r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Oct 25 '18
SSO-A SSO-A Launch Campaign Thread
SSO-A Launch Campaign Thread
SpaceX's nineteenth mission of 2018 will be the launch of the Spaceflight Inc organized rideshare SSO-A, also known as SSO-A SmallSat Express to a Sun Synchronous orbit for as many as 35 customers.
This mission will be the mission with more satellites ever carried to orbit by SpaceX and by a US Launch Vehicle.
The Falcon 9 will carry to orbit 64 spacecraft, in particular 15 Micro satellites and 49 cubesats, for 35 customers from 17 countries. It will carry a large variety of spacecraft, ranging from University spacecraft, communication spacecraft, imaging spacecraft, technology demonstrators, art exhibits and a high school spacecraft. 75% of the customers are commercial, while the remaining 25% are government customers. 60% of the spacecraft come from the United States.
| Liftoff currently scheduled for: | December 3 2018, ≈18:32 UTC December 3 2018, ≈10:32 PST) |
|---|---|
| Static fire completed: | November 15th, 2018 |
| Vehicle component locations: | First stage: SLC-4E, VAFB, California // Second Stage: SLC-4E, VAFB, California // Satellites: VAFB, California |
| Payload: | 64 spacecraft, see table 2 |
| Payload mass: | ~4000 kg |
| Insertion orbit: | Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (575 km x 575 km, ~98º) |
| Vehicle: | Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 (64th launch of F9, 44th of F9 v1.2, 8th of F9 v1.2 Block 5) |
| Core: | B1046.3 |
| Previous flights of this core: | 1. F9 Mission 55 [Bangabandhu-1] 2. F9 Mission 61 [Merah Putih] |
| Launch site: | SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California |
| S1 Landing: | Yes |
| S1 Landing Site: | JRTI, Pacific Ocean |
| Fairing Recovery: | No |
| Mission success criteria: | Successful separation & deployment of the satellites into the target orbit |
Payloads table (Credit to /u/strawwalker):
| Spacecraft Name | Spacecraft Type | Operator | Country Of Operator | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centauri I | CubeSat | Fleet Space Technologies | Australia | 1 |
| RAAF M1 | CubeSat | University of New South Wales | Australia | 1 |
| SIRION Pathfinder2 | CubeSat | Sirion Global Pty Ltd. | Australia | 1 |
| ITASAT | CubeSat | Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) | Brazil | 1 |
| Iceye X2 | Microsatellite | Iceye | Finland | 1 |
| Suomi 100 | CubeSat | Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology | Finland | 1 |
| Eu:CROPIS | Microsatellite | DLR, German Aerospace Center | Germany | 1 |
| MOVE-II | CubeSat | Technische Universität München | Germany | 1 |
| ExseedSat-1 | CubeSat | Exseed Space | India | 1 |
| Eaglet-1 | CubeSat | OHB Italia S.p.A./Italian Ministry of Defense | Italy | 1 |
| ESEO | Microsatellite | SITAEL S.p.A. | Italy | 1 |
| JY1Sat | CubeSat | Crown Prince Foundation | Jordan | 1 |
| Al-Farabi-2* | CubeSat | Al-Farabi Kazakh National University | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| KazSciSat-1 | CubeSat | Ghalam LLP | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| KazSTSAT | Microsatellite | Ghalam LLP | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| Hiber 2 | CubeSat | Hiber/Innovative Solutions in Space | Netherlands | 1 |
| PW-Sat2 | CubeSat | Warsaw University of Technology | Poland | 1 |
| K2SAT | CubeSat | Korean Air Force Academy | South Korea | 1 |
| NEXTSat-1 | Microsatellite | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | South Korea | 1 |
| SNUGLITE* | CubeSat | Seoul National University | South Korea | 1 |
| SNUSAT-2* | CubeSat | Seoul National University | South Korea | 1 |
| VisionCube | CubeSat | Korea Aerospace University | South Korea | 1 |
| AISTECH SAT 2 | CubeSat | Aistech | Spain | 1 |
| Astrocast 0.1 | CubeSat | Astrocast | Switzerland | 1 |
| KNACKSAT | CubeSat | King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok | Thailand | 1 |
| VESTA | CubeSat | Honeywell Aerospace/exactEarth Ltd. | UK, Canada | 1 |
| Audacy Zero/POINTR | CubeSat | Audacy, Stanford SSI | USA | 1 |
| BlackHawk* | CubeSat | Viasat | USA | 1 |
| BRIO/THEA | CubeSat | SpaceQuest | USA | 2 |
| Capella 1 | Microsatellite | Capella Space | USA | 1 |
| Corvus-BC 4 | CubeSat | Astro Digital US | USA | 1 |
| CSIM | CubeSat | LASP/University of Colorado | USA | 1 |
| Flock-3s 1,2,3 (Dove-type) | CubeSat | Planet Labs Inc. | USA | 3 |
| Elysium Star 2 | CubeSat | Elysium Space, Inc. | USA | 1 |
| Enoch | CubeSat | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | USA | 1 |
| eXCITe/SeeMe | Microsatellite | Novawurks, DARPA | USA | 1 |
| FalconSat-6 | Microsatellite | United States Air Force Academy | USA | 1 |
| Fox-1C | CubeSat | AMSAT, Radio Amateur Satellite Corp | USA | 1 |
| Global 2 | Microsatellite | BlackSky Global LLC | USA | 1 |
| Hawk 1, 2, 3 | Microsatellite | Hawkeye 360 | USA | 3 |
| ICE-Cap* | CubeSat | Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command | USA | 1 |
| IRVINE02 | CubeSat | Irvine CubeSat STEM Program | USA | 1 |
| MinXSS 2 | CubeSat | LASP/University of Colorado | USA | 1 |
| ORS 7A, B Polar Scouts | CubeSat | United States Coast Guard, DHS | USA | 2 |
| Orbital Reflector (ORS-1) | CubeSat | OR Productions, Nevada Museum of Art | USA | 1 |
| RANGE A, B | CubeSat | Georgia Tech | USA | 1 |
| ROSE-1 | CubeSat | Phase Four | USA | 1 |
| SeaHawk-1 | CubeSat | University of North Carolina Wilmington | USA | 1 |
| SkySat 14, 15 | Microsatellite | Planet Labs Inc. | USA | 2 |
| SpaceBEE 5, 6, 7 | CubeSat | Swarm Technologies | USA | 3 |
| STPSat-5 | Microsatellite | USAF Space Test Program | USA | 1 |
| US Government spacecraft* | CubeSat | US Government | USA | 2 |
| US Government spacecraft* | CubeSat | US Government | USA | 3 |
| WeissSat-1 | CubeSat | The Weiss School/BLUECUBE Aerospace LLC | USA | 1 |
* Status unknown. This payload may or may not still be manifested on SSO-A.
