Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : Iridium NEXT Flight 3 : Oct 9, 2017 - UPDATES  (Read 101912 times)

Online Chris Bergin

UPDATE ONLY THREAD for Flight 3 of the Iridium NEXT missions.

Flight 3: October 9, 2017 at 0537 PDT (1237 UTC). (new booster, probably 1041) from SLC-4E at Vandenberg.  Landing of first stage on ASDS is expected.

   Flight 3 will launch into Iridium plane 4.

   NSF Threads for Iridium NEXT Flight 3: Discussion / Updates / L2 Coverage September-October
   NSF Articles for Iridium NEXT Flight 3: 
   SpaceX realign near-term manifest ahead of double launch salvo
   SpaceX preps Falcon 9 for Iridium 3 static fire, Vandenberg manifest realigns
   Launch Article



See the Flight 1 Discussion Thread for more information and links to other Iridium Next threads and articles.

General information for Iridium flights 1-7
   Payload Mass: 8600kg for 10 satellites + 1000kg for dispenser = 9600kg
   Launch orbit: 625km, 86.66 degrees
   Operational orbit: 778km, 86.4 degrees

81 Satellites will be built for Iridium NEXT, with 66 being needed for a fully operational constellation.  All of the satellites will carry ADS-B aviation tracking hosted payloads for Aireon, and 60 of the satellites will carry AIS maritime tracking hosted payloads for exactEarth.



Other SpaceX resources on NASASpaceflight:
   SpaceX News Articles (Recent)  /   SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews)
   SpaceX Dragon Articles  /  SpaceX Missions Section (with Launch Manifest and info on past and future missions)
   L2 SpaceX Section
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 12:56 pm by gongora »
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Online Chris Bergin

Full Payload of Satellites for Third Iridium® NEXT Launch are Onsite at Vandenberg Air Force Base

Pre-Launch Processing Nearly Complete in Anticipation of October 4th Launch

MCLEAN, Va. – September 20, 2017 - Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM), today announced that all 10 Iridium NEXT satellites for the third launch are onsite at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.  Pre-launch processing activities are underway, which includes mating them to the dispensers, fueling and encapsulation within the fairing.  The Falcon 9 rocket stages and fairing components are also onsite and in processing for launch. Scheduled for October 4, 2017 at 6:06am PDT (1:06pm UTC), this early morning launch continues the ambitious deployment pace for the Iridium NEXT program, set to launch a total of 75 satellites on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. A total of 81 Iridium NEXT satellites are being built - 66 are required for the operational constellation, with the remaining 15 serving as on-orbit spares (nine) and ground spares (six).

 

“Our teams, not only in California, but also in Arizona and in Northern Virginia, have maintained a steady and impressive pace when it comes to pre-and-post launch operations,” said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. “We’re setting a new industry standard for satellite deployment, in terms of both time and efficiency. On our end, all systems are go for our coming predawn launch.”

 

The October 4th launch is the third of eight launches for the Iridium NEXT program. Under the lead of Thales Alenia Space (Iridium NEXT System Prime Contractor), the satellites were shipped in pairs from the Orbital ATK Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Gilbert, Arizona to VAFB. The satellites were delivered in specially designed motion and temperature-controlled containers designed to maintain optimal environmental conditions.

 

Iridium NEXT is the company’s next-generation global satellite constellation scheduled for completion in 2018. Iridium NEXT represents the evolution of critical communications infrastructure that governments and organizations worldwide rely upon to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more. Iridium NEXT will introduce new capabilities, such as Iridium CertusSM, the company’s next-generation multi-service communications platform, which will deliver broadband speeds over L-band for aviation, maritime, land mobile, Internet of Things applications for commercial and government organizations. It will also enable the AireonSM space-based ADS-B, real-time, global aircraft surveillance and flight tracking system.
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Online Chris Bergin

Iridium pic:

Iridium NEXT satellites undergoing pre-launch processing
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Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Another image from Iridium

Edit to add:

Quote
T - minus 14 days and counting! Satellites all mated and being fueled today. blog.iridium.com/2017/09/20/ful…

https://twitter.com/iridiumboss/status/910528864807473152
« Last Edit: 09/20/2017 03:44 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Online Chris Bergin

Watching the launch date. L2 notes have Static Fire for September 30, but with caveat the launch may be moving to the right by several days (no firm date, not being vague). Iridium CEO Matt is usually pretty good at noting date changes, so keep an eye on his Twitter.

