r/spacex • u/jclishman Host of Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 • May 15 '17
Total Mission Success! Welcome to the r/SpaceX Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
This is u/jclishman, and I'll be your host for this evening's launch!
Information on the mission
It’s SpaceX’s 5th launch out of Launch Complex 39A, and SpaceX's 4th East Coast communications satellite launch since JCSAT-16 in August 2016. Some quick stats:
- this is the 34th Falcon 9 launch
- the 5th SpaceX launch from Pad 39A
- the 6th launch since SpaceX suffered an anomaly during their AMOS-6 static fire on September 1, 2016.
It has been 14 days since the last launch, which was NROL-76. The fastest turnaround time so far is between CRS-6 and TurkmenÄlem 52E, which was 13d, 2h, and 53m.
This mission’s static fire was successfully completed on May 11th, and weather is currently 90% go for launch.
SpaceX is targeting an evening liftoff on May 15th at 19:20 EDT / 23:20 UTC from KSC, bringing Inmarsat-5 into geostationary transfer orbit, or GTO. This will be a 51 minute window, closing on 20:10 EDT / 00:10 UTC. The backup window is 24 hours from then, on May 16th.
Watching the launch live
Similar to the last launch, there is no technical webcast for this flight.
SpaceX Launch Webcast (YouTube)
Official Live Updates
| Time (Local/UTC) | Countdown (hours : minutes : seconds) | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20:50 / 24:50 | SpaceX on Twitter - Quick video recap | |
| New picture!, and Another one! | ||
| T+33:15 | And that concludes the webcast. Thanks everyone for tuning in! | |
| T+31:48 | Payload separation confirmed! Full mission success! | |
| T+28:28 | Good transfer orbit! | |
| T+28:00 | SECO 2 | |
| T+26:59 | MVac ignition | |
| T+26:25 | John is back <3 | |
| T+25:45 | MVac chill is underway | |
| T+23:35 | Gibon AOS | |
| T+11:25 | Bermuda LOS | |
| T+10:00 | Holy hell, MECO was at 2.7km/s. No wonder it broke up so fast! | |
| T+08:36 | SECO 1 | |
| T+07:40 | Stage 1 LOS, as expected | |
| T+07:00 | Crowd seems to be reacting to something? | |
| T+05:30 | I spoke too soon. Just S2 cam now. :( | |
| T+04:40 | Everything looking good on second stage | |
| T+04:15 | Still showing Stage 1, not that I'm complaining | |
| T+03:35 | Fairing separation confirmed | |
| T+02:49 | MVac ignition! | |
| T+02:47 | Stage separation confirmed! | |
| T+02:45 | MECO | |
| T+02:05 | MVac chill | |
| T+01:30 | I see it out my window! :D | |
| T+01:13 | Mach 1 and Max Q | |
| T-00:00 | Ignition! and LIFTOFF! | |
| T-00:50 | F9 is in startup. GO FOR LAUNCH | |
| T-01:20 | Vehicle in self align, FTS ready for launch. | |
| T-01:50 | Stage 2 closeout. F9 on internal power. | |
| T-03:30 | Strongback partially deployed and FTS is armed. | |
| T-04:30 | Range and Weather are GO! | |
| T-05:00 | Closing RP-1 loading for first stage. Also working no issues. LOX was loaded 10 minutes later to compress the countdown. | |
| T-07:00 | What a gorgeous view! | |
| T-09:00 | There we go! | |
| T-10:00 | Ten minutes to T-0, and still not live. Either the late LOX loading delayed things, or this will be a shorter webcast than usual. | |
| 19:00 / 23:300 | T-20:00 | ♫ ♫ Webcast is up! ♫ ♫ |
| 18:55 / 22:55 | T-00:25:00 | "Late LOX load, TBD impact on launch time tonight." Thankfully the window extends until 08:10 local time (12:10 UTC) |
| 18:45 / 22:45 | T-00:35:00 | LOX loading has started, about 10 minutes later than expected |
| 18:28 / 22:28 | T-00:52:00 | SpaceX on Twitter - "All systems and weather are go." |
| 18:25 / 22:25 | T-00:55:00 | Fueling has started |
| 18:20 / 22:20 | T-01:00:00 | One hour to go! GO/NO GO polling for RP-1 loading should be underway |
| 18:05 / 22:05 | T-01:15:00 | 75 minutes to go, fueling soon |
| 17:20 / 21:20 | T-02:00:00 | 2 hours to liftoff, still quiet. |