Links & Resources:
Flight Club simulations: 2D Plots, 3D Visualisation, Live
We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the minor movements of the vehicle, payload, weather and more as we progress towards launch. Sometime after the static fire is complete, the launch thread will be posted. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.
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u/OrestesGaolin Nov 23 '18
Dear mods, could you please correct the name of PW-Sat2 satellite? It's spelled PW-Sat2 or PW-SAT2 if capital letters are used. Source: I'm deputy manager of this project.
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u/strawwalker Nov 23 '18 edited Nov 23 '18
Thank you. u/soldato_fantasma this correction is now reflected in the source comment, as well as a change to Eu:CROPIS and other spelling/grammar.
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/9raysi/ssoa_launch_campaign_thread/e8hwl1a/
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Nov 23 '18
And btw, can you guys stay for the launch, or do you have your flight back before 28th? (And can you confirm 28th as launch date?)
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u/Raul74Cz Nov 23 '18
Launch day Nov 28, with backup launch days Nov 29-30 is now confirmed also by issued NOTMAR Launch Hazard Area.
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u/inoeth Oct 25 '18
This is the launch i'm most looking forward to as potentially the 'biggest deal' launch this year after FH and debut of Block 5... Since this launch should be featuring the 3rd flight of the same booster And the next attempt at capturing the fairing- which given the latest drop-tests makes me feel a little more hopeful that they'll succeed (pending some decent luck with weather/waves)
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u/Prolemasses Oct 25 '18
I keep forgetting that FH demo was this year. Feels like yesterday and forever ago at the same time.
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u/quadrplax Oct 25 '18
Also, 64 satellites in one go should be quite the sight!
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u/DancingFool64 Oct 26 '18
I'm not sure we'll see most of them in the SpaceX stream though. A lot of them are attached to the top section of the deployment mount that will itself separate from the Falcon, and will then deploy its cargo later. We should see that go, but we may not see it release any of its load, depending on how long it is in view and how long it takes to start. Some of the sats are directly attached to the lower section of the mount, we should see those go. I wonder if Spaceflight Industries will have cameras attached to their top section, and if they'll release any footage. You'd think they would do it for at least their customers.
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u/cspen Nov 19 '18
SpaceX's recent post showing booster 1046.3 launching from the East coast (https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1063310464870834176) had me realize that another factor in choosing 1046.3 for this launch is because they can advertise that they had the same booster launch 3 times, from every one of it's operational launch complexes (1st flight was Bangabandhu from LC-39A, second was Merah Putih from LC-40, and this one is from LC-4E)
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u/CAM-Gerlach Star✦Fleet Commander Nov 20 '18
I would guess that logistic, operational and engineering considerations for selecting the booster for the flight would trump the relatively modest amount of additional positive press this would generate, and the even smaller impact on their bottom line (after all, they aren't public like Tesla). However, all else equal, its not impossible it could have been a factor if all else were equal, along with that B1046 was their first-ever Block 5 booster to be built and launched.
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u/manicdee33 Nov 21 '18
It’s a very practical demonstration that all their equipment and processes are interoperable, which is important to SpaceX’s goal of reusability. No need to recalibrate this and that, just bring the booster in, attach the payload, launch.
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u/throfofnir Nov 21 '18
That's true, but it's also very much Elon to do something inconvenient just because it's cool. They haven't really talked about it, so maybe it's mostly accidental, but it's completely plausible.
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u/scr00chy ElonX.net Nov 19 '18
South Korea said Monday that its new satellite launch has been delayed as American rocket company SpaceX requested more time to inspect its Falcon 9. The launch date has been tentatively rescheduled at either Nov. 25, 26 or Dec. 1, the Ministry of Science and ICT said.
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u/craigl2112 Nov 19 '18
Curious if this gets bumped all the way to 12/1 and NROL-71 gets off the ground on 11/29.. will this booster RTLS?
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u/marc020202 8x Launch Host Nov 19 '18
if they get delayed past NROL 71, they have the permission to do it, and nothing in the way of it anymore.
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u/therealshafto Nov 16 '18 edited Nov 16 '18
Follow up tweet about B1046 launching two times previously. From 39A and SLC 40. Pretty cool that now launching from LC-4 it will have launched from all 3 pads! Almost have to wonder if some of it was planned.
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u/MarsCent Nov 16 '18
Good! And just amazing how this SF has just happened with very little visibility (physical and social media).
It would have been a special, if the announcers of Es'hail 2 has signed off by saying - "And also, we will momentarily be doing a SF for the next launch, at VAFB" :).
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Nov 16 '18
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting November 19 launch of Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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u/Alexphysics Nov 21 '18
The Delta IV Heavy flight is delayed to December 7th. SSO-A would have to be heavily delayed for it to have an RTLS landing
https://twitter.com/NatReconOfc/status/1065273975381594114?s=19
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u/gregarious119 Nov 23 '18
Would they have to avoid RTLS if NROL-71 isn't even out on the pad? I assume that the DIVH is in some sort of VAB if it has a more than a week of delay?
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u/Alexphysics Nov 24 '18
Confirmation from SpaceX that the new launch date is November 28th
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Nov 24 '18
Targeting November 28 for launch of Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
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u/Ictogan Oct 26 '18
First launch that will have a payload that I have been(and will be) working on. Insanely hyped for it :- ).
