SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 11-18 : VSFB SLC-4E : 31 May 2025 (20:10 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

Thread for the Starlink Group 11-18 launch.

Launch 31 May 2025, at 20:10:00 UTC (1:10 pm PDT) from Vandenberg SLC-4E, on booster 1071-25. The first stage successfully landed aboard Of Course I Still Love You.

Payload 27 Starlink V2.0 Mini satellites, to a 53.16 degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory.  Initial orbit 264 x 275 km.

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

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


L2 SpaceX: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=60.0

[zubenelgenubi]

Near-term SLC-4E schedule, UTC date:

Starlink 15-5    May 16  OCISLY  ✅️

Starlink 11-16  May 20  OCISLY

Starlink 17-1    May 24  OCISLY

<one more May launch?>

We shall see if the short turnarounds continue.

Don't forget: NROL-48 is also pending, NET Q2.

June
Transporter-14  Jun 21     LZ-4

Bandwagon-4    NET Jun  LZ-4

Edit May 20: It's Starlink 11-18.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Starlink Group 11-18 has appeared on CADENA OIS:

Primary Launch Day 30 MAY 2024Z-0055Z Backup Launch Day (1) 31 MAY 2001Z-0032Z Backup Launch Day (2) 01 JUN 1939Z-0010Z Backup Launch Day (3) 02 JUN 1917Z-2348Z Backup Launch Day (4) 03 JUN 1855Z-2326Z

[randomname]

NGA notice for this launch, albeit with a T-0 on the 28th.

230838Z MAY 25
NAVAREA XII 300/25(21).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
MEXICO.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS:
   A. 282108Z TO 290133Z MAY, ALTERNATE
      292046Z TO 300111Z, 302024Z TO 310049Z,
      312001Z MAY TO 010026Z JUN,
      011939Z TO 020004Z, 021917Z TO 022342Z
      AND 031855Z TO 032320Z JUN
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      30-47.00N 117-26.00W, 30-36.00N 117-07.00W,
      30-28.00N 116-59.00W, 30-11.00N 116-54.00W,
      30-06.00N 117-04.00W, 30-19.00N 117-20.00W.
   B. 282108Z TO 290139Z MAY, ALTERNATE
      292046Z TO 300117Z, 302024Z TO 310055Z,
      312001Z MAY TO 010032Z JUN,
      011939Z TO 020010Z, 021917Z TO 022348Z
      AND 031855Z TO 032326Z JUN
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      28-58.00N 116-22.00W, 29-12.00N 116-48.00W,
      29-32.00N 117-06.00W, 29-46.00N 117-11.00W,
      30-03.00N 117-10.00W, 30-11.00N 116-57.00W,
      30-11.00N 116-36.00W, 30-05.00N 116-28.00W,
      29-42.00N 116-06.00W, 29-18.00N 115-56.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 040026Z JUN 25.//

[zubenelgenubi]

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

I note B1063, B1071, and B1088 were used for eight of the ten previous NRO Future Proliferated Architecture launches. 📝

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1071.25  Apr 12
1082.13  Apr 20    Starlink 17-1
1063.26  Apr 28
1081.15  May 10
1088.7    May 13
1093.3    May 16
1075.19  May 23   (maybe)

Edit May 30: It's B1071.25.

[randomname]

Two more NGA notices, these for stage 2 re-entry.

231641Z MAY 25
NAVAREA XII 308/25(21,22,83).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
EASTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   302200Z TO 310248Z, 312137Z MAY
   TO 010225Z,  012115Z TO 020203Z, 022053Z
   TO 030141Z, AND 032031Z TO 040119Z JUN
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   34-20.00S 090-24.00W, 31-22.00S 090-24.00W,
   00-10.00S 115-17.00W, 11-37.00N 123-13.00W,
   10-26.00N 124-56.00W, 01-19.00S 116-54.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 040219Z JUN 25.
//

231641Z MAY 25
HYDROPAC 1354/25(21,22,83).
PACIFIC.
DNC 06, DNC 07, DNC 13.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   302200Z TO 310248Z, 312137Z MAY
   TO 010225Z,  012115Z TO 020203Z, 022053Z
   TO 030141Z, AND 032031Z TO 040119Z JUN
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   34-20.00S 090-24.00W, 31-22.00S 090-24.00W,
   00-10.00S 115-17.00W, 11-37.00N 123-13.00W,
   10-26.00N 124-56.00W, 01-19.00S 116-54.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 040219Z JUN 25.//

[randomname]

Updated NGA notice with the T-0 now on the 30th as expected.

