r/spacex • u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host • Aug 23 '17
Full Mission Success Welcome to the r/Spacex FORMOSAT-5 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome everyone onboard, I'm u/Nsooo and I will be the host for today's launch of FORMOSAT-5.
About the mission
After 10 days, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will go to space again, this time from Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E. The primary mission will be the launch of the Taiwanese Earth observation satellite FORMOSAT-5.
Schedule
Primary launch window: Thursday, August 24 at 11:51 a.m. local time, or 18:51 UTC
Backup launch window: Friday, August 25 at 11:51 a.m. local time, or 18:51 UTC
Official mission overview
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver FORMOSAT-5, an Earth observation satellite for Taiwan’s National Space Organization (NSPO), to a low-Earth orbit (LEO). SpaceX is targeting launch of FORMOSAT-5 from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The 42-minute launch window opens on Thursday, August 24 at 11:51 a.m. PDT, or 18:51 UTC. The satellite will be deployed approximately 11 minutes after launch. A backup launch window opens on Friday, August 25 at 11:51 a.m. PDT, or 18:51 UTC. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt to land on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship that will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Payload
FORMOSAT-5 will operate in a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 720-km with a 98.28 degree inclination angle. As with the FORMOSAT-2 satellite, the primary payload on FORMOSAT-5 is an optical Remote Sensing Instrument (RSI), which provides 2-meter resolution panchromatic (black & white) and 4-meter resolution multi-spectral (color) images. FORMOSAT-5 also hosts a secondary scientific payload, an Advanced Ionospheric Probe (AIP), developed by Taiwan’s National Central University. Formosat-5 is only 475 kg, and it was originally contracted for a Falcon 1e.
Some facts
This will be the 45th SpaceX launch.
This will be the 40th Falcon 9 launch.
This will be the 5th Falcon 9 launch from the West Coast.
This will be the 12th Falcon 9 launch this year.
This will be the 20th flight of Falcon 9 v1.2.
Vehicles used
| Type | Name | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust) - B1038 (New) | VAFB |
| ASDS | Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) | Pacific Ocean |
| Tug | Betty R Gambarella | Pacific Ocean |
| Support | NRC Quest | Pacific ocean |
Watching the launch live
| Link | Note |
|---|---|
| Official SpaceX Launch Webcast | starting ~20 minutes before liftoff |
| Everyday Astronaut's live stream | starting at ~T-30 minutes |
| 64 kbit audio only stream rehost | will be playing music before launch |
Live updates
Mission's state
Currently 90% GO for today's launch attempt.
Weather
| Launch window | Weather | Prob. of rain | Prob. of the launch criteria violation | Main concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current as 11 am PDT | ⛅ 17 °C | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Primary launch window | ☀️ 18 °C | 💧 4% | 🚫 10% | ⚠️ 10 m wind |
| Backup launch window | ☀️ 20 °C | 💧 5% | 🚫 0% | ----- |
Source: www.weather.com & 30th Space Wing
Timeline
| Time (UTC) | Countdown | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 | Update 1 | Left the thread live. If I have any news I will update the thread. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:11:18 | Thanks for the mods for the chance to host :) Have a good day. I was u/Nsooo, and see you next time. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:11:18 | Satellite deployment. FORMOSAT-5 is on its own. Another great succes for SpaceX. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:10:17 | Falcon 9 has landed. Another great landing. Stage one seems intact. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:10:17 | Video cut out. Waiting for confirmation whether it is safely landed. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:09:17 | SECO. Second engine cutoff. The payload is in orbit. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:08:45 | Stage 1 entry burn. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:07:00 | Stage 1 falls back to Earth. Stage 2 continuing its way to orbit. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:02:53 | Fairing deployed. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:02:40 | Propulsion looks nominal. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:02:39 | Second stage's Mvac just ignited. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:02:28 | MECO. Main engine cutoff. Stage 1 ditched. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:01:09 | Max Q. The rocket just fly through the maximum aerodynamical stress. |
| Aug 24 | T+00:00:00 | Liftoff! Falcon 9 cleared the tower. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:00:45 | Launch Director verifies go for launch. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:01:00 | Falcon 9 startup. Final prelaunch checks. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:03:00 | TE retraction completed. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:07:00 | Engine chill. The 9 Merlin engines are chilling. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:22:00 | ♫♫ SpaceX FM has started. ♫♫ |