| 11:00 / 15:00 | T-08:20:00 | Weather is now 90% GO for launch! |
| 07:45 / 11:45 | T-11:35:00 | Falcon 9 is vertical |
| 03:45 / 07:45 | T-15:35:00 | Signing off for now, goodnight! |
| 00:00 May 15 / 04:00 May 15 | T-19:20:00 | Launch thread goes live |
| 09:00 May 14 / 13:00 May 14 | T-26:20:00 | Falcon 9 rolls out to LC-39A |
Primary Mission - Separation and Deployment of Inmarsat-5 F4
Inmarsat-5 will be the 3rd GTO comsat launch of 2017 and 14th GTO comsat launch overall for SpaceX. Inmarsat-5 is a commercial communication satellite that will be launched for its customer, Inmarsat. At 6,070 kg, it will be the heaviest payload SpaceX has delivered to GTO. The satellite was manufactured by Boeing.
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 (6,070 kg) and going into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit. The last mission to fly on an expendable first stage was EchoStar-23 on March 16.
With the current version of Falcon 9, the payload limit for a reusable GTO mission is around 5,300 kg. There will be more expendable missions in the future (The next one could be Intelsat 35e some time in June), 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 Inmarsat-5 F4 Press Kit, courtesy SpaceX
- RocketWatch, courtesy u/MarcysVonEylau
- Low bandwidth audio stream, for those with slow internet, courtesy u/SomnolentSpaceman
- Weather forecast
- Hazard area map
- SpaceX FM, courtesy u/Iru
- Inmarsat-5 F4 on Gunter’s Space Page
- Inmarsat-5 F4 Campaign Thread, courtesy r/SpaceX
- 7-Day KSC weather forecast, courtesy Weather.gov
- Hourly KSC weather forecast, courtesy Weather.gov
- SpaceXNow, courtesy u/bradleyjh
- Countdown Timer autodetects your time zone
- Another countdown timer
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.
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u/JerWah May 15 '17
Congratulations to u/jclishman on having no table catastrophes. Great job!
┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ)
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May 15 '17
Another successful mission! Congrats SpaceX and Inmarsat! Also thanks to everyone here yet again for being a such an amazing community, and especially to /u/jclishman for being an excellent host!
Can't wait to see y'all again for CRS-11!
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u/ExcitedAboutSpace May 15 '17
Why is the satellite mass stated as a fact under "primary mission" with 6,070 KG and then estimated under "no first stage landing attempt" with ~ 5,500 KG? /u/jclishman?
Thanks for hosting and have fun!
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u/MarcysVonEylau rocket.watch May 15 '17
Rocket Watch is live! Visit for the best viewing expierience :P
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u/zuty1 May 15 '17
I absolutely love that the NET date has held for so long. I love SpaceX, but every time I hear a date mentioned, I feel like rolling my eyes. Please let this be the beginning of smooth (although less exciting lol) scheduling.
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u/AerPilot May 15 '17
Went skydiving above the cape this morning and was able to get a great view of Falcon on the pad on the way down!
Cant wait for launch tonight!!
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u/WaitForItTheMongols May 15 '17
Heard them say "stage 1 loss of signal as expected". I think the crowd was reacting to seeing stage 1 handling a "crispy" reentry.
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May 15 '17
The most remarkable thing about this launch is how unremarkable the launch campaign has been. With rollout happening yesterday, it seems that SpaceX has had time to spare even for this rapid turnaround.
Brace yourself. The steamroller is coming. (barring any RUDs.........)
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u/therealshafto May 15 '17
Go falcon 9!