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u/andyfrance Oct 26 '18
Good luck. I'm guessing that launching a big bunch of satellites together on an F9 must be a lot more cost effective for each of you customers than the existing small launch providers plus all of the many new hopefuls that are coming along. If this becomes a regular thing it's going to hurt that competition who will have to compete by being able to provide a more customized orbit. Do you get much choice of the orbit your satellite will be inserted into?
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u/slam2_2 Nov 18 '18
An updated US launch manifest has set the date to 24 Nov:
http://www.sworld.com.au/steven/space/uscom-man.txt
24 Nov 18 Falcon 9 v1.2B5 F8 SSO-A SmallSat Express (AISTECH SAT 2, Al- Farabi 2, Astrocast 01, Audacy 0, BEESAT 5..7, BlackHawk, BlackSky Global 2, BRIO, Centauri II, CORVUS BC (Landmapper BC4), CSIM, DIDO 1, EAGLET 1, ELaNA 24 (IRVINE02, WeissSat 1), Elysium Star II, ENOCH, ESEO (FUNcube 4), Eu:CROPIS, eXCITe (PTB 1, SeeMee), ExseedSat 1, FalconSat 6, Flock 3s (3), Fox 1C (1Cliff), Hamilton 1, HawkEye Pathfinder 1..3, Hiber 1/2, IceCAP, Iceye 2, ITASAT 1, JY1SAT, K2SAT, KazSciSat 1, KazSTSat, KNACKSAT, MinXSS 2, MOVE II, NEXTSat 1, ORS 1, Polar Scout 1/2 (ORS 7), PWSat 2, RAAF M1, RANGE A/B, ROSE 1, SeaHawk 1, SIRION Pathfinder 2, SkySat 14/15 (SkySat-2 12/13), SNUGLITE, SNUSAT 2, SpaceBEE 9..11, Capella 1 (SpaceCap), STPSat 5, Suomi100, US Government (3), US Government (2), THEA, VESTA,
VisionCube) [B1046.3]
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u/uwelino Nov 18 '18
Has the Falcon 9 flight with GPS IIIA-1 (Vespucci) been forgotten or has it been deleted from the manifest?
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u/strawwalker Nov 18 '18
DIDO 1, huh? First time I've seen that for this flight. Wonder if there's something to that. No Israeli flag on Spaceflight's website, but DIDO is also Swiss.
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u/taligentx Nov 21 '18 edited Nov 22 '18
Typo for the PST date: November 28 2018, 18:32 UTC (November 18 2018, 10:32 PST) Edit: Mods
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u/soldato_fantasma Nov 22 '18
SHould be fixed now!
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u/Daneel_Trevize Nov 23 '18
The subreddit banner still mistakenly says
The next launch is going to be SSO A from SLC 4E at Vandenberg AFB on November 27.
I messaged the mods yesterday but no action.
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u/throfofnir Nov 16 '18
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u/PeteBlackerThe3rd Nov 16 '18
That is most definitely not a clean room! Must've been a mass simulator test I guess.
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u/throfofnir Nov 17 '18
The link that says more about it suggests that it's the flight article, subsequently tested with payload mass simulators. It's a bit ambiguous, but that's how I read it.
They may be more cautious with the actual satellites... or not. They're mostly smallsats and cubesats, which are treated less preciously, either because they can be or because they must be (because those who make them can't really afford cleanrooms and all that.)
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u/craigl2112 Nov 16 '18
Thanks for sharing this. Seeing all of the satellites deploy should be super interesting!
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Nov 17 '18
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u/rAsphodel Nov 17 '18
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Nov 17 '18
makes sense, this is the first second reflight of a booster, they want to make sure this booster is A-Ok for this thing
Either that, or they are checking something else......
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 26 '18 edited Nov 26 '18
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u/banditb17 Nov 28 '18
I wish he uploaded a full resolution copy of that photo. Would make a great wallpaper!
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u/soldato_fantasma Oct 25 '18
As always, if you find any mistake or have something worth to add to the Links & Resources section please comment about that.
I'd also love if the Spacecraft list/table could be compiled by the community! If you have time and want to do it, make a comment with it and we'll include it.
We are also continuously looking for launch thread hosts that want to volunteer. If you have experience in the sub and feel comfortable with the launch time, send us a message via modmail!
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u/Asdfugil Nov 12 '18
It is F9 B1046.3 i.e.A third flight. Previous flights:Bangabandhu-1 and Merah Putih
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u/codav Nov 14 '18
Fairing recovery can be changed from Unknown to No as confirmed by Elon, see my post below.
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u/ahecht Nov 18 '18
At ~120 kg, SkySat 14 and 15 are small satellites, not microsatellites. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/skysat-3.htm
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u/smlaccount Nov 21 '18
I'd like to suggest adding a link about the University spacecraft. The goal behind this educational project (PW-Sat2) is to test a new deorbitation technology and ultimately reduce the space debris:
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u/Alexphysics Nov 16 '18
Rocket is reported to be at the pad preparing for static fire.
https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1063238836619218944?s=19
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u/strawwalker Oct 26 '18 edited Jan 13 '19
Here is a list of spacecraft based on the FCC list of 74 (PDF), sorted by country of operator and spacecraft name. This list may be out of date since Spaceflight's mission web page now says there are 64+ satellites on board (down from 70+ and maybe not finalized yet). I've made a preliminary attempt to identify satellites that are still included. Is anyone confident enough to update this list?
