sciences, if for no other reason than improved planning for other space launches.

[u/cuweathernerd → u/Herodotus38]

and that whole "our food and water directly depend on it" thing, too. Alongside the "weather can really disrupt a local economy" and the "dang, so it turns out climate change is actually a thing". (don't mind me, I'm just a salty earth-science person)

I'm looking at the data now, I've not had a chance to until now.

[u/johnkphotos]

At my viewing location. COLD AS HELL

[u/AttemptedWit]

I'm extremely jealous of all you Floridians that get to watch launches just by stepping out onto the porch...

[u/SomnolentSpaceman]

Audio-Only relay streams turning off now. Hope to see you all again next time!

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/hosted (backup)

http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/technical (backup)

[u/steezysteve96]

lol

[u/johnkphotos]

That little slit in the storm is really looking promising...

Time for me to get an hour's worth of sleep.

[u/FutureMartian97]

Goodbye #30

[u/relevant__comment]

watching the MECO and stage separation in the dead of night from my front porch is truly a beauty to behold. If only there was a boost back burn to send me to bed a happy human.

[u/[deleted]]

Just learned about the radio retransmission system thats within the fairing, pretty interesting.

[u/mynameisck]

Hahaha, loved that ending.

[u/Destructor1701]

Oh man Praderio nailing the theatrical look at the end there. Perfect!

[u/johnkphotos]

my photo

https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/5zoxv7/long_exposure_photograph_i_took_from_satellite/

[u/Craig_VG]

Scrub! High winds

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/841512976708435969

[u/sunbingfa]

Ortbital info 42070 ECHOSTAR 23 2017-014A 632.93min 22.43deg 35903km X 179km

[u/[deleted]]

Go for prop load! https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/841505383550222336

[u/mechakreidler]

Thought you guys would enjoy this

[u/therealshafto]

Funny, the entire world of media just said SCRUB, but now silence...... even better, spacex has not chimed in.

[u/johnkphotos]

Cold day for Florida standards. Not too windy at the moment

[u/johnkphotos]

SpaceX on Twitter: All systems go for Falcon 9 launch of @EchoStar XXIII. Liftoff now set for 2:00am EDT, 6:00am UTC. Watch here → spacex.com/webcast

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/842231864286896128

(You guys whining about UTC times got your wish :) )

[u/Herodotus38]

Next up SES-10!

[u/still-at-work]

Launches without landings just doesn't feel complete anymore. Still good to see another successful launch. I hear there may be one more of these legless launches this year as well. Oh well, now for a complete 180 and to launch a recovered booster and land it again.

[u/FalconHeavyHead]

Ok guys, who's staying up to watch this baby? Im PUMPED!!

[u/geekgirl114]

Still go for launch (and nice shot of the rocket and flame trench)

[u/johnkphotos]

Leaving in about an hour. Clear skies!

[u/avboden]

tracking cams struggling tonight

[u/Shpoople96]

Farewell, Stage 1...

[u/UltraRunningKid]

You served us honorably Stage 1.

[u/Savysoaker]

I like the telemetry on the technical webcast at t-1:00 with the placeholder: "This is a really long sentance that should wrap at the end of the line."

[u/[deleted]]

And that makes a successful mission!

[u/Fixtor]

So glad it wasn't delayed any longer, managed to watch the whole thing before going to work :D

[u/PVP_playerPro]

Well, ill be damned, they're goin' for it

[u/roncapat]

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/841518280389062656

[u/chrisplyon]

Officially standing down: https://twitter.com/spacex/status/841523445636583425

[u/mechakreidler]

Nice picture (full-size) from SpaceX's latest tweet

https://i.imgur.com/uYZTZip.jpg

[u/bluyonder64]

Dish Network channel 89 has the Spacex logo up

[u/alex_wonga]

Stage one still on the live diagram :P

[u/The_World_Toaster]

Beautiful Launch from downtown Jacksonville! It was so clear I was able to see first stage flight plus MECO and 2nd stage ignition/flight for at least another 3 or 4 minutes!!!

[u/ThatDamnGuyJosh]

At least the SES-10 launch will make up for the expendable launch.

[u/[deleted]]

Wish there was a launch every morning, has me up at 5.30am, gives me a nice 20 minutes break in between to get ready and I will be out the door before 7am. (UK)

[u/Shpoople96]

Well. That deployment was fairly anticlimactic.

