SpaceX Is Crushing 2017

 

For the majority of Americans, 2017 has not been a year to celebrate, nor a year that would warrant much optimism for our future. 

 

That is why it's crucial to highlight successes and technological advances - especially those that are space-related - lest they get lost or drowned out by the horrifying events that define our current political landscape. 

 

Based on the first six months of the year, SpaceX is having its most successful year to date, with an impressive line-up of nine (!) launches and seven landings, all of which have been a resounding success. The month of June alone saw three SpaceX missions - two of them this past weekend launched from opposite coasts within 48 hours of each other. 

 

Almost every one of these nine missions included historic milestone achievements for SpaceX as well as spaceflight in general. Below is a list of the nine SpaceX missions through the month of June, with information about them and historic milestones marked as these missions achieved their objectives, one after the other. 

 

SpaceX's 10th mission of the year, the launch of an Intelsat satellite from Cape Canaveral, is currently scheduled for no earlier than July 2.

 

 

1. January 14, 2017

From: Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, Space Launch Complex 4E

Payload: First of multiple missions to deploy Iridium NEXT satellites

Client: Iridium Communications, McLean, VA

Landing: Drone ship in the Pacific, Just Read The Instructions

Historic milestones:

1. Return-to-flight mission after the loss of the Amos-6 payload in September 2016

2. First successful drone ship landing in the Pacific

 

 

Image credit: SpaceX

Iridium-1 mission, January 14, 2107

Image credit: SpaceX

Iridium-1 mission, January 14, 2107

 

 

 

2. February 19, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: CRS-10, 10th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station

Client: NASA, Houston, TX

Landing: Ground pad at Kennedy Space Center

 

 SpaceX's technical webcast for the CRS-10 mission

February 19, 2017

 

 

3. March 16, 2107

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: EchoStar 23 communications satellite

Client: EchoStar, Englewood, CO

Landing: No attempt made

Image credit: SpaceX

Iridium mission, March 16, 2107

 

 

4. March 30, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: SES-10 communications satellite

Client: SES, Luxembourg

Landing: Drone ship in the Atlantic, Of Course I Still Love You

Historic milestones: 

1. First re-use of a recovered Stage 1 rocket (B1021), which also landed again. The rocket was first flown during the CRS-8 mission to the ISS in April, 2016.

2. The payload fairing also remained intact, as SpaceX began testing reusable fairings during missions. The fairing was equipped with thrusters and parachutes for landing maneuvers.

 

World's First Reflight of an Orbital Class Rocket Hosted Webcast

March 30, 2017

 

 

5. May 1, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: NROL-76 (classified)

Client: National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, VA

Landing: Ground pad at Kennedy Space Center

Historic milestone: 

SpaceX's first launch under its certification for national security missions.

 

Image credit: SpaceX

NROL-76 mission, May 1, 2017

 

 

 

6. May 15, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: Inmarsat-5 communications satellite

Client: Inmarsat, London

Landing: No attempt made

Historic milestone:

Heaviest payload (6,070 kg) launched to geostationary transfer orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket to date.

 

Image credit: SpaceX

Inmarsat-5 mission, May 15, 2015

7. June 3, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: CRS-11, 11th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Delivery of NICER, MUSES and ROSA science instruments to the ISS.

Client: NASA, Houston, TX

Landing: Ground pad at Kennedy Space Center

Historic milestone:

First re-use of a refurbished Dragon capsule (C106), which first flew as part of the CRS-4 mission in September 2014.

 

Image credit: SpaceX

CRS-11 mission, June 3, 2017

Image credit: SpaceX

CRS-11 mission, June 3, 2017

8. June 23, 2017

From: Kennedy Space Center, FL, Launch Complex 39A

Payload: BulgariaSat communications satellite

Client: Bulsatcom, Sofia, Bulgaria

Landing: Drone ship in the Atlantic, Of Course I Still Love You

Historic milestones:

1. Second re-use of a booster (B1029) that initially flew five months earlier in January 2017 during the first Iridium NEXT mission.

2. Launch of the first Bulgarian-owned commercial communications satellite.

 

Image credit: SpaceX  

BulgariaSat mission, June 23, 2017

 

 

9. June 25, 2017

From: Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, Space Launch Complex 4E

Payload: Second of multiple missions to deploy Iridium NEXT satellites

Client: Iridium Communications, McLean, VA

Landing: Drone ship in the Pacific, Just Read The Instructions

Historic milestones:

1. Third successful Falcon 9 launch and landing in a single month and the first to launch within 48 hours of a previous mission.

