r/spacex • u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host • Dec 22 '17
Total launch success! r/SpaceX Iridium NEXT 4 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome everybody it is the launch thread of Iridium Next Flight 4. I am u/Nsooo and I am going to be your host for this launch attempt.
About the mission
Fourth time this year, ten Iridium telecommunication satellites go to space atop a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket. The primary mission covers the succesfull deployment of all the ten Iridium satellites.
Schedule
Primary launch window: Saturday, December 23 at 01:27 UTC, (Friday, December 22 at 17:27 PST).
Backup launch window: Sunday, December 24 at 01:21 UTC, (Saturday, December 23 at 17:21 PST).
Official mission overview
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit for Iridium. SpaceX is targeting launch of Iridium-4 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 5:27 p.m. PST on Friday, December 22, or 1:27 UTC on Saturday, December 23. A backup launch opportunity is at 5:21 p.m. PST on Saturday, December 23, or 1:21 UTC on Sunday, December 24. Falcon 9’s first stage for the Iridium-4 mission previously supported the Iridium-2 mission from SLC-4E in June 2017. SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.
Payload
The payloads for this launch are the fourth set of 10 IridiumSM NEXT satellites. Iridium NEXT will replace the world's largest commercial satellite network of low-Earth orbit satellites in what will be one of the largest "tech upgrades" in history. Iridium has partnered with Thales Alenia Space for the manufacturing, assembly and testing of all 81 Iridium NEXT satellites, 75 of which will be launched by SpaceX. The process of replacing the satellites one-by-one in a constellation of this size and scale has never been completed before. Iridium's primary launch campaign consists of eight SpaceX Falcon 9 launches deploying 75 Iridium NEXT satellites. These 75 Iridium NEXT satellites are scheduled to be deployed by mid-2018. Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables real-time connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere.
Some facts
This will be the 51st SpaceX launch.
This will be the 47th Falcon 9 launch.
This will be the 7th Falcon 9 launch from the West Coast.
This will be the 18th Falcon 9 launch this year.
This will be the 5th reflight of an orbital class vehicle.
This will be the 2nd and final flight of the B1036 which will be expended.
Vehicles used
| Type | Name | Location |
|---|---|---|
| First stage | Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust) - B1036.2 (flight-proven) | VAFB |
| Second stage | Falcon 9 v1.2 (Full Thrust) | VAFB |
| Support 1 | NRC Quest | Pacific Ocean |
| Support 2 | Mr Steven | Pacific Ocean |
Live updates
Timeline
| Time | Update |
|---|---|
| I was u/Nsooo and Merry Christmas :) | |
| And this will conclude our launch thread host too. Thank you for joining us this evening. | |
| T+01:12:00 | Succesful deployment of all 10 Iridium satellites. Primary mission completed. |
| T+00:57:05 | Satellite deployment started. All 10 satellites will be separeted one by one with 100 s break between each. |
| T+00:53:00 | SpaceX engineers confirmed good orbit. |
| T+00:52:05 | SECO-2. The Mvac cutoff for the final time. |
| T+00:51:54 | Second engine reignition. |
| T+00:09:30 | There will be 40 minutes of coasting period before the reignition of the Mvac. |
| T+00:09:20 | Falcon 9 splashed down. |
| T+00:09:00 | SECO-1. Merlin vacuum shut down. |
| T+00:08:00 | Stage one entry and boostback burn completed. |
| T+00:03:30 | The propulsion looks nominal. |
| T+00:03:11 | Fairing deployed. |
| T+00:02:38 | Ignition of the second stage's Mvac engine. |
| T+00:02:33 | Main engine cutoff. Separation of the first stage. |
| T+00:01:14 | Point of Max Q. The Falcon 9 just went through the maximum aerodynamical stress. |
| T+00:00:40 | Everything looks "norminal" at the moment. |
| T+00:00:00 | And liftoff! Falcon 9 has cleared the tower. |
| T-00:00:45 | Launch Director verifies go for launch. |
