Re-used core again... so will they attempt to land this time- either on the drone ship or RTLS?
Quote from: Inoeth on 01/09/2018 03:44 amRe-used core again... so will they attempt to land this time- either on the drone ship or RTLS?None of the Iridium launches will likely RTLS, even with Block 5 boosters which may be capable they aren't currently planning to do so. Don't know about ASDS recovery plans.
Quote from: deruch on 01/09/2018 04:24 amQuote from: Inoeth on 01/09/2018 03:44 amRe-used core again... so will they attempt to land this time- either on the drone ship or RTLS?None of the Iridium launches will likely RTLS, even with Block 5 boosters which may be capable they aren't currently planning to do so. Don't know about ASDS recovery plans. They had originally planned to RTLS for the 4th launch before switching from Block 4 to reuse Block 3. I see no reason that the next Iridium flight to use a new core wouldn’t RTLS.
2. More to the point however, here's their VAFB launch schedule as of mid October. Dates are off but IMO the operations plan is still relevant.
It's an official SpaceX one from their filing for permission for RTLS to VAFB.
Quote from: deruch on 01/09/2018 11:55 amIt's an official SpaceX one from their filing for permission for RTLS to VAFB.Was that documentation posted somewhere, or do you have a link?
What is an "Iridium Landing Area" and why is it unique to Iridium?
Quote from: Norm38 on 01/09/2018 04:21 pmWhat is an "Iridium Landing Area" and why is it unique to Iridium?It's just a name of an area, no reason to think that it is unique to Iridium flights.
Quote from: Roy_H on 01/18/2018 03:22 pmQuote from: Norm38 on 01/09/2018 04:21 pmWhat is an "Iridium Landing Area" and why is it unique to Iridium?It's just a name of an area, no reason to think that it is unique to Iridium flights.Other non-RTLS recoveries out of VAFB are currently planned to land on ASDSs in a different area (~50+ km WSW of VAFB). In that respect, based on current plans it is unique to Iridium. The reason for this has not been explained in any documents/filings that I've seen.
That sounds like one per month or so from mid-March to mid-summer.
Quote from: AncientU on 01/22/2018 11:53 pmThat sounds like one per month or so from mid-March to mid-summer.An article in Space News says they want to average about every 5 weeks. That would probably be late April, early June, mid-July. Of course if you look at the history of Iridium launch dates, I really wouldn't bet on this schedule holding.