271128Z MAY 25
NAVAREA XII 313/25(18,21).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
MEXICO.
CALIFORNIA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   302024Z TO 310055Z MAY, ALTERNATE
   312001Z MAY TO 010031 JUN, 011939Z TO 020010Z,
   021917Z TO 022348Z, 031855Z TO 032326Z,
   041834Z TO 042305Z, 051812Z TO  052243Z JUN
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 34-40.00N 120-39.00W, 34-29.00N 120-16.00W,
      33-01.00N 119-08.00W, 32-37.00N 118-51.00W,
      32-35.00N 118-53.00W, 34-32.00N 120-38.00W.
   B. 30-47.00N 117-26.00W, 30-36.00N 117-07.00W,
      30-28.00N 116-59.00W, 30-11.00N 116-54.00W,
      30-06.00N 117-04.00W, 30-19.00N 117-20.00W.
   C. 28-58.00N 116-22.00W, 29-12.00N 116-48.00W,
      29-32.00N 117-06.00W, 29-46.00N 117-11.00W,
      30-03.00N 117-10.00W, 30-11.00N 116-57.00W,
      30-11.00N 116-36.00W, 30-05.00N 116-28.00W,
      29-42.00N 116-06.00W, 29-18.00N 115-56.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 052343Z JUN 25.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2025 May 27 21:31:08 UTC (Day 147)

Starlink G11-18 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G11-18 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2025-05-30 20:24:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-30 21:24:00.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-30 20:24:00 UTC to 2025-05-31 00:24:00 UTC.

And, https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?FILE=starlink-g11-18&FORMAT=tle
Pre-Launch Derived Orbit: 264 km x 275 km x 53.16 deg

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Delayed to NET May 31:

SPACEX STARLINK 11-18, VANDENBERG SFB, CA
PRIMARY:    05/31/25   2001Z-0225Z
BACKUP:    06/01/25   1939Z-0119Z

!CARF 05/422 ZLA AIRSPACE DCC SX STARLINK G11-18 25-21 AREA A STNR
ALT RESERVATION WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 343900N1204000W TO
343900N1203200W TO 343200N1202300W TO 330200N1190100W TO
324800N1192000W TO POINT OF ORIGIN SFC-UNL 2505312001-2506010024

!CARF 05/423 ZAK AIRSPACE DCC SX STARLINK G11-18 25-21 RE-ENTRY STNR
ALT RESERVATION WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 102600N1245600W TO
113700N1231300W TO 065500N1200000W TO 033000N1200000W TO
033000N1201000W TO POINT OF ORIGIN SFC-UNL 2505312137-2506010225

[zubenelgenubi]

How is the weather forecast for launch?

[catdlr]

How is the weather forecast for launch?

Clear for launch time, but Fog at night.  High temperatures inland will bring dense fog to the coastline.  For the barge landings, I believe the tropical Storm brewing on the tip of Baja CA will be far enough below the landing zone.  The chart outlined in red is attached for details during the launch period.

Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
540 PM PDT Thu May 29 2025

.SYNOPSIS...29/152 PM.

Dramatic warming is expected today and Friday, with above normal
temperatures into the weekend. Highs Friday will near 100 degrees
across inland valleys and deserts. Expect marine layer clouds and
fog each night and morning. There is a slight chance of showers
or thunderstorms this weekend, mostly for the San Gabriel
Mountains.

&&

.SHORT TERM (TDY-SUN)...29/152 PM.

Synoptically, the area is under an the northern portion of a cut-
off Low which is centered about 750 miles to our south. The Low
will slowly move southward off the Baja Peninsula and then return
north before exiting to our Southeast on Sunday night/Monday
morning. The Low brings PWAT values of around an inch to the CWA,
so showers (including thunderstorms) are possible (10-20%). There
is less confidence in the track of a second cut-off Low that will
follow down California next Monday through Wednesday, but by next
Thursday that feature will become part of a CONUS-spanning upper
level trough.

The cutoff low is now centered around 750 miles to our south over
the coastal waters, and is expected to stall just west of Baja
California through Saturday. Concurrently, a ridge of high
pressure is setting up over the southwestern United States and
should build over the next few days. These two very different
synoptic features will both impact our regional weather into the
weekend. Notably with this pattern, northern areas (such as San
Luis Obispo County) will see higher pressure than southern areas,
where the dampening influence of the nearby low will be greater.

High pressure aloft will compress the marine layer, thus clouds will be mostly
confided to the coastal plains on Friday. Dense fog will be
possible in the shallow marine layer, including for the coastal
waters, most likely Friday night into Saturday morning.

The ridge starts to break down and onshore flow will increase on
Saturday, and temperatures are expected to trend downwards.
Ensembles still show a moderate range of outcome for the
temperatures forecast, however 2 to 8 degrees of cooling seems
most likely. The largest drop in temperatures will be north of
Point Conception. By Saturday afternoon, the Low will begin to
shuttle moisture into the region and raise PWAT values to around
an inch. Showers/thunderstorms will be possible (10-20% chance Saturday
afternoon through Sunday night, south of Point Conception. The
greatest chance of precipitation will be during the afternoons for
the San Gabriel Mountains.

Tropical Storm Alvin has formed in the eastern Pacific and should
be nearing the southern tip of Baja by late Saturday as a Tropical
Depression, but models are not picking up on any affect this may
have on the motion of our cutoff Low.

Moisture from the current cutoff low will sustain a 10 to 20
percent chance of showers or thunderstorms through Sunday night,
focused south of Point Conception, where PWATs may exceed 1 inch.
The greatest chance of convection will still be over the San
Gabriel Mountains. Expecting the Low to travel eastward on
Sunday, with the center of circulation over the northern Baja
Peninsula. Expecting 500 mb heights will fall rapidly locally,
and temperatures as well.