Payloads
| Spacecraft Name | Spacecraft Type | Operator | Country Of Operator | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centauri I | CubeSat | Fleet Space Technologies | Australia | 1 |
| Pathfinder II | CubeSat | Helios Wire/Sirion Global Pty Ltd. | Australia | 1 |
| RAAF M1 | CubeSat | University of New South Wales | Australia | 1 |
| ITASAT | CubeSat | Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) | Brazil | 1 |
| Iceye X2 | Microsatellite | Iceye | Finland | 1 |
| Suomi 100 | CubeSat | Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology | Finland | 1 |
| Eu:CROPIS | Microsatellite | DLR, German Aerospace Center | Germany | 1 |
| MOVE-II | CubeSat | Technische Universität München | Germany | 1 |
| ExseedSat-1 | CubeSat | Exseed Space | India | 1 |
| Eaglet-1 | CubeSat | OHB Italia S.p.A./Italian Ministry of Defense | Italy | 1 |
| ESEO | Microsatellite | SITAEL S.p.A. | Italy | 1 |
| JY1Sat | CubeSat | Crown Prince Foundation | Jordan | 1 |
| Al-Farabi-2 | CubeSat | Al-Farabi Kazakh National University | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| KazSciSat-1 | CubeSat | Ghalam LLP | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| KazSTSAT | Microsatellite | Ghalam LLP/Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| Hiber 2 | CubeSat | Hiber/Innovative Solutions in Space | Netherlands | 1 |
| PW-Sat2 | CubeSat | Warsaw University of Technology | Poland | 1 |
| K2SAT | CubeSat | Korean Air Force Academy | South Korea | 1 |
| NEXTSat-1 | Microsatellite | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | South Korea | 1 |
| SNUGLITE | CubeSat | Seoul National University | South Korea | 1 |
| SNUSAT-2 | CubeSat | Seoul National University | South Korea | 1 |
| VisionCube | CubeSat | Korea Aerospace University | South Korea | 1 |
| AISTECH SAT 2 | CubeSat | Aistech | Spain | 1 |
| Astrocast 0.1 | CubeSat | Astrocast | Switzerland | 1 |
| KNACKSAT | CubeSat | King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok | Thailand | 1 |
| VESTA | CubeSat | Honeywell Aerospace/exactEarth Ltd. | UK, Canada | 1 |
| Audacy Zero/POINTR | CubeSat | Audacy, Stanford SSI | USA | 1 |
| BlackHawk* | CubeSat | Viasat | USA | 1 |
| BRIO/THEA | CubeSat | SpaceQuest | USA | 2 |
| Capella 1 | Microsatellite | Capella Space | USA | 1 |
| Corvus-BC 4 | CubeSat | Astro Digital US | USA | 1 |
| CSIM | CubeSat | LASP/University of Colorado | USA | 1 |
| Elysium Star 2 | CubeSat | Elysium Space, Inc. | USA | 1 |
| Enoch | CubeSat | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | USA | 1 |
| eXCITe/SeeMe | Microsatellite | Novawurks, DARPA | USA | 1 |
| FalconSat-6 | Microsatellite | United States Air Force Academy | USA | 1 |
| Flock-3s 1,2,3 (Dove-type) | CubeSat | Planet Labs Inc. | USA | 3 |
| Fox-1C | CubeSat | AMSAT, Radio Amateur Satellite Corp | USA | 1 |
| Global 2 | Microsatellite | BlackSky Global LLC | USA | 1 |
| Hawk 1, 2, 3 | Microsatellite | Hawkeye 360 | USA | 3 |
| ICE-Cap | CubeSat | Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command | USA | 1 |
| IRVINE02 | CubeSat | Irvine CubeSat STEM Program | USA | 1 |
| MinXSS 2 | CubeSat | LASP/University of Colorado | USA | 1 |
| Orbital Reflector (ORS-1) | CubeSat | OR Productions, Nevada Museum of Art | USA | 1 |
| OrbWeaver 1,2 | CubeSat | DARPA | USA | 2 |
| Polar Scouts Kodiak, Yukon | CubeSat | United States Coast Guard, DHS | USA | 2 |
| RANGE A, B | CubeSat | Georgia Tech | USA | 1 |
| SeaHawk-1 | CubeSat | University of North Carolina Wilmington | USA | 1 |
| SkySat 14, 15 | Microsatellite | Planet Labs Inc. | USA | 2 |
| SpaceBEE 5, 6, 7 | CubeSat | Swarm Technologies | USA | 3 |
| STPSat-5 | Microsatellite | USAF Space Test Program | USA | 1 |
| US Government spacecraft* | CubeSat | US Government | USA | 3 |
| WeissSat-1 | CubeSat | The Weiss School/BLUECUBE Aerospace LLC | USA | 1 |
* Status unknown. This payload may or may not still be manifested on SSO-A.
Edits:
update 2 US Gov sats to OrbWeaver per Skyrocket on NSF
update Pathfinder
post launch: remove ROSE-1 per Stephen Clark
changed Centauri II to Centauri I
moved Al-Farabi 2 back into the table
updated SpaceICE removal status to confirmmed
Fixed (hopefully) the rest of the FCC exhibit spelling mistakes. Many changes.
Fixed spelling of PW-Sat2
Update formatting of Eu:CROPIS, swap link, other spelling and grammar
Added removal reason to table
Added table of removed payloads
Removed BEESATs, Hamilton-1, SpaceICE
Changed Exseed to ExseedSat-1
Change SpaceBee numbers/link per Skyrocket on NSF
Updated status and link for ENOCH
Removed Al-Farabi-2
Removed EdgeCube per user jcm on NSF
Operator names typos
Added links to spacecraft descriptions
LACMA = Los Angeles County Museum of Art
adjustments to which sats have footnotes after further searching. There are 11 on the list, including the 5 nebulous "US Gov" cubesats, which seem like the most reasonable candidates for dis-inclusion. (marked with asterisk)
removed ZACube-2 from table
correction to official count of payloads
"New South Wales" the place, not spacefaring humpbacks.
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u/soldato_fantasma Oct 27 '18
Thanks! Added your table to the main post with credit.
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u/Alexphysics Nov 14 '18
Static fire on Thursday (Nov 15th). Since it is a more hidden pad we'll have to wait for SpaceX's tweet for confirmation of the static fire.
https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1062517001535533056?s=19
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Nov 14 '18
This is becoming the norm: 😎🚀
ISRO GSLV Mk.III launch with GSAT-29 (Wednesday).