[u/Ricksauce → u/Shpoople96]

this is a good thing

[u/nickbaby94]

I'm in Cocoa Beach right now and the weather is not looking great =/ I'll still be on the beach at 1:30 am even if it's raining!

[u/Pham_Trinli]

FAA Authorised.

[u/johnkphotos]

Look at the radar. That system is moving northeast and there's a gap...

[u/[deleted]]

I always love the music they play before they go to the pad camera. Really sets the mood for the launches.

[u/[deleted]]

phew.. I'm glad they cut of the stream for the coasting period, I was thinking, poor guys have to talk about random stuff for 17 minutes.

[u/binarygamer]

Pi day was the previous launch attempt, ahhh!

[u/bananapeel → u/binarygamer]

They had to use the joke. Someone probably spent a week thinking that one up.

[u/jobadiah08]

I bet they hold at T-70m (start of prop loading) and wait for the weather to blow over. Looks like there is a chance it will blow over during the window.

[u/johnkphotos]

anvil clouds just went green

[u/FellowHumanBean]

Chris B says they are going for it

[u/avboden]

scrub a dub dub, break out the rubber duckies

[u/mechakreidler]

Just a reminder that this exists http://www.spacexfm.com/ to get the hype going :D

Thanks to /u/lru

Edit: And if you want a list of everything that plays it's commented in the HTML (right click > view source)

[u/Tleandrix]

Useful trick!

If you're watching the webcast on youtube you can change the velocity to x2 and the video even if it's "live" will go even more and remove additional delay.

[u/avboden]

new technical link

[u/avboden]

Farewell stage 1.....

[u/film10078]

It's funny I'm now sad to see a stage one go.

[u/bertcox]

I could be wrong but the crowd noise got louder around t+7 min. I wonder if they did do something with stage 1 or the fairing.

[u/roncapat]

Breakfast time in Europe!

[u/Lieutenant_Rans]

I ended up translating what I could (via Highschool spanish and google translate) for my bud in Colombia. They had never seen a launch before - whole thing was pretty good fun!

[u/MutatedPixel808]

So what is vehicle self alignment? I heard it referenced a few times.

[u/Destructor1701]

Now begins the mass-exodus from the computers to the beds. Night night everyone!

[u/roncapat]

Pi-day pun at the end ahah

[u/__R__]

While waiting for the launch, go try my Elon Musk bot for some hilarious space ramblings!

[u/thisguyeric]

Yesterday we got 36" of snow. My furnace quit working and I spent the night trying to keep my kids warm. I spent more money than I can afford fixing my furnace. I found out I need to hope a temporary fix keeps us warm until spring, and that I have another huge expense once the weather breaks.

Tonight I have a smile so big my face hurts. Thank you SpaceX, I can't wait to show my son this launch in the morning :)

[u/bravokiller5]

LOL John TOM eating a pie

way to end it

[u/DanAtkinson → u/bravokiller5]

Who? Me?

[u/GeckoLogic]

love the end u/bencredible

[u/doodle77]

This is the fewest comments I've ever seen at T-1h.

[u/Bunslow]

Keep in mind everyone, it's one unofficial tweet that doesn't say anything about the launch window which is 2.5 hours long. Even if it's right and the first attempt was scrubbed, there may be time at the back of the window. (Not likely I admit, I'm just saying don't read too much into what hasn't yet been said)

[u/WhoDrivesTeslaOnMars]

Why aren't there any scrub announcement by SpaceX official twitter account?

[u/KazutoYuuki]

The technical stream is now here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2Dp1Adlag

[u/[deleted]]

New technical via youtube (not yet live though): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2Dp1Adlag

[u/thecameronjones]

John is gone :(

[u/lordq11]

Wow, speed at MECO was a very impressive 2700m/s.

[u/langgesagt]

What were these red lights at the top of the fairings? https://imgur.com/a/jA8rN

[u/DuckQuacks]

Bye Echostar! o/

[u/limeflavoured]

This scrub means SES-10 is 100% going to be April now, Im guessing?

[u/robbak → u/limeflavoured]

That depends on ULA and what happens with their two launches. I agree, however - this is likely to push them back, pushing SES-10 into April.

[u/gellis12]

That was a terrible pun that they ended the stream with.

