Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : Iridium NEXT Flight 3 : Oct 9, 2017: DISCUSSION  (Read 76937 times)

Offline su27k

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SES-11 has moved to the 11th.....

SES-11 launch is scheduled to 11.11, hope they make the launch time at 11:11. The space geeks would go nuts!

Missing the point here. The question is given SES-11 has moved to the 11th, will Iridium need to be delayed in lock step as before?

Offline SmallKing

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SES-11 has moved to the 11th.....

SES-11 launch is scheduled to 11.11, hope they make the launch time at 11:11. The space geeks would go nuts!

Missing the point here. The question is given SES-11 has moved to the 11th, will Iridium need to be delayed in lock step as before?
No, Iridium will go first
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Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Yeah, there's no issue from the reschedule. The two vehicles are coming from different pads. All that's changed is that the MCC team at Hawthore need to open the Iridium-3 folder before the SES-11 one.
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Offline Comga

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Quote
With #Iridium-3 now 6 days away, we're excited to share the official launch patch! Check it out along w/ other gear bit.ly/2yFW0dM

https://twitter.com/iridiumcomm/status/915239432869089282

What's with the "6 days away" stuff?
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline gongora

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With #Iridium-3 now 6 days away, we're excited to share the official launch patch! Check it out along w/ other gear bit.ly/2yFW0dM

https://twitter.com/iridiumcomm/status/915239432869089282

What's with the "6 days away" stuff?

The tweet was posted on Oct. 3.

Offline John Alan

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Looks like the boat DM Tapper is off shore for the Iridium flight:

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:424351/mmsi:366053000/imo:0/vessel:DM_TAPPER

Quote
Offshore for the week! #spacex #dmtapper

Now THAT is interesting... SpaceX chartered a sightseeing passenger boat?... Or who and why?...
« Last Edit: 10/08/2017 03:34 pm by John Alan »

Offline pb2000

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Looks like the boat DM Tapper is off shore for the Iridium flight:

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:424351/mmsi:366053000/imo:0/vessel:DM_TAPPER

Quote
Offshore for the week! #spacex #dmtapper

Now THAT is interesting... SpaceX chartered a sightseeing passenger boat?... Or who and why?...

The boats look nothing alike. Something doesn't quite add up here.

That being said, is there anything stopping a private vessel from going out to watch the show?
Launches attended: Worldview-4 (Atlas V 401), Iridium NEXT Flight 1 (Falcon 9 FT), PAZ+Starlink (Falcon 9 FT), Arabsat-6A (Falcon Heavy)
Pilgrimaged to: Boca Chica (09/19 & 01/22)

Offline docmordrid

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DM

Online catdlr

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LAUNCH ALERT

                              Brian Webb
                  [email protected]
                        www.spacearchive.info

                                 2017 October 8 (Sunday) 10:14 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       MONDAY VANDENBERG LAUNCH

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a commercial payload is scheduled for
launch from south Vandenberg AFB tomorrow morning at 05:37 PDT.

Following lift-off, the rocket will climb vertically for several
seconds before it begins a gradual turn and heads south. If the launch
is successful, the Falcon 9 will place several Iridium NEXT
communications satellites into orbit.

Weather permitting, the launch could be visible as far away as San
Francisco, Mammoth, Needles, and San Diego, Calif.

People in very quiet locations in coastal Santa Barbara and Ventura
Counties and the western Santa Monica mountains may hear a distant,
muffled rumble or perhaps a sonic boom from the launch some time
between T+4 and T+12 minutes.

Some launch enthusiasts may be planning gather to watch the event from
west of Lompoc near highway 246 (west Ocean Avenue) and Union Sugar
Road. However, since this area is near the coast, there is a
possibility the liftoff will be hidden by low clouds or fog.

Regardless of where you plan to go to view the launch, allow yourself
enough time to get there well before liftoff. After you arrive, be
aware of your surroundings and possible hazards such as traffic.

For launch status and countdown information, go to:

      www.spaceflightnow.com

      www.spacex.com

For information on viewing Vandenberg rocket and missile launches, go
to:

      www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

The Internet countdown feed may be delayed by several seconds. Rather
than relying on the feed for launch cueing, use a GPS receiver or
another source to obtain the exact time. You can also set your watch
to the exact time from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (www.nist.gov).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                           SECURITY POLICY

Launch Alert does not intentionally publish sensitive, potentially
sensitive, or inside information. All information comes from open
sources or is approved for public release.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2017, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.
Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline ClayJar

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Now THAT is interesting... SpaceX chartered a sightseeing passenger boat?... Or who and why?...

The boats look nothing alike. Something doesn't quite add up here.

That being said, is there anything stopping a private vessel from going out to watch the show?

Actually, the boat does look like itself, but it's lived many lives since being built in 1979.  The image on Marine Traffic shows it back when it was Expeditions in passenger ferry service.  It's currently DM Tapper with Pacific Tugboats.

The PTS Vessel Spec Sheet PDF includes an image.  The passenger area aft of the three oblong windows is not present in the image, and it looks a lot like the other vessels SpaceX uses (with a flat deck astern). The URL of the PDF implies it was uploaded in August, so I'd assume it shows the current config.

Offline ZachS09

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According to the picture embedded in https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/917127765555503104, this Falcon 9 that will launch Iridium-NEXT F3 is using the aluminum grid fins again.

My best guess is that there are a stockpile of these grid fins which will be used up first before the titanium type stays in place.
« Last Edit: 10/08/2017 09:25 pm by ZachS09 »
Liftoff for St. Jude's! Go Dragon, Go Falcon, Godspeed Inspiration4!

Offline AncientU

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According to the picture embedded in https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/917127765555503104, this Falcon 9 that will launch Iridium-NEXT F3 is using the aluminum grid fins again.

My best guess is that there are a stockpile of these grid fins which will be used up first before the titanium type stays in place.

I suspect they made a limited number (4 or 8 maybe) of the titanium fins to get some flight data... full production run is probably for Block 5 vehicles.

Question: Are fairing recovery(ies) planned?
« Last Edit: 10/08/2017 11:57 pm by AncientU »
"If we shared everything [we are working on] people would think we are insane!"
-- SpaceX friend of mlindner

Different angle:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaAGV8CDAsQ/

There is a photo in the Update thread linked above that looks like its from the West coast landing zone can any one confirm.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Press kit shows RP-1 loading at T-1 hour 10 minutes, compared to T-1 hour for previous launches. T-1:10 was the time of the older launches. LOX loading is at T-35 minutes, corresponding to the later launches (previous was T-45 minutes). No sure what that exactly means. A combination of new and old propellant systems?
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 11:28 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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RP-1 loading should have started 3 minutes ago, if the press kit is correct.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 11:30 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Did RP-1 fuelling start at T-1:10 or T-1 hour?
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Semmel

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From the webvast: I cant remember seeing the second stage bleed off LOX from two ports simultaneously. This is entirely possible to be a failure of my memory, but can anyone confirm this is the usual case or is this new?

Offline old_sellsword

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From the webvast: I cant remember seeing the second stage bleed off LOX from two ports simultaneously. This is entirely possible to be a failure of my memory, but can anyone confirm this is the usual case or is this new?

There’s always been two LOX bleed valves on the upper half of S2.

Offline matthewkantar

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Second. Stage altitude is plummeting??

Offline ehb

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Second. Stage altitude is plummeting??
Was stage 1 altitude.

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