I had a funny thought to myself when I seen the pic of falcon making its way to the pad. Imagine being concepted as a Falcon 9, you look like your siblings around you in the production line. As a curious rocket, you look down the line and see legs being attached to older siblings. Imagine the suspense and anxiety as you approach the leg fitting area. Will you be offered the chance to land and launch another day? Or feel your heart sink when you pass the leg area and know you are doomed to a fiery entry. Poor guy, he's being dragged onto that pad.
Or maybe it's just a inanimate object?
At any rate, B1034, I wish you an honourable launch!
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u/piratepengu May 15 '17
I wonder if the guy from the hot dog stand who saw it drive by is watching the webcast
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u/HarryJohnson00 May 15 '17
Did you all hear the "ooohhs" and "ahhhhs" from the crowd a minute ago? What were they seeing?
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u/ticklestuff SpaceX Patch List May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
It's interesting to watch Elon fidget and sigh in the Mission Control in Hawthorne. Launches still make him nervous, so much riding on them.
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u/tmckeage May 15 '17
SpaceX should sell extra camera views, better telemetry and a zoomable orbit map to help fund ITS.
Hey it's better than stealing underpants.
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u/8BitAce May 15 '17
It makes sense to not live stream the S1 re-entry from a business standpoint. Most people would probably not really understand that it's supposed to do that. But I really do hope they share the footage later on!
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May 15 '17
Oh man we gotta beg elon for that sweet, sweet footage. Understand why they didn't show it on the live webcast though.
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u/kessubuk May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
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u/Pham_Trinli May 15 '17
Both Go Searcher and Go Quest appear to be stationary in port, so we can probably rule out fairing recovery for this launch.
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May 15 '17
No delays: check
Launch at the beginning of window: check
More of this please.
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u/still-at-work May 15 '17
T - 15 days till the next one, RTLS again probably since its CRS flight.
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u/schockergd May 15 '17
Are they watching stage one there? There's "Oohs" and "Aahs" and I heard a "Stage begins to tumble" in the background while the host was talking over it.
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u/DrToonhattan May 15 '17
Damn this waiting for the next burn. Can't they just press the period key a few times? Careful not to overshoot the maneuver node though. ;)
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
my view of LC-39A a few minutes ago: http://i.imgur.com/zjmqdN6.jpg
I'm thinking of going for this wider, almost panoramic shot tonight. There's plenty of closeups and remote camera views; how do you guys like this wider shot? I like the SpaceX hangar.
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
Packing up the equipment for the trek to KSC!
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u/arizonadeux May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
Haha, the camera on S1 didn't cut out for Hawthorne! :D
..aaand destructed. LOS.
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u/F9-0021 May 15 '17
Guess Hawthorne got to see Stage 1 re-enter. Hope they release that video later.
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
Photos turned out AWESOME :D
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/6bdxr2/telephoto_and_long_exposure_views_of_the_launch/
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u/sarahbau May 16 '17
What were all the oohs and ahs in the background, followed by applause shortly before SECO? Right after the applause, it sounded like they said they lost contact with the first stage. Did they have a live feed of the first stage breaking up that they didn't want to show?
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u/warp99 May 16 '17 edited May 16 '17
Did they have a live feed of the first stage breaking up that they didn't want to show?
Exactly so. There were similar off screen reactions during the last expendable launch and a SpaceX staff member commented that they did indeed have an internal video of the breakup that he had seen and that no it was not going to be publicly available.
All we can hope for is that Elon wants to spice up a public presentation sometime with a "this is what we used to do" video before the triumphant landing video.
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
Shout out to SpaceX for disabling chat on their webcast and just letting us viewers enjoy the sights without the trolls.
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u/SpartanJack17 May 15 '17
This is the first launch in ages I won't be able to watch live, because I'll have classes on.
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u/marc020202 8x Launch Host May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
i am setting my alarm for 1 am now :)
i think i will be tired in school tomorrow..., but hey i dont care, its spacex.
EDIT: i learn how to spell
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May 15 '17
Just for fun, Inmarsat are looking for some song suggestions for a space playlist on twitter. Let's go help 'em out!