So nothing official, but keep an eye on it.
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Online Chris Bergin

Iridium or SpaceX need to post to confirm the change, but the L2 Range has this as NET October 9 now (as in documented, so it's October 9, but the rules are SpaceX or the Customer make it "official"). So I'll characterise this as "We expect SpaceX or Iridium to note IR-3 is now October 9".
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Online Chris Bergin

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Offline Req

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https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/912680164827447296

@SpaceX
Iridium-3 launch slated for 10/9 from Vandenberg, AFB in California—setting up back-to-back launches in early October.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Here's the time:

Quote
Iridium Corporate‏ Verified account @IridiumComm 3m3 minutes ago

It's an early morning (5:37 am PDT) #ColumbusDay launch from the #NewWorld out of VAFB! #IridiumNEXT #Nina #Pinta #SantaMaria #Falcon9

https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/912680882657546241

So 12:37pm UTC

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Quote
Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss 3m3 minutes ago

Patience everything in spaceflight, but success better than fast!  Our sats are ready and looking fwd to their (very) early morning flight!

https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/912691749226729474

Offline SmallKing

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Quote
Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss  22h22 hours ago
Replying to @ASchweigler
SpaceX needed more time for second stage processing at VAFB.  Ran out of schedule margin.  No problems I'm aware of.

 Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss  22h22 hours ago
Replying to @CJDaniels77
Don't have specifics, but no big issues.  SpaceX was running late on second stage processing at VAFB and needed more time.
https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/912703915384242176
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Online Chris Bergin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs, www.vandenberg.af.mil

Falcon 9 Scheduled for Launch

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -  Team Vandenberg is scheduled to launch
the third Iridium mission consisting of 10 satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9
rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 here Monday, Oct. 9, at 5:37 a.m. PDT.

Col. Michael S. Hough, 30th Space Wing commander, is the space launch
commander.

"Our mission is to provide assured access to space and to do it safely and
securely. We can't accomplish this without great mission partners like
SpaceX," said Hough. "SpaceX's and 30 SW's ever present 'can-do-attitude'
and job pride will be on display for the Iridium-3 launch."

Due to the early morning launch time, the Hawk's Nest on Hwy 1 south of
Vandenberg Air Force Base's main gate will not be open.

- 30 -
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Quote
Iridium Corporate‏ Verified account @IridiumComm 22m22 minutes ago

Iridium-3 Update: #IridiumNEXT SVs are mated & stacked in prep for encapsulation! T-5 days to launch @SpaceX @30thSpaceWing #NationalTacoDay

https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/915696256693014528

Online Chris Bergin

ARTICLE by Chris Gebhardt:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/spacex-falcon-9-iridium-3-static-fire-vandenberg-manifest-realigns/

Falcon 9 is on SLC-4E for early morning firing. Standing by for prop load.
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Online Chris Bergin

Window for the Falcon 9 (Iridium NEXT-3) Static Fire opens at the top of the hour.

10 mins from this post time stamp.
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Quote
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting October 9 launch of Iridium-3 from Vandenberg AFB in California.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/915932492460380160

Online Chris Bergin

https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/915936031706370049

Quote
Getting real!  Weather currently looks good for Monday morning, and all else is on track.  Busy @SpaceX weekend- rooting for SES-11 on Sat!
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Offline catdlr

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OrbitalATK and Iridium NEXT

Orbital ATK
Published on Oct 5, 2017

Under a contract from Thales Alenia Space, Orbital ATK is assembling and testing the 81 Iridium NEXT satellites at its Gilbert, Arizona satellite manufacturing facility.  Orbital ATK engineers highlight the challenges and rewards of working on this exciting program.



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Online FutureSpaceTourist

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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

Offline Raul

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SpaceX Mission 1339 Launch Hazard Areas visualization for Iridium-3 based on issued NOTMAR and NOTAM.
(It looks like someone drew that ugly NOTMAR area by hand at this time.;) )

Stage 2 debris area is included (identical with Iridium-1 mission).
« Last Edit: 10/06/2017 01:34 pm by Raul »

Offline vaporcobra

Spicy behind-the-scenes peek at 1041, posted an hour ago.

