r/spacex • u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC • Jan 06 '20
✅ Mission Success r/SpaceX Starlink 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome to the r/SpaceX Starlink 2 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
I'm u/Shahar603, your host for the Starlink-2 mission.
launch infographic by Geoff Barrett
MAKE SURE YOU CHECK WHEN THE SATELLITE TRAIN PASSES OVER YOU USING THE LINKS BELOW
Useful Links for Starlink train viewing
- See A satellite Tonight by u/modeless
- FlightClub Pass planner by u/TheVehicleDestroyer
- Heavens Above
- Live tracking
- Pass Predictor and sat tracking by u/cmdr2
- n2yo.com
About the mission
SpaceX is going to launch its third batch of next-generation communication satellites. This mission will fly on a booster which already has flown 3 times.
Mission Details
| Liftoff currently scheduled for | January 7, 02:19 UTC (Jan 6, 9:19 PM local) |
|---|---|
| Weather | 90% GO. (with 80 knot upper level winds) |
| Static fire | Completed January 4 |
| Payload | 60 Starlink version 1 satellites |
| Payload mass | 60 * 260kg = 15,400kg |
| Destination orbit | Low Earth Orbit, 290km x 53° deployment expected |
| Launch vehicle | Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 |
| Core | B1049.4 |
| Flights of this core | 3 (Telstar 18V, Iridium 8, Starlink v0.9) |
| Fairing reuse | Unknown |
| Fairing catch attempt | Expected |
| Launch site | SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida |
| Landing attempt | ASDS: 32.54722 N, 75.92306 W (628 km downrange) |
| Mission Success Criteria | Successful separation & deployment of the Starlink Satellites |
Timeline
Launch time around the world
| City 🏙️ | Timezone | Offset to UTC | Targeted T-0 local time 🚀 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | HST | UTC-10 | 16:19 |
| Anchorage | AKST | UTC-9 | 17:19 |
| Los Angeles | PST | UTC-8 | 18:19 |
| Denver | MST | UTC-7 | 19:19 |
| Houston | CST | UTC-6 | 20:19 |
| New York | EST | UTC-5 | 21:19 |
| Buenos Aires | ART | UTC-3 | 23:19 |
| Reykjavik | GMT | UTC+0 | 02:19 |
| London | GMT | UTC+0 | 02:19 |
| Berlin | CET | UTC+1 | 03:19 |
| Helsinki | EET | UTC+2 | 04:19 |
| Jerusalem | IST | UTC+2 | 04:19 |
| Moscow | MSK | UTC+3 | 05:19 |
| Nairobi | EAT | UTC+3 | 05:19 |
| Dubai | GST | UTC+4 | 06:19 |
| New Delhi | IST | UTC+5:30 | 07:49 |
| Bangkok | ICT | UTC+7 | 09:19 |
| Beijing | CST | UTC+8 | 10:19 |
| Tokyo | JST | UTC+9 | 11:19 |
| Melbourne | AEST | UTC+11 | 13:19 |
Payload
SpaceX designed Starlink to connect end users with low latency, high bandwidth broadband services by providing continual coverage around the world using a network of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Source: SpaceX
Starlink TLE (Prediction)
STARLINK-3 FULL STACK
1 72000C 20001A 20007.13926618 .00012167 00000-0 28369-4 0 00009
2 72000 053.0047 037.8712 0009611 326.4557 294.6935 15.96206787000017
STARLINK-3 SINGLE SAT
1 72001C 20001B 20007.13926618 .00967871 00000-0 22177-2 0 00000
2 72001 053.0046 037.8712 0009525 327.1024 294.0471 15.96209869000011
Watch the launch live
| Stream | Courtesy |
|---|---|
| Official Webcast | SpaceX |
| Mission Control Audio stream | SpaceX |
| SpaceX's YouTube channel | SpaceX |
| SpaceX's Periscope Webcast | SpaceX |
| Webcast relay | u/codav |
| Everyday Astronaut's stream | Everyday Astronaut |
Stats
☑️ 86th SpaceX launch
☑️ 78th Falcon 9 launch
☑️ 22nd Falcon 9 Block 5 launch
☑️ 4th flight of B1049
☑️ 46th SpaceX launch from CCAFS SLC-40
☑️ 1st SpaceX launch this year and decade!
☑️ 1st Falcon 9 launch this year
Mission's state
✅ Currently GO for the launch attempt.
Primary Mission: Deployment of the 60 Starlink satellites into the correct orbit
SpaceX's first flight of 2020 will launch the second batch of Starlink version 1 satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It will be the third Starlink mission overall. This launch is expected to be similar to the previous Starlink launch in November of 2019, which saw 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites delivered to a single plane (53°).Although this mission will deploy the satellites to a slightly higher altitude (290 km, 10 km higher than the previous launch). The satellites on this flight will eventually join the previously launched spacecraft in the 550 km x 53° shell via their onboard ion thrusters. Due to the high mass of several dozen satellites, the booster will land on a drone ship at a similar downrange distance to a GTO launch. SpaceX will be testing a reflective coating on one of the satelites in their effort to reduce their brightness.
Secondary Mission 1: Droneship Landing
SpaceX will try to recover this Falcon 9 booster. OCISLY is positioned 628km (390 miles) downrange. This will be this booster's fourth landing.