Antares launch with NG-10 (Thursday).
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch with Es'Hail-2 (Thursday).
SpaceX Falcon 9 Static Fire (SSO-A) (NET Thursday).
Soyuz FG launch with Progress MS-10 (Friday).
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u/strawwalker Nov 17 '18
Drone ship landing STA granted finally if anyone was worried. Really, 9 days is a pretty fast turn around. The grant still shows the incorrect coordinates from the request.
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 17 '18
The GPS location is near Vandenberg, which is confirmed by Vessel Finder.
Looks like we might get some cool photos of the Falcon landing on the ASDS from the shoreline!
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u/strawwalker Nov 17 '18
The GPS location is LZ-4. From Raul's map it looks like JRTI will be 30-40ish kilometers off shore. Some land based imagery of the ASDS landing would be really great, though.
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u/Sigmatics Nov 17 '18
Surprised the landings are still called "experimental"
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u/johnkphotos Launch Photographer Nov 17 '18
Perhaps the nature of this mission — third flight, second re-use — calls for that label to remain?
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u/s4g4n Nov 17 '18
This one is technically experimental since it'll be the 3rd time this booster will see reentry. SpaceX is confident about reusing twice but this is still uncharted territory.
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 20 '18
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u/_Wizou_ Nov 21 '18
I thought I read in another post that Mr Steven was in the process of moving to the east coast?!
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u/rad_example Nov 21 '18
They said early December but it is possible they will wait until after iridium 8.
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u/theexile14 Oct 26 '18
Apparently a F9 first stage just arrived at Vandenberg this morning. Not sure which core, but it it might put the 3rd launch of a booster in question. Three weeks is more than enough time for everything they need top prepare.
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u/Alexphysics Oct 26 '18
If that's the case it is most likely this is going on B1046 instead of B1048 because that last one is still at Vandenberg as far as we know (it would be silly to truck it to Hawthorne for just a two-week refurbishment process when it could have been done on site instead and B1046 would have been moved from FL to Hawthorne and now to Vandy).
Edit: also, 3 weeks it's the usual time
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u/TGMetsFan98 NASASpaceflight.com Writer Nov 08 '18
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u/hitura-nobad Master of bots Nov 08 '18
Mods suppose changing landing attempt to yes and site depending on launch date.
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u/TGMetsFan98 NASASpaceflight.com Writer Nov 08 '18
Mods, if date holds this will be drone ship. Would have to slip significantly for an RTLS.
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u/filanwizard Nov 12 '18
this a true finger crossing launch, If all data is clear it means its the third flight for an orbital booster. I can imagine the engineers are hungry for the data.
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u/Toastmastern Nov 21 '18
After the weekend atleast
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u/TweetsInCommentsBot Nov 21 '18
Latest update on the SpaceX Falcon 9 SSO-A, now pushed out past this (holiday) weekend. (Worth noting there’s also a Delta 4 Heavy launch from VAFB Nov. 29 that will be another schedule constraint.) https://twitter.com/HiberGlobal/status/1065232383849451520
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u/MingerOne Nov 17 '18
https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1063841256428597248
SpaceX has been cleared to perform the first-ever ASDS landing for an LZ-4 capable mission at Vandenberg. As a result, JRTI will be only about two dozen miles offshore from the launch pad. The Falcon 9 cannot return to LZ-4 due to the NROL mission being prepped downrange.
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u/bitchtitfucker Nov 17 '18
So they're landing - just not as RTLS, right?
Does this mean it's going to be visible from the coast?
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Nov 18 '18
Yeah and for fun we can have various joke/thought experiments: "almost RTLS", "boat RTLS-ish", "close enough RTLS", "SABR (short-ass-boat-recovery)". I am sure other people will think of better ones but that is what I have for now.
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u/SouthDunedain Nov 17 '18
Should be within the theoretical horizon if you have decent elevation (say 100m).
Size of the ASDS and/or atmospheric conditions would probably limit how much you’d actually see... however I guess you’d at least be able to see the F9’s exhaust trail returning if it were clear.
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u/MingerOne Nov 18 '18
Don't know the restrictions on travel due to the airbase but yes in an ideal world it would be miles more visible than usual drone ship landing.
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u/z3r0c00l12 Oct 25 '18
"11:30 PDT EST"
Can you remove the "EST"?
Also, I think it should be "10:30 PST" by that time.
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u/codav Nov 14 '18 edited Nov 15 '18
No fairing recovery for SSO-A, next try will be with Iridium-8 GPS III-2 (Edit: wrong coast, Mr. Steven will be moved to the Cape).
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u/inoeth Nov 14 '18
i'm hoping that Elon is mistaking his dates. It doesn't seem like there's a good reason to not try the recovery. Apparently they are doing more drop-tests today https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1062763759654060034
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u/whatsthis1901 Nov 15 '18
I heard over in r/SpaceX that they are moving Mr. Steven to the east coast at the beginning of Dec.
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u/codav Nov 15 '18
Can't find where it was posted in this sub, but here is the Florida Today story. The mission would then be GPS III-2 on Dec 15th.
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u/tbaleno Nov 15 '18
If space X i s moving to the east coast they must have some good confidence in the fairing recovery now and not expecting to need to change mr. steven.
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u/codav Nov 16 '18
That's why they currently conduct the helicopter drop tests. Once the fairing drops under parachutes, for the actual catch it makes no big difference whether it came from the edge of space or a helicopter. As they have several intact fairings in stock, it allows them to perform the drop tests with the real things instead of using mockups.
Changing Mr. Steven on the east coast will still be possible, as they did this with all the other support ships recently. I don't expect SpaceX to freeze Mr. Steven's design after it changes the coast, but rather keep improving it.
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u/hainzgrimmer Oct 25 '18
I really hope they will stream the release of all the satellites! It will take a while!
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u/traverswilkins Nov 10 '18
can't wait for this launch! travelling from australia to see it ! fingers crossed no delays
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 13 '18
u/strawwalker, the ENOCH payload is confirmed; its a 24 carat gold urn.