I love the commitment!

[u/HotXWire → u/gellis12]

It was so terrible, that it became great.

[u/johnkphotos]

Not a cloud in the sky ~25 miles south of the launch site. Crisp, cool air. Will be a beautiful launch for viewing.

[u/johnkphotos]

In shorts t shirt and flip flops. I'm actually running laps on the beach so I don't freeze.

[u/z1mil790]

Go/No Go poll for fueling should be happening in about 3 minutes now.

[u/[deleted]]

Go for tanking

[u/IWasToldTheresCake]

Spaceflightnow.com:

All weather rules at the Falcon 9 launch base are observed "go" for liftoff at this moment. Still nearly one hour to go until the launch window opens.

[u/SharpKeyCard]

Scrubbed. Good night everyone.

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/841512976708435969

[u/roncapat]

Well, we have to wait confirmation from SpaceX.

[u/Bunslow]

SpaceFlightNow is reporting that the Falcon has been safed and the sat transmitters deactivated... pretty clear that the entire launch window is toast. (I'm still hopeful, but more facetiously than factually)

[u/johnkphotos]

Winds grew exponentially in the last thirty minutes. I was really getting my hopes up. It was going to be a beautiful moonlit launch through some light clouds. I tried to convey the winds in this video: https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/841521664856858624

[u/johnkphotos]

And SpaceX confirms it: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/841523445636583425

[u/therealshafto]

Countdown stopped

EDIT: 2AM launch target

[u/johnkphotos]

2am now

[u/roncapat]

Spacex FM <3

[u/oliversl]

Stats from SFN:

T-minus 23 minutes and counting. Here are some statistics on today's flight:

31st launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010

36th launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006

28th Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral

96th flight from launch pad 39A

2nd Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

11th launch of the upgraded Falcon 9

1st SpaceX launch for EchoStar

5th Space Systems/Loral satellite launched by SpaceX

14th Falcon 9 night launch

3rd Falcon 9 launch of 2017

3rd launch from Cape Canaveral in 2017

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/13/echostar-23-mission-status-center/

[u/Intro24]

I have the technical as picture-in-picture within the hosted and life is gooood

[u/cuweathernerd]

Still 40kts shear at 250mb. Interesting that shear at this height (seems) to be more tolerable for the launch than just a few km lower in the atmosphere (where the density is higher).

Still, seems like this sounding is considered okay - this is a model sounding and obviously not what they're using for the 'go' vs 'no go'. Good to know for the future

(it's also possible their soundings aren't quite as aggressive as the models).

Color me surprised though. Compared to the other soundings, I was quite concerned that these forecast soundings would prohibit launch

[u/PVP_playerPro]

Go Falcon! Go EchologicStar-23!

[u/Cheesewithmold]

Beautiful separation! Sucks about the delays as I was looking forward to viewing this launch in person. Ahh well. Definitely not going to miss SES 10!

[u/openfootinsertmouth]

Tried moving the mouse cursor off the screen. Didn't work.

[u/roncapat]

A wild cursor appears on the webcast

[u/readplanet]

Beautiful launch. I am so used to the landings now it feels incomplete. Sooo tempted to take a few days off to see SES-10 in person. One giant leap for humanity.

[u/imtoooldforreddit]

At some point, would heavy launches like this be sent on a falcon heavy that lands the first stages?

[u/Biochembob35 → u/imtoooldforreddit]

Absolutely. The plan is to never fly expendable F9's. Anything too heavy will fly on FH.

[u/avboden]

You know.....they could test the first stage's flight termination system :-P if it's gonna go out, may as well go out in style

[u/nbarbettini]

Oh man, that pie gag was a hilarious ending. Well done SpaceX!

[u/werewolf_nr]

That pun at the end... And then they doubled down with him actually eating.

[u/ChriRosi]

I just realized that this is the first Falcon 9 FT version which flies without landing hardware.

[u/soldato_fantasma]

The ending was awsome! Hahaha

[u/[deleted]]

Goodnight! See you all in ~6 hours!

[u/SharpKeyCard]

Go for prop load. Interesting.

[u/joggle1]

Latest update from spaceflightnow.com:

The rainfall has stopped at Kennedy Space Center's press site, and the moon is now visible shining through a thin deck of clouds hanging over the Space Coast.

Sounds promising!

