Discussion thread for Firefly Aerospace's third mission with its Alpha rocket "FLT003".The launch was scheduled for February, but according to the FCC license, it looks like it will be in April at the earliest.https://twitter.com/FccSpace/status/1618678961029931008
Purpose of OperationPlease explain the purpose of operation: Launch vehicle communication for Firefly Alpha rocket FLTA003.
Launch update: Our next launch, FLTA003, will support the @SpaceForceDoD responsive space mission, VICTUS NOX. We’re in the final integration of our Alpha rocket and will soon stand ready for the 24-hour call-up. We’re honored to work with this incredible team! #PartnersInSpace
YOOOO! Seems FLTA003 & 4 swapped places; VICTUS NOX 1st, ELaNa 43 2nd.Recap of the mission profile:After finishing integration, the vehicle will sit & wait for a notice to alert, at which point they have 60 hours to get the rocket from the HIF to ready on the pad.(1/?)
There it can sit for up to a month. At some point during that time, Firefly will get a notice to launch, and they have just 24 HOURS (!!) to get VICTUS NOX into LEO.This is a super demanding rapid response launch test for the US military. Overall a very exciting mission.(2/?)
Currently NET mid-April TMK, this mission has a somewhat wide timeframe given its purposely unpredictable nature.Day/night launch, weekday/end, etc. pretty much isn't going to be known until the day before.Sorry to those who want to see it in person...(3/3)
Launch Update: Things are rockin' in Vandenberg! The team has moved Alpha to the pad ahead of final system testing and a full-duration static fire for the @SpaceForceDoD VICTUS NOX responsive space mission.
FLTA003 Update: Last week was incredibly productive as we continued to prep for the @SpaceForceDoD #VICTUSNOX mission. The team nailed a dry-run of mating the payload fairing to Alpha on the launch pad – a first for us and a key capability to enable responsive space missions.
FLTA003 Update: Big congrats to the Firefly team for completing a full-duration static fire on the first attempt for the @SpaceForceDoD #VICTUSNOX mission. Our “test before you fly” approach confirms all systems and components are operating within flight parameters before launch.
There will be NOTAMs, NOTMARs, etc.?
Could Falcon 9 and Alpha both launch on the same day (March 25)? Are there any technical reasons that prevent this?
Quote from: CorvusCorax on 04/23/2022 07:59 pmI'm curious, there's now two Starlink missions planned, both from Florida, and both for May 8.Although they say the best way to ensure two launches won't conflict is to schedule them for the same day, these two ended up falling together relatively close to launch day. And SpaceX HAS two pads.Would it be possible for SpaceX to do "2 for the price of 1" by handling 2 launch campaigns simultaneously from the same firing room?If so, what would be the temporal spacing required? I assume ideally flight 1 should have landed/reached at least parking orbit before flight 2 enters terminal count. That way if someone yells "HOLD HOLD HOLD" on the net it's always clear which vehicle is meant But they could also be 20+h apart in which case everyone actually gets a good nights sleep in between and we'd see nothing really groundbreaking new.But I'm kinda rooting for a launch webcast with 2 successive launches one right after the other.What does Starlink orbital mechanics say? Would launching two batches so close after each other even make sense? What planes do these birds need to go to?SpaceX can launch from both LC39A and SLC-40 on the same day, but they need approximately 16-18 hours between launches for the 45th Space Wing to reset common range assets. I speculate that they might be able to shave that time down if the two launches are flying on similar trajectories. "Brig. Gen. Monteith stated that this new AFTS combined with two operational SpaceX pads at Kennedy and the CCAFS will allow the company to launch two Falcon 9 rockets – one from 39A and one from SLC-40 – within 16 to 18 hours of each other.“When pad 40 is up and operating, [it will] give us the capability of launching a Falcon from both pad 39A and pad 40 on the same day,” stated the Brig. Gen."https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/air-force-reveals-48-launches-year-cape/Article from March 20, 2017
I'm curious, there's now two Starlink missions planned, both from Florida, and both for May 8.Although they say the best way to ensure two launches won't conflict is to schedule them for the same day, these two ended up falling together relatively close to launch day. And SpaceX HAS two pads.Would it be possible for SpaceX to do "2 for the price of 1" by handling 2 launch campaigns simultaneously from the same firing room?If so, what would be the temporal spacing required? I assume ideally flight 1 should have landed/reached at least parking orbit before flight 2 enters terminal count. That way if someone yells "HOLD HOLD HOLD" on the net it's always clear which vehicle is meant But they could also be 20+h apart in which case everyone actually gets a good nights sleep in between and we'd see nothing really groundbreaking new.But I'm kinda rooting for a launch webcast with 2 successive launches one right after the other.What does Starlink orbital mechanics say? Would launching two batches so close after each other even make sense? What planes do these birds need to go to?
Bump: Will launch occur in the remaining days this month?
NextSpaceflight, updated April 29:NET May 2023
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 04/30/2023 04:32 pmNextSpaceflight, updated April 29:NET May 2023I'm a little late but with some information, I waited until the last minute to move the launch to May since the launch notice comes a day earlier literally, it seems that Firefly has not yet received either of the two notices (T-60 hrs and T-24 hrs alerts) from Space Force, so there is a small chance that the launch will be delayed one more month.We'll see how the preparations progress and the notices that will be a day earlier.In addition, Everyday Astronaut will not be broadcasting live and the media will not have access for this mission.
"Conquer the night"@Firefly_Space is about to launch its third Alpha rocket, while Millennium is preparing for the Space Force call to ship the “Victus Nox” satellite to Vandenberg.More about the 24-hour notice mission, and its crucial opportunity:
.@USSF_SSC's Space Safari Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough:“They don’t know when they’re going to get the call to launch."“From their perspective, the things that normally happen over weeks or months are now crunched down to basically minutes and days.”
Firefly CEO Bill Weber: "When Victus Nox launches, our intention is to go two months after that and on in succession. Alpha will be that predictable schedule, of a one metric ton rocket [flying] every two months.”
Millennium CEO Jason Kim: “The idea there is if you take something that’s off the production line, you don’t have to start from scratch to rapidly deploy a tactically responsive space capability to meet an urgent need..."