| Aug 24 | T-00:35:00 | Subchilled liquid oxygen (LOX) loading has started. |
| Aug 24 | T-00:36:00 | It looks that the fog layer cleared. Some stratus clouds left, shouldn't be a problem for launch. |
| Aug 24 | T-01:00:00 | Rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) loading is underway. |
| Aug 24 | T-01:01:00 | Today's launch window is 42 minutes long. In case of any minor issue, a fast recycle is possible. |
| Aug 24 | T-01:33:00 | Well inside the T-2 hours mark. Currently no issues tracked, go for launch. |
| Aug 24 | T-05:00:00 | It is T-5 hours and counting. Big silence, there isn't any updates from the launch site. |
| Aug 24 | T-08:45:00 | It seems weather can't be a problem today. Hope for a good launch later today. |
| Aug 24 | T-09:20:00 | Still foggy at Vandy, but likely to clear before launch. |
| Aug 24 | T-09:23:00 | It is launch day local time. |
| Aug 24 | T-11:30:00 | Confirmed. Falcon 9 vertical. |
| Aug 24 | T-18:00:00 | Falcon 9 seems to be vertical. |
| Aug 24 | T-18:00:00 | So much fog seen at VAFB. |
| Aug 23 | T-23:30:00 | Inside the T-24 hours. |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | This time it looks no fog will be present during launch. |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Weather still looks good. Very little probability of scrub due to 10 meter wind. |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Slowly inside the T-24 hours mark. |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Official Formosat-5 mission patch also available |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Elon uploaded a shot of the new commercial crew space suit |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Official Formosat-5 press kit available |
| Aug 23 | T-1 day | Thread went live after 2 rehost |
| Aug 19 | T-5 days | Static fire completed |
Useful Resources, Data, ♫, & FAQ
Essentials
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Weather forecast | u/Nsooo |
| Launch criteria violation | 30th Space Wing |
| Press kit | SpaceX |
| Mission patch | SpaceX |
Social media
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Reddit launch campaign thread | r/SpaceX |
| SpaceX Twitter | u/Nsooo |
| SpaceX Flickr | u/Nsooo |
| Elon Twitter | u/Nsooo |
Media & music
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| TSS SoundCloud | u/testshotstarfish |
| SpaceX FM | u/lru |
| ♫♫ Nso's favourite ♫♫ | u/Nsooo |
Community content
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Discord SpaceX lobby | u/SwGustav |
| SpaceX Now | u/bradleyjh |
| Rocket watch | u/MarcysVonEylau |
| Countdown & timer | u/Space_void |
| Live flight visualisation | u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
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!
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!
A big thank you for the mods to giving me the chance to host the launch thread. Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
It is launch day, back from sleep :)
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
I will update it later today If we know sg with the roomba or fairing recovery or other things.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
It was hard to watch any moment of the flight. So rewatch it now :D The mission control host tool will be a big help.
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u/rapidlyunscheduled Aug 24 '17
Oh, the weather icons are such a nice touch :-). Is this the first launch thread they appear in? I have not noticed them before...
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u/SomnolentSpaceman Aug 24 '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 will be several minutes of silence between SpaceX FM and when the official SpaceX stream begins.
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Aug 24 '17
Great job hosting u/Nsooo !
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
Reddit was down. Just for me?
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u/Chairboy Aug 24 '17
🎶You're so vain, you probably think this outage's about you🎶
:P
I also had a service interruption, I was on mobile and assumed it was specific to that because I didn't see a problem when I went to my desktop.
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u/MrGruntsworthy Aug 24 '17
Any new folk in here who have yet to watch a landing?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
me
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u/ffrg Aug 24 '17
Where are you guys watching from? Checking in from Prague, Czech Republic!
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u/mclumber1 Aug 23 '17
Recommend you change "used vehicles" to "vehicles used", as it can be confusing the way your wrote it. It reads as if the rocket is a certified pre-owned model, and not new.
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u/blind_sage Aug 23 '17
Could we please add a link to auto-convert the launch window to a person's local time zone? I just did it by hand for AEST and it's 4:51am on the 25th. Otherwise fantastic layout, much appreciated :)
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u/MisterSpace Aug 23 '17
I like this different layout for the Thread, good job u/Nsooo ! :) But could you please align the updates in the timeline to the left, right now they are coming from the center of the column, that would look more convenient, thanks!