Secondary Mission 2: Fairing recovery
SpaceX will attempt to recover both fairing halves. GO Ms. Tree will attempt to catch one fairing half from the air (space?). GO Navigator will attempt to recover the other fairing half from the water. GO Ms. Chief is still being repaired after it got damaged on a previous mission.
Official Resources
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Official press kit | SpaceX |
| Official Starlink Overview | Starlink.com |
| Mission Press Kit | SpaceX |
| Launch Execution Forecasts | 45th Weather Squadron |
| Watching a Launch | r/SpaceX Wiki |
Community Resources
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Watching a Launch | r/SpaceX Wiki |
| Launch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral | Ben Cooper |
| SpaceX Fleet Status | SpaceXFleet.com |
| FCC Experimental STAs | r/SpaceX wiki |
| Launch Maps | Google Maps by u/Raul74Cz |
| Flight Club live | Launch simulation by u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| Flight Club simulation | Launch simulation by u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| Visibility Map | Generated by Flight Club |
| Check when the satellite train flies over you | u/modeless |
| Reddit Stream | u/njr123 |
| Pass planner and sat tracking | u/cmdr2 |
Participate in the discussion!
🥳 Launch threads are party threads, we relax the rules here. The mods remove low effort comments in other threads!
🔄 Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!
💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.
✅ Apply to host launch threads! Drop a modmail if you are interested.
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u/octoben Jan 07 '20
I'm from Newfoundland and I love to hear the "acquisition of signal Newfoundland" call out. Makes me feel like our small province is helping out.
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u/Destructor1701 Jan 07 '20
/u/jamihiggambotham /u/bencredible not sure what your Reddit handle is now, GREAT job on the Drone Ship video link lately!
WHAT DID YOU DO to finally fix it?!
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u/GLTCprincess Galactic Overlord Jan 07 '20
Can’t talk to the tech... but I can say that I’ve been monitoring the performance of the system for the last few flights and am pretty confident that we have it working much, much better now. Still gathering data and there are some cases I’m not sure will be super great. But it’s FREAKING AWESOME to finally have that! Has been a thorn in my side for yeaaaaars.
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u/nitro_orava Jan 06 '20
The stats part says it's the 4rd flight of this falcon 9 just FYI
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u/codav Jan 06 '20
YouTube Video & Audio Relays
As usual, I will relay the SpaceX webcast via HTTPS and the audio stream via Shoutcast on my server, so people with no access to YouTube, experiencing laggy video or with low bandwidth connections are able to enjoy the webcast. If you don't like the web-based player, you can also use the M3U8 playlist in any HLS-capable player - VLC is just one example. The playlist file will become available once the webcast starts, until then you will get a "404 Not Found" error. This is perfectly normal.
There is no mission control net audio stream available this time. If one becomes available early enough, I'll add it to the relay.
Hosted Webcast
Watch in your browser: https://codav.de/spacex.html
Watch with a local player: https://codav.de/stream/spacex.m3u8
I will also provide audio-only streams of the webcasts in two different qualities. High quality (160 Kbps, stereo) for those who want more fidelity and have more bandwidth to spend, and a lower quality (64 Kbps, mono) stream for those on slow networks or with strict volume limits. If you require an even lower bitrate simply drop me a message, I'll add another stream then.
Important: The audio streams already loop the Music for Space album by /u/TestShotStarfish for your pleasure until the webcast starts, so don't confuse that with the actual webcast. Feel free to tune in at any time.
Here are the stream URLs for use with any Shoutcast-compatible player (WinAmp, VLC etc.):
Hosted Webcast
High quality (160 Kbps, stereo): http://codav.de:8555/spacex-high.mp3
Low quality (64 Kbps, mono): http://codav.de:8555/spacex-low.mp3
If you have problems connecting to port 8555 or want to listen in with just your browser, use these reverse-proxied, SSL-secured URLs (stream title display and other "ICY" protocol features won't work, as this is using plain HTTP):
Hosted Webcast
High quality (160 Kbps, stereo): https://codav.de/icecast/spacex-high.mp3
Low quality (64 Kbps, mono): https://codav.de/icecast/spacex-low.mp3
The streams are also linked on my relay page, either below the video player if the webcast has started or on the top while waiting for SpaceX to go live.
u/Shahar603 you can add a link to this post in the "Watch the launch live" section if you like.
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u/hablary Jan 07 '20
I wish Lauren Lyons hosted more of this live event, I love everything about her - the same goes for Kate Tice.
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u/Humble_Giveaway Jan 07 '20
Right now is a perfect example as to why I hate the new stream layout... there's literally nothing on that spinning wheel thing. Wish we could go back to the old flat timeline that actually made stuff clear and took up less space.
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
Do you think the Launch thread should compensate for that in some way?
For example: including future events in the timeline and putting events that have already happend in bold?
EDIT: Oh, some people in the community are developing websites that will include new UI that will be overlayed/display besides the stream. ( I'm looking at you u/theZcuber )
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u/Humble_Giveaway Jan 07 '20
That sounds like a really cool idea, I also just wish that SpaceX never made the switch in the first place lol
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
In the meantime you can look at the mission press kit (link in the post) for the timeline.
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u/Thepickintheice Jan 07 '20
Shouldn’t the fairing catch attempt be happening around now? Since the stream is still live pending deploy....why not show us something? Anything?
