SpaceX F9 : SXM-9 : KSC LC-39A : 5 December 2024 (16:10 UTC)

[Galactic Penguin SST]

NextSpaceflight; updated November 25:
Launch NET 5 December 16:10 UTC

[zubenelgenubi]

Which first stage will be used for this launch? (semi-rhetorical question)

Falcon 9 first stages are now cleared for use up to forty times for non-crewed launches, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon or Cygnus than these other payloads.

Re: SpaceX skipping over B1072.2 and B1086.2.  I wonder if they are being converted to single-stick Falcon 9’s after all.  It may be more efficient to leave them as-is for whenever the next Falcon Heavy launch is in late 2025.

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1083.6    Nov 5     Starlink 6-65
1085.4    Nov 7    (speculation: held for Dec GPS?)
1067.24  Nov 11  Starlink 6-70
1076.19  Nov 14
1077.17  Nov 17
1073.20  Nov 18

Edit December 4: It's B1076.19, skipping over B1085.4.

Edited

[Galactic Penguin SST]

NextSpaceflight; updated November 25:
Launch NET 5 December 16:10 UTC

From https://www.cadenaois.org/vpublic_anspdetail.jsp?view=15:

Primary Launch Day 05 Dec 1610Z-1810Z Backup Launch Day (1) 06 Dec 1610Z-1839Z Backup Launch Day (2) 07 Dec 1611Z-1839Z Backup Launch Day (3) 08 Dec 1611Z-1840Z Backup Launch Day (4) 09 Dec 1612Z-1840Z

[zubenelgenubi]

My bold:

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 27:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 30 at 12:00-4:00 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on early December. A Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM-9 communication satellite from pad 39A on December 5 around 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES from pad 39A on mid-December. A Falcon 9 will launch the next GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force from pad 40 on December. A Falcon 9 will launch the Astranis MicroGEO mission on December. A Falcon 9 will launch the Thuraya 4-NGS communication satellite for the UAE on December. A Falcon 9 will launch Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander to the moon on mid-January.

[StraumliBlight]

SAT-STA-20241126-00270 [Nov 26]

Sirius XM requests to retire its XM-3 satellite starting from January 20th, 2025 and drift it westward to 86.35° W.L.

XM-3 is assigned to the 85.15° W.L. orbital location, where it is being flown with an east-west station keeping tolerance of +/- 0.1 degrees in formation with the SXM-8 satellite that is the primary SDARS spacecraft at that position and with SXM-7. The SXM-9 replacement satellite, which is scheduled for launch next month, is also assigned to 85.15° W.L.

Venting procedures for XM-3 may need to be temporarily interrupted to accommodate the launch of SXM-10, which is currently scheduled for mid-2025. As noted above, the tracking stations used to support the XM-3 retirement will be required for the SXM-10 launch and in-orbit testing.

FCC Public Notice [Nov 27]

SES-STA-20241008-02101

On November 26, 2024, Lockheed Martin Corporation was granted special temporary authority for 30 days, beginning on December 2, 2024 through December 31, 2024, to operate its fixed earth station in Carpentersville, NJ to provide telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) functions during the launch and early operations phase (LEOP) period of operation, ranging, and propulsion monitoring to communicate with the Sirius XM-9 (SXM-9) satellite (S3166) at the 6422.5 MHz (Earth-to-space), and 4196.5 MHz and 4197.0 MHz (space-to-Earth) center frequencies.

[zubenelgenubi]

Venting procedures for XM-3 may need to be temporarily interrupted to accommodate the launch of SXM-10, which is currently scheduled for mid-2025. As noted above, the tracking stations used to support the XM-3 retirement will be required for the SXM-10 launch and in-orbit testing.

Is there a launch contract for SXM-10?  I find no mention of such.

[We'll likely start a new thread for SXM-10 with that information.]

[StraumliBlight]

Is there a launch contract for SXM-10?  I find no mention of such.

[We'll likely start a new thread for SXM-10 with that information.]

Its not been announced yet. [Oct 31]

We have entered into agreements for the design, construction and launch of four additional satellites, SXM-9, SXM-10, SXM-11 and SXM12. We also have entered into agreements with third parties to operate and maintain satellite telemetry, tracking and control facilities and certain components of our terrestrial repeater networks.