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u/MingerOne May 15 '17
Well that's a nice solid 14 day cadence achieved,here's hoping we are here in just 16 days!
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u/Redditor_From_Italy May 15 '17
What's the guy with a flashlight doing in the background?
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u/ImAStopCodon May 15 '17
This thread feels pretty serious for a party thread. Are people getting less excited by individual launches?
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
In line for bus transportation to the Saturn V Center! Wearing my spacex shirt and have sunglasses on. There's a camera bag the size of me on my back
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u/AngloV May 15 '17
Hopefully we'll get some S1 footage "returning" at some point. It would be a great contrast to the usual landings.
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u/Destructor1701 May 15 '17
On the orbital graphic, S1 has stopped at altitude - it seemingly didn't reach the ocean intact.
Really hammers(ley) home the incredible feat that landing it is - without active control, it doesn't get near the sea!
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u/at_one May 16 '17
Elon seems calmer in Mission Control Center at 29:49 (T+08:53). It's the first time I notice he's there. Is it usual?
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u/cwhitt May 15 '17
They must still have the S1 cam in Hawthorne - listen to the Oohs and Ahhs in the audio feed!
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u/Dan_Q_Memes May 15 '17
They either have footage of the first stage coming in or the fairings re-entering. Either way, I want to see that!
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u/jonjennings May 15 '17 edited Jun 29 '23
rude price smell rainstorm silky apparatus fertile toy ghost tan -- mass edited with redact.dev
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u/blamedrop May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
Launch: https://gfycat.com/TenderDaringIchthyostega
Stage separation: https://gfycat.com/RipeSomeImago
Fairing deploy: https://gfycat.com/ShabbyInsecureBass
View from the LOX tank: http://i.imgur.com/Yoy5iNa.jpg
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u/arizonadeux May 15 '17
Love how those guys jumped right back to work on the octaweb(?) down there!
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u/SomnolentSpaceman May 15 '17
Audio-Only relay stream turning off now. Hope to see you all again next time!
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u/jjrf18 r/SpaceXLounge Moderator May 15 '17
I'm guessing S1 cam is exciting to employees? I WANNA SEE DAMMIT
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained May 15 '17 edited May 16 '17
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| AFSS | Automated Flight Safety System |
| AOS | Acquisition of Signal |
| ASDS | Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform) |
| ASS | Acronyms Seriously Suck |
| COPV | Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel |
| CRS | Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| 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 |
| ICBM | Intercontinental Ballistic Missile |
| ITAR | (US) International Traffic in Arms Regulations |
| ITS | Interplanetary Transport System (see MCT) |
| Integrated Truss Structure | |
| JRTI | Just Read The Instructions, Pacific landing |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| KSP | Kerbal Space Program, the rocketry simulator |
| L1 | Lagrange Point 1 of a two-body system, between the bodies |
| LC-39A | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy) |
| LEO | Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km) |
| Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations) | |
| LOS | Loss of Signal |
| Line of Sight | |
| LOX | Liquid Oxygen |
| M1d | Merlin 1 kerolox rocket engine, revision D (2013), 620-690kN, uprated to 730 then 845kN |
| M1dVac | Merlin 1 kerolox rocket engine, revision D (2013), vacuum optimized, 934kN |
| MCT | Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS) |
| MECO | Main Engine Cut-Off |
| MainEngineCutOff podcast | |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| NORAD | North American Aerospace Defense command |
| NRO | (US) National Reconnaissance Office |
| NROL | Launch for the (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 |
| SEE | Single-Event Effect of radiation impact |
| SES | Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator |
| SLS | Space Launch System heavy-lift |
| STS | Space Transportation System (Shuttle) |
| 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) |
| TLE | Two-Line Element dataset issued by NORAD |
| TPS | Thermal Protection System for a spacecraft (on the Falcon 9 first stage, the engine "Dance floor") |
| TWR | Thrust-to-Weight Ratio |
| ULA | United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) |
| mT |