2. First use of new titanium landing grid fins during a mission. The titanium fins are much more durable than previously used aluminum fins and require almost no maintenance.

 

 Image credit: SpaceX

New titanium grid fins used to land Falcon 9 rockets 

 

 Image credit: SpaceX

Iridium-2 mission, June 25, 2017

 

  Image credit: SpaceX

Iridium-2 mission, June 25, 2017 

 

 

 

SpaceX Is Back!

Our American political future may seem bleak these days, but that did not stop the ingenuity of American rocket science from prevailing, showcasing a jaw-dropping return-to-flight launch this past Saturday, January 14, 2017. Following a week of launch delays due to major rain storms that may just have solved California's drought problem, Falcon 9 carrying the first of its Iridium satellite payloads received the all clear, performing flawlessly against a bright, blue sky.

Mind-blowing beauty during dark times ~ #ThisIsOurHumanFuture

Thank you, Elon.

RT @elonmusk: Liftoff pic.twitter.com/sBwNlsZObs

— Claudia (@ct_la) January 15, 2017

Not only did Falcon 9 deliver the first 10 of at least 70 next-gen Iridium satellites into orbit, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth, sticking the landing right on top of the X painted on SpaceX's ocean-going barge in the Pacific, downrange from Vandenberg Air Force Base. SpaceX has launch pads both at Vandenberg in Southern California and at Cape Canaveral on Florida's Space Coast.

You can learn more about Iridium Corporation and its fleet of satellites here.

Below is SpaceX's live webcast from countdown to satellite deployment to landing. Enjoy!

SpaceX JCSAT-16 Mission: A Beautiful Night Launch...And Landing!

On Sunday, August 14, SpaceX launched a Japanese satellite into orbit, the JSAT 16, as part of a beautiful night launch, topped off by a perfect landing of the rocket's first stage on SpaceX's ocean-going barge "Just Read The Instructions".

Image credit: SpaceX

Falcon 9 on the pad at Cape Canaveral after sunset on launch night

Image credit: SpaceX

JCSAT 16 mission patch

This was the second time that a JSAT Corporation satellite traveled to orbit atop a SpaceX rocket.The first was JCSAT 14. The JCSAT network is designed to support and expand communication services across Asia. Prior to choosing SpaceX as a launch provider, JSAT Corporation's satellites usually launched on Europe's Ariane rocket from Kourou, French Guinea.

Image credit: SpaceX

Liftoff of Falcon 9 with JCSAT 16 payload at 1:26 am EDT, right at the start of a 2-hour launch window

Source: SpaceX

Graphic illustrating Falcon 9 launch and landing arc

JCSAT 16 was launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), an orbit much further out than a low Earth orbit (LEO) destination such as the International Space Station. Since Falcon 9 had to travel further, it had little fuel left prior to re-entry, and thus fewer options to maneuver using controlled burns to reach the landing destination. A Falcon 9 returning from geostationary transfer orbit lands harder than one returning from a mission to the ISS. After a previous mission to GTO, Falcon 9's recovered first stage listed visibly to one side on the barge as it returned to port, an indication that at least some of the rocket's struts and dampers had been pushed to the limits of their capability during touchdown.
 

And she's back!! Another successful drone ship landing for @SpaceX!!
Standing ovation!
Congrats @elonmusk & team! pic.twitter.com/W3hXaPVg6R

— Claudia Taake (@ct_la) August 14, 2016

Below is SpaceX's full webcast for the launch and landing. As always, the entire video is worth watching, but if you want to skip to the good parts, the legend on the bottom tells you when the launch, landing and payload delivery events occur.

Video source: SpaceX

Live webcast from SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, CA, detailing all the stages of the mission.

SpaceX's CRS-9 Mission Launches Tonight

It's launch day for a Dragon commercial resupply capsule to the International Space Station. More precisely, it is launch day in the U.S. in every time zone EXCEPT the one (Eastern Daylight Time) where the launch actually happens: Cape Canaveral on Florida's Space Coast.

Launch times that switch days depending on which U.S. time zone you are in can be confusing, so if you plan to watch live, here are the launch times by time zone and day for the continental U.S., as well as Central Europe and UTC:

12:45 a.m. Monday, July 18 EDT
11:45 p.m. Sunday, July 17 CDT
10:45 p.m. Sunday, July 17 MDT
9:45 p.m. Sunday, July 17 PDT

06:45, Monday, July 18 CEST
4:45 a.m., Monday, July 18 UTC 

This launch window is instantaneous. 