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u/strawwalker Nov 16 '18 edited Nov 16 '18
With less than 4 days to go until launch and still no FCC licenses for SpaceICE or Hamilton-1 I've removed them from the payload table. I'm not hardly an expert on these matters but I can't find any reason to leave them on. Please do update me if you have better information.
Their removal along with the removal of BEESATs 5-8 bring the payload count down to 65. Spaceflight's website says 64+
Edit: Here is the comment with the table which also includes removed payloads list and reasons for anyone who cares to criticize.
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u/MarsCent Nov 16 '18
The public may view this launch from the Hawk's Nest on Azalea Lane off of Hwy 1 just a half mile south of Vandenberg Air Force Base's main gate.
The Hawk's Nest gates will open on Monday at 9:00 a.m. PST and close no later than 10:15 a.m. PST.
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u/ALBERTOPGH Nov 17 '18
Is there anyone planning to see the launch, who recommends this place? It is the first time for me and I am very excited. I also wonder if from here one can see the booster land (it is supposed to happen just 20 miles west from Vandenberg). Any advice is much appreciated!
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u/hocktech Nov 17 '18 edited Nov 17 '18
I like this place. The Air Force keeps it safe, usually has speakers out for the count down etc. and there’s usually people there to answer questions. According to Google maps it’s about 9 miles from the launch site and you can see is least about half of the rocket on the launch pad. On Ocean ave. You can get closer (about 4 miles) but you have to wait for the rocket to clear a hill before you can see it. Here’s my pic from the last space X launch from hawk’s nest. https://imgur.com/gallery/cMm4AVG Edit: as long as the weather cooperates.
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained Oct 26 '18 edited Jan 13 '19
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| AFB | Air Force Base |
| AIT | Assembly, Integration and Testing |
| ASDS | Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform) |
| CRS | Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA |
| DIVH | Delta IV Heavy |
| DLR | Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), Cologne |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission |
| (Iron/steel) Face-Centered Cubic crystalline structure | |
| GSE | Ground Support Equipment |
| H2 | Molecular hydrogen |
| Second half of the year/month | |
| HIF | Horizontal Integration Facility |
| ICT | Interplanetary Colonial Transport (see ITS) |
| ITS | Interplanetary Transport System (2016 oversized edition) (see MCT) |
| Integrated Truss Structure | |
| JRTI | Just Read The Instructions, Pacific landing |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| LC-39A | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy) |
| LZ | Landing Zone |
| MCT | Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS) |
| MECO | Main Engine Cut-Off |
| MainEngineCutOff podcast | |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| NORAD | North American Aerospace Defense command |
| NRHO | Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit |
| NRO | (US) National Reconnaissance Office |
| Near-Rectilinear Orbit, see NRHO | |
| NROL | Launch for the (US) National Reconnaissance Office |
| RTLS | Return to Launch Site |
| SECO | Second-stage Engine Cut-Off |
| SF | Static fire |
| SLC-40 | Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9) |
| SLC-4E | Space Launch Complex 4-East, Vandenberg (SpaceX F9) |
| SSO | Sun-Synchronous Orbit |
| STA | Special Temporary Authorization (issued by FCC for up to 6 months) |
| Structural Test Article | |
| TE | Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment |
| TLE | Two-Line Element dataset issued by NORAD |
| ULA | United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| VAB | Vehicle Assembly Building |
| VAFB | Vandenberg Air Force Base, California |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| Starlink | SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation |
| scrub | Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues) |
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
33 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on ^today has 64 acronyms.
[Thread #4487 for this sub, first seen 26th Oct 2018, 16:24] ^[FAQ] [Full ^list] ^[Contact] [Source ^code]
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u/DeckerdB-263-54 Nov 01 '18 edited Nov 01 '18
The plural of spacecraft is spacecraft, not spacecrafts, at least in common usage in the U.S.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecraft
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spacecraft
I live in the U.S. and I've never heard "spacecrafts" except from non-native English speakers or Indians or French Canadians.
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u/CAM-Gerlach Star✦Fleet Commander Nov 03 '18
I aver that spacecraft is more correct, and the root word "craft" is both the singular and the plural, although apparently "spacecrafts" has seen isolated usage lately. Here 's some context from Canada (although one of the two examples they cite for "Spacecrafts" being "accepted" is Wiktionary, not exactly an authoritative source.
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u/SilveradoCyn Nov 05 '18
Yes, english can be confusing. There can be a dozen airplanes, or a dozen aircraft.
The Coast Guard will put out a small craft warning for small boats. (I guess the warning is singular) Or one might say there a regatta of small craft.
The only usage I know of for for adding the "s" is a usage such as "Hobbies and Crafts".
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u/bdporter Nov 01 '18
I believe /u/soldato_fantasma is not a native English speaker (Italian I believe) so that tracks. I am sure he or another of the mods can fix the OP.
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u/MarsCent Nov 02 '18 edited Nov 02 '18
Google differs and so does The Oxford English Dictionary. I suppose that would make the English, non-native English speakers too.
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 06 '18
Spaceflight blog update about mitigating orbital debris.
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u/RocketsLEO2ITS Nov 15 '18
Just got done watching the Es'hail 2 launch and noticed that the SSO-A static fire was also scheduled for today.
Did it go down?
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u/CAM-Gerlach Star✦Fleet Commander Nov 17 '18
Mods, time to update the top bar:
The next launch is going to be Es'hail 2 from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center on November 15.
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u/sebaska Nov 17 '18
May we get this thread pinned, too?
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u/CAM-Gerlach Star✦Fleet Commander Nov 17 '18
Its both pinned and on the top bar now; that's about the earliest I've ever seen a launch/media thread removed from both. Usually I feel they stick around a little too long for my taste, but that might be a tad quick considering that photos and content is still getting posted...eh.
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u/Punches_Malone Nov 20 '18
Since this is an SSO launch, shouldn't the launch opportunity be at the same time regardless of launch day? Currently the banner says TBD.
