SpaceX Falcon 9 : Türksat 5B : CCSFS SLC-40 : 18/19 December 2021 (03:58 UTC)

[Lars-J]

"Space Debris" notice for the second stage reentry has not yet arrived.

The second stage for the Türksat 5A mission was not deorbited. I don't think they will for this mission either.

No de-orbit burns have been done for SpaceX GTO missions, AFAIK.

[ZachS09]

"Space Debris" notice for the second stage reentry has not yet arrived.

The second stage for the Türksat 5A mission was not deorbited. I don't think they will for this mission either.

No de-orbit burns have been done for SpaceX GTO missions, AFAIK.

The upper stages for GTO missions decay from orbit anyway due to the low perigee.

[gongora]

The upper stages for GTO missions decay from orbit anyway due to the low perigee.

Eventually, could take a decade or more in some cases depending on the exact transfer orbit

[Ken the Bin]

L-2 weather forecast.  80% 'Go' for December 18/19.  60% 'Go' for December 19/20.  All Additional Risk Criteria are Low for both days.

[SPKirsch]

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1471576459244457989

Bob departed Port Canaveral this morning to support the TurkSat-5B mission.

http://nasaspaceflight.com/fleetcam

[Vultur]

If Starlink 4-4 and this launch both go as planned, is that a record for time between SpaceX launches?

[scr00chy]

If Starlink 4-4 and this launch both go as planned, is that a record for time between SpaceX launches?

Yes. Current record is 44 hours.

[Rondaz]

Launch Hazard Areas for #Turksat-5B mission from CCSFS SLC-40, valid for NET 19 Dec 03:58 UTC, alternatively 20-23 Dec based on issued NOTMAR. Former side booster 1052.3 landing 661km downrange. Estimated fairing recovery position approx. 797km downrange.

https://twitter.com/Raul74Cz/status/1471830273495080960

[Ken the Bin]

L-1 weather forecast.  80% 'Go' for December 18/19.  60% 'Go' for December 19/20.  Upper-Level Wind Shear Risk is Moderate on December 19/20.  All other Additional Risk Criteria are Low for both days.

[Rondaz]

Today is the first day ever that SpaceX has had all three of its autonomous spaceport droneships deployed offshore for missions simultaneously.

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1471951315798573062

[zubenelgenubi]

Given the information below, I doubt there will be a Static Fire.  [Edit: no Static Fire]

We should soon see Falcon 9 roll out wearing its payload fairing for launch.

SFN, SpaceX to set new company records with back-to-back weekend launches [dated Dec 17]

[Turksat 5B] mission is expected to fly with another reused first stage, tail number B1067, making its third launch for SpaceX.

[su27k]

https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1471941410874179589

Turkish president Erdoğan gifts Elon Musk an NFT ahead of SpaceX's launch of Turksat 5B, Turkey's latest communications + military satellite

[zubenelgenubi]

Turkish president Erdoğan gifts Elon Musk an NFT ahead of SpaceX's launch of Turksat 5B, Turkey's latest communications + military satellite.

What is an NFT?


The Starlink cluster Falcon 9 launch was 15 hours, 17 minutes earlier at December 18 12:41 UTC.

This Falcon 9 will launch at Dec 19 03:58 UTC.

54 hours, 12 minutes after the second launch, the Dragon SpX-24 Falcon 9 will launch at Dec 21 10:06 UTC.

[DanClemmensen]

Turkish president Erdoğan gifts Elon Musk an NFT ahead of SpaceX's launch of Turksat 5B, Turkey's latest communications + military satellite.

What is an NFT?

Very trendy. Non-fungible token.  Like a bitcoin, it's a digital unique "key" that proves ownership in some digital item such as an image.  I personally do not understand why this (or Bitcoin)  is useful or desirable. It's all part of a shared fantasy: value by consensus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token

[Conexion Espacial]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1472246621622603782?t=Zili0q7uMUJL-A_DbRTyog&s=19

[Conexion Espacial]

[Conexion Espacial]

Mission Patch

[Conexion Espacial]

SpaceX is targeting Saturday, December 18 for launch of the Turksat 5B mission to geostationary transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The 90-minute launch window opens at 10:58 p.m. EST, or 3:58 UTC on December 19, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, December 19 with the same 90-minute window.


The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously supported launch of CRS-22 and Crew-3. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The fairing halves supporting this mission previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 05 mission.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/index.html

[RocketLover0119]

Alternate image of the vehicle on the pad from the SpaceX website.

[SPKirsch]

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1472316260583153670

Hard to believe it's December with the summer temperatures at the pad today. Things will heat up even more when Falcon 9 launches the #Turksat5B mission later tonight. Window opens at 03:58 UTC

📷 Me for @NASASpaceflight

twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1472316501055131648

Tonight, SpaceX will launch the #Turksat5B communication satellite atop a Falcon 9 in a 90-minute window which opens at 10:58pm EST (0358 UTC).

Mission overview by Thomas Burghardt (@TGMetsFan98): https://nasaspaceflight.com/2021/12/turksat-5b-falcon-9/

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1472316507950563332

Reused fairing, reused booster. It’s all in a day’s work for Falcon 9.
This fairing once encapsulated the GPSIII SV05 satellite, and booster B1067 supported two Dragon missions - CRS-22 and Crew-3.