If the launch does not occur tonight at 12:45 a.m. EDT, July 18, there is another instantaneous backup window at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) EDT on July 20. That is mid-to-late evening this Tuesday, July 19, for most viewers in the continental U.S. in time zones other than Eastern (e.g., 9 p.m. PDT, July 19). This means 06:00 CEST on July 19 in Central Europe and 4:00 a.m., July 19 UTC.

SpaceX will host a live webcast at http://www.spacex.com/webcast.

The company will almost certainly also stream a technical webcast for those who are more interested in engineering details and telemetry than the webcast from SpaceX HQ. The link to the technical broadcast usually appears once the webcast goes live at the above link.

As with every SpaceX mission since last December, the private rocket company will attempt a landing tonight to recover the spent first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. 

Earlier this year, SpaceX successfully landed spent rockets used in missions on land near Cape Canaveral (one time) and on an autonomous ocean-going barge three consecutive times, most recently on May 27, 2016, when the Thaicom-8 mission delivered a payload into geostationary transfer orbit. However, last month's barge landing attempt as part of the successful Eutelsat/ABS mission ended in a RUD - a rapid unscheduled disassembly at sea, in the words of Elon Musk. The spent rocket stage reached the barge, but disintegrated on touchdown.

SpaceX will attempt another land-based landing near Cape Canaveral tonight. The third of three burns, the landing burn, is scheduled to begin at 7 minutes, 38 seconds after liftoff. It is this landing burn that occurs closest to the ground, just before the rocket attempts to land.

The two prior burns, the boost back burn starts at 2 minutes, 42 seconds after liftoff, followed by the entry burn at 6 minutes and 31 seconds after liftoff.

Image credit: Space X

Graphic illustrating the stages of launch, landing and mission completion. Graphic is for barge landing, but stages are the same for a ground-based landing
(click to enlarge)

When the webcast begins, pay attention to the legend below the video that shows when to expect the different launch and landing milestones. Some of them are included in the graphic above. SpaceX has been very good about providing live footage not just of its mission launches, but its landing attempts as well. Night landings, though, pose visibility challenges. In case of a successful landing - or even an unsuccessful one - expect a brief camera whiteout as the brightness of the landing burn overloads the cameras for a few seconds before we will know if the rocket has landed upright.

Image Credit: SpaceX

Official Mission Patch for SpaceX's 9th Commercial Resupply (CRS) Mission to the International Space Station under contract with NASA

Image credit: SpaceX 

Dragon capsule atop SpaceX's flagship Falcon 9 rocket on the pad at Cape Canaveral awaiting launch to the ISS on July 18

Launch Alert: Go SpaceX and SES-9!

Update - February 28, 2016: 

Today's launch attempt was scrubbed after two tries. One involved technical issues, while the other hold was called due to an unauthorized vessel in waters off the coast of Cape Canaveral. It is routine to declare certain ocean stretches off-limits for brief periods while rocket launches occur. Alas, sometimes not everybody gets the message. It happened before and it happened again today. A launch is scrubbed when a vessel is present in the "off-limits" zone, where it could be hit by debris as a result of a launch accident. To paraphrase a tweet from Elon Musk: The important thing is that both vehicle and spacecraft are healthy
A new launch date has not yet been announced. I will post updates here.

Original Post:

In about an hour, SpaceX is scheduled to launch an SES-9 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral. SES is based in Luxembourg and among the world's leading satellite manufacturers. Today's launch is the third attempt to launch the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. 

Previous launches last week have been scrubbed due to fueling issues. According to a SpaceX statement, these steps were taken out of an abundance of caution.

Let's hope today's launch will proceed as planned; it should be spectacular, set against a colorful sunset on the Space Coast. 

Launch time:
6:46 pm EST
3:46 pm PST 
23:46 CET

The launch window lasts well over an hour and closes at about 8:23 pm EST (5:23 PST, 04:46 CET).

Tracking towards a 6:46pm ET launch attempt today; watching upper-level winds closely. pic.twitter.com/8HqAtnyDKt

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 28, 2016

The launch includes a Falcon 9 upper stage landing attempt on an ocean-faring autonomous landing barge, whimsically named "Of Course I Still Love You", after Iain M. Banks' (fictional) sentient starships.

 Photo credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has previously attempted landings on ocean-based barges. While it has nailed landing a Falcon 9 upper stage on land, it has yet to stick a rocket landing on an ocean-faring barge. Previous attempts have resulted in RUDs on the barge ships - Rapid Unscheduled Disassemblies. Let's hope today's landing attempt will yield a more positive result!

Live launch - and possibly landing - footage is available here: http://www.spacex.com/webcast