Offline input~2

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Other views of hazard zones:

EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CALIFORNIA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 091201Z TO 091336Z OCT,
ALTERNATE 101201Z TO 101336Z OCT
IN AREA BOUND BY
33-00N 121-30W, 33-13N 120-23W,
33-00N 119-20W, 32-52N 119-05W,
32-00N 118-20W, 31-10N 118-16W,
31-00N 118-20W, 29-00N 119-00W,
28-30N 119-20W, 28-23N 119-39W,
28-20N 120-00W, 28-30N 121-11W,
28-50N 121-30W, 30-31N 121-50W,
31-10N 121-50W, 32-50N 121-50W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 101436Z OCT 17.//

Authority: WESTERN RANGE 281841Z SEP 17.

Date: 040600Z OCT 17
Cancel: 10143600 Oct 17

SOUTH PACIFIC.
DNC 06, DNC 29.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 091401Z TO 091504Z OCT,
ALTERNATE 101401Z TO 101504Z OCT
IN AREA BETWEEN
27-43S 73-06S AND 147-18W 138-54W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 101604Z OCT 17.//

Authority: WESTERN RANGE 281841Z SEP 17.

Date: 040619Z OCT 17
Cancel: 10160400 Oct 17

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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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


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DM

Offline Raul

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Official SpaceX patch for this mission.
« Last Edit: 10/08/2017 06:25 pm by Raul »

Online Chris Bergin

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/917127765555503104

Falcon 9 and Iridium-3 are vertical on SLC-4E at Vandenberg AFB. Weather is 90% favorable for tomorrow's launch at 5:37 a.m. PDT, 12:37 UTC.
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Online Chris Bergin

FEATURE ARTICLE: SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch another set of Iridium-NEXT satellites - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/spacex-falcon-9-launch-third-set-iridium-satellites/

By William Graham
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Offline vaporcobra

Here's a bit higher res version of the same photo. Really great details :D

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Offline vaporcobra

And the VIP pass to get those views, FWIW :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_wc29jjOf/
« Last Edit: 10/08/2017 10:12 pm by vaporcobra »

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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From the SpaceX.com homepage

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Nice wide shot and the 2nd photo speaks for itself ...

Quote
Setting up remote cameras for the SpaceX/Iridium launch tomorrow

https://twitter.com/dmoberhaus/status/917154958134304768

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On the bus to the press site.  Don’t have access to the LD loop yet, but all appears on track.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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SpaceX‏Verified account @SpaceX 16s17 seconds ago

T-60 minutes until Falcon 9 launch of Iridium-3. Launch webcast will go live ~15 minutes before liftoff → http://spacex.com/webcast

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/917353355638226944
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 11:40 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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RP-1 fueling underway.

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LAUNCH area reported clear and ready.

Online Chris Bergin

NSF has Chris G, Philip, Jay and Derrick there. I think we've got this one covered! :)

"Update only thread, Chris!" Sorry! :)

From the L2 photo dump. Philip Sloss caught engineers with B1041:
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LOX load

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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T-35 minutes. LOX loading should be starting now.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Huge LOX vent.  All is well.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 12:04 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

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Crystal clear skies!

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Sputnik from Testshot Starfish!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

Green so far.
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Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Coverage has started.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

Second stage has got its vent going on.
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T-14 minutes. Launch at 12:37:01 UTC.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-13 minutes. Talking about transporter/erector.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-12 minutes. TE reclines before launch. Everything looks good. Not working any significant issues or problems.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 01:09 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-11 minutes. LOX loading for both stages continuing.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-10 minutes. Spacecraft on internal power. Upper atmosphere winds a little high, but within spec.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 01:10 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-9 minutes. 1 second launch window.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ehb

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Confirmation of aluminum grid fins due to lower energy trajectory.

edit: spelling issues :(
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 12:29 pm by ehb »

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T-8 minutes. Iridium promo.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-7 minutes. Engine chill should be starting now.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-6 minutes. 0.5 million connected devices.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-5 minutes. Placed on trucks.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

"Launch Three. Don't get tired of me" :)
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T-4 minutes. First 20 satellites working well.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-3 minutes. Lots of venting.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-2 minutes. Stage 2 LOX secured. Range is green.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T-1 minute. Falcon 9 is in startup.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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LD Go for launch
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 12:37 pm by lrk »

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Liftoff!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

LAUNCH!!
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Online Chris Bergin

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T+1 minute.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

MaxQ
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T+2 minutes.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

Staging 1-2. Second stage onwards. Booster returning.
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Separation.

