Falcon 9 completes back-to-back missions from California and Florida, delivering 22 @Starlink satellites to the constellation and @Astranis’s From One to Many mission to orbit on our 132nd and 133rd launches of the year
Great news-- we have acquired and established command authority over all four spacecraft.We'll keep you all posted as these missions continue to progress.Thanks for the ride, @SpaceX. Hell of a launch.
Liftoff of Falcon 9 and its payload of 4 MicroGEO satellites for @Astranis from Pad 40.Mega night for all teams involved!📸 - @NASASpaceflight 📺 - youtube.com/live/a5lxyXToh…
Quote from: realnouns on 12/26/2024 02:03 amDoug returned to PC on Dec 24 @ 4:08pm ETDoug departed PC on Dec 26 @ 8:14pm ET
Doug returned to PC on Dec 24 @ 4:08pm ET
Quote from: realnouns on 12/26/2024 01:57 amSignet Warhorse I + ASOG returned to PC on Dec 23 @ 1:29pm ET post abortSignet Warhorse I + ASOG departed PC on Dec 26 @ 5:37pm ET
Signet Warhorse I + ASOG returned to PC on Dec 23 @ 1:29pm ET post abort
We got dropped off at an orbit that is approximately 400km x 65,000km x 12.5 deg inclinationWe primarily used the extra performance to reduce inclination. Turned out to be optimal for a shorter electric orbit raise.
Actually, less than 1,469 m/s.
Quote from: ZachS09 on 01/05/2025 11:58 pmActually, less than 1,469 m/s.Here's the current version of my orbit program, which gives the following output.Delta-V calculator by Steven S. Pietrobon. 25 Nov 2022.Enter negative initial perigee height to exit program.Enter negative required height for geosynchronous altitude.Enter initial perigee height (km): 400Enter initial apogee height (km): 65000Enter required inclination change (°): 12.5Enter required perigee height (km): -1Geosynchronous perigee = 35786.0 kmEnter required apogee height (km): -1Geosynchronous apogee = 35786.0 kmBurn at 65000.0 km: theta1 = 11.74°, dv1 = 1091.4 m/sBurn at 35786.0 km: theta2 = 0.76°, dv2 = 375.5 m/sdv = 1466.9 m/sSaved 2.6 m/s
They showed the Falcon Heavy Viasat launch at ignition!
THOSE LITTLE DOTS ARE OUR SATELLITES. IN SPACE. (Thank you to @s2a_systems for spotting them!)
Huge update from Astranis Mission Control: all four Block 2 satellites have successfully completed initial commissioning and are now headed to GEO using their on board ion thrusters.This is a huge deal. Here are some highlights from our first week and half on orbit:- Nominal deployment in our target orbit: 400km x 65,000km x 12.5 deg inclination (thank you SpaceX)- All pre-separation logic and separation autonomy worked perfectly, and all autonomous deployments (solar arrays, ion thruster gimbals, and secondary antenna reflectors) successfully completed- Checkouts of thermal management systems, power subsystems, software, and GNC- Reaction wheel, SADA, and monopropellant thruster commissioning- Monoprop detumble and transition to fine pointing control using reaction wheels and star trackers- Sun-pointing mode achieved for maximum power generation- High rate TTC downlink and download of onboard data- Subreflector boom deployment and verification via photodiode telemetry- Ion thruster gimbal commissioning, demonstrating successful gimbal deployment- Simultaneous command of all 5 Astranis satellites, using 9 different ground stations across 4 continents- 100% successful deployments: all solar arrays, booms, gimbals, reflectors, splashplates — 60x total hold down release mechanism deployments without issue- Test-fired and characterized all 8 monoprop thrusters on all 4 satellites (32x thrusters total)- Commissioned the Electric Propulsion (EP) system, including successfully test-firing each satellite's ion thruster- Conducted an initial payload checkout on all 4 vehicles— the Software-Defined Radios, RF front end electronics, high-power amplifiers (TWTAs), and LNAs have all been checked out and are performing nominally- Executed long-duration EP burns on all four vehicles, and have beginning orbit raises to GEO from our current GTO orbitsIn short: the satellites are working great and are on their way to GEO where they will start their missions for our customers. All of our hard work — designing, testing, manufacturing, and operating — is paying off.LET’S GO.
Our new satellites have now been on orbit for an entire month!This footage is incredibly unique — four GEO-bound satellites, captured immediately after deployment, and near perigee, from space. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
