Space is Hard…
The important parts first:
The Launch is currently scheduled to occur Today at 9:56am Eastern Standard Time – SpaceX live coverage begins usually about 15-20 minutes before launch. Usually if the Rocket isn’t going anywhere beforehand, depending on the level of embarrassment, SpaceX has been known to push the go-live time or just abandon the stream with no info. Sometimes they even create a new stream without telling anyone if the first stream face-plants for any reason. But usually if everything goes well there’s a good SpaceX stream.
Here’s some links:
SpaceX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIDuv0Ta0XQ
Nasa Mission Control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkwAkOUvm2w
Everyday Astronaut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkQROzg78o0
SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SLC 40 is the secondary launch complex at the Cape that SpaceX uses to send rockets to the black. SpaceX also leases pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center from NASA to perform launches. Right now 39A is undergoing modification and refurbishment to be able to launch Falcon Super Heavy and Starship Mark II (Boca Chica’s spacecraft is referred to as the Mark I) prototypes.
Today’s payload are 60 somewhat rack-mount server sized satellites known collectively as Starlink, or as some people call them: “Kessler Syndrome waiting to happen.” These satellites, assuming they do not cause a disaster that denies space travel to everyone, will provide global high-speed internet to most of the planet. The goal is 36,000 satellites in orbit providing total global coverage.
This is the second launch of 60 Starlink satellites. The first launch successfully put 60 prototype satellites into orbit. From the original mission 3 of the 60 satellites had failed after deployment and are derilict, while the other 57 satellites are functioning normally. It is expected that the non-functional satellites will deorbit due to atmospheric drag.
While placing these satellites into orbit is the main mission, SpaceX almost always has a secondary mission of putting a big-ass rocket on a postage stamp swaying out in the Atlantic Ocean. This is, of course, the landing of the first stage on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You”. While SpaceX has gotten very good at putting its rockets down on these drone ships, there’s always the chance something will go sideways and we’ll see a Falcon 9 perform a rapid unscheduled disassembly on the drone ship or nearby.
A 3rd (but less potentially exciting) mission is that there are two ships out in the Atlantic making an attempt to catch the expensive aerodynamic payload fairings as they fall to earth after being separated from the second stage. Here a pair of ships with giant nets will attempt to catch the falling shells and, with luck, allow them to be easily reused for another flight saving SpaceX several million dollars in the process.
So today’s launch involves:
+ 1x Previously Used 1st Stage rocket
+ 1x Previously Used Aerodynamic Fairing
So about 55% of this rocket has seen space before. In the case of this particular booster – it is F9 Block 5 #1049.3. SpaceX has designed the Block 5 boosters to be reused up to 100 times before disposal and to go through 10 rapid launches with only a short inspection period between each before a more detailed refurbishment.
I apologize for any inaccuracies in the post – I was trying to get this up before the Launch Happens and so that people who want to follow along can get a stream to watch. Assuming everything goes well, we should be seeing 1049.3 speeding to space around 9:56am (about 30 minutes from now)
Edit: Added link to Everyday Astronaut’s Live Stream. He’s talking now so you have something interesting to watch before launch and before SpaceX makes its stream live. 🙂
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