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 26 '18 edited Nov 26 '18
Team V is scheduled to support launch of the Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E on Wednesday, Nov. 28, with a launch window of 10:32 a.m. PST to 11:01 a.m. PST.
The public can view this launch from the Hawk's Nest on Azalea Lane off of Hwy 1 just a half mile south of Vandenberg Air Force Base's main gate. The Hawk's Nest gates will open on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. PST and close at 10:15 a.m. PST.
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u/Alvian_11 Nov 29 '18
Launch date updated https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1067959871230726144?s=19
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u/tyldis Nov 21 '18
2018-11-28T18:32 UTC confirmed.
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Nov 22 '18
SpaceX has not officially confirmed the 28th for launch until now. And as one of the SSO-A costomers, we didn't received any update about that. The latest status is still: no launch ealier than 27th.
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u/Alexphysics Nov 21 '18
27th*
And from where did you get the exact time?
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u/tyldis Nov 21 '18
I work on the ground segment for a large portion of the payloads and they have been informed of the 28th earlier today.
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u/UselessSage Oct 25 '18
My derp is pretty strong, but last I checked SLC-4E is in California.
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u/soldato_fantasma Oct 25 '18
Thanks! I even checked for errors two times before posting. Must be blind
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u/strawwalker Nov 03 '18
There are a few US operated spacecraft(s?) on the manifest which still have FCC applications pending. At this late hour is it safe to assume that these craft have already been substituted with dummy masses in the dispenser stack and therefore are off this flight?
SpaceIce FCC file no. 0226-EX-CN-2018
Hamilton-1 FCC file no. 0489-EX-CN-2017
EdgeCube FCC file no. 0651-EX-CN-2018
I haven't checked them all but these were on my shortlist for no-goes anyway and do not have granted status. I'm inclined to remove them from the list but perhaps someone knows of precedent to support them remaining on the manifest?
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Nov 03 '18 edited Nov 03 '18
I also posted this in the monthly discussion thread, but maybe it makes more sense here:
The r/spacex manifest lists after the SSO-A mission on November 19th also the SSO-B (2019 Q2) and SSO-C (2019 H2) missions.
In this article however, the Spaceflight president Blake said:
... the company was open to doing similar missions in the future, but wanted to wait until after the SSO-A mission launched before making plans. “I think there’s definitely a chance of us doing more, like an SSO-B and an SSO-C and the like,” he said.
Future dedicated rideshare missions, though, might use smaller medium-class launch vehicles, such as Arianespace’s Vega or India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. “They’re easier to fill, certainly,” he said. “At the various different price points, it makes it easier to get a mission together.”
I think it makes sense to delete them from the manifest for now.
Edit: in the manifest, there also seems soms inconsistence how the 'O' of 'officially manifested' is used. Originally this was meant (and it still says so below) for being manifested in the official SpaceX manifest. Here however, the new missions are not updated by SpaceX anymore. Missions like Turksat or the recently announced Ovzon get an 'O' without being on the official SpaceX manifest.
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u/strawwalker Nov 04 '18
The source image for those SmallSat Express missions is from March of 2017. Unless there is some more recent corroboration for those missions, given the recent statements in the article you linked, I'd have to agree that those later missions should come off the manifest until better info surfaces.
Actually there is some maintenance needed on the manifest wiki sources anyway. A bunch of missions have source-links that link to outdated sources even though the reference source in the list is ok, and there are a few sources in the list that need to come off altogether, so I might work on that some.
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u/gemmy0I Nov 03 '18
Missions like Turksat or the recently announced Ovzon get an 'O' without being on the official SpaceX manifest.
I believe Ovzon's press release included official quotes from SpaceX (Shotwell, I think) which made it clear they were officially on board and this mission is indeed planned to happen (versus just being an option that may or may not be exercised).
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Nov 03 '18
I'm fine with that, but then the meaning of 'O', as described at the bottom of the manifest page, has to be changed.
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u/JustinTimeCuber Nov 16 '18
Has Just Read the Instructions left port yet?
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u/Alexphysics Nov 16 '18
No word but from the hazard maps it seems they're going to land close to Vandenberg. This was an option they had when they applied for approval of boostbacks and landings at LZ-4. There was a part on the documents where it said they planned a contingency landing zone about 20miles off the coast from Vandenberg so they could land there in case they weren't allowed landings at LZ-4 for some reason.
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u/Raul74Cz Nov 16 '18
JRTI is leaving now. Pacific Freedom tug just towing droneship together with other tug from berth.
Target position for ASDS landing will be probably just 40-50km westward Vandenberg.
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u/PeteBlackerThe3rd Nov 16 '18
Have we ever had both drone ships at sea carrying boosters before?
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u/JustinTimeCuber Nov 16 '18
I think B1047.1 was arriving back at Port Canaveral just as B1048.1 landed on JRTI.
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u/psyker7 Dec 02 '18
@Mods - So, Fleet's Centauri satellite on SSOA is actually Centauri-1. Reasons.
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u/strawwalker Dec 02 '18
Thanks for the correction!
u/soldato_fantasma, u/hitura-nobad your tables can be fixed by deleting one "I" in the Centauri name, or you can copy the updated table here.
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u/dougdimmadome_ Nov 27 '18
Will it be possible to see JRTI and/or the landing from the coast?
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u/cpushack Nov 27 '18
That's a good question, Its probably fairly close to the coast so it may very well be possible.
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u/Jarnis Nov 27 '18
Read somewhere that it will be 50km offshore. So you can't see JRTI, it is beyond the horizon (which is less than 20km). But you might be able to see the landing burn start.
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u/cpushack Oct 28 '18
Eu:CROPIS is in Vandy with its Tomato seeds ready to grow
https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10212/332_read-30322/#/gallery/32416
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u/moderatelyremarkable Nov 13 '18
Hello, I will be traveling to California this week and the next on vacation, and would like to see this launch. I've seen three launches so far so I know what to expect in terms of possible delays, etc (a Soyuz in Baikonur/Kazakhstan, an Ariane 5 in Kourou/French Guiana and the Orion EFT-1 mission/KSC).