T+3 minutes.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+4 minutes.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+5 minutes.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Booster re-entry start.

Shutdown.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Touchdown!
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Online Chris Bergin

Grid Fins really worked a lot there. But landed it again! :D
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T+8 minutes.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+9 minutes.

SECO.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+10 minutes. Upcoming events.

00:52:02 2nd stage engine restarts
00:52:05 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:57:06 Iridium NEXT satellites begin deployment
01:12:06 Iridium NEXT satellites end deployment
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Just a fun one for the update thread while we're in the coast:

Server demand. Fun "in the bucket" routine for visitors to the site. From the countdown, then people concentrate on the webcast, to post landing and into the coast phase where people surge to discuss what they watched ;D

The *lowest* point in this screenshot (still a lot of people!) is where we would have gone "Bad Gateway" just a few years ago. Thank you to the L2 members, as they've paid for this monster hosting package to allow us to cope with the surges, etc :)
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T+20 minutes. Halfway across the Pacific.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+30 minutes. Approaching Antarctica. Still need to fix those artefacts near the South Pole!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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T+40 minutes. Flying over Antarctica.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Epic view from Harris Grade Road in search of the perfect launch streak shot. All events clearly visible in the dark sky save for the landing burn which was over the horizon.

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T+50 minutes. Heading to Madagascar. About two minutes to second ignition.
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One minute to second ignition.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Ignition and shutdown! Good orbit.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

Second burn of the Second Stage:

And shutdown. Good orbit.
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Four minutes to first separation.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Online Chris Bergin

Second stage moving to S/C Sep attitude. Will take 15 minutes to release them all.
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Flying over Madagascar.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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That's some view.
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One minute to first separation. Each separates in 1 minute 40 second intervals.

First spacecraft is away!
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 01:35 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Good orbit. Good attitude. 10 spacecraft to sep. First one released (bottom left). What a view.
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Second spacecraft is away, at top of picture.

White lump on engine is solid oxygen.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Third sat is away. This one is out of view.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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AOS Dubai.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Clear view of fourth satellite separation.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Showing that solid oxygen (SOX?) on the engine.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Fifth satellite away. This one is out of view.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Sixth satellite deployed.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Number 7 is on its way. No video.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Eighth satellite away. Out of view.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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One more to go!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

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Final spacecraft deploy confirmed! 10/10.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline fthomassy

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Congrats to SX and Iridium.  Thanks to NSF.
gyatm . . . Fern

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All 10 released!

William Graham's article updated:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/spacex-falcon-9-launch-third-set-iridium-satellites/

Thanks to Steven and all for the coverage!

One post each of congrats as per tradition. Just that, discussion and replies to the discussion thread etc :)
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Offline AncientU

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Nicely done.
Nominal.
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-- SpaceX friend of mlindner

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Congratulations to both SpaceX and Iridium. Great show as usual.

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Congrats to Elon and Matt
Some are bound for happiness, some are bound to glory, some are bound to live with less, who can tell your story?

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SpaceX signing off.

Congratulations to SpaceX and Iridium for the successful launch!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Jarnis

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Nominal congratulations to SpaceX, Iridium and everyone else involved with the mission. Onwards to SES-11!

Offline HKS

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Congratulations to both SpaceX and Iridium! :)

With all these boosters coming back, SpaceX will soon have an issue where to store them... :p

Offline Mark McCombs

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Congratulations to SpaceX, 30th SW, and Iridium.   8)

Thanks to Steven and Chris for the coverage.   8)
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 01:53 pm by Mark McCombs »
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Congrats to all for the "norminal" success.

Offline Skylab

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Perfect mission, congrats to SpaceX and Iridium! Thirty deployed, 45 to go.

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Congratulations!

I will be in Orlando for a week in early May.
I am hopeful that with the increased launch cadence I might see my first launch!