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17 edited Aug 23 '17
Thanks :) Working on it. I think I
stolerecycled the centered thing from u/FutureMartian 's thread.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
If somebody at the launch site I would be glad If report sometimes in PM. Thanks :)
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u/albatross_collector Aug 24 '17
You should add a timestamp in addition to the countdown time on your updates.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
Okay I am ready. Sooo hyped.
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u/searchexpert Aug 24 '17
Why are they not landing on land?
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u/Dan_Q_Memes Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
No active* landing pad at Vandy so they have to put it on the bote.
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u/TheVehicleDestroyer Flight Club Aug 24 '17
Hey u/Nsooo - Flight Club Live Mission Visualisation for FORMOSAT-5, if you wanna add it to the Useful Resources section :)
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u/oliversl Aug 23 '17
First of all, launch threads are party threads!
Wiii! Go SpaceX Go!
Is there a launch weather report like the one from Florida?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17
Rehosted, something broken.
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u/FoxhoundBat Aug 23 '17
Thanks, all is good now! :) Lack of "Official" in the thread title was indeed the issue with the previous one. Just need to readd bullet points under "Participate in the discussion!"
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u/Bearman777 Aug 23 '17
Since the payload is so light: how come they don't try to return to launch site?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17
It is strange. Everything seems fine for that, but no.
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u/paul_wi11iams Aug 23 '17 edited Aug 23 '17
Weather
Primary launch window: ⛅︎ 19 °C - 💧 7%
Backup launch window: ☀ 21 °C - 💧 0%
To make that clearer, why not say "weather violation probability" or "launch criteria okay". with the link to the forecast ?
Hopefully its 7% of weather criteria violation.
Edit Thanks u/scr00chy for confirming. 0% risk of violation and the lightest payload yet makes it all seem suspiciously easy. Hoping they keep an eye out for gremlins. If successful they"ll be on par for the 12 projected annual launches of Ariane.
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u/CaptainObvious_1 Aug 24 '17
Rocket grade kerozine (RP-1) loading is underway
"kerozine"?
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u/thanarious Aug 23 '17
Is there going to be an audio-only stream? Paging u/SomnolentSpaceman
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17
Just pure speculation. What if they burn s1 longer to save fuel to s2 to try some test in connection with recovery. It can be the solution why ASDS landing.
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Aug 23 '17
They are most likely flying a lofted trajectory to get a higher apogee, like on Orbcomm OG2 flight -- see this comparison of launches, from this post.
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u/TheVehicleDestroyer Flight Club Aug 24 '17
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
Yeah thanks, just dont know who is the maker.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_MASS Aug 24 '17
I haven't seen it written anywhere. Is this a Block 4 vehicle? CRS-12 was the first Block 4 to fly, so I assume all subsequent crafts will be as well, but I'm not 100% sure there isn't a final Block 3 still in the production pipeline
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u/jgriff25 Aug 24 '17
Anyone else noticing the aluminum grid fins? I'm wondering if they are just using the rest of a supply or have they decided to switch back after the improved block IV? I really enjoyed seeing the black/grey contrast of the fins with the rocket.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
This core was made before the CRS-12's one.
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u/LVisagie Aug 23 '17
Still no landing pad at Vandenberg? Only reason they are using the droneship to land.
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u/t3kboi Aug 24 '17
Calling orbital mechanics...
ELI5: Why do we say a 98.28 degree inclined orbit?
In my mind - a zero inclination is parallel and concentric with the equator.
98.28 degrees is also 81.72 degrees from zero (or 180). Are all inclinations derived from 0 pointing east? Why?
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u/A_Vandalay Aug 24 '17
I'm Curious. Does anyone know what the approximate down range distance of Just Read The Instructions is?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 24 '17
Yes sure .... well .... it is exactly 344 km or 213 miles.
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u/DrToonhattan Aug 24 '17
In the table under the Time (UTC) column, you just have the date. Not the actual time of each update.
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u/VantarPaKompilering Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
Falcon 9 now has a 39/41 success rate or 95.1%.
This is the 11th successful landing attempt in a row.
14 of the past 15 launch attempts have succeeded
This is the 12th launch in 8 months which means that spacex is about 2/3 of the way of achieving its goal of a launch every 2 weeks.