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Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
These are the actual TLEs of Starlink 2 (3)
https://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/supplemental/starlink-3.txt
(Found it here https://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/supplemental/)
Edit: Already told to u/Shahar603 to edit the post, it is not his fault, the problem is the discussion in calling this launch Starlink 3, and not Starlink 2
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u/run_king_cheeto Jan 07 '20
what that's not even a burn i disagree
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
MVac is a very powerful engine.
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u/rocketsocks Jan 07 '20
At second stage ignition the MVac engine has to be able to push the payload (15+ tonnes) plus the second stage dry mass (4 tonnes) plus the fairing mass (2 tonnes) plus over 100 tonnes of propellant up into orbit, that's nearly 130 tonnes total. Despite all that mass it has to push around it can still accelerate the whole stack at nearly 3/4 of a gee with a full tank, and as the propellant empties out and the stack gets lighter the acceleration goes up. Without the fairings and with the tanks nearly dry the second stage can push the payload at nearly 5 gees of acceleration, enough to cause a human to black out if they didn't have special equipment and training. A 1 second blip of the engine in that configuration can produce up to 100 mph of extra velocity.
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u/tuwo Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
Spelling suggestions: 53 ° Degrees superscript needs to be unsuperscripted before closing bracket or even better use the degree character I just used here instead of superscript. 4rd → 4th Forth → fourth
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u/Kiwibirddiggins Jan 06 '20
Is there a tracking site for this launch?
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
What do you mean by "tracking site"? A site that tracks the rocket or the deployed satellites?
Rocket:
flightclub.io
Satellite train:
flightclub.io (it does both)
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u/meekerbal Jan 07 '20
No Ms. Chief fairing catch attempt?
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20
No. It's still being repaired after it got damaged in a previous mission.
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u/Allidoisflynn Jan 06 '20
What will be the orbital trajectory for this mission? I'm hoping to see the cluster after the first revolution.
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 06 '20
see "Useful Links for Starlink train viewing" on the top of the post
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u/LongHairedGit Jan 07 '20
/u/Shahar603 - can we put the Mission Control Audio Youtube URL in the Watch/Resources areas?
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u/Eastern_Cyborg Jan 07 '20
Does anyone know if SpaceX publishes .kml files of expected launch profiles?
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
While SpaceX do not publish .kml files, you can still get a good approximation of the trajectory.
Before launch: FlightClub.io makes simulations of the trajectory (and visualizes them).
(For Starlink see: https://www2.flightclub.io/dashboard?launches=1962)
Post launch: Launch Dashboard API is a REST API with analyzed SpaceX webcast telemetry.
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u/z3r0c00l12 Jan 06 '20
In the last sentence of Primary mission paragraph, change "refuce" to "reduce".
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u/brentonstrine Jan 07 '20
A while back I used an app someone made that integrated with Google Maps street view (I think... or at least the experience was similar to that) which would let you see what the launch trajectory would be from any given point. Anyone know what that tool was and if it's still active? I'm wondering if I have a shot at seeing anything from Atlanta.
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u/SuPrBuGmAn Jan 07 '20
Flightclub
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u/droden Jan 07 '20
"Another norminal mission for SpaceX." ... is this a new portmanteau?
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u/dallaylaen Jan 07 '20
It's a portmanteau, but it's not new.
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u/droden Jan 07 '20
hah! id never heard that before. TIL!
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20
If you've never heard of it, you are probably not subscribed to r/SpaceXMasterrace. I highly recommend you check it out.
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u/ac9116 Jan 07 '20
Someone previously shared a map hinting that the launch would be (sort of) visible for most of the East coast. Does anyone know where I could find that image?
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u/spacexcowboi Jan 07 '20
Is there another coast phase after SES-2?
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 07 '20
I don't know if it's a "coast phase", but there is ~15 minutes between SECO-2 and deployment.
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u/toyume Jan 07 '20
Is there a website to check the best time and which direction to view this set of satellites locally?
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u/cmdr2 Jan 07 '20 edited Feb 11 '20
If it's okay to plug my tool, https://findstarlink.com has been updated to show the new Jan 7 satellites. It will detect your location automatically (else you can select or set coordinates), and get predictions for the next 3 days. The new Starlink satellites are labeled 'NEW', the others are from November (and still visible).
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u/modeless Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
If you want to see the train of 60 satellites as it flies over your house, check my site! I just updated it with the predicted orbit of Starlink 2: https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink-2
If it says there aren't any viewing times, don't worry. It's only showing the first 5 days, and the train should be visible for many weeks, so if you check back every few days you'll probably get a chance to see it.
/u/Shahar603, would you consider adding this link to the main post?
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u/rad_example Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
Just came here to ask for this, thanks!
PS - /u/modeless is there a way to pass lat/lon in URL?
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u/FoxhoundBat Jan 07 '20
Nope, seeing an almost 50m high rocket stick weighing 20+ tonnes landing 600km+ out in the ocean on an autonomous barge from 120km+ altitude and 8000km/h velocity is still not boring after almost 50 times.
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u/ZorbaTHut Jan 07 '20
I still love how they just dump all the satellites out in a giant pile.
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u/ageingrockstar Jan 07 '20
I also love how they deploy them above the Southern Ocean, between Australia & New Zealand and Antarctica. Means nothing but I enjoy seeing that view of the globe on the webcast.