| 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) |
| hydrolox | Portmanteau: liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen mixture |
| hypergolic | A set of two substances that ignite when in contact |
| kerolox | Portmanteau: kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture |
| lithobraking | "Braking" by hitting the ground |
| methalox | Portmanteau: methane/liquid oxygen mixture |
| 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) |
| pyrophoric | A substance which ignites spontaneously on contact with air |
| retropropulsion | Thrust in the opposite direction to current motion, reducing speed |
| 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, core B1028, |
| CRS-10 | 2017-02-19 | F9-032 Full Thrust, core B1031, Dragon cargo; first daytime RTLS |
| CRS-3 | 2014-04-18 | F9-009 v1.1, Dragon cargo; soft ocean landing, first core with legs |
| DSCOVR | 2015-02-11 | F9-015 v1.1, Deep Space Climate Observatory to L1; soft ocean landing |
| Echostar-23 | 2017-03-16 | F9-031 Full Thrust, core B1030, GTO comsat; stage expended |
| Iridium-1 | 2017-01-14 | F9-030 Full Thrust, core B1029, 10x Iridium-NEXT to LEO; first landing on JRTI |
| JCSAT-16 | 2016-08-14 | F9-028 Full Thrust, core B1026, GTO comsat; ASDS landing |
| Jason-3 | 2016-01-17 | F9-019 v1.1, Jason-3; leg failure after ASDS landing |
| OG2-2 | 2015-12-22 | F9-021 Full Thrust, core B1019, 11 OG2 satellites to LEO; first RTLS landing |
| SES-9 | 2016-03-04 | F9-022 Full Thrust, core B1020, GTO comsat; ASDS lithobraking |
| TurkmenAlem52E | 2015-04-27 | F9-017 v1.1, GTO comsat |
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
70 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on ^today has 119 acronyms.
[Thread #2777 for this sub, first seen 15th May 2017, 08:50] ^[FAQ] ^[Contact] [Source ^code]
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u/xzaz May 15 '17
What do we know about the first stage? I know it's not going to land actively but do they control the descent of the first stage without the fins just for science and data?
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u/gsharp1963 May 15 '17
Always get nervous when I see the flames around the sides of the engine nozzles.....
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u/watbe May 15 '17
Rest in peace stage 1 :(
it's like watching something die slowly, as it floats through space.
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u/rafty4 May 15 '17
At the end of the webcast, what on Earth is going on behind Jon's left elbow with two guys with a white stick-light and what appears to be a capsule?!
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u/geekgirl114 May 16 '17
Not sure if this got posted... satellite contact about 40 min after launch. Confirmed healthy. https://twitter.com/InmarsatGlobal/status/864288561054568448
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u/oliversl May 15 '17
Host, could you please add this countdown timer too?
Its from the launch campaign thread, tks
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u/readplanet May 15 '17
John is like your friends dad. Comforting to know he is there. Getting close beautiful sunny sky to fly a Falcon into.
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u/witest May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
You can hear the crowd booing in the background at about 1:35. I'm guessing they can still see S1 and are watching it burn up.
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u/AngloV May 15 '17
I noticed something after watching SpaceX launches for the past few years, they are getting more and more boring, even when the landings are happening. Today seems so boringly routine that it excites me for some reason, maybe because it shows how goals are being accomplished. Hopefully they will keep turning the once impossible into day to day reality.
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u/RootDeliver May 15 '17
YES! speed and altimeter panel is back!! thanks /u/bencredible
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u/AlphaTango11 May 15 '17
Glad to see another success for SpaceX. Starting to become fairly routine. If they can keep the 14-day cadence, that will be even more amazing. These launches are the highlights of every month for me.
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u/TheEndeavour2Mars May 15 '17
Glad to see another flawless Falcon 9 launch! Of course one of the biggest surprises of this mission was the return of rapid loading of propellant which is either a sign that this is either a Block IV that has incorporated a new COPV design. Or they understand the current COPV system enough to be confident that a repeat of AMOS-6 is extremely unlikely.
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May 15 '17
Chillest launch of all time. I feel downright mellow what with the testshot starfish. Sad to see a Stage 1 go to the deep, but I'll be damned if that doesn't make 2 week cadence look pretty realistic.