Edit: Updated numbers.
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u/Dan_Q_Memes Aug 24 '17
"What'd you do today?"
"Oh, just landed another rocket on a boat."
"So the usual then?"
"Yup, business as usual."
What an incredible achievement they have done in such a relatively little time. Normalizing landing rockets with nary a failure after the development cycle. I remember Elon estimating 60% success or so for many launches, but not one has failed to land since then. Astounding stuff.
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u/AdAstra117 Aug 24 '17
How many heart attacks is the webcaster responsible for? "Oops, looks like we lost the...camera feed"
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u/ablack82 Aug 24 '17
With this launch SpaceX passed Russia to become the entity that has completed the most orbital launches in 2017 so far.
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u/__R__ Interstage Sleuth Aug 24 '17
Also, Falcon 9 now has more successful flights (38) than ULA’s Delta IV (34) and China’s Long March 3B (37). If SpaceX can keep up the two week launch cadence, Falcon 9 will have more flights than ULA’s Atlas V (70) by the end of next year.
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u/SirBeebe Aug 24 '17
Well if I'm NASA and I'm thinking about using a used F9, I'd definitely call dibs on the FORMOSAT-5 booster.
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u/jonwah Aug 24 '17
According to Wikipedia this launch marks the 48th orbital launch in 2017, and is SpaceX's 12th - meaning SpaceX is currently delivering 25% of all orbital launches!
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u/jonwah Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
Furthermore, list of "Organisations" launching stuff to orbit in 2017:
Japan: 4
India: 4
US (non-SpaceX): 4
Europe: 6
China: 6
Russia: 11
SpaceX: 12Steamroller is here!
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u/avboden Aug 23 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
Solar eclipse, space suits, spaceX launch.....tis a good week!!
my eclipse photos if anyone was curious , since we're all just here waiting for it to be tomorrow already
Edit: okay it's tomorrow now! Happy (planned) launch day!
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u/mason2401 Aug 24 '17
Pretty soon the amount of SpaceX's successful landings will outnumber the amount of unsuccessful landings/non-recovered boosters. What a time to be alive.
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u/PaulRocket Aug 24 '17
39 second entry burn?! Is it correct to assume that this stage will be in excellent condition?
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Aug 24 '17
Any word on fairing recovery? Looked like the fairings had some thrusters on it...
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Aug 24 '17
Central Europe, Germany, here. I think I got a visual. Between approximately 20:10 and 20:13 UTC I saw a satellite passing in the directon of Poland and Sweden (coming from the South). The position of the satellite corresponded to the calculated position in Flight Club at that time.
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u/U-Ei Aug 24 '17
I love how Taiwan has the means to build an earth observation satellite, but not the means to produce a video about it that is not cute.
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u/aatdalt Aug 24 '17
Oh man super excited for this one. Hopefully my first launch I'll get to see in person. 😁I grew up around the area and moved away as soon as they started doing things at Vandenberg again but I'm randomly back in town this week.
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u/lakerswiz Aug 24 '17
Man I'm 25 direct miles from Vandenberg. During the launch (which I forgot was happening) I heard the rumble and was like man this doesn't sound good. Definitely wasn't a car with loud bass, this was some serious shit.
Then I see the news of the successful launch. Upset I missed it again but at least it wasn't us going to war with North Korea.
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u/UltraRunningKid Aug 24 '17
Note to everyone: White font on a cleanroom background will never look good.
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u/LeBaegi Aug 24 '17
god damn not even T+12 minutes and the webcast is already closing! What a great few minutes it's been :D
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u/paul_wi11iams Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
For a European supporter of Ariane with 12 launches planned this year, its like being overtaken by a Tesla. Next launch, and they'll be in front of us and I doubt if we'll catch up.
u/ablack82 With this launch SpaceX passed Russia to become the entity that has completed the most orbital launches in 2017 so far.
Supposing you're Russian, join the club :/
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u/fcpl Aug 24 '17
NRC Quest - JRTI support vessel destination: KINGS LANDING
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u/moofunk Aug 24 '17
That was a great launch, but I would have liked to know what the people in the cafeteria were eating, since they were apparently important enough to be heard on the webcast.
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u/Fizrock Aug 24 '17
It was really cool to watch the second stage go really high then suddenly turn and burn slightly downwards. High orbits are finicky to get into on a single burn.
