SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 4-29 : VSFB SLC-4E : 5 October 2022 (23:10 UTC)

[Steven Pietrobon]

The audio stream has ended, but unusually has not been made private.

[leetdan]

https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1577807251942780928

STARlink. A SpaceX Falcon 9 transits our star while lofting the Starlink 4-29 group into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base this afternoon. @NASASpaceflight

This, but as a Metal Print in the Shop?

[zubenelgenubi]

The audio stream has ended, but unusually has not been made private.

Still public at 04:00 UTC.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1577940547171364864

CelesTrak has ephemeris-based SupGP data for 44 of 52 satellites from the #Starlink Group 4-29 launch (2022-125) from Cape Canaveral on 2022-10-05 at 23:10:30 UTC: celestrak.org/NORAD/elements…. We expect to receive the rest soon.

[Rondaz]

Orbital Launch no. 129 of 2022

Starlink L62 | SpaceX | Oct 05 | 2310 UTC

@SpaceX successfully launched another batch of 52 #Starlink V1.5🛰️ (G4-29) on its #Falcon9 FT (booster #B1071.5) from pad SLC-4E, @SLDelta30, California.

https://twitter.com/SpaceIntellige3/status/1577958175042682888

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1578055594573004800

Starlink view of 2nd stage deorbit burn

Edit to add: I’m guessing this is yesterday’s launch - happy to move if/when we know better.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Video:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1578111446696828928

Discussion best on the Starlink thread where the above is posted.

[Rondaz]

Wildfire ignition of the second stage of a Falcon 9.

https://twitter.com/SpaceNosey/status/1578287711303393280

[OneSpeed]

Here is a comparison between the webcast telemetry for Starlink missions S-26 and S-29. Although both missions deployed 52 Starlink satellites to the same 53.2° inclination, S-26 launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) LC-39A on the east coast, and S-29 from Vandenberg Space Launch Center (VSLC) SLC-4E on the west coast. The two launch sites have different latitudes, and hence different starting velocities due to the rotation of the Earth.

Mission	Launch site	Latitude	Rotational velocity
S-26	KSC LC-39A	28.5°N	407m/s
S-29	VSLC SLC-4E	34.7°N	380m/s

For the same payload, S-29 had less starting velocity, so how did it reach orbit? SpaceX displays speed in the inertial reference frame, i.e. relative to the launch site. From the telemetry we can see that S-26 injection to orbit was at 7514m/s and 239km, whereas S-29 was at 7576m/s and 163km, some 62m/s faster, but some 76km lower.

Taking the apogees from the CelesTrak data apogee of 335km for S-26, and 315km for S-29, and applying the vis-viva equation (v² = G * M * (2/r - 1/a)), gives an orbital velocity at insertion of 7802m/s for S-26, and 7864m/s for S-29, for the same difference of 62m/s.

But that is not the whole story. The S-29 mission involved a second S2 burn to raise perigee before Starlink deploy to a safer, near circular orbit. S-29 was raised from 315 x 163km to 315 x 305km, a difference of 41m/s.

So, where did the propellant for that 41m/s come from? Going back to the S2 telemetry plot, firstly we can see that the S-29 booster spent less time in the throttle bucket, and MECO was some 54m/s faster than S-26, although with less loft. Also, the S-29 second stage burn was 11 seconds shorter, but still managed 21m/s more ΔV. You can see that the S-29 second stage acceleration is consistently a few percent above that for S-26. Both S-29 profiles reduced gravity losses, and saved enough propellant for the 41m/s of additional ΔV.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1578502292999114752

Of Course I Still Love You droneship should arrive at the Port of Long Beach with B1071 approx Saturday dawn. Contract tug Scorpius is towing.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SpaceX launch photo

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1578744579980869632

Of Course I Still Love You droneship is inbound to the Port of Long Beach

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/shorealonefilms/status/1578769085612990464

welcome home @SpaceX #starlinkbooster into LongBeach!!!

[Rondaz]

A @SpaceX #Falcon9 booster B1071.5 arrives into the ⁦@portoflongbeach⁩ this morning fresh back from Space on its #Starlink mission. 10-08-22..

https://twitter.com/ShorealoneFilms/status/1578806827218653185

[Sam Ho]

Cross-post:

David Brown has a feature-length article in the New York Times from SpaceX Mission Control during the launch campaigns for Crew-5, Starlink 4-29, and Galaxy 33/34.

31 Hours Inside SpaceX Mission Control
A reporter got an inside look at SpaceX’s attempt to launch and land three rockets in less than two days in October, part of the company’s bid to make spaceflight appear almost routine.