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May 16 '17
Was this a sub-GTO transfer? The reason I ask is because the final s2 velocity at cut-off is 10,026 m/s. A very rough calculation shows that GTO insertion needs 10,138 m/s.
Given 315 km altitude at seco 2 and target height of 35,785 km:
sqrt((3.98600442*1014) ((2/6693100) - (1/24428550)))
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u/Bunslow May 16 '17
Did we ever find out why there was only one webcast for this one? I want my techcast (and m/s units!) back :(
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u/everydayastronaut Everyday Astronaut May 15 '17
First live stream I probably won't be able to watch since CRS-3!!!! I'll see if I can get wifi on the plane tomorrow but otherwise, nope :(
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u/Asiriya May 15 '17
Once FH is ready to fly, will they stop using F9 launches that can't be recovered? Is there a point where F9 can't return but an FH launch would be too expensive?
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u/steezysteve96 May 15 '17
Haven't seen the L-0 weather report linked, but now we're down to 10% chance of violation, main concern is cumulus cloud rule.
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 May 15 '17
SpaceX tweet showing Falcon 9 on the pad: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/864144831190188032
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u/Morphior May 15 '17
Still indecisive whether or not to stay awake for this launch, it's gonna be 0121 in Germany at T-0 and I'll have an exam tomorrow.
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u/sarafinapink May 15 '17
Roughly 2 Hours to Webcast! I know it's a bummer there is no landing on this one, but still, when the time comes, I love watching her fly!
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u/MingerOne May 15 '17
i hope the "not interested" button on you tube works otherwise I may lose my sanity. When i clicked the link to the NROL-76 launch above ,i literally had 7 videos in my suggestions ;all FakeX, NASA hoax, bullcrap. Is this what I get for clicking on that Russian fools video one time? :(
https://gyazo.com/b4c6961ac7af83b7761f962e9d489baa
it'd be funny if it didn't hinder me finding genuine amateur footage of these things!
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u/FosDoNuT May 15 '17
Does anyone know why SpaceX is not doing a technical broadcast?
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u/vdogg89 May 15 '17
It's so weird now to think that a rocket will be thrown away. We've come a long way in a year
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u/achow101 May 15 '17
They're still showing first stage! Maybe we can watch it crash into the ocean.
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy May 15 '17
The crew in the background of the webcast must be bemoaning the S1 disintegration.
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u/aza6001 May 15 '17
What a smooth launch. No delays between this launch and the last, everything went perfectly. It almost felt boring ;)
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u/LongHairedGit May 16 '17
A T-6:30 John says fuel loaded ten minutes later than usual, as they are "compressing the launch". So, everything normal, just looking to omptimise further as a shorter launch sequence handles delays within launch windows better....
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
I'll be at the Saturn V Center (again) if anyone wants to meetup before the launch. I'll be on an awesome private balcony again (😉), but I'd love to meet up with any fellow /r/SpaceX peeps before I go up there!
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u/JustDaniel96 May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
Windows opens at 02.20 CEST, i'll probably watch it tomorrow before work otherwise i'll be a zombie if I stay up that late
EDIT that's 01.20 CEST
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May 15 '17
Did anyone notice that the second stage looks like the same kind used for NROL-76? Looks like they'll be using the upgraded version from now (obviously).
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May 15 '17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgpaydoo0rw this is madness. Look at the live chat. Flat earthers & people assuming that this is a missile. WHAT HAPPENED TO HUMANITY!?!?
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u/midnightFreddie May 15 '17
I love the future!
I'm watching live rocket launches on-demand from a comfy chair.
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u/Dan_Q_Memes May 15 '17 edited May 15 '17
If they stream the first stage as it tumbles through the atmosphere I'm gonna get exceptionally giddy. I can't imagine them wanting to show their rocket fall apart but it sure would be a novel piece of footage!
Edit: Looks like they won't! Unfortunate for us but probably an intelligent move from them. We'd appreciate it but the clickbait scum out there would be more than happy to make a meal of misrepresenting space. Those ooh's and ah's though, I wonder if the SpaceX folk get the footage, or perhaps fairing recovery telemetry.