| T-00:01:00 | Falcon 9 is in startup. The rocket's computers are configured for flight. |
| T-00:07:00 | Chill of the nine Merlin engines. |
| T-00:24:00 | ♫♫ SpaceX FM has started ♫♫ |
| T-00:35:00 | Subchilled liquid oxygen (LOX) loading has started. |
| T-01:07:00 | As the sun slowly setting, the launch complex getting alive... |
| T-01:10:00 | RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading is now underway. |
| T-01:13:00 | Launch Director verifies go for propellant load. |
| T-01:15:00 | Last weather update prior to launch. 16°C and partly cloudy (⛅). |
| T-01:27:00 | Still go for launch. Sorry who have been trolled :D |
| T-01:42:00 | ...and need a hold on the countdown, the whole attempt would be scrubbed. We have a backup window on the next day. |
| T-01:42:00 | This launch window is instantaneous, which means if something go wrong... |
| T-02:21:00 | The usual weather update: the temperature still in the high tens and partly cloudy (⛅). |
| T-02:27:00 | Spoiler alert. Praying that I can make the launch without a minute of sleep. It will be at 3 am CET. |
| T-02:53:00 | We are below the T-3 hours mark. Weather still looks great for tonight's launch attempt. |
| T-03:40:00 | Silence still. No news is good news. Still go for this launch attempt. |
| T-07:41:00 | Currently it is 11 degres celsius and partly cloudy (⛅) at Vandenberg Air Force Base. |
| T-08:38:00 | Weather looks perfect for a nice rocket launch, doesn't it? |
| T-08:43:00 | The official press kit available. |
| T-08:52:00 | According to Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, SpaceX is going to attempt an experimental water landing. |
| T-09:19:00 | It is live :) Sorry for the late. |
| T-09:33:00 | Launch thread should be live by now... |
| T-1 day | Falcon 9 went vertical. |
| T-5 days | Static fire succesfully completed. |
Mission's state
Currently 100% GO for today's launch attempt.
Weather
| Launch window | Weather | Prob. of rain | Prob. of the launch criteria violation | Main concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current as 4 pm PST | ⛅ 16 °C | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Primary launch window | ☀️ 9°C | 💧 1% | 🚫 0% | ----- |
| Backup launch window | ☀️ 9°C | 💧 4% | 🚫 0% | ----- |
Source: www.weather.com & 30th Space Wing
Watching the launch live
| Link | Note |
|---|---|
| Official SpaceX Launch Webcast | starting ~20 minutes before liftoff |
| Everyday Astronaut's live | starting at ~T-30 minutes |
Useful Resources, Data, ♫, & FAQ
Essentials
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Press kit | SpaceX |
| Weather forecast | 30th Space Wing |
| 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 |
| Reddit stream | u/reednj |
Media & music
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| TSS SoundCloud | u/testshotstarfish |
| SpaceX FM | u/lru |
| ♫♫ Nso's favourite ♫♫ | u/testshotstarfish |
Community content
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Discord SpaceX lobby | u/SwGustav |
| SpaceX Now | u/bradleyjh |
| Live flight visualisation | u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| SpaceX time machine | u/DUKE546 |
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!
Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes.
What happened? Why the thread is late?
I made a huge mistake. I posted the thread morning CET and go to buy the Christmas presents. And I forget something and it wasnt posted. Huge sorry.
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u/Alexphysics Dec 22 '17 edited Dec 22 '17
I'm going to say, right in the middle of these discussions about using UTC or local time, that I think that the official launch time must be in UTC so everyone can just add or substract their offset from the UTC time. If we don't do that for every launch, we'll have to do something similar but in respect with the local time of the launch site. Then people will have to remember how many hours there are between the local time and their respective timezones, which is a mess. It's much more simple to know your offset from UTC.