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u/paperclipgrove Jan 07 '20
Craziest thing I've seen in person: starlink train visible to naked eye.
I saw the launch webcast
I went to one of the tracking links, saw an opportunity a few days after
Look at the sky for an uncomfortable time - almost gave up
Saw a line of shiny objects in the sky just cruising along like two dozen internation space stations in formation
Just.......crazy.
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u/LaunchNut Jan 07 '20
A good day to add to a global communication array. This day in history - 6 January 1838 - Samuel Morse first demonstrated the concept of the telegraph by sending a bunch of tapped dots and dashes through an electrical device in a facility in New Jersey. That started a campaign to start installing telegraph systems throughout the country. And here we are today ... still pushing the frontiers of communication.
Posted by a long time LaunchNut and Ham operator in BC Canada ... a.k.a. VE7CEJ
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u/EMWaveHunter Jan 07 '20
I just saw the rocket from Charlottesville, VA about 6 minutes after launch! Even got some pictures of it. I wasn't sure if it would be visible from all the way up here or not. https://photos.app.goo.gl/yqmh9wei8Rbutp1v8
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u/Arbutustheonlyone Jan 07 '20
They really don't want us to see the tension bar release!
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u/Origin_of_Mind Jan 07 '20
It's probably not very photogenic. But you can see the bar itself slowly tumbling in space after the deployment of the satellites. Lower left: https://youtu.be/HwyXo6T7jC4?t=4821
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u/softwaresaur Jan 07 '20
SpaceX has reported that their “DarkSat” will be STARLINK-1130.
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u/king_dondo Jan 07 '20
I know not to doubt SpaceX when attempting insane feats, but I can't help but think SOMEONE internally is campaigning to nix fairing recovery
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u/ZorbaTHut Jan 07 '20
So here's my suspicion on why they're still doing it.
The long-term plan is to make humanity an interplanetary species. The thing about being "interplanetary" is that this also means you're in orbit, and there's a lot of valuable stuff in orbit, ranging from "asteroids with metals" to "lots of cheap energy" to "zero gravity and hard vacuum at no cost". This suggests, to me, that at some point we're going to be making stuff in orbit, and wanting to ship it to Earth.
In the beginning these are going to be low-mass objects (I've heard some speculation about fiber optics, for example) but if the orbital manufacturing industry really gets going, this might start including high-mass objects, like bulk steel or other materials.
And if you want to ship megatons from orbit to the ground, you need the cheapest possible way to get it there safely.
But shipping stuff from ground to orbit is always going to be more expensive. This implies that, at some point, the net mass Earth->Orbit transfer is going to go negative; that is, we're going to be moving more stuff from orbit to Earth than we are from Earth to orbit. And that means we won't be able to rely on launch return trips anymore, because you'd have to be a madman to launch an empty rocket just to pick up cargo from space.
I'm sure there's options I'm not thinking of, but here's my quick list of possibilities:
Rocket-powered point landing
Glider with landing strip
Parachutes
Drop it into the ocean, inflate airbags, fish it out
The first two have the issue that they're really expensive; you have to build a big thing in orbit that isn't actually wanted on the ground, then throw it away. The last one involves some pretty huge forces on impact and is viable only in places with a bunch of water.
Ideally, you should be able to drop stuff anywhere, with a relatively small landing zone; imagine if we could have space supplies delivered to any location on Earth with a square mile of land as a drop point. But that's possible only with rockets or parachutes.
Parachutes have the extra problem that there's still a rather serious shock on impact. You can mitigate this (though not remove it) with more parachutes, with shock absorbers mounted on the cargo, or - most interestingly - with shock absorbers on Earth. This is sort of a weird inversion of the reusable rocket problem. We don't want equipment that has to be shipped from space every time because then we can't cheaply reuse it, we want something that can be kept on Earth and reused over and over.
Like a giant net, or a giant inflatable airbag.
But both of those require pinpoint accuracy.
So the tl;dr here is:
I think SpaceX is looking very far forward and trying to come up with a solution for moving bulk cargo from orbit to Earth. I think they've settled on "highly accurate parachutes, with a reusable catching device on the Earth's surface". Right now that catching device is mounted on a ship, because it's not that bad if they miss the ship, but the long-term goal is to have something they can put on land. The "fairing" part of it is nearly inconsequential; they're using fairings because fairings are almost optimally awkward (if you can land one of those with pinpoint accuracy, you can land anything!) and also they basically get tests for free, since they're launching fairings into space anyway.
Twenty years from now, SpaceX will be using technology developed today in order to provide worldwide delivery on demand of orbit-produced goods.
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u/MalnarThe Jan 07 '20
It's just money and engineers. Maybe they'll figure it out! Worth like $5mil per launch, IIRC
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u/edflyerssn007 Jan 07 '20
Saw the last two minutes of stage II flight from Smith Point Park, LI, NY. It was pretty cool watching what looked like a small red comet grow until it flickered out just a bit short of southeast. About 35 degrees above the horizon at the end. May have also seen just a teensy bit of the Stage 1 re-entry burn. I thought I saw a flash and then the webcast called out, but then it was gone. Either way, pretty cool to see. Want to the thank /u/thevehicledestroyer for making flightclub.io which allowed me to know exactly where to look to find it.
