SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 6-70 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 4 December 2024 (10:13 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

Thread for the Starlink Group 6-70 launch.

Launch 4 December 2024, at 10:13:10 UTC (5:13 am EST), from CCSFS SLC-40, on booster 1067-24.  The first stage successfully landed aboard A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Payload 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to a 43 degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory.  Initial orbit 278 x 286 km.

Please use the Starlink Discussion Thread for all general discussion on Starlink.

Check the Starlink Index Thread for links to more Starlink information.

[zubenelgenubi]

The progression towards establishing the what and when of this launch.

My bolds:

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 8:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 10 at 4:28-8:28 p.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the Koreasat 6A communication satellite from pad 39A on November 11 at 12:07-4:07 p.m. EST. The first stage will land back at the Cape about eight minutes after launch. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 13 at 6:00-10:00 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40. A Falcon 9 will launch from pad 39A on November 17 in the afternoon EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the GSAT-20 communication satellite for India from pad 40 on mid-November. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches. A Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM-9 communication satellite on early December. A Falcon 9 will launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on early December.

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 18, after GSAT-20 launch:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 21 at 10:53 a.m. - 2:53 p.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 24 at 4:59-8:59 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 39A on November 25 at 10:31 p.m. - 2:31 a.m. EST. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches. A Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM-9 communication satellite on December 2. A Falcon 9 will launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on mid-December.

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 23:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 25 at 4:32-8:32 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 39A on November 25 at 10:31 p.m. - 2:31 a.m. EST. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches. A Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM-9 communication satellite on early December around 11 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on mid-December. A Falcon 9 will launch the next GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force 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.

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 24:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on November 25 at 4:32-8:32 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 39A on November 25 at 10:31 p.m. - 2:31 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 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 early December around 11 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the next pair of O3b mPOWER satellites for SES on mid-December. A Falcon 9 will launch the next GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force 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.

This Starlink will launch from SLC-40, in early December before SXM-9, circa December 4.  The previous SLC-40 launches are scheduled for November 25 and 30 UTC.

The booster likely will land aboard ASOG.

No current mention of Florida Starlink launches later in December.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

This is apparently Starlink Group 6-70 early on December 4:

Primary Launch Day 04 Dec 0829Z-1300Z Backup Launch Day (1) 05 Dec 0802Z-1233Z Backup Launch Day (2) 06 Dec 0736Z-1207Z Backup Launch Day (3) 07 Dec 0710Z-1141Z Backup Launch Day (4) 08 Dec 0644Z-1115Z Backup Launch Day (5) 09 Dec 0618Z-1049Z Backup Launch Day (6) 10 Dec 0551Z-1022Z

[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
1076.19  Nov 14
1077.17  Nov 17
1073.20  Nov 18

Edit December 4 UTC: It's B1067.24, skipping over B1085.4.

Edited

[Galactic Penguin SST]

NOTAMs:

A3870/24 NOTAMN
Q) FAJO/QWMLW/IV/BO/W/000/999/5152S01651E999
A) FAJO B) 2412041026 C) 2412101255
D) 04 DEC 1026-1533, 05 DEC 0959-1506, 06 DEC 0933-1440, 07 DEC
0907-1414, 08 DEC 0841-1348, 09 DEC 0815-1322, 10 DEC 0748-1255
E) AREA BOUNDED BY (4256S 00224W, 4045S 00221W, 3210S 05700E, 3515S
05700E): SPACEX STARLINK 6-70 STAGE 2 ROCKET RE-ENTRY OPS TAKING
PLACE. APPLICABLE AIRSPACE DOWNGRADED TO CLASS G.
F) SFC G) UNL

[Martin_G]

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

SPACEX STARLINK 6-70, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   12/04/24   0829Z-1300Z
BACKUP:      12/05/24   0802Z-1233Z
      12/06/24   0736Z-1207Z

[zubenelgenubi]

My bold:

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated November 28:

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 December 4 at 3:29-7:29 a.m. EST. A Falcon 9 will launch the SiriusXM-9 communication satellite from pad 39A on December 5 at 11:10 a.m. - 1:10 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.

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice (expected launch window 08:29-12:29 UTC).

291015Z NOV 24
NAVAREA IV 1502/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   040829Z TO 041300Z DEC, ALTERNATE
   050802Z TO 051233Z, 060736Z TO 061207Z,
   070710Z TO 071141Z, 080644Z TO 081115Z,
   090618Z TO 091049Z AND 
   100551Z TO 101022Z DEC IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39.00N 080-37.69W, 28-39.00N 080-27.00W,
      28-28.00N 080-04.00W, 28-22.00N 080-03.00W,
      28-20.00N 080-05.00W, 28-23.00N 080-19.00W,
      28-29.35N 080-32.49W.
   B. 26-04.00N 076-00.00W, 26-17.00N 076-00.00W,
      26-16.00N 075-35.00W, 26-12.00N 075-07.00W,
      25-44.00N 074-19.00W, 25-24.00N 074-09.00W,
      25-10.00N 074-29.00W, 25-17.00N 074-58.00W,
      25-43.00N 075-42.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 101122Z DEC 24.//

Multi-launch NGA Space Debris notices (the same notice for two different Navigational Areas).