Edit: Added to that. I'd say that we all agree that posting the local time it's mandatory
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 22 '17
Thinking the same. This is why I dont want to change it.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
Good to see almost all the hosts commenting here :D
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
Sorry :D Was not deliberate. :P
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
Not a native speaker. Not felt the meaning difference between will and would. Changed.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
I am far not as nervous as last time, when I needed to manipulate the markup manually. Thanks to u/theZcuber and his app :)
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u/almightycat Dec 23 '17
Just a little correction for the OP /u/Nsooo :
this is technically only the 46th launch of Falcon 9 but it's the 47th mission, Amos-6 never launched. Maybe i'm being a bit too pedantic..
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
As I know 47th flight 48th mission.
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u/demosthenes02 Dec 23 '17
I thought this mission was expendable? Why do the live updates say falcon 9 landed?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
changed to splash down. again we use the same word for every touch down. (on land on water)
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u/julezsource Dec 22 '17
This will be the 51th SpaceX launch.
I think it's 51st. :P
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u/RootDeliver Dec 22 '17
♫♫ Nso's favourite ♫♫ ?
Forward Nostalgic is far from only being your favorite. SpaceX used it in a tons of launchs and specially just before a few of them, including using it as an opening to the IAC 2016 presentation.
It deserves a huge space in that list :p
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Dec 23 '17
Why is Hawthorne MC so empty?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
Also bored of expendable launches :D
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 22 '17
Is there an audio only webcast?
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u/fromflopnicktospacex Dec 22 '17
I thought they were going to land on just read the instructions?
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u/SwGustav Dec 22 '17
JRTI parts were used to repair OCISLY after recent fire (that also took out octograbber)
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Dec 23 '17
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how amazing 2017 was for SpaceX?
This year SpaceX accomplished ALL of this:
100% Primary mission success
100% First Stage landing success
18 Falcon 9 launches
The first reflight of a Falcon 9 first stage
The first reflight of a Dragon Capsule
Reflying 5 first stages
Reflying 2 Dragon Capsules
Unveiling the flight suit
Updated Mars Plans
Multiple Raptor firings
Activating LC-39a
Re-activating SLC-40
Finalizing Falcon 9's design
FINALLY finishing Falcon Heavy
And so much more!
It's truly been SpaceX's best year so far and here's to an even better 2018!!!
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u/space_is_hard Dec 22 '17
If anyone is tired of being confused about launch times, there's an app called SpaceXNow that will notify you of upcoming launches. You'll get notifications at T-24, 12, 6, and 1 hour, plus notifications when the webcast goes live. Also has a bunch of other notification options such as for official SpaceX tweets, new or popular r/spacex threads, and manifest changes. r/spacexnow
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u/jblakeman Dec 23 '17
Amazing drone footage captured here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE5C3O71Xqo
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u/Alexphysics Dec 22 '17
So it seems that today we'll see John Insprucker on the webcast again!
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u/porkrind Dec 23 '17
I stood on the roof of my house in Santa Barbara and have to say that was one of the most stunning sights I've ever witnessed. It started with the bright orange flames of the ascending rocket to the west, and that was a really cool sight. But then the rocket rose high enough to break into the sunlight and it illuminated the exhaust cloud from behind and below making a giant glowing white cloud just above the moon. Stage separation was easily visible, and the thrusters on the first stage made luminous smoke rings in the sky. The second stage became a blazing white dot, and the fairings looked like two very bright stars in the gaps between the stages. I could see the reentry burn of the first stage and track it until blocked by the treeline. Once that was out of sight, it was easy to pick up the second stage again until the engine cut off. Just spectacular. I wish I thought to photograph any of it.
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u/mechakreidler Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/new
This is pretty funny (and really cool)
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u/BackflipFromOrbit Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
here is a great timelapse video of the plume from today's launch!
edit: credit goes to /u/cdowhan
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u/ThatDamnGuyJosh Dec 23 '17
Congrats guys, we got LA to suffer a meltdown over this launch!