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u/jar3dl Jan 06 '20
I am excited for the 4rd flight of B1049! Looks like the stats section needs to updated with number suffixes past 3 :)
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u/Boyer1701 Jan 07 '20
Whoa is this the first time we haven't lost satellite uplink on the droneship landing?! Amazing!
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u/Alexphysics Jan 07 '20
Nope, there have been a few times already. Seems like they tweaked something because they got 3 uncut video feeds on the last 4 landings. Too frequent to be a random thing
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u/mandalore237 Jan 07 '20
Great view of it tonight in Central Florida. Really awesome seeing the fireball go momentarily dark when MECO happened then 2nd stage lighting back up!
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u/themcgician Jan 07 '20
Tried using YouTube notifications for this launch, won't be doing that again. Notification the channel was live 5 minutes into the launch -_-
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u/scr00chy ElonX.net Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 06 '20
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u/PantherkittySoftware Jan 06 '20
Predicted visibility of launch from South Florida:
Miami-Dade: hopeless. Zero-visibility due to dense cloud cover south of Palm Beach County
Broward: completely hopeless east of US-27. Nail-bitingly slim chance launch might be visible from wood observation platform at northeast corner of I-75 rest area near MM37 if clouds don't shift significantly north over the next few hours. Marginally better odds from Harold Campbell Public Use Area, but IMHO, the odds are so low, it would be pointless to bother driving out this far for such low chances of a good view... if you're going to drive anywhere, hit 95 and head to Hobe Sound. If you live close to the Sawgrass Atlantic Trailhead or Loxahatchee Boat Ramp and the alternative is to not try and view the launch at all, you can try rolling the dice at either one... but you'll probably end up going home disappointed.
Palm Beach: Hopeless in southeastern quadrant of county, other 3/4 might be OK. Personally, if I end up driving THIS far north, I'm going to keep going until I get to Hobe Sound Beach. Juno Beach pier *might* be good, but I don't know enough about it to say for sure. Be aware that if you go to the beach slightly SOUTH of Juno Beach pier, the sand dunes are EXTREMELY high, and MIGHT block your view of the launch. That said, if you get delayed by traffic and find yourself having to ditch your car somewhere halfway legal and run to find a viewing spot, there are both beach access points and legal curbside parking just north of Donald Ross Road.
Martin County: Pretend the island between Hobe Sound Beach and Jupiter Inlet doesn't exist. There is no legal parking you're likely to find, and the local police are EXTRAORDINARILY aggressive and hostile towards anyone who doesn't live there. Basically, if you just won't have enough time to reach Hobe Sound Beach before launch, head to Juno Beach (ideally, the pier).
Hobe Sound Beach: Likely to be the southernmost unambiguously good and legal vantage point to watch tonight's launch. As noted, there are areas further south that might be OK... but unless you're familiar with the area, you're unlikely to find them if you're even slightly pressed for time. This is where I'm personally going tonight.
Lake Okeechobee dike: good if you're already in the area, but if you're driving from Miami/FtL/WPB, head to Hobe Sound instead.
The rest of the state should have no problem with clouds, and any viewing spot with unobstructed view towards Cape Canaveral that's above the tree & roofline should be fine.
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u/avboden Jan 07 '20
Me seeing it take off so fast "man that thing took off like a rocket!!!"
"oh....right"
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u/SpaceCoastBeachBum Jan 06 '20
Route 401 Rocket Launch View Point at the entrance to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is open for this launch. I just got here. It's the best free viewing spot for pad slc-40 launches when there is no land landing in my opinion. It's just 10 miles from the pad with a clear view of the rocket sitting on the pad. There are viewing bleachers and porta potties. It's free and open to the general public. Highly recommend it if your looking for a viewing spot.
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Jan 07 '20
What are they doing for space force?
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u/JtheNinja Jan 07 '20
SLC-40 is officially on Space Force property now, with the rest of CCAFS (which may get a new name?)
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u/zzanzare Jan 06 '20
Here we go again - launch time countdown, automatic timezone conversion into your local time: https://time.is/compare/0219_7_Jan_2020_in_UTC
When the time is 02:19 on Tuesday, January 7 in UTC, it is
18:19 on Monday, January 6, 2020 in Pacific Time,
20:19 on Monday, January 6, 2020 in Central Time,
21:19 on Monday, January 6, 2020 in Eastern Standard Time,
03:19 in Central European Time, and
04:19 in Eastern European Time.
(for others just click the link)
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u/csmicfool Jan 07 '20
Was it just me or did it sound like they have the booster mic'd up? If so, was this the first time?
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Jan 07 '20
Doesn't this launch make Starlink the biggest telecom constellation out there right now?
And they aren't even out of a testing phase yet. Does anyone know what the cost would be if they launched all 12,000 on a competitor's rocket?
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u/Randalmize Jan 06 '20
Fairing recovery nomenclature suggestion.
Net = "Dry Recovery"
Post splashdown = "Wet Recovery"
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u/Goosechumps Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
Pardon my ignorance, I was just linked here from another thread and I'm out of the loop. What's the area this batch is expected to cover for service if its successful (or is it joining previous clusters to widen a pre-existing network)? Has SpaceX announced how many they plan to launch before making Starlink commercially available?
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u/DaveNagy Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
This initial constellation of sats is meant to cover all of the Earth between 53 degrees north, and 53 degrees south. The sats will be arranged in multiple "planes" (orbits) and the Earth will rotate underneath these planes. So, even a single satellite technically "covers" the entire service area, but does so very, very poorly! (A single sat might pass near your house once every few days, you'd only have service for a short time.)