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Congratulations to SpaceX and Iridium for no 3 of 8.
Even though it was the 14th SpaceX launch this year I was still excited for liftoff. With Dragon2, FH (most likely) in the next year and BFR on the horizon I do not want any more hickups.
So lets stay that way.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 01:56 pm by Shanuson »

Offline abaddon

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Congratulations to SpaceX, Iridium, and the Vandenberg folks that make launches possible!

I missed the launch getting my kid fed and out the door, but managed to catch the 9th deployment.  Always amazing to watch the payloads gently wafting away into the void to begin their life.  Really liked the view of the "beads" as I am not sure I've ever personally seen that before.

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Many congrats to SpaceX and Iridium.  Thanks to all here who provided coverage.

Offline rower2000

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Ten up, one down, just perfect :). Congrats!

Offline Kaputnik

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That's how you do it!
See you in a couple of days for the next one :)
"I don't care what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do"- Gene Kranz

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MISSION HIGHLIGHTS: https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/917389596526284800

Incredible footage of the sats deploying!

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Once again many congratulations to SpaceX and Iridium - another flawless launch, recovery and deployment.

Looking forward to the remaining 5  :)

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Gif of the sats deploying. What a view!

Offline abaddon

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Iridium-3 Mission replay is now up:

Offline WindnWar

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Way to keep making it look easy. Congrats to everyone involved, keep it up! Looking forward to yet another launch in a couple days!


Offline Craftyatom

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My personal favorite shot was the first stage cam during second stage ignition #1 - you could see the second stage exhaust plume flowing over the contours of the first stage, like in one of those arcjet facilities where they test heat shields.  Second favorite shot was second stage ignition #2, where you can see some chunks of solid (presumably oxygen) get shaken off during ignition and then obliterated once they hit the exhaust plume.

Anyways, huge congratulations to everyone involved in today's launch - can't wait to see the next one!
All aboard the HSF hype train!  Choo Choo!

Offline Ronpur50

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SPECTACULAR!!

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Particularly liked the shot of the satellite deploying in the foreground with several others in the background and the Earth below.
Douglas Clark

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Smooth, routine. With some beautiful shots - the plume impingement just after MECO; the ripples in the exhaust during boostback burn, and the string of iridium sats visible on the cam. Congratulations to SpaceX, Iridium and thanks NSF for the coverage!

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Confirmation of Sats talking to the ground:

https://twitter.com/IridiumComm/status/917395576261619714
Quote
All 10 Iridium satellites have been "caught" #IridiumNEXT

Offline Rebel44

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Congratulations to both SpaceX and Iridium.

Offline todd5ski

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Congrats to all once again. :)

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Congrats to SpaceX and NSF for the excellent coverage! this was one of those missions that I had to follow at work, so NSF was the only way to follow the mission  :D

Offline ZachS09

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Congrats to SpaceX and Iridium for another awesome launch/landing.

I missed this one because I needed my sleep.
Liftoff for St. Jude's! Go Dragon, Go Falcon, Godspeed Inspiration4!

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NSF has Chris G, Philip, Jay and Derrick there. I think we've got this one covered! :)

And thank you to Steven here on the launch thread to re-live and review the event!  (I was only able to watch T-1 minute to SECO-1 live.)

Congratulations to the entire launch team!
***

October 9 (UTC) "three-fer" launch day: 2 done, 1 to go!

VRSS-2 from Jiuquan,

Iridium Next Flight 3 from Vandenberg,

And QZS-4 from Tanegashima.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 03:15 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline dmc6960

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Great job SpaceX!  Now do it again!
-Jim

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Congrats to SpaceX, the range and Iridium and also big thanks to NSF for coverage here and great pics on L2.
A really smooth nighttime launch. I am happy this is a holiday in the US, otherwise, I would have to miss it.

Offline Davp99

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Another Notch on my belt...Thanks to Chris & Steven and the Rest for All you guys Do !!  and Thanks to NASASPACEFLIGHT.Com

Dave
You Only Live Twice

Offline Elmar Moelzer

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Congrats to SpaceX and Iridium! Great launch and landing! Great year so far for SpaceX! Hope they can keep it up!

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Congrats to SpaceX

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I had to drive from GR to Dearborn but I had the Youtube streaming on the phone, and when we were at T-2:00 was in a park and ride watching.

WAY to go team. No Matt, we fans are NOT tired of you yet. Today's vid on what Iridium enables was really great... it boggles the mind how many different applications there are.