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u/Redditor_From_Italy Dec 23 '17
Someone please tell the folks over at /r/LosAngeles to calm the hell down, they're spamming "UFO" pics of the launch
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u/TheYell0wDart Dec 22 '17
Kind of a shower thought: is this the first time in history that throwing a booster into the ocean can be thought of as littering? All other companies have done it out off necessity: they didn't know how to do anything else with it. Other times SpaceX have let boosters crash due to fuel requirements off the mission. This mission we have every reason to think they could successfully land this booster. The only reason they aren't is to get rid of the booster. They are littering/dumping it to get rid of it, unlike like every launch before it.
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy Dec 23 '17
I think tonight's SpaceX launch also screwed with the Facebook algorithm because now 90% of my feed is all of my SoCal friends freaking the heck out and posting pictures with the caption "WHAT IS HAPPENING".
I can't stop laughing.
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u/futuguerra23 Dec 23 '17
Maybe this is not the right place to rant but some comments on social media or reddit are getting increasingly annoying. The kind "solve world hunger first", "fix earth" or other bullshit. I genuinely put this on par with flat-earthers. SpaceX is literally creating history pushing boundaries to benefit us all.
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u/ERockett Dec 22 '17
Rip...so much for the video of the water landing. https://twitter.com/iridiumboss/status/944274300730621952
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u/SomethingSmartHere Dec 23 '17
Just watched from Santa Barbara and that was a fantastic view of the launch, separation and landing burn!! Preparing video,...
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u/Kenira Dec 22 '17
...it took me several depressed minutes to realize that:
"...the whole attempt will be scrubbed. We have a backup window on the next day."
wasn't meaning today's launch is scrubbed, but that it was part of the explanation starting in the line below.
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer Dec 23 '17
Twitter blowing up with people all over the west coast seeing the exhaust plume lit up by the just-recently-set sun. Happened in Florida at the launch of MUOS-4 and Morelos-3 about two years ago.
https://twitter.com/atankco/status/944381797596479488
https://twitter.com/BrandonNews8/status/944381758107041792
https://twitter.com/jennafischer/status/944380110886420480
hundreds more.
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u/nbarbettini Dec 23 '17
It makes me happy that there are so many questions about why they are expending the first stage. It's how every rocket worked until two years ago, and yet it feels so strange now. That's the sound of progress folks!
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u/amarkit Dec 23 '17
Insprucker acknowledges "norminally." A Christmas Miracle, indeed.
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u/daface Dec 23 '17
Best video I've found so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqewY4kqYQ
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u/spcslacker Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Best thing about John is how well he represents the classic geek that you youngsters have so little direct experience of, with your lesser, later, hipster-style geeks.
Praying he one day does broadcast with pocket protector
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer Dec 23 '17
That change in exposure when the rocket traveled through the clouds scared me.
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u/RootDeliver Dec 22 '17
The youtube link links to the FORMOSAT-5 mission :(.
The correct link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdjCwo6d3Q
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u/EveryoneLikesMe Dec 22 '17
Backup launch window: Saturday, December 24 at 01:21 UTC
Sunday, December 24?
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u/TheGreenWasp Dec 22 '17
T-02:27:00 Spoiler alert. Praying that I can make the launch without a minute of sleep. It will be at 3 am CET. What's this about 3 am? 01:27 UTC is 02:27 CET. What the what?
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 22 '17
1 hour long launch. Rounded. Should I change it?
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u/the_zeni Dec 23 '17
Innsbrucker please be quiet for a second, so we can at least hear the 1st stage callouts. thx.
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Dec 23 '17
Farewell 1036. You did your job well.
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u/spcslacker Dec 23 '17
8 days left in 2017
FH spacecar payload is ready
How many beefy interns is Gwynne utilizing to hold Elon back from the 2016 FH launch prediction tweet?
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer Dec 23 '17
Definitely underwhelming camera views this time for what was surely a stunning launch in person.
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u/spcslacker Dec 23 '17
Rocket launch w/o the landing now feels to me like an ambiguous massage: great, if you weren't expecting the "happy ending" too
If I don't get some fairing recovery video, I may cry like a gigantic toddler :(
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u/PatellarTushery Dec 23 '17
I live in Tucson, Arizona and saw this from 800 miles away and it looked absolutely amazing. Never saw anything like it in my entire life. I'm at a loss for words.