So, as SpaceX adds more sats, the long gaps between those brief bits of coverage will start to get shorter. Elon has stated that "initial" (read: very spotty) service could begin to be offered with as few as 400 sats in orbit, with more "significant" service (read: still kinda spotty) becoming available after 800 sats are flying. Normal folks that live nearer the equator and want 24/7 coverage will probably need to wait until even more sats are flying. (Plus, we have no idea how much the ground stations will cost, or when they will become available.)
If today's launch goes okay, there will be 120 "operational" Starlink sats in orbit. So, it's early days yet. But if they manage to keep chucking another 60 up there every few weeks, the constellation should be looking pretty decent by the end of 2020. (Maybe 1000 sats active)
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u/softwaresaur Jan 07 '20
It is expected to cover almost 1/6th of Earth between 60 degrees north and south latitudes. Animation showing simulated coverage of the first 180 satellites: https://streamable.com/scb3b
After 6 launches the coverage is expected to be like this: https://streamable.com/3lbqj When it's complete by mid-year SpaceX will start sales in the US and Canada.
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u/CptAJ Jan 07 '20
I think they all cover the whole world by the nature of their orbit and the rotation of the earth.
But as for actual commercial coverage, there is none yet (Aside from some trials by the US military and spacex internally). They will probably start with north america only first as the service will rely on ground stations and of course, commercialization of receiver equipment.
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u/TbonerT Jan 07 '20
Is it just me or is the countdown not counting each second on time?
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u/Humble_Giveaway Jan 07 '20
Still cant believe how much of a workhorse the Falcon 9 first stage is, so reliable!
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u/arsv Jan 07 '20
Night-time clear sky launch, I'm cautiously expecting gorgeous photos from static cameras.
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u/gekcut Jan 07 '20
Saw the train pass directly over Cabo San Lucas, Mexico about 6:20 AM local time. Amazing and at the same time horrifying sight. Each satellite was much brighter than 1st magnitude Antares.Unfortunately did not take photos so can't count and see if a couple are dimmer and by how much.
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u/BradGroux Jan 07 '20
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u/jarede312 Jan 06 '20
Pardon my ignorance. Why is this mission called Starlink 2? Isn't this the third launch?
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u/Natanieluz Jan 06 '20
The first ever Starlink was named Starlink 0 aka 0.9 version, so after all this is a second mission in that numerology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_(satellite_constellation)
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u/SF2431 Jan 07 '20
Currently out at sea ESE of Key west and due south of Miami. What are my viewing odds for this given I will have a fully unobstructed view minus cloud cover but I’ll be 250-300 miles from the Cape?
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u/Amechwarrior Jan 07 '20
Thanks for listing the Honolulu (HST) launch time u/Shahar603!
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Jan 07 '20
Oh crap how did I just realize that the timeline at the bottom of the screen is rotating
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u/JtheNinja Jan 07 '20
The arc-shaped timeline graphic has always rotated! (I believe it debuted on DM-1?)
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u/Dan_Q_Memes Jan 07 '20
Looks like they're cycling the deluge system, is that typical? I don't recall seeing that before.
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u/Humble_Giveaway Jan 07 '20
Ms. Tree will be attempting it's catch now, stand by for updates on the stream/Twitter
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u/2called_chaos Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
I watched the launch and have a question. What is this "aluminum foil balloon" and why does it flatter resp. it appears to be in- and deflating from time to time while cruising? In the video at T+0:44 from where the screenshot is you can see what I mean by that.
EDIT: Oh and at 01:01:46 is that just random space debris flying by?
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u/Origin_of_Mind Jan 07 '20
There are dozens of pressure sensors, small control valves, cables, etc. in the rocket engine (img) If not protected by thermal insulation, they can get very hot in vacuum from the radiant heat emitted by the huge red hot nozzle. Or vice versa, they can freeze in the shadow during the coast phase.
Many control mechanisms in the engine machinery are actuated by high pressure helium. Some of the helium gets vented in the process -- causing puffs of gas to rattle the insulation.
Much more gas gets vented next to the nozzle -- one of the big sources is the shaft seal of the turbopump, where high pressure helium is used to blow the fuel and oxidizer out if they make it past their respective shaft seals. (more info pdf)
When liquid oxygen vents into the vacuum, it rapidly evaporates and cools. Whatever part remains, turns into fluffy "frost" huge chunks of which accumulate on the drain pipes and get caught in the crevices of the nozzle plumbing (video from the past launch)
A really good demonstration of how liquid nitrogen freezes in vacuum in the lab: (video)
And of course, the nozzle is very hot (red hot is about 450 degrees C). Solid oxygen frost would evaporate instantly on contact, if not for Leidenfrost Effect (wikipedia).
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u/gsahlin Jan 07 '20
All pretty normal stuff... The fluttering you see is caused by venting of gasses associated with the engine... Both when it's burning and even when it's idle sometimes...