[zubenelgenubi]

SFN Launch Schedule, updated November 27:
Launch window 16:10 to 17:40 UTC

[xm11]

the launch jamp from 2 december 5 december

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

251849Z NOV 24
NAVAREA IV 1506/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   051610Z TO 051810Z DEC, ALTERNATE 
   1610Z TO 1840Z DAILY 06 THRU 09 DEC 
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-40.00N 080-38.39W, 28-40.00N 080-11.00W,
      28-32.00N 080-11.00W, 28-32.00N 080-33.71W.
   B. 28-53.00N 075-32.00W, 28-56.00N 073-17.00W,
      28-41.00N 072-02.00W, 28-00.00N 072-01.00W,
      27-48.00N 073-24.00W, 27-58.00N 075-32.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 091940Z DEC 24.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

251849Z NOV 24
NAVAREA IV 1506/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   051610Z TO 051810Z DEC, ALTERNATE 
   1610Z TO 1840Z DAILY 06 THRU 09 DEC 
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-40.00N 080-38.39W, 28-40.00N 080-11.00W,
      28-32.00N 080-11.00W, 28-32.00N 080-33.71W.
   B. 28-53.00N 075-32.00W, 28-56.00N 073-17.00W,
      28-41.00N 072-02.00W, 28-00.00N 072-01.00W,
      27-48.00N 073-24.00W, 27-58.00N 075-32.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 091940Z DEC 24.

The B zone seems to be closer to the one used for GSAT-20 than for KoreaSat-6A so I guess it's booster ASDS landing as expected?

[zubenelgenubi]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

The B zone seems to be closer to the one used for GSAT-20 than for KoreaSat-6A so I guess it's booster ASDS landing as expected?

That's how I interpret the B zone.

Also keeping in mind a Falcon 9 lofting a 7000 kg geocomm should preclude RTLS.

And, ASDS recovery was used for SXM-7 and 8.

[OneSpeed]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

251849Z NOV 24
NAVAREA IV 1506/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   051610Z TO 051810Z DEC, ALTERNATE 
   1610Z TO 1840Z DAILY 06 THRU 09 DEC 
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-40.00N 080-38.39W, 28-40.00N 080-11.00W,
      28-32.00N 080-11.00W, 28-32.00N 080-33.71W.
   B. 28-53.00N 075-32.00W, 28-56.00N 073-17.00W,
      28-41.00N 072-02.00W, 28-00.00N 072-01.00W,
      27-48.00N 073-24.00W, 27-58.00N 075-32.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 091940Z DEC 24.

The B zone seems to be closer to the one used for GSAT-20 than for KoreaSat-6A so I guess it's booster ASDS landing as expected?

Anigif from the NGA notices (click to animate). Perhaps the biggest difference between GSAT-N2 and SMX-9 is due to the launch site locations (SLC-40 vs LC-39A).

[zubenelgenubi]

NextSpaceflight; updated November 30:
ASDS first stage recovery
(Should be JRTI)

[Ken the Bin]

L-2 weather forecast. >95% 'Go' for December 5. 75% 'Go' for December 6. All Additional Risk Criteria are Low.

[Martin_G]

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp:

SPACEX SIRIUSXM 9, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   12/05/24   1610Z-1810Z
      12/06/24   1610Z-1839Z
      12/07/24   1611Z-1840Z

[Ken the Bin]

L-1 weather forecast. >95% 'Go' for December 5. 75% 'Go' for December 6. All Additional Risk Criteria are Low.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launch window opens at 16:10 UTC. First stage is B1076.19. PDF of online press kit is attached.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sxm-9

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, December 5 for launch of the SiriusXM SXM-9 mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 90-minute window opens at 11:10 a.m. ET. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on Friday, December 6 during a two-hour window that opens at the same time.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

This will be the 19th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Instelsat IS-40e, O3B mPOWER, Ovzon 3, Eutelsat 36D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, and 10 Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Link to X livestream.

https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1MYxNMdqWnnJw

[SMS]

Here is a patch for SiriusXM SXM-9 mission:

[catdlr]

Here is a consolidated post of available video links for this launch:

SpaceX direct live broadcast on Twitter:  https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1MYxNMdqWnnJw

Space Affairs YouTube (SpaceX Re-broadcast):  https://youtube.com/watch?v=UBrraqiXYiU

Replay supplied by The Space Devs (15 min after the broadcast end):  https://youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos

Summary Video provided by SciNews (15 min after the broadcast ends):  https://youtube.com/@SciNewsRo/videos

NSF Live Coverage: The link was provided before launch.