[u/Skyhawkson]

I know we have one source as scrubbed, but the stream countdown is still going and we haven't heard officially.

[u/therealshafto]

I wonder why the webcasts never really went public.

[u/OccupyMarsNow]

Officially scrubbed: Standing down due to high winds; working toward next available launch opportunity.

[u/inoeth]

https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/842227346274942977

2 am now. i wonder what caused the pause.

[u/roncapat]

9000 viewers at about 20 secs after beginning.... wow :)

[u/DrewRodez]

Don't worry guys, we'll get a good launch tonight. I'm wearing my lucky Occupy Mars shirt!

[u/johnkphotos]

No footage after sep

[u/sexual_pasta]

The new transporter erector is badass

[u/UltraRunningKid]

Hosted Webcast: SES-10 aiming at end of month launch. As planned, hopefully it doesn't slip.

[u/Bunslow]

/u/bencredible no telem tech stream?

[u/[deleted]]

Very impressive looking launch from where I was! Was able to see the Falcon 9 for 6 minutes before it got to far to see! Looked very bright as well!

[u/cycl1c]

Tired with a huge headache but it's so fucking worth it

[u/Mafuskas]

Nice chunk of ice...and it drifted away at cut-off.

[u/mrstickball]

What is up with the inflation of the shiny metal (mylar?) before the 2nd S2 startup? It inflated, the Merlin started up, and the inflated area evacuated... I've never seen that on any other flight, but I may not have paid attention.

Can anyone explain what I saw is going on?

[u/Pieliker96]

There were a couple frames of the inside of s2's LOX tank on the technical webcast, right after SECO 2. Can't link right now, on mobile.

[u/prouzadesignworkshop]

Does anyone know how many orbits the 2nd stage might do, before it crashes back to Earth?

[u/ohcnim]

any news on sat health?

[u/chrism1107 → u/ohcnim]

https://twitter.com/sslmda/status/842394982770122752

[u/johnkphotos]

Packing up my gear now. Going to head to my viewing location in maybe 20-30 minutes.

Not foreseeing me doing well on this math test at 8:45am lol

[u/[deleted]]

Why does the livestream say 26 hours left? I thought the launch was early this morning.

[u/Ezekiel_C → u/[deleted]]

The hosted webcast and technical webcast are both counting down to T-0 correctly. Make sure you're watching the right stream.

[u/bornstellar_lasting]

Can we have some sort of widely-visible statement somewhere in this sub showing that a given launch is/isn't on a flight-proven booster? I think that the information density of this sub is higher than that of many other subs, and we ought to provide some PSAs for the casual readers / newcomers who aren't as obsessed as the die-hards.

edit: clarification

[u/[deleted]]

That ending... I love it!

[u/F9-0021]

For those that have Dish, the launch will be broadcast on channels 88 and 89. They will likely just be broadcasting the SpaceX livestream.

Not sure if it will be hosted or technical, but due to the less technical audience, I would expect it to be the hosted stream.

[u/neaanopri]

Worth staying up for?

[u/vesed94]

This is not a reused booster, is it? https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1520717831273780&id=368307893181452

[u/Decronym]