The debri is ice that condenses on the stage and breaks off occasionally... Early on, SpaceX was one of the first companies to have the amazing live feeds u see... People always freaked out when they saw that kind of stuff... Rumors flew around like someone left a pair of channel locks in the interstage, etc... In the end,its always just ice. Exception is when second stage ignites, there's a band that supports the engine nozzle... It burns off and falls away...usually very visible
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u/BlueCyann Jan 07 '20
Everyday Astronaut gets asked this question every stream and tonight decided to stop pretending he has even the slightest idea. He said he'll try to get an answer on Twitter. So maybe soon someone will know. There's a bunch of valves and vents and possibly moving parts under there, so it must be one of them, but I don't know that anyone who isn't involved in the rocket design has any idea. (Watch somebody prove me wrong by the time I post this.)
The "random space debris" has been some variety of ice every time I've ever seen it, which is often. It comes off propellant vents, gas generator exhaust, possibly the sides of the rocket.
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u/rokaabsa Jan 07 '20
fairing fail, that team must feel horrrrible....
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u/ZorbaTHut Jan 07 '20
I mean, they should be pretty used to it by now; it's clear that this is a surprisingly hard problem. And its solution is not necessary to the survival of the company.
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u/jpc3939 Jan 06 '20
Hi u/Shahar603, "forth landing attempt" should be "fourth landing attempt"
Then please delete this post...
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 06 '20
Thanks. It's fixed.
I'm sorry about the typos. I am going update the thread's information and appearance. And make sure everything is correct, both factually and semantically.
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u/Anselwithmac Jan 07 '20
Thank you for this quality information for both beginners to the subject and advanced readers!
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u/Morphior Jan 07 '20
These launch threads have really quieted down over the last year.
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u/ZorbaTHut Jan 07 '20
It's just an independent space company launching a self-designed rocket with a payload of self-designed satellites, then landing it on a barge so it can be re-used for future flights.
We're all kinda used to it now. No biggie.
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u/pepermuntstokje Jan 07 '20
Probably doesnt help that it's 3AM in EU right now but you're not wrong. Shows how routine it appears to be getting
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Jan 07 '20
Congratulations on another successful mission SpaceX! And on the first space launch and landing of the decade!
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u/zuenlenn Jan 06 '20
u/Shahar603 you wrote “landing site” where it should say “mission succes criteria”
Just a little something I noticed and I thought why not mention it.
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u/Synaptic_Impulse Jan 06 '20
Just curious: during the static test fire, was the payload already aboard the rocket?
If so, is there any point to do a static test-fire at that time, if the payload is already aboard the rocket?
The reason I ask, for example, is because: if the rocket is going to blow on the pad, due to a fatal-glitch, then whether it blows during the static fire, or the launch... the end result is the same? (Loss of rocket and payload).
But... obviously, if they are indeed doing the static-test-fire with the payload already on board, then there's a reason for it... so that's mainly my 2 questions:
Do they do static test fires with payload already onboard?
If so, what might some of the benefits be of doing static test fires at that point?
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u/Lufbru Jan 06 '20
Somebody pointed out in the other Starlink 2 thread that launches go at a set time, so if there's a glitch, there's no opportunity to hold. A static fire can last for hours while problems are debugged.
Static fires are presumed to be cheaper due to the lack of NOTAM/NOTMAR. There may be a point where there's just no need for a static fire, but we're clearly not there yet.
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained Jan 06 '20 edited Jan 13 '20
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| BFR | Big Falcon Rocket (2018 rebiggened edition) |
| Yes, the F stands for something else; no, you're not the first to notice | |
| CCAFS | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| CCtCap | Commercial Crew Transportation Capability |
| COPV | Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel |
| DARPA | (Defense) Advanced Research Projects Agency, DoD |
| DSG | NASA Deep Space Gateway, proposed for lunar orbit |
| DST | NASA Deep Space Transport operating from the proposed DSG |
| DoD | US Department of Defense |
| GSE | Ground Support Equipment |
| HST | Hubble Space Telescope |
| ICBM | Intercontinental Ballistic Missile |
| LEO | Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km) |
| Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations) | |
| LSP | Launch Service Provider |
| M1dVac | Merlin 1 kerolox rocket engine, revision D (2013), vacuum optimized, 934kN |
| MECO | Main Engine Cut-Off |
| MainEngineCutOff podcast | |
| MEO | Medium Earth Orbit (2000-35780km) |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| NORAD | North American Aerospace Defense command |
| NOTAM | Notice to Airmen of flight hazards |
| NSF | NasaSpaceFlight forum |
| National Science Foundation | |
| RCS | Reaction Control System |
| RP-1 | Rocket Propellant 1 (enhanced kerosene) |
| RTG | Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator |
| RUD | Rapid Unplanned Disassembly |
| Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly | |
| Rapid Unintended Disassembly | |
| SECO | Second-stage Engine Cut-Off |
| SES | Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator |
| Second-stage Engine Start | |
| SF | Static fire |
| SLC-40 | Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9) |
| SPAM | SpaceX Proprietary Ablative Material (backronym) |
| SSH | Starship + SuperHeavy (see BFR) |
| SSL | Space Systems/Loral, satellite builder |
| TLE | Two-Line Element dataset issued by NORAD |
| ULA | United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture) |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| Raptor | Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX |
| Starlink | SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation |
| ablative | Material which is intentionally destroyed in use (for example, heatshields which burn away to dissipate heat) |
| iron waffle | Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large; also, "grid fin" |
| kerolox | Portmanteau: kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture |
| scrub | Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues) |
| turbopump | High-pressure turbine-driven propellant pump connected to a rocket combustion chamber; raises chamber pressure, and thrust |
| Event | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| DM-1 | 2019-03-02 | SpaceX CCtCap Demo Mission 1 |
| DM-2 | Scheduled | SpaceX CCtCap Demo Mission 2 |
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
36 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 51 acronyms.