Congrats to SpaceX, Iridium and all the folks who make this mission possible, as well as for the superb coverage
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

Offline llanitedave

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I am so glad this is getting to be routine!  The excitement never goes away, but the tension is being replaced with a happy anticipation.  Congratulations SpaceX, and wonderful coverage by the NSF team as well!
"I've just abducted an alien -- now what?"

Offline Star One

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Congratulations to all concerned. Make the most of the Falcon 9 whilst you can before it goes away...

Offline Llian Rhydderch

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Great work everyone, SpaceX, Iridium, and all the great and newsy coverage we got from all the intrepid NSF citizen journalists! 



« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 05:28 pm by Chris Bergin »
Re arguments from authority on NSF:  "no one is exempt from error, and errors of authority are usually the worst kind.  Taking your word for things without question is no different than a bracket design not being tested because the designer was an old hand."
"You would actually save yourself time and effort if you were to use evidence and logic to make your points instead of wrapping yourself in the royal mantle of authority.  The approach only works on sheep, not inquisitive, intelligent people."

Offline darkenfast

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Congrats to all for a launch that was SOOOOO routine, we need a second one this week to feed our addiction!
Writer of Book and Lyrics for musicals "SCAR", "Cinderella!", and "Aladdin!". Retired Naval Security Group. "I think SCAR is a winner. Great score, [and] the writing is up there with the very best!"
-- Phil Henderson, Composer of the West End musical "The Far Pavilions".

Offline ugordan

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Please tell me the 30th Space Wing didn't throw in a random ICBM launch in there...

EDIT: Replaced with a corrected 30th Wing video.
« Last Edit: 10/11/2017 07:22 am by ugordan »

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She was a beast there on the pad, snorting away with all that venting.  Very cool.  Maybe there'll be some proper photos released?
Recovering astronomer

Offline Bubbinski

Congratulations on launch #14 of the year!

The vehicle was spectacular looking on the pad, the launch was spectacular, good work on the barge landing and the 10 satellite deploy too. Now ready for another F9 launch Wednesday evening, good luck!
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline Joffan

Great launch and satellite delivery. Landing in the dark gives a feel of the reality of the task - a dot on the map that is unerringly hit dead centre by the returning stage. Good work SpaceX and congratulations to all involved, with thanks as usual to all those here at NSF that capture the launch moment by moment.
Getting through max-Q for humanity becoming fully spacefaring

Offline Perchlorate

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Congrats SpaceX, Vandenberg folks, Iridium, and of course our NSF team!!!
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Offline Dante80

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A surprisingly nice view, 100 miles from the site.


(1:20 for the sighting)

Many congrats to everyone involved for the successful conclusion of yet another launch campaign.
« Last Edit: 10/09/2017 04:52 pm by Dante80 »

Offline chad1011

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Another outstanding launch!  Great job to everyone involved!

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Online acsawdey

A surprisingly nice view, 100 miles from the site.


(1:20 for the sighting)

Many congrats to everyone involved for the successful conclusion of yet another launch campaign.

Here's another video I stumbled across zoomed in on stage separation and boostback:



Offline Rocket Science

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Congrats to all the teams, well done! Thanks for the global team coverage provided by NSF! :)
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Semmel

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congrats to SpaceX and Iridium. And these videos of the separation and boostback burn from a distance ... Beautiful!!! More videos like that please!

Offline ugordan

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Offline wannamoonbase

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She was a beast there on the pad, snorting away with all that venting.  Very cool.  Maybe there'll be some proper photos released?

VAFB has great pre-launch video.  The snorts, venting, fog, it all so visceral.

Great launch of a  complicated mission.  Another booster to add to the inventory!

Bring on the next one. 
Wildly optimistic prediction, Superheavy recovery on IFT-4 or IFT-5

Offline SmallKing

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NORAD cataloged 10 sats

42955~42964/2017-061A~K: 612 x 627 km x 86.68 deg.
Some are bound for happiness, some are bound to glory, some are bound to live with less, who can tell your story?

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SpaceX are being unusually slow in releasing launch photos, apart from the attached on their website

Offline cscott

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Woke my kid up to see this one.  Watched the sats deploy over breakfast. Great launch.

Offline vaporcobra

Some rough seas are apparently delaying crew from boarding JRTI.