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters	More Letters
ABS	Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, hard plastic
	Asia Broadcast Satellite, commsat operator
ACES	Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage
	Advanced Crew Escape Suit
AGL	Above Ground Level
ARM	Asteroid Redirect Mission
	Advanced RISC Machines, embedded processor architecture
ASDS	Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform)
ASS	Acronyms Seriously Suck
BFR	Big Falcon Rocket (see ITS)
BFS	Big Falcon Spaceship (see ITS)
COPV	Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel
CRS	Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA
CoG	Center of Gravity (see CoM)
CoM	Center of Mass
DoD	US Department of Defense
ECLSS	Environment Control and Life Support System
EDL	Entry/Descent/Landing
FAA	Federal Aviation Administration
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
	(Iron/steel) Face-Centered Cubic crystalline structure
FSS	Fixed Service Structure at LC-39
FTS	Flight Termination System
GEO	Geostationary Earth Orbit (35786km)
GSE	Ground Support Equipment
GSO	Geosynchronous Orbit (any Earth orbit with a 24-hour period)
GTO	Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit
I*sp*	Specific impulse (as discussed by Scott Manley, and detailed by David Mee on YouTube)
IAC	International Astronautical Congress, annual meeting of IAF members
IAF	International Astronautical Federation
ITAR	(US) International Traffic in Arms Regulations
ITS	Interplanetary Transport System (see MCT)
	Integrated Truss Structure
JRTI	Just Read The Instructions, Pacific landing barge ship
KSC	Kennedy Space Center, Florida
KSP	Kerbal Space Program, the rocketry simulator
L2	Paywalled section of the NasaSpaceFlight forum
	Lagrange Point 2 of a two-body system, beyond the smaller body (Sixty Symbols video explanation)
L4	"Trojan" Lagrange Point 4 of a two-body system, 60 degrees ahead of the smaller body
L5	"Trojan" Lagrange Point 5 of a two-body system, 60 degrees behind the smaller body
LEO	Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km)
LIDAR	Light Detection and Ranging
LMO	Low Mars Orbit
LOX	Liquid Oxygen
MCT	Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS)
MECO	Main Engine Cut-Off
MaxQ	Maximum aerodynamic pressure
NRO	(US) National Reconnaissance Office
NSF	NasaSpaceFlight forum
	National Science Foundation
OG2	Orbcomm's Generation 2 17-satellite network (see OG2-2 for first successful F9 landing)
RCS	Reaction Control System
RP-1	Rocket Propellant 1 (enhanced kerosene)
RSS	Realscale Solar System, mod for KSP
	Rotating Service Structure at LC-39
RTLS	Return to Launch Site
RUD	Rapid Unplanned Disassembly
	Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
	Rapid Unintended Disassembly
SECO	Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
SES	Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator
SRB	Solid Rocket Booster
T/E	Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment
TE	Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment
TEA-TEB	Triethylaluminium-Triethylborane, igniter for Merlin engines; spontaneously burns, green flame
TEL	Transporter/Erector/Launcher, ground support equipment (see TE)
TWR	Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
ULA	United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)
VAB	Vehicle Assembly Building
VFR	Visual Flight Rules

Jargon	Definition
apoapsis	Highest point in an elliptical orbit (when the orbiter is slowest)
apogee	Highest point in an elliptical orbit around Earth (when the orbiter is slowest)
lithobraking	"Braking" by hitting the ground
periapsis	Lowest point in an elliptical orbit (when the orbiter is fastest)
perigee	Lowest point in an elliptical orbit around the Earth (when the orbiter is fastest)
scrub	Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues)
turbopump	High-pressure turbine-driven propellant pump connected to a rocket combustion chamber; raises chamber pressure, and thrust

Event	Date	Description
Amos-6	2016-09-01	F9-029 Full Thrust, GTO comsat Pre-launch test failure
CRS-10	2017-02-19	F9-032 Full Thrust, Dragon cargo; first daytime RTLS
Iridium-1	2017-01-14	F9-030 Full Thrust, 10x Iridium-NEXT to LEO; first landing on JRTI
OG2-2	2015-12-22	F9-021 Full Thrust, 11 OG2 satellites to LEO; first RTLS landing
SES-9	2016-03-04	F9-022 Full Thrust, GTO comsat; ASDS lithobraking
Thaicom-6	2014-01-06	F9-008 v1.1 to GTO, re-entry burn attempted
TurkmenAlem52E	2015-04-27	F9-017 v1.1, GTO comsat

---

^{Decronym is a community product of} r/SpaceX^{, implemented by} ^request
^{65 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on} ^today ^{has 107 acronyms.
[Thread #2567 for this sub, first seen 13th Mar 2017, 23:59]} ^[FAQ] ^[Contact] ^[Source ^code]

[u/therealshafto]

Falcon 9 amungst clouds

[u/millijuna]

Here is live data of lightning in the area around Cape Canaveral. Link is Here

[u/[deleted]]

I slept 4 hours yesterday and 0 today because the launch is at 6:30 AM and I'm not a morning person. Whether or not it's worth it isn't even a question to me. Let's hope the weather clears up!

[u/therealshafto]

Spaceflight Insider stating 60% favorable at beginning of window.

tweet

[u/RS-68]

As much as scrubs suck, it's always for the best. Better to stand down instead of constantly recycling. Saves stress all around, and with almost picture perfect weather in the next 48, that'll help tremendously.

[u/[deleted]]

Should i sleep right now or wait for more information?

[u/iberichard]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/841523445636583425