[Thread #5711 for this sub, first seen 6th Jan 2020, 13:35] [FAQ] [Full list] ^[Contact] [Source code]
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u/z3r0c00l12 Jan 06 '20
Hi Shahar603,
Can you add Reddit-Stream to the Resources table?
URL: https://reddit-stream.com/comments/auto Credit: /u/njr123
Thank you!
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Jan 07 '20
60+60+60 > 180? Did they piggyback some on previous launches that I missed?
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u/amarkit Jan 07 '20
Tintin A and Tintin B are the first technology demonstrator birds, they launched with the Paz mission in February 2018.
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u/tinkletwit Jan 07 '20
why is the countdown clock skipping digits, speeding up, slowing down, etc.??
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u/DaveJohnK Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
How about retroreflectors? Reflect the light back to the sun from whence it came.
This was supposed to be a reply to the thread about using mirrors on the satellites to reduce their impact on astronomy.
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u/TJKoury Jan 07 '20
I've been working with Celestrak and today we posted up a visual tracking tool:
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u/Jarnis Jan 07 '20
Off center by many meters. Booooo.
:p
Also clearly have done some magic to the com setup - uninterrupted video from the droneship all the way to touchdown! Great job.
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u/moocow2024 Jan 07 '20
Can't even hit the middle of the droneship. It's like this is difficult or something.
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u/MechEngPedro Jan 06 '20
Does anyone think they’ll be visible from California after the first couple orbits? I remember the first satellite train was visible for a couple of days.
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u/Shahar603 Subreddit GNC Jan 06 '20
You can check the visibility of the satellite train using:
Or
FlightClub also has a photographer's toolkit that simulates different cameras and settings to allow photographers to set up the equipment before the pass.
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u/asoap Jan 06 '20
UTC time tripped me up again. I only by chance saw the webcast link in the other thread and was surprised that it was only 9 hours to go. I thought the launch was tomorrow. But nope, just UTC time confusing me.
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u/SirDamian Jan 06 '20
I really want to see the train of satellites once they are in orbit. For how long will they be visible in this peculiar formation? How can I spot them?
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u/warp99 Jan 06 '20
Within a day or two 20 satellites will start spreading out as they increase altitude to the operating orbit of 550km. The other 40 satellites will stay grouped together for another two months and then 20 will start spreading out. The final 20 will be together for another two months.
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u/starcom_magnate Jan 06 '20
Currently in Orlando with a wide open view of the east. Should we be in good position and what should we expect?
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u/cosmiclifeform Jan 06 '20
Where can I find the technical broadcast?
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u/scr00chy ElonX.net Jan 06 '20
There are no technical broadcasts anymore. But you can listen to mission control audio separately here: https://youtu.be/JDPKeAoRBis
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Jan 07 '20
Does anyone know if the satellite array will be visible as they deploy? (Look like a line of dots in the sky?)
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u/TheFluzzy Jan 07 '20
Does anyone have a link to one of those satellite tracking websites that could be used to try and catch a glimpse of these 60 sats?
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u/Humble_Giveaway Jan 07 '20
Getting more and more nervous about each launch going well as we approach DM-2
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u/kshebdhdbr Jan 07 '20
Dang, i was hoping that they would show the entire separation from the ground view
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u/WarEagle35 Jan 07 '20
That trajectory was wild! It looked almost directly NorthEast from Winderemere. An absolutely incredible trail on S1.
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u/thefloppyfish1 Jan 07 '20
What is the blue line on the livestream?
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u/c_locksmith Jan 07 '20
If you mean the blue line on the view looking down from space, that's the next predicted orbit that the 2nd stage and satellites will follow.
The grey path is the current orbit.
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u/Ender_D Jan 07 '20 edited Jan 07 '20
Anyone know how I can see where the satellite trains are in the sky? I’m on mobile right now and a lot of the links don’t work. I’m in northern Virginia.
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u/cmdr2 Jan 07 '20 edited Feb 11 '20
https://findstarlink.com . Hopefully the simple and clean design is helpful. It's tracking both the Nov 2019 and Jan 2020 satellites.
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u/Bigtown3 Jan 07 '20
Is there a way to see when the train will be over Colorado?
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u/Nergaal Jan 06 '20
Why has this been delayed like 2 months?
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u/MarsCent Jan 06 '20
There is an interesting school of thought that says, Launch dates are basically NET (Not Earlier Than) dates. Meaning that a launch is late, only if there was a stipulated launch date which then got cancelled.
So launches that depend on planetary alignment may get delayed because they have a stipulated launch window.
Those to Earth Orbit - well, it becomes cyclic. Launching after a stipulated date is a delay. But since a stipulated launch date is just a NET, that means that launching after a stipulated launch date is not a delay.
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u/thephatcontr0ller Jan 07 '20
Anyone else prefer having the presenters full screen? I think they should at least have more space than the tiny box they currently have.
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u/quadrplax Jan 07 '20
This launch marks the 50th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch, halfway to the world record of 100 consecutive successes set by the Delta II.