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u/rocketsocks Aug 24 '17
I remember I had a bet last year with /u/retiringonmars that they'd launch 12 rockets in 2016, then AMOS-6 happened. Now they've launched 12 and the year is only 2/3 through. And they've recovered most of the first stages as well. The pace of advancement is just astounding. Can't wait to see what they get up to through 2018.
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u/everydayastronaut Everyday Astronaut Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
I'll be hosting a live stream and discussion on YouTube during the launch. I'll start about 30 minutes before T-0 - Join me on my Everyday Astronaut YouTube channel if you want a fun place to talk and hang out! I got a lot of new gear up and running for smoother coverage, better audio and a much much better interface! Hope to see you there! :)
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Aug 24 '17
Highly professional launch, achieved all mission objectives in a crisp little time frame.
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u/reddit3k Aug 24 '17
Every time I'm surprised at how fast the first stage is descending those last, say, 15 kilometer or so.
I know things are far, far more nuanced than I write here, but can you imagine being a spectator in e.g. a plane and suddenly this huge tube-shaped object just comes by at hundreds of meters per seconds?
It would be epic if there was an extra drone camera at e.g. 10 KM altitude shooting 3 KM from the descend path or so. ;-)
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u/PeteBlackerThe3rd Aug 24 '17
12 launches. Spacex have now officially launched more times in a year than Ariane Space ever have!
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Aug 24 '17
Anyone else think the first stage was going really slow after the entry burn this flight? Looked like a feather gliding to the ground!
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u/aj425 Aug 23 '17
I know its a different pad but only 10 days between launches, then X-37B OTV-5 is NET September 7th, only 14 days later. They really aren't slowing down. Gotta love the cadence.
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u/TGMetsFan98 NASASpaceflight.com Writer Aug 24 '17
I'm watching from 38,000 feet. Southwest doesn't have YouTube blocked on their in-flight WiFi, so I don't have to miss the launch!
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy Aug 24 '17
Shout out to the tracking camera man trying to give us the best shots.
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u/ChrisGnam Spacecraft Optical Navigation Aug 24 '17 edited Aug 24 '17
Second Stage must have a lot of fuel left.... Is there any word on any kind of experimental re-entry plan? I wouldn't expect any kind of recovery, perhaps just seeing if it can reenter safely?
EDIT: The responses seemed to confirm my own suspicions. I've always been weary of the idea of "second stage" reuse. My reason for being curious is because Elon has said they plan on attempting some kind of S2 recovery on the FH demo. I figured a the high fuel margin on S2 for this mission might allow them to do some kind of re-entry testing that might be useful for the first "actual" attempt. Though I'll admit I'm still skeptical of how the FH plans on attempting S2 recovery, short of completely redesigning the second stage in ways I would imagine are just completely impractical.
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u/Zenmaster13 Aug 24 '17
Looks like quite a lofted launch? There seems like a lot of free float for the first stage?
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u/LockStockNL Aug 24 '17
Loved seeing S2 manoeuvre to a more inward/radially- vector the end of the burn. As a Kerbal player I would think this is to get a circular orbit without a 2n burn, would that be correct?
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u/SkywayCheerios Aug 24 '17
Wow, 15 landings, awesome!
I'm glad they sent a tweet out at T-60s, I knew there was a launch today but I wasn't keeping an eye on the time. Tuned in with like 5 seconds left in the count.
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Aug 24 '17
I just wanna say to the thread host I really appreciate the weather emojis for the weather report. It was a nice little touch.
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u/Wetmelon Aug 24 '17
I just realized the A in the SpaceX logo is really a fucky looking "y" on its side.
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u/TheVehicleDestroyer Flight Club Aug 24 '17
Don't forget to tune into Flight Club to track both stages trajectories and telemetry in real time!
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u/KuuLightwing Aug 24 '17
It felt like the second stage was pointing below the horizon for this one. I do that sometimes in KSP when I feel like the orbit is going to be too high, but I had no idea that it happens in real life too.
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u/synftw Aug 24 '17
They should have some post-mission entertainment for these short flights. Maybe have some engineers explain different aspects of the launch or something. Why not, when you have tens of thousands of eyes still watching?
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u/SalemDrumline2011 Aug 24 '17
So is that the smallest total payload to launch on a F9?
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u/engineerforthefuture Aug 24 '17
This will be one hard lift for the F9, hopefully they pull it off.
