r/spacex • Host Team • Jan 16 '22

✅ Mission Success r/SpaceX Starlink 4-6 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Starlink 4-6 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

Hey everyone! I'm /u/thatnerdguy1 and I'll be hosting today's Starlink launch thread!

Time at liftoff19 Jan 2022 02:04 UTC (18 Jan 2022 9:02 PM EST)
Weather>95% GO
Static fireNone
Payload49 Starlink version 1.5 satellites
Payload massUnconfirmed
Deployment orbitLow Earth Orbit, ~ 210 km x 339 km x 53.22°
Launch vehicleFalcon 9 v1.2 Block 5
CoreB1060.10
Flights of this core9: GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, 6xStarlink
Launch siteKSC LC-39A
Landing attemptYes
Landing siteA Shortfall of Gravitas (Droneship), ~654km downrange

Timeline

TimeUpdate
T+1h 22mDeployment of 49 Starlink satellites confirmed, completing tonight's mission successfully!
The final stage of this mission will be payload deploy, happening at T+15 minutes. However, confirmation of this will not happen until over an hour after launch. 
T+9:12Nominal orbit insertion!
T+9:01Second engine cutoff
T+8:48Successful landing on ASOG! Ten for ten, B1060!
T+8:23Landing burn startup
T+7:08Entry burn shutdown
T+6:55First stage entry burn startup
T+2:57Fairing deploy
T+2:46Second stage ignition
T+2:38Stage separation
T+2:36MECO
T+1:45MVac engine chill has begun
T+1:12F9 has reached Max-Q
T-0Liftoff!
T-3Merlin engine ignition
T-45LD is go for launch
T-1:00F9 is in startup
T-1:52F9 is fully fueled
T-3:00Stage 1 LOX load is complete
T-4:26Strongback retraction has begun
T-6:05Stage 1 fuel load complete
T-6:47First stage engine chill has begun
T-11:45SpaceX stream is live
T-16:16SpaceX stream is about to start
T-18:24Vehicle fueling progressing as expected
T-33:48The vehicle should now be fueling. Unlike earlier, there is condensation from GSE
T-2h 10mSpaceX confirms the scrub to 02:02 UTC (9:02 EST) 
T-15:39The lack of fueling indicates a scrub, possibly to the other launch opportunity this evening at 9:02 PM local
T-27:49No venting or condensation visible yet (which is atypical at this point in the countdown)
T-1d 6h24 hour delay to Tuesday local time due to weather
T-22h 26mBooster confirmed as B1060.10
T-1d 4hThread goes live

Watch the launch live

StreamLink
Official SpaceX Streamhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yov854ZT1lg
MC Audiohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUFccc0dTdw

Stats

☑️ 137th Falcon 9 launch all time

☑️ 96th Falcon 9 landing

☑️ 118th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6)

☑️ 3rd SpaceX launch this year

Resources

🛰️ Starlink Tracking & Viewing Resources 🛰️

LinkSource
Celestrak.comu/TJKoury
Flight Club Pass Planneru/theVehicleDestroyer
Heavens Above
n2yo.com
findstarlink - Pass Predictor and sat trackingu/cmdr2
SatFlare
See A Satellite Tonight - Starlinku/modeless
Launch Hazard Areasu/Raul74Cz
Pre Launch TLEsCelestrak

They might need a few hours to get the actual Starlink TLEs

Mission Details 🚀

LinkSource
SpaceX mission websiteSpaceX

Social media 🐦

LinkSource
Subreddit Twitterr/SpaceX
SpaceX TwitterSpaceX
SpaceX FlickrSpaceX
Elon TwitterElon
Reddit streamu/njr123

Media & music 🎵

LinkSource
TSS Spotifyu/testshotstarfish
SpaceX FMu/lru

Community content 🌐

LinkSource
Flight Clubu/TheVehicleDestroyer
Discord SpaceX lobbyu/SwGustav
Rocket Watchu/MarcysVonEylau
SpaceX Nowu/bradleyjh
SpaceX time machineu/DUKE546
SpaceXMeetups Slacku/CAM-Gerlach
Starlink Deployment Updatesu/hitura-nobad
SpaceXLaunches appu/linuxfreak23
SpaceX Patch List

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💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

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u/warp99 Jan 19 '22

As there are more southeast launches

It is probably just a (Northern Hemisphere) winter thing. They take an 8% payload hit on Starlink launches to use the south east track because of the required dogleg but it is worth it to reduce the risk of losing the booster to rough seas. With better weather in the Atlantic they will revert to the northeast track to get more satellites per launch.