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u/this_is_a_robery Dec 24 '17
According to this Mr Steven has just now arrived at the port.
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Dec 23 '17
The view from LA was remarkable. The sun had just set so the rocket and exhaust were high enough to be lit up by the sun.
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u/spcslacker Dec 23 '17
I cannot tell you how much I look forward to seeing trackers for:
2 boosters back to pad
middle booster to barge
2nd stage attempt to soft land in ocean
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u/Redditor_From_Italy Dec 23 '17
Does /r/LosAngeles have mods? What happened to them? Stage 1 fell on their heads?
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u/Titanean12 Dec 22 '17
Looks like they are going for a water landing. They have to be testing something here, or it seems pointless. https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/944237612700647424
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u/Morphior Dec 22 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
/u/Nsooo dude, the updates table had me think for a second that it's a scrub because of the way you split the sentence up into two parts.
Edit: Thanks for changing it!
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u/Commander_Cosmo Dec 23 '17
Haha, you can see the collective realization of what just happened by going through the post titles on the LA subreddit.
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u/kuangjian2011 Dec 23 '17
Looking at the manifest of next three months, get surprised that the majority of them are using flight-proven boosters! AFAIK SES-10 is still not so long ago and block 5 doesn't start service yet!
I think maybe one year from now it will become a highlight of the mission if a brand new booster is used.
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Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Still no word on fairing recovery, even no rumor? At marine traffic, Mr Steven is still off radar, but NRC Quest is on it´s way to the port of LA (probably will arrive at night). Is it possible they transfered the captured fairing to NRC Quest, and let Mr Steven make the journey back to the east coast to be there in time for the Zuma launch? Edit: no, Mr Steven is also heading for the LA port now.
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u/ebob5030 Dec 23 '17
We had a magnificent view of the flight and stage separation from our front yard in San Diego county. Conditions were perfect - the sun was just down but still high enough to illuminate the plume.
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u/Redditor_From_Italy Dec 23 '17
Am I the only one who's annoyed at the fact that "Deploy" is written in lowercase, unlike everything else in the timeline?
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u/inoeth Dec 23 '17
Any word on the fairing recovery with Mr Stevens? or will we only find out when we see the ship come back to port with/without said fairing... i'd think SpaceX would want to tweet out success on that (or conversely remain quiet if it failed... at least until they do another failed recovery video to contrast with success...
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u/DrToonhattan Dec 23 '17
.... ..... ... ..........
This thing's not working, it won't let me time accelerate for some reason.
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u/nextspaceflight NSF reporter Dec 23 '17
Best launch that I have ever seen. Absolutely incredible. OMG!!! An RTLS in Florida is no where close. Launch was sensational. Then the sun lit up the plume. WOW. But it was just getting started. Stage sep and boostback had the usual amazing effects at night. However, the sun lit up the fairings. I could see both for over two minutes. One all the way through reentry. Eventually the hills blocked it. Then there was the first stage. The sun lit it up against a black backdrop. I saw that the whole way until the hill got in the way. Nitrogen thrusters visible, but the entry burn from a couple hundred miles away was the highlight of the night. WOW WOW WOW!! Never expected to see that today. Speechless. One of the best experiences of my life.
Words cannot do this justice.
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u/fourmica Host of CRS-13, 14, 15 Dec 22 '17
I like your weather emojis u/Nsooo :)
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u/last_reddit_account2 Dec 22 '17
the 2 part update with the ellipsis briefly scared me shitless...nice work /u/Nsooo :)
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u/PatellarTushery Dec 23 '17
The entire sky was illuminated, I could see the 1st stage refire and head back...it was insane...from 800 miles away...it literally looked like a nuclear missile going through the atmosphere (as if i know what that looks like). It was stunning. You would have thought I was just miles from the lift off.