132028Z NOV 24
HYDROPAC 3525/24(57,61,71).
EASTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC.
INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02, DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   18 NOV THRU 22 DEC IN AREA BOUND BY
   08-53.00S 092-28.00E, 07-46.00S 089-27.00E,
   30-12.00S 061-09.00E, 40-45.00S 002-21.00W,
   42-56.00S 002-24.00W, 32-16.00S 063-10.00E
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 230001Z DEC 24.

132028Z NOV 24
HYDROLANT 2341/24(57,61,71).
EASTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC.
INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02, DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   18 NOV THRU 22 DEC IN AREA BOUND BY
   08-53.00S 092-28.00E, 07-46.00S 089-27.00E,
   30-12.00S 061-09.00E, 40-45.00S 002-21.00W,
   42-56.00S 002-24.00W, 32-16.00S 063-10.00E
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 230001Z DEC 24.

[OneSpeed]

NGA Rocket Launching notice (expected launch window 08:29-12:29 UTC).

Maps from the NGA notices.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

Current as of 2024 Nov 29 22:17:44 UTC (Day 334)

Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G6-70 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.
Launch: 2024-12-04 08:29:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 09:34:21.860 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 08:29:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 12:29:00 UTC.

Pre-launch calculated orbit: 277 km x 287 km x 43.0 deg

[xm11]

[realnouns]

Signet Warhorse I + ASOG departed PC on Nov 23 @ 9:29pm ET

Signet Warhorse I + ASOG + B1078 returned to PC on Nov 30 @ 7:03am ET

Signet Warhorse I + ASOG departed PC on Dec 1 @ 5:52pm ET

[realnouns]

Doug departed PC on Nov 24 @ 3:34am ET

Doug returned to PC on Nov 28 @ 11:56am ET

Doug departed PC on Dec 2 @ 1:35pm ET

[Ken the Bin]

L-1 weather forecast. >95% 'Go' for both December 4 and December 5. All Additional Risk Criteria are Low.

[Ken the Bin]

Full information from CelesTrak.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

Starlink G6-70 Pre-Launch
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G6-70 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.
Launch: 2024-12-04 08:29:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 09:34:16.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 08:29:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 08:30:50 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #1
Launch: 2024-12-04 08:59:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 10:04:46.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 08:59:30 UTC to 2024-12-04 09:16:20 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #2
Launch: 2024-12-04 09:30:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 10:35:16.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 09:30:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 09:39:00 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #3
Launch: 2024-12-04 09:39:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 10:44:16.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 09:39:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 09:53:30 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #4
Launch: 2024-12-04 10:03:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 11:08:56.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 10:03:40 UTC to 2024-12-04 10:08:10 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #5
Launch: 2024-12-04 10:13:10 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 11:18:26.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 10:13:10 UTC to 2024-12-04 10:13:50 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #6
Launch: 2024-12-04 10:32:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 11:37:46.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 10:32:30 UTC to 2024-12-04 10:34:10 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #7
Launch: 2024-12-04 10:38:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 11:44:06.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 10:38:50 UTC to 2024-12-04 10:50:40 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #8
Launch: 2024-12-04 11:05:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 12:10:46.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 11:05:30 UTC to 2024-12-04 11:20:00 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #9
Launch: 2024-12-04 11:20:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 12:25:16.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 11:20:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 11:28:20 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #10
Launch: 2024-12-04 11:40:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 12:45:16.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 11:40:00 UTC to 2024-12-04 11:43:00 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #11
Launch: 2024-12-04 11:46:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 12:51:56.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 11:46:40 UTC to 2024-12-04 11:47:10 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #12
Launch: 2024-12-04 12:06:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 13:12:06.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 12:06:50 UTC to 2024-12-04 12:10:30 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #13
Launch: 2024-12-04 12:10:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 13:15:46.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 12:10:30 UTC to 2024-12-04 12:11:10 UTC.
Backup Launch Opportunity #14
Launch: 2024-12-04 12:16:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-12-04 13:21:46.980 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-12-04 12:16:30 UTC to 2024-12-04 12:24:10 UTC.

[zubenelgenubi]

Full information from CelesTrak.
https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

Starlink G6-70 Pre-Launch
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G6-70 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Pre-launch orbit: 278 km x 286 km x 43.0 deg

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launching at 10:13 UTC on B1067.24. PDF of online press kit attached.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-70

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, December 4 for a Falcon 9 launch of 24 Starlink satellites, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 5:13 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 7:11 a.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Thursday, December 5, starting at 5:37 a.m. ET.

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 is the 24th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew 3, Crew 4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, PSN MFS, and 12 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Link to X livestream.

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

[catdlr]

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

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

Space Affairs YouTube (SpaceX Re-broadcast):  https://youtube.com/watch?v=05KZAj0mq9Y

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:
Twitter: https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1864236582728781950
Youtube
.

[zubenelgenubi]

Launching at 10:13 UTC on B1067.24.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-70

Noting that the beginning and the end of the previously published launch window have been trimmed: Primary window and backup windows 1 through 4 + 14.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

NSF is live