[zubenelgenubi]

Delayed to NET May 31:

SPACEX STARLINK 11-18, VANDENBERG SFB, CA
PRIMARY:    05/31/25   2001Z-0225Z
BACKUP:    06/01/25   1939Z-0119Z

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2025 May 30 02:47:35 UTC (Day 150)

Starlink G11-18 Pre-Launch   
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G11-18 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2025-05-31 20:01:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 21:01:00.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 20:01:00 UTC to 2025-06-01 00:01:00 UTC.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
Supplemental GP Element Sets
Current as of 2025 May 30 22:46:35 UTC (Day 150)

Starlink G11-18 Pre-Launch
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G11-18 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.

Launch: 2025-05-31 20:10:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 21:10:00.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 20:10:00 UTC to 2025-05-31 20:15:59 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #1
Launch: 2025-05-31 20:33:20 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 21:33:20.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 20:33:20 UTC to 2025-05-31 20:33:59 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #2
Launch: 2025-05-31 20:43:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 21:43:40.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 20:43:40 UTC to 2025-05-31 20:43:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #3
Launch: 2025-05-31 20:43:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 21:43:50.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 20:43:50 UTC to 2025-05-31 20:44:59 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #4
Launch: 2025-05-31 21:43:40 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 22:43:40.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 21:43:40 UTC to 2025-05-31 21:44:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #5
Launch: 2025-05-31 21:47:30 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 22:47:30.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 21:47:30 UTC to 2025-05-31 21:49:19 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #6
Launch: 2025-05-31 22:10:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-05-31 23:10:50.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 22:10:50 UTC to 2025-05-31 22:11:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #7
Launch: 2025-05-31 23:22:10 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-06-01 00:22:10.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 23:22:10 UTC to 2025-05-31 23:22:49 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #8
Launch: 2025-05-31 23:46:50 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-06-01 00:46:50.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 23:46:50 UTC to 2025-05-31 23:47:29 UTC.

Backup Launch Opportunity #9
Launch: 2025-05-31 23:51:10 UTC.
Deploy: 2025-06-01 00:51:10.420 UTC.
Launch window: 2025-05-31 23:51:10 UTC to 2025-05-31 23:51:49 UTC.

Edit/add

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-11-18

SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 31 for a Falcon 9 launch of 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 1:10 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 4:51 p.m. PT. If needed, additional launch opportunities are also available on Sunday, June 1 starting at 12:39 p.m. PT.

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 25th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, NROL-146, Bandwagon-2, NROL-153, NROL-192, and 14 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

= 20:10 to 23:51 UTC
B1071-25

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit and link to X livestream.

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

[catdlr]

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

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

SpaceX Re-broadcast alternatives on YouTube: 
Space Affairs:  https://youtube.com/watch?v=89OSFmqA9og

There is no planned NSF Live coverage, alternate Pre-Launch Coverage:  https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceflightNowVideo/streams

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

Launch Ground Video (from a resident in Santa Barbara - I'll post if available)

Fleet Booster Number:  https://twitter.com/BoosterSpX

[catdlr]

The weather is coming later.  Here is a general forecast:

Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
1034 PM PDT Fri May 30 2025

.SYNOPSIS...30/141 PM.

Cooler temperatures are expected this weekend but more humid
as tropical moisture moves over the region, also bringing a
chance for showers or a thunderstorm. Next week temperatures will
be near normal with a slow warm up mid to late week.

&&

.SHORT TERM (FRI-MON)...30/816 PM.

***UPDATE***

Latest satellite and surface observations indicate mostly clear
skies across most of the area, except for some stratus along the
Central Coast and over the coastal waters. Current sounding data
indicates marine inversion ranging around 800 feet in depth. As
for winds, there are lingering onshore breezes, gusting 25-35 mph
across interior sections.

Overnight, no significant issues are expected. Main forecast
challenge will be the extent of the marine layer stratus.
Overnight, H5 heights change little, so inversion should remain
rather shallow (1000 feet or less). With weak onshore gradients
continuing overnight, stratus should eventually develop across
most of the coastal plain. Looking at latest HREF data, this idea
seems very plausible. Given the shallow depth of the inversion,
some dense fog will be likely overnight. However, still some
uncertainty about how widespread dense fog would be, so will not
issue any advisories at this time. However, the night shift will
need to monitor this closely. Other than stratus, no significant
issues are expected overnight.

Overall, current forecast has good handle on the immediate short
term. So, no significant updates are planned.

[zubenelgenubi]

Launch appears on and on time.  Awaiting SpaceX livestream to kick in.

https://twitter.com.com/SpaceX/status/1928905164897071517

Watch Falcon 9 launch 27 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California.

[zubenelgenubi]

Screencaps SpaceX video via Space Affairs.

Very foggy at SLC-4E.

Final countdown minutes.

[zubenelgenubi]

Launch!

[zubenelgenubi]

First stage ascent.
Note fog edge on upslope just landward of SLC-4.