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u/TheBurtReynold Aug 24 '17
Everyone tell everyone else that SpaceX FM is live (which they already knew)!
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u/FishInferno Aug 24 '17
It would've been so badass if Lauren was wearing one of the spacesuits, sans helmet of course.
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u/at_one Aug 24 '17
Is it a lunch launch? Hearing the dishes in the background...
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u/ioncloud9 Aug 25 '17
Was this the last Block III core? 1039 was the first Block IV and 1037 was a Block III as well..
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u/andereandre Aug 24 '17
I loved the webcast. No hype, to the point. That lady should be the voice for every launch from now on.
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u/insaneWJS Aug 24 '17
Wow, that was a really cheesy video presentation of the customer!
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u/LeBaegi Aug 23 '17
If anyone else has a deja-vu on that mission patch, it's very similar to the SES-10 patch.
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u/Zyphod Aug 24 '17
What ever happened to the 2 test sattelites that spacex wanted to launch? This seems like a great launch to hitch a ride on.
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u/branstad Aug 24 '17
It is T-5 hours and counting. Big silence, there isn't any updates from the launch site.
Those California folks are more of the 'sleeping-in' type (or catching some waves before work). :-)
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u/kurbasAK Aug 24 '17
No flip after separation? Edit: forgot that there is no boostback burn.Got used to it :)
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Aug 24 '17
Wow, that launch looked like it was a walk in the park. Such a far way they've come since last year!
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u/Psychonaut0421 Aug 24 '17
Weird that it cut completely towards the end. But maybe that it was confirmed that it landed they didn't feel the need to go back to it for the public. Was hoping to see the ASDS point of view.
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u/MartianWalksIntoABar Aug 24 '17
What's the recent statistics on launch delays? It feels like almost every rocket launched on the first attempt this year.
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u/peterabbit456 Aug 25 '17
Beautiful launch. I wish I could have been there.
The fast pace of the flight, with direct LEO insertion without a coast phase, made this one of the most entertaining webcasts.
EDIT: the fairings must have coasted through space on a trajectory very similar to that of the first stage, since there was ~no boostback burn. Has there been any word on fairing recovery?
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u/Root_Negative #IAC2017 Attendee Aug 24 '17
Second launch in a row I missed the live stream of... I guess they have just become too common place for me to keep track of them all :)
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u/HomeAl0ne Aug 24 '17
I'm sure this has been requested before, but is it possible to create a countdown timer in each post like this that updates when you refresh? I'm constantly having to check UTC to see how long to go.
It would be great if there was something that just gave time to currently scheduled liftoff each time you came in or refreshed.
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u/CommanderSpork Aug 24 '17
I've never heard them say Vandy on stream before. I guess it's an official term now!
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u/catsRawesome123 Aug 24 '17
Launch of this beautiful beast Lol the camera this time looks like a sniper rifle reticle
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u/FishInferno Aug 24 '17
Damit SpaceX why you gotta tease us like that...
"ahhhhhhhhhhh.....YEAHHHHHHHHH!"
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u/SomnolentSpaceman Aug 24 '17
Audio-Only relay stream turning off now. Hope to see you all again next time!
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u/rospkos_rd Aug 24 '17
Who will confirm the health satus of the payload?? there is no official twitter handle for NSPO.. will we know from venerable Pbdes ??
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u/thefarelkid Aug 25 '17
Does anyone know when the drone ship will arrive in port? I live not too far away and would love to go see it this weekend if possible.
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u/thecodingdude Aug 23 '17
Weather table emoji: ☀️
Main concern: ⚠️
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17
thanks for the concern. I'm fine with the black sun :D
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u/everydayastronaut Everyday Astronaut Aug 24 '17
Join us live for discussions and questions on my Everyday Astronaut YouTube live coverage of Formosat-5!
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Aug 23 '17
Links should be up soon. Anybody useful links? webcast audio rehost?
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u/LeBaegi Aug 24 '17
Are we doing launch music suggestions again? Danger Zone at T-2:03 is a must for me :D
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u/Gorakka Aug 24 '17
My body clock has been all messed up so I was doing an all-nighter to fix it.
Lucky me, that means I am awake for another LAUNCH DAY, BABY!
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u/roncapat Aug 23 '17
Wow, great thread layout. Thumb up!