Demand for Raptors, not least with the first orbital test flight being expendable, will only increase as SpaceX pushes through to future missions with additional Super Heavy and Starship flights.While the SN20 and BN3 combo will be first in line for orbital flight, it’s expected that the subsequent boosters and ships will pair up accordingly, SN21 with BN4, SN22 with BN5, and SN23 with BN6. In addition, it’s understood that a major design upgrade is set to come with the SN24/BN7 pair.By the time SpaceX has moved into the SN24 range, there is the potential of minimal availability on SpaceX’s two ocean platforms.
Michael Baylor @nextspaceflightStarship Orbital Launch Attempt details per FCC exhibit:- Staging 170 seconds into flight- Booster will splashdown in the Gulf 20 miles downrange- Starship will perform a soft landing 62 miles northwest of Kauaihttps://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=273481&x=
The RamSat mission is onboard CRS-22, as part of the ELaNa 36 cohort. It is developed, built, and operated by students, staff, and mentors at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, TN. sites.google.com/view/ramsatWe are hearing T-0 on June 3 is 1:29pm ET.
https://twitter.com/NatReconOfc/status/1394360805945184260QuoteLAUNCH UPDATE: The next NRO launch to watch is NROL111 on a Northrop Grumman Minotaur rocket from VCSFA_MARS Pad 0B at NASA_Wallops NET June 15--stay tuned for our mission patch reveal!Launch date is NET June 15
LAUNCH UPDATE: The next NRO launch to watch is NROL111 on a Northrop Grumman Minotaur rocket from VCSFA_MARS Pad 0B at NASA_Wallops NET June 15--stay tuned for our mission patch reveal!
New targeted liftoff: 17:37 UTC (1:37pm eastern time)
ATLAS V TO LAUNCH STP-3• Rocket: Atlas V 551• Mission: Space Test Program-3• Launch Date: June 23, 2021• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Mission Information: A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket will launch the Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force. Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.The STP-3 mission consists of the STPSat-6 satellite that hosts the National Nuclear Security Administration's Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) package and NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment. The launch also includes a propulsive secondary payload adapter carrying additional small science and technology missions.Launch Notes: This will be 145th mission for United Launch Alliance and our 92nd in service to U.S. national security. It is the 88th Atlas V launch and the 12th in the 551 configuration, which has launched missions to Pluto and Jupiter.
Cross-post:Quote from: RamSatMentor on 05/17/2021 02:31 pmThe RamSat mission is onboard CRS-22, as part of the ELaNa 36 cohort. It is developed, built, and operated by students, staff, and mentors at Robertsville Middle School in Oak Ridge, TN. sites.google.com/view/ramsatWe are hearing T-0 on June 3 is 1:29pm ET.= 1729 UTC
FALCON 9The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral will launch the next batch of Starlink internet satellites from pad 40 on May 26 at 2:59pm EDT. A Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the SiriusXM-8 communication satellite on June 1 at 12:25am EDT. A Falcon 9 from pad 39A will launch the next Dragon resupply mission, CRS-22, on June 3 at 1:29pm EDT. Upcoming launches include more batches of Starlink satellites. And a Falcon 9 will launch the fifth block III GPS satellite for the U.S. Air/Space Forces from pad 40 on June 17, sometime between 6-9pm EDT.
SFN Launch Schedule, updated May 20, now lists Transporter-2 launching in late June, and still from SLC-40. "Moved up from July."
FWIW, Next Spaceflight shows NET July for this launch. https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/5334
[Via Satellite] Delays Surface in Planned US Space Force Launches Under NSSLQuote“USSF-44 launch date is slipping from July, 2021 to October, 2021 to accommodate payload readiness,” per a May 19 email from Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of Space and Missile Systems Center‘s (SMC) Launch Enterprise.
“USSF-44 launch date is slipping from July, 2021 to October, 2021 to accommodate payload readiness,” per a May 19 email from Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of Space and Missile Systems Center‘s (SMC) Launch Enterprise.
Interesting to note that AV-093 was tagged in the same article. This might be the tail number for the upcoming STP-3 mission. https://spaceflightnow.com/tag/av-093/Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 05/22/2021 08:31 pmUnited Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket, dated May 21Paraphrase: STP-3 flight will be the first use of a new design "5 meter" payload fairing that requires no autoclave treatment, only curing in an oven. Product of a ULA/RUAG Space partnership, it is produced at the ULA Decatur, Alabama facility.
United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket, dated May 21Paraphrase: STP-3 flight will be the first use of a new design "5 meter" payload fairing that requires no autoclave treatment, only curing in an oven. Product of a ULA/RUAG Space partnership, it is produced at the ULA Decatur, Alabama facility.
I can't find this listed on any launches in the scheduleLockheed Martin Corp., Sunnyvale, California, was awarded a $27,132,214 modification (P00010) to contract HR0011-20-C-0028, adding Phase 2 tasks to the previously awarded procurement contract for the Blackjack satellite integration program. During the 15-month Phase 2 baseline program, the Lockheed Martin team will advance its satellite integration approach through critical design review, performing assembly, test, and integration activities on multiple types of commoditized buses, the Blackjack Pit Boss, and various payloads. Lockheed Martin further will provide for the integration of the various Blackjack components into a launch vehicle for on-orbit spacecraft testing. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $40,456,057 from $13,323,843. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (80%); Denver, Colorado (10%) Cape Canaveral, Florida (8%); and San Luis Obispo, California (2%), with an expected completion date of July 2022. Fiscal 2021 research and development funds in the amount of $12,664,795 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
That mission, known as USSF-51, was awarded to ULA in August 2020 and is scheduled to launch in late 2022. The company had bid its newly developed Vulcan to fly that mission but the vehicle is not going to be ready on time. As a result, the Space Force agreed to allow ULA to launch USSF-51 on the company’s legacy vehicle the Atlas 5.ULA on Aug. 7 received a $337 million contract to launch USSF-51 and USSF-106, scheduled for late 2022 and mid 2023, respectively....“ULA proposed changing USSF-51 from a Vulcan Centaur to an Atlas by submitting a formal letter of request to the U.S. Space Force, and they agreed with the merits of these benefits,” said ULA. “This change allows for ULA’s first two Vulcan Centaur missions, which are for commercial customers, to launch when they are ready and not impact the Space Force’s mission.”Bongiovi said the Space Force launch enterprise has “assessed the launch vehicle configuration change to an Atlas 5 launch vehicle as low risk and a viable solution. The first NSSL Vulcan mission remains scheduled for early 2023.”
The Vulcan Centaur’s first national security launch is now scheduled for early 2023 with the USSF-106 mission, Bongiovi said Wednesday. That flight will follow two certification launches of the Vulcan Centaur rocket carrying commercial payloads.