Edit: I should clarify, as of ~24 hours ago.
« Last Edit: 10/11/2017 12:17 am by vaporcobra »

Offline vaporcobra

Found some clearer waters, and an owl that apparently made a horrible mistake and wound up 300 miles off the coast of CA :)

Edit: FWIW, another poster (an employee) said that we should "stay tuned for more pictures of the actual launch", so hopefully that means the lack of official photos is temporary!
« Last Edit: 10/11/2017 04:28 pm by vaporcobra »

Online Chris Bergin

Third Set of Iridium® NEXT Satellites Arrive in Orbit and Provide Telemetry

MCLEAN, Va. – October 11, 2017 - Iridium Communications announced today that the third set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, launched Monday by SpaceX, are functioning nominally and have begun the testing and validation process. This batch of 10 satellites was launched out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, increasing the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in space to 30.

“Since Monday’s success, all things are pointing positive,” said Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium. “The team at the Satellite Network Operations Center (SNOC) is ready and has already been working around the clock since their deployment Monday.  Unlike previous launches, where some satellites were sent drifting to their operational orbital plane, all 10 satellites from this launch will go directly into operation once testing is completed. This phase of satellite maneuvers and testing is where the Iridium satellite network operations teams truly shine.”

Now, and for approximately the next 45 days, these newly launched satellites will undergo a series of testing and validation procedures, ensuring they are ready for integration with the operational constellation.  Once testing is completed, Iridium will also hand over control of Aireon’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast hosted payload, to the team at Aireon’s Hosted Payload Operations Center (HPOC), also in Leesburg, Va.

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com.

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.
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Online Chris Bergin

Stunning full collection in L2 (Starts here: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43935.msg1735616#msg1735616 - which is an amazing thread as it includes Chris G, Philip Sloss, Helo and Jay with his crazy telescope camera of launch day), but have to share a couple of these from NSF member Sam Sun. You all know Sam's photos are of the aerial variety. ;D

Falcon 9 B1041, riding on the SpaceX ASDS JRTI, sailing past Catalina Island.
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Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Some SpaceX launch photos (finally!)

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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More photos from SpaceX that I don’t think have been posted before

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Quote
Recovered SpaceX booster rocket arrives at the Port of Los Angeles

By SANDY MAZZA | Daily Breeze
PUBLISHED: October 12, 2017

http://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/10/12/recovered-spacex-booster-rocket-arrives-at-the-port-of-los-angeles/

I observed 10 Iridium satellites in Japan(October 10, 2017 19:25 UT).

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Some nice photos and great close-ups:

Quote
The #IridiumNEXT-3 booster back at port in San Pedro this morning from its Oct 9 launch and landing at Vandenberg AFB. #SpaceX

https://twitter.com/w00ki33/status/918588007191543809

Offline joesmith

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Ouch.... they are not burnt... ablative coating?

Offline guckyfan

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Ouch.... they are not burnt... ablative coating?

The hot ones were on the SES flight from Florida.

Offline vandersons

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Leg pistons are off acording to this Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaPKMCuh6sE/

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Quote
I just visited @JRTIDroneShip again here are some pics then the rest can be found on imgur: https://imgur.com/gallery/0yEis

https://twitter.com/slc4_lz2/status/919355184534339584

Offline catdlr

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Iridium NEXT Powering New Capabilities


IridiumComm
Published on Oct 16, 2017



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 Ronsmytheiii

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Per this video, landing legs are off:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaZ6w7igY7G/

Offline Helodriver

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A quiet midnight visit to Iridium 3 shows her still standing in port on late friday night/early saturday morning 20/21 October. They are in no hurry to get her back to the shop. Looks like she was the backdrop for a SpaceX party over the weekend according to the sign.

Offline vaporcobra

Nice video from Iridium for this launch! Couple of good screenshots below.


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Launch 3 SV change-outs continue to go well.  Today's replacement of SV5 and SV6 mean no SVs from 1st launch 20 yrs ago in network anymore!

https://twitter.com/iridiumboss/status/927965718762676224

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Launch 3 sat activities progressing well on schedule. By tomorrow, 6 of 10 will be carrying traffic; all 10 by next weekend. SV8 and SV51 deboosted with 4 more by YE. #IridiumNEXT

https://twitter.com/iridiumboss/status/928985199114903552

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