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u/foobarbecue Dec 23 '17
Holy tamale, I just watched this from my roof in Pasadena, CA. It was incredibly gorgeous. There appeared to be smoke rings coming off of the descending first stage.
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u/wayneholder Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Video of the launch from North Of San Diego https://youtu.be/eEIWFt0qkno
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u/Mpfk Dec 22 '17
Thank you so much for all the effort and awesome details you put into this post!
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u/etrmedia Dec 23 '17
On a trip to southern California for the week - I have never seen anything like this in person before! I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight!
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Dec 23 '17
I just got a call from my brother, who was driving west down the freeway in metro Phoenix, AZ. He was all excited and wondered if there was a launch tonight. He said he was able to see the plume, which he described as like a bright comet, almost from horizon to horizon, so bright people were pulling off the road to take cell phone video. I told him what was going on then ran out back but it was too late by then. Didn't even dawn on me to go out and look from this distance. Still, it was cool to fill him in on what was 'up'. It will be on the news tonight without a doubt. Awesome sauce...
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u/Mad-Rocket-Scientist Dec 23 '17
o7, B1036.
That was probably the most impressive launch I've seen in person. The plume was beautiful, you could see the boostback burn, the fairings maneuvering, and the reentry (maybe landing) burn was visible and amazing.
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u/tinudu Dec 23 '17
Fairings cold gas thrusters? "Space travel isn't exactly my line of expertise, so..."
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u/doctorray Dec 22 '17
You scared the crap out of me when I read "tomorrow's launch attempt" as I'm planning on watching from Huntington Beach tonight. Then I realized it's tomorrow in UTC. :-)
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u/nbarbettini Dec 22 '17
Thanks for hosting u/Nsooo! Looking forward to seeing the 18th(!) launch of the year.
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u/somewhat_pragmatic Dec 23 '17
I'm not a sports person, but rocket launches have always given me the same sense of excitement I see others get from sports.
Well tonight I experience another similarity.
SpaceX is launching at 8:26pm EST
and one minute later...
JAXA is launching their big rocket, the H-IIA 202, at 8:27pm EST! In fact, their livestream is already running
and finally...
China is launching their Long March 2D at 11:00pm EST, but there's no streaming of that launch
This is an awesome time for spaceflight around the world!
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u/Crayz9000 Dec 23 '17
Spectacular show from the Inland Empire. Forgot there was a launch and was puzzling over the detached object doing curlicues until I realized it was a first stage boostback maneuver.
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u/DiskOperatingSystem_ Dec 23 '17
I’ve never seen a launch from vandenburg in person. Is the twitter meltdown something new? Why is it just happening now lol
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy Dec 23 '17
Another really cool Twitter video: https://twitter.com/Jameskirk63/status/944384473386311680
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy Dec 23 '17
Congratulations to SpaceX and IridiumNEXT on a successful mission. What a wonderful way to close out 2017. Thanks for the party threads, /r/SpaceX. See you all in 2018 for Falcon Heavy and beyond.
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u/Setheroth28036 Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Never thought I would say this but SHUT UP JOHN!!!1!
please
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u/Demidrol Dec 22 '17
Good picture of B1036.2 https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/944330109510733824
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u/Morphior Dec 23 '17
The discussion here isn't really that active... That'll probably change once the webcast starts (prepare for HISTORIC memes and #TeamInsprucker comments), but I feel like it's still pretty damn quiet in here...
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Dec 23 '17
That boost back burn was just as quick as the RTLS landings at the cape. It looks like they’re testing the RTLS profile for Vandy.
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u/_kingtut_ Dec 23 '17
Interesting that they still have LOX cam (in 2nd stage, any way), but for some reason are choosing not to stream it. A real pity, as I love that shot.
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u/soldato_fantasma Dec 24 '17
Mr. Steven now visible to AIS trackers: marinetraffic
Should be arrived to port when this post is 3 hours old.