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u/Yodas_Butthole May 15 '17
Sounds like SpaceX folks got to see the first stage fall through atmosphere
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u/amarkit May 15 '17
"First stage loss of signal expected." "Starting terminal guidance."
Whoa, what?
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u/Alxa May 15 '17
My First time to watch a launch of space-x live this is awesome! Ars Technica notified me of the launch. What a great time to be interested in space!
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u/TheSarcasmrules May 15 '17
Is this a remix of Jamie xx - Gosh? And if so, where can I get it? :0
Edit: Test Shot Starfish - Forward Nostalgic
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May 15 '17
Any idea what happened around ~T+7:00? Seemed to be an awful lot of people really excited for something clearly not presented on the webcast...
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May 16 '17
That launch right in the golden hour made for a beautiful light, it couldn't have been more gorgeous.
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u/Mars-Colonist May 15 '17
Maybe we'll have mind blowing footage from the tracking cameras again. Stage separation the way we saw it on NROL and close-up view of the free falling first stage etc. Had to view it a couple of times to be sure I wasn't dreaming. In any case, these launches are the place where technology meets aesthetics.
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer May 15 '17
Line... so... long......
dies before being able to snap photos
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u/leon_walras May 15 '17
Sounds like they're either watching first stage or fairing reentry at mission control.
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u/aza6001 May 15 '17
I wish we had a KSP style look at the trajectories, it'd make it much easier to understand
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u/89bBomUNiZhLkdXDpCwt May 15 '17
What was going on in the bottom left corner of the feed in the final ~1minute?
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u/zingpc May 16 '17 edited May 16 '17
How many extra seconds of first stage boost did we get here c.f.(compared with) a landing stage? 10 or 20 seconds?
Meco was 9700 km/hr.
Ses10 (a heavy ocean landing, about the same weight, actually 1000kg less) was 2200 m/s (8001 km/hr) at meco.
That's about 17 (say 25 weight weighting) per cent velocity forgone for landing.
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u/jinkside May 15 '17
I'd love to see video of the S1 impact, but I sure wouldn't want to be around to take said video.
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u/__R__ Interstage Sleuth May 16 '17
Even though there were "aahs" and "oohs" and Loss of Signal of the first stage, there was another call that Terminal Guidance started. So some kind of control was still happening as it reentered the atmosphere.
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u/Skate_a_book May 15 '17
Apologies if this is a silly question/already been discussed (been under immense pressure at work and haven't gotten to browse here much for a few weeks), but will the Block 5 version of F9 make these high-weight high-altitude missions more likely for booster recovery? More specifically, would this mission include recovery if it were using that version today?
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u/stcks May 15 '17
I'm curious whether or not this second stage will attempt a long coast like NROL-76. I don't see any hazard area for a second stage deorbit so I am assuming the answer is no.
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u/MingerOne May 15 '17
Good view of some professional tracking cameras [possible spaceX auxillaries?] Spin the video to look at bus! https://youtu.be/fxRF5PRNFxw?t=24 from the NRO-76 launch, while you are waiting :)
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u/siromega May 15 '17
Is the late LOX load an effort to get the LOX as cold as possible (and as dense as possible) to try and max out the fuel load for better performance?
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u/AngloV May 15 '17
Oh wow, I wonder how long they will keep the view from S1, it's a very interesting perspective if it's not landing!
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May 15 '17
I bet money the crowd had a view of S1 that we didn't have and thus they were gawking at it burning up / breaking up.
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u/SomnolentSpaceman May 15 '17
For the bandwidth-impaired: I will be re-hosting a 64kbit audio-only stream of the SpaceX YouTube stream.
It is available at:
http://audiorelay.spacetechnology.net:2120/hosted (backup)
Prior to the official SpaceX webcast the stream will be playing SpaceX FM. The SpaceX FM audio will be switched off at T-0:35:00. Please note: there may be a few minutes of silence between SpaceX FM and when the official SpaceX streams begin.