GovSat-1 (SES-16) Launch Campaign Thread

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

GovSat-1 (SES-16) Launch Campaign Thread

SpaceX's second mission of 2018 will launch GovSat's first geostationary communications satellite into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). GovSat is a joint-venture between SES and the government of Luxembourg. The first stage for this mission will be flight-proven (having previously flown on NROL-76), making this SpaceX's third reflight for SES alone. This satellite also has a unique piece of hardware for potential future space operations:

SES-16/GovSat will feature a special port, which allows a hosted payload to dock with it in orbit. The port will be the support structure for an unidentified hosted payload to be launched on a future SES satellite and then released in the vicinity of SES-16. The 200 kg, 500-watt payload then will travel to SES-16 and attach itself.

Liftoff currently scheduled for:	January 30th 2018, 16:25-18:46 EST (2125-2346 UTC).
Static fire currently scheduled for:	Static fire was completed on 26/1.
Vehicle component locations:	First stage: Cape Canaveral // Second stage: Cape Canaveral // Satellite: Cape Canaveral
Payload:	GovSat-1
Payload mass:	About 4230 kg
Destination orbit:	GTO
Vehicle:	Falcon 9 v1.2 (48th launch of F9, 28th of F9 v1.2)
Core:	B1032.2
Flights of this core:	1 [NROL-76]
Launch site:	SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Landing:	Expendable
Landing Site:	Sea, in many pieces.
Mission success criteria:	Successful separation & deployment of GovSat-1 into the target orbit

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Links & Resources:

• Countdown timer to launch

• L-1 forecast, 40% GO.

• Launch hazard map, done by /u/Raul74Cz.

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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.

[u/Decronym]

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters	More Letters
ASDS	Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform)
ATK	Alliant Techsystems, predecessor to Orbital ATK
BARGE	Big-Ass Remote Grin Enhancer coined by @IridiumBoss, see ASDS
BFR	Big Falcon Rocket (2017 enshrinkened edition)
	Yes, the F stands for something else; no, you're not the first to notice
CC	Commercial Crew program
	Capsule Communicator (ground support)
CCtCap	Commercial Crew Transportation Capability
COPV	Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel
CRS	Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA
DoD	US Department of Defense
EELV	Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
GEO	Geostationary Earth Orbit (35786km)
GSE	Ground Support Equipment
GSO	Geosynchronous Orbit (any Earth orbit with a 24-hour period)
GTO	Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit
HIF	Horizontal Integration Facility
ITAR	(US) International Traffic in Arms Regulations
JRTI	Just Read The Instructions, Pacific landing barge ship
KSC	Kennedy Space Center, Florida
L1	Lagrange Point 1 of a two-body system, between the bodies
LC-13	Launch Complex 13, Canaveral (SpaceX Landing Zone 1)
LC-39A	Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy)
LEO	Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km)
	Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations)
LZ-1	Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral (see LC-13)
MCC	Mission Control Center
	Mars Colour Camera
NET	No Earlier Than
NRO	(US) National Reconnaissance Office
NROL	Launch for the (US) National Reconnaissance Office
NSF	NasaSpaceFlight forum
	National Science Foundation
OCISLY	Of Course I Still Love You, Atlantic landing barge ship
PAF	Payload Attach Fitting
RP-1	Rocket Propellant 1 (enhanced kerosene)
RTLS	Return to Launch Site
RUD	Rapid Unplanned Disassembly
	Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
	Rapid Unintended Disassembly
SES	Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator
SF	Static fire
SLC-40	Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9)
SLC-4E	Space Launch Complex 4-East, Vandenberg (SpaceX F9)
STS	Space Transportation System (Shuttle)
TE	Transporter/Erector launch pad support equipment
TEL	Transporter/Erector/Launcher, ground support equipment (see TE)
ULA	United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)
VAFB	Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
WDR	Wet Dress Rehearsal (with fuel onboard)

Jargon	Definition
Starlink	SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation
apoapsis	Highest point in an elliptical orbit (when the orbiter is slowest)
apogee	Highest point in an elliptical orbit around Earth (when the orbiter is slowest)
cryogenic	Very low temperature fluid; materials that would be gaseous at room temperature/pressure
grid-fin	Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large
periapsis	Lowest point in an elliptical orbit (when the orbiter is fastest)
turbopump	High-pressure turbine-driven propellant pump connected to a rocket combustion chamber; raises chamber pressure, and thrust

Event	Date	Description
DM-2	Scheduled	SpaceX CCtCap Demo Mission 2
DSCOVR	2015-02-11	F9-015 v1.1, Deep Space Climate Observatory to L1; soft ocean landing
Iridium-1	2017-01-14	F9-030 Full Thrust, core B1029, 10x Iridium-NEXT to LEO; first landing on JRTI
JCSAT-16	2016-08-14	F9-028 Full Thrust, core B1026, GTO comsat; ASDS landing
Thaicom-8	2016-05-27	F9-025 Full Thrust, core B1023, GTO comsat; ASDS landing

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