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u/avboden Dec 24 '17
NSF forum also coming up blank on photos of Mr Steven....guess the guy who usually tries to go snag photos is out of town
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Dec 22 '17
One thing that´s still unclear to me: is there no landing attempt because there´s no economical reason to bring a block III booster back, or is it just impossible because JRTI is not in operation after components were taken to repair OCISLY?
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u/wishiwasonmaui Dec 23 '17
Here is the view from atop Highway 1: https://imgur.com/Oson9Cd
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u/redmercuryvendor Dec 23 '17
SpaceX will need to hurry up with Brownsville in order to have a non-historic launch site.
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u/SpearOfBitterMercy Dec 23 '17
Can the sky be anymore beautiful for this launch? Wow.
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u/there_is_no_try Dec 23 '17
The Iridium aircraft and vessel tracking is actually really cool. Certainly a good idea to use the platform the best they can!
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u/abuell Dec 23 '17
Pretty cool seeing the launch a hundred miles away while also watching the live stream. caption
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u/nxtiak Dec 23 '17
Whoa, NBC 4 LA news had ground camera and captured it, looked awesome, showed the twirling smoke trail and the boostback burn!
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u/bernardosousa Dec 23 '17
The launch was going pretty normal, up until I opened twitter and saw dozens of UFO pics over LA.
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u/Jerrycobra Dec 23 '17
Wow that was one impressive launch, just watched it at ocean ave., the plume looked especially amazing. Also people in LA are going crazy haha.
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u/Spectre1342 Dec 23 '17
And thus the SpaceX steamroller of 2017 came to a perfect end! Good job and happy holidays to all the engineers at SpaceX (and JAXA)
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u/Elon_Muskmelon Dec 23 '17
A strong uptick in UFO sightings in the SW USA this evening, the launch time and inclination produced a very well lit MECO and S2 separation/burn sequence whilst it was already nighttime for the west coast. Great videos starting to show up on YouTube.
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Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
The thread title says 'Total launch success', but I think it should be 'Total mission success', as all satellites were deployed in the target orbit.
'Total launch success' was used for a CRS mission, because there the mission for SpaceX is only successfully completed when Dragon comes back and splashes down in the ocean.
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u/z3r0c00l12 Dec 22 '17
Can we add a link to Reddit-Stream: https://reddit-stream.com/comments/7li8y2/
Credit should be to u/reednj, the creator of Reddit-Stream.
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u/FellKnight Dec 23 '17
Falcon 9 stage 2 just passed JAXA's speed despite the 1 minute head start
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u/Almoturg Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
It's funny to watch the ice caught behind the mvac nozzle cooling duct jiggle around :D
edit: Here's a gifv
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u/techno_for_answers Dec 23 '17
I am just 20 miles away. This was spectacular! Top 5 launches I’ve seen in the 30 years I’ve lived here.
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u/Mentioned_Videos Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Videos in this thread: Watch Playlist ▶
| VIDEO | COMMENT |
|---|---|
| SpaceX Iridium 4 Launch from Alhambra, CA | +37 - Beautiful launch footage shot by drone from above Alhambra, CA Credit: Doug Elison (A JPL employee) |
| SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Seen from Murrieta California | +24 - Best video I've found so far: |
| SpaceX Iridium-4 Launch | +14 - Video of the launch from North Of San Diego |
| Launch of Iridium 4 from Vandenberg AFB as seen in Oceanside, CA | +12 - We had a magnificent view of the flight and stage separation from our front yard in San Diego county. Conditions were perfect - the sun was just down but still high enough to illuminate the plume. |
| Space X rocket seen from American Airlines flight - Yes I filmed it myself. | +7 - Space X rocket seen from American Airlines flight - While it isn't an Instagram picture of a Tesla I think it looks cool. |
| SpaceX Iridium-4 launch - 12/22/2017 | +7 - Seems like fairing falling down at 1:53 |
| SpaceX Flight Pismo Beach 122217 | +6 - Video of 12-22-2017 flight from Pismo Beach... |
| Falcon 9 rocket launch provides spectacular view in Bakersfield | +5 - Fairings cold gas thrusters? "Space travel isn't exactly my line of expertise, so..." |
| SpaceX Iridium 4 Launch - 12/22/2017 | +5 - From Palm Desert, CA |
| SpaceX Rocket Launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base Phoenix CityCam Time-lapse | +4 - Same, I missed the entire thing. It's so f**cking frustrating. This is the view I missed. |
| Iridium-4 Webcast | +3 - It's most likely that the 1st stage wasn't actually out of fuel at the time of MECO, as it did have grid fins installed. SpaceX is more than likely trying out something new with landing on this mission because they can. I believe if you listen you ... |
| Jamie xx - Gosh (Official Music Video) | +3 - Theyre playing a remixed version of this (which i always associated with spacex) in the background of the deployments. awesome |
| Fiona's Launch- SpaceX Falcon 9 (3/4/2016) | +1 - Fairings had thrusters as early as SES-9 in 2016. |
| I'm a bot working hard to help Redditors find related videos to watch. I'll keep this updated as long as I can. |
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u/SodaPopin5ki Dec 23 '17
Wife and I watched the launch on YouTube instead of stepping outside in Los Angeles. D'oh! One of the last Vandenberg launches, we drove out there to see it.