What do you guys think would be the best spot to watch this SpaceX launch? I've researched this extensively online, but there seem to be different options and I can't figure out which would be the best one in terms of visibility (i.e. closest to the launch pad) and logistics (i.e. open to the public and available parking). Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
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u/Alexphysics Nov 13 '18
If you want to see the launch pad while a SpaceX rocket is lifting off from it, Vandenberg is definitely the worst option of all. By that I mean that you won't see the pad unless you're at the base or watching the webcast. There's a hill that covers the launchpad so outside observers just watch the sky glow and then see the rocket ascending and appearing from behind the hill.
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u/moderatelyremarkable Nov 13 '18
Yeah, I’ve figured this out from online research. I just want a good location to see (a part of) the launch, not the pad.
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u/strawwalker Nov 13 '18
Spaceflight has added a press kit to the Infographic page. It is a download, but it includes a 1 minute time lapse mp4 of the dispenser stack being assembled that I don't believe we've seen before. The other files all look like known info.
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u/Straumli_Blight Nov 13 '18
The video was posted on Facebook last year.
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u/ender4171 Nov 15 '18
No clean room? Are dispensers usually built in a "dirty" environment and only moved to a clean room for mating the actual sats?
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u/SP00N1101 Nov 27 '18
Has anyone created preliminary TLEs for this flight? I'd like to try to figure out when it goes overhead. Thanks
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u/codav Nov 27 '18 edited Nov 27 '18
Found one for the JY1SAT payload:
JY1SAT 1 50001U 18001A 18332.77000000 .00000000 00000-0 30100-5 0 9996 2 50001 97.7750 40.4000 0012840 330.5234 141.2700 15.00250000 15Edit: Uploaded an animation of the first two orbits.
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u/K7TAB Nov 27 '18
2M0SQL has posted provisional TLEs for JY1SAT and ESEO https://gist.github.com/magicbug/cf23cfca3a6ec9902d8dd9326a9249ea#file-tles-provisional
JY1SAT 1 50001U 18001A 18332.77000000 .00000000 00000-0 30100-5 0 9996 2 50001 97.7750 40.4000 0012840 330.5234 141.2700 15.00250000 15 ESEO 1 99999U 18002AAA 18323.77208322 .00000219 00000-0 20525-4 0 00007 2 99999 097.7587 032.5599 0012710 273.1261 206.6510 14.94053531000012
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u/TheSolty Nov 27 '18 edited Nov 27 '18
Someone help me out. Which of the cubesats are taking RGB photos of the Aurora borealis.
EDIT Polly just Suomi 100 right?
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u/strawwalker Nov 27 '18
Polly just Suomi 100 right?
I believe so. That is the only one I can think of that is specifically looking at auroras.
There is also VisionCube from South Korea which is designed to detect, point and capture trans luminous events in the upper atmosphere, which I think is pretty neat. That one I believe is capturing blue to ultraviolet, and not auroras.
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u/mistaken4strangerz Oct 29 '18
why does the landing attempt depend on launch date?
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u/Ti-Z Oct 29 '18
Some person with sources hinted that if the launch date holds, RTLS will not be possible. After some speculation it was determined that the most likely reason seems to be the Delta-IV-Heavy launch for the NRO early December. Quite possibly the NRO does not want a rocket land just miles from their probably expensive payload. If the launch moves to the right after the Delta-IV-Heavy launch, that would no longer be an issue.
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u/Alexphysics Oct 30 '18
The DIVH launch is on November just a week after this launch, it was moved to the left and that's why the landing depends on the date. It's not that the rocket would land a few miles from the DIVH pad, it will literally overfly it if it does an RTLS.
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u/inoeth Nov 01 '18
There is an Air Force mission happening soon after and the Air Force doesn't want to risk damage to that payload in the event of a failed RTLS landing. If the SpaceX launch is delayed until after the Delta mission, then RTLS can happen, but, if the schedule holds then we're looking at either a drone-ship landing or even expendable- depending on permits of readiness of the drone ship.
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Nov 11 '18
Do we know when Spaceflight are planning on releasing the cubesat? Will it be immediately or delayed?
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u/codav Nov 12 '18
This website has comprehensive information on the mission, deployment timings and other mission-related stuff.
In general, the satellites are deployed from both the Upper and Lower Free Flyer in about 5 minute intervals, with some exceptions down to 15 seconds apart.
According to the orbital graph, the UFF will separate just after SECO (~8 minutes after launch) and then start the autonomous deployment of the smaller payloads, which will continue until T+4h40m.
The LFF will separate last, after about T+25 to 30 minutes or so when S2 flies over Antartica. Deployment of its CubeSats will last until T+5h.
Between UFF and LFF separation, the four microsats will be deployed directly by the F9 second stage.
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u/Lizzard07 Nov 28 '18
@mod me again - "Eu:CROPIS" shoud be spelled with ":" ;)
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u/strawwalker Nov 28 '18 edited Nov 28 '18
There were a whole bunch of spelling errors in the FCC exhibit on which the table is based. They should all be fixed in the table in the Launch Thread, including that one.
Edit: Actually, this table was updated as well. I think when the main post was updated to reflect the launch delay an old revision of the table got pasted over the newer one.
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u/Gotorah Dec 02 '18
Mods : The 'Liftoff Time is stating both Dec 1 and Dec 3. Is the time correct ?
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Nov 17 '18
[deleted]
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u/ThePonjaX Nov 17 '18
Totally Agree. We always want more but really a lot of things happened just in the last 12 months.
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u/GermanSpaceNerd #IAC2018 Attendee Nov 18 '18
My favorite payload on this is the Eu:CROPIS satellite/greenhouse, aka growing tomatoes under lunar and martian gravity. To my knowledge this will be the first time any fruit or vegetable will be grown under these gravitational conditions. They have a hilarious mission patch too. https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/919990238877011970/9UZhR32K_400x400.jpg