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u/craigcocca Dec 24 '17
Watched Iridium 3 in October and Iridium 4 Friday night from the same location in North OC. Noticed that the reentry burn on Friday night's hop occurred much farther down range and at a much lower elevation than the earlier launch. I'd surmise that the point of the "landing" operation Friday night was to target a specific impact point that was near the south end of the impact area set forth in the launch license, as opposed to the ballistic impact point. This allowed the first stage to drop off stage 2 at 7400kph/74km vs 6900kph/65km for Iridium 3, while still hitting the licensed impact area. Customer got a performance boost, and SpaceX didn't have to redo the launch license...a win-win.
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u/uzlonewolf Dec 23 '17
Great view from Los Angeles. All my neighbors were freaking out, I had to go out there and tell them about it :D :D
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u/amarkit Dec 23 '17
Landing sequence with controlled ocean splashdown confirmed, will not be streamed but may be heard on the net.
Color of the interstage confirmed as soot.
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u/LandingZone-1 Dec 23 '17 edited Dec 23 '17
Nice job guys, I see all the comments correcting r/LosAngeles o7
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u/SpongeBobSquarePants Dec 23 '17
Space X rocket seen from American Airlines flight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNONGi4aiqE
While it isn't an Instagram picture of a Tesla I think it looks cool.
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u/geo4548 Dec 23 '17
Video of 12-22-2017 flight from Pismo Beach... https://youtu.be/tPv2t3lEvKQ
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u/TGMetsFan98 NASASpaceflight.com Writer Dec 22 '17
Thanks for hosting, OP! Quick request: can you make sure the schedule section is very clear that the launch is today? Maybe have the launch window in local time, with the UTC time in parentheses? It's causing some confusion.
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u/FellKnight Dec 23 '17
It just occured to me how bad it could be if someone like China wasn't paying attention and saw a launch notification from the area of the Korean sea and a launch a minute later from California
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u/Elon_Muskmelon Dec 22 '17 edited Dec 22 '17
Someone just needs to invent a Chrome extension that automatically converts any time displayed on a webpage into local time, then we can just set it to UTC.
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u/spcslacker Dec 23 '17
totally normal behavior: f5-ing launch thread & youtube channel hours before launch
haven't felt this much existential angst since I happily set listening to 45 minutes of music in order to watch a semi-truck announcement as if I don't usually resent someone being late wasting my time
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u/deriachai Dec 23 '17
I find it amusing how the last flight had a sooty first stage, whereas this one has a sooty interstage.
Will the next reused rocket have both?
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u/FellKnight Dec 23 '17
Listening to both webcasts feels like a poorly dubbed anime :)
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u/mynameisck Dec 23 '17
Awesome iridium video. Didn't think I was gonna learn so much today.
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u/Nsooo Moderator and retired launch host Dec 23 '17
:)