SpaceX Manifest Updates Thread 5

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/astranis_space/status/1166018993687162880

It's official: our first commercial satellite has a ride to space, courtesy of @SpaceX!

This is an important milestone in our mission to triple the satellite internet capacity of Alaska -- and we couldn't be more excited.

Read more here: https://medium.com/@johngedmark/launch-with-spacex-3f55960afd59

h/t to Jeff Foust

We’ve reserved a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 with a launch window at Florida’s famed Cape Canaveral starting in the fourth quarter of 2020.
This means that Pacific Dataport and Microcom, our Alaska partners, will be able to provide residential and commercial Alaskan customers in even the most remote parts of the state with faster, more affordable and more reliable true broadband internet service by March 2021.

[gongora]

The Astranis sat is very small, will be interesting to find out the launch details.  I'm assuming a rideshare.

[scr00chy]

The Astranis sat is very small, will be interesting to find out the launch details.  I'm assuming a rideshare.

Considering the low mass, could Falcon 9 lift this into GEO?
Edit: It's only about 300 kg, according to this.

[gongora]

https://spacenews.com/astranis-will-share-a-falcon-9-for-2020-small-geo-launch/

Gedmark told SpaceNews by email that Astranis’ satellite will be a secondary payload, with SpaceX announcing primary payloads at a later date. Astranis arranged the launch itself, not through a rideshare aggregator like Spaceflight, he said.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1166875475446247427

Update from @SpaceX on its recently announced Smallsat Rideshare program:

3 annual missions now, up from 1 per year, after feedback from customers.

[gongora]

I'm not adding 3 SSO missions a year to the manifest yet until we see these actually start flying as dedicated flights.

[Comga]

I'm not adding 3 SSO missions a year to the manifest yet until we see these actually start flying as dedicated flights.

That’s reasonable but SpaceX is VERY specific:
Quarterly SSO rideshares starting next March
Monthly “mid-inclination” rideshares starting next April
Fully listed thru the end of 2021

This is a bit surprising given Spaceflight Services’ experience with their mega-rideshare.
It will be interesting to see if SpaceX’s “be there or be square” policy works:

Passengers who run into delays that prevent them from launching can apply 100% of monies paid towards the cost of rebooking on a subsequent mission, subject to a 10% rebooking fee.

[HiHatWhenItsClosed]

That’s reasonable but SpaceX is VERY specific:
Quarterly SSO rideshares starting next March
Monthly “mid-inclination” rideshares starting next April
Fully listed thru the end of 2021

Yes, but the rideshare in March is an existing mission, not a dedicated launch, so it wouldn't need to be added to the manifest until we know what mission it is on.

[gongora]

Yes, but the rideshare in March is an existing mission, not a dedicated launch...

I'm assuming that's true, but do we really even know that for sure?  These may just need to be added as details are announced.

[HiHatWhenItsClosed]

from website:

In addition, SpaceX will also offer traditional rideshare opportunities on existing low Earth orbit missions, with the first mission targeted for March 2020

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

With the success of Starhopper. We await the testing of MK1. The results of these tests will generate timelines for Starship orbital flight tests and operational flights. At some point after the suborbital tests conclusion we should get a better outline of future orbital SS NET missions, payloads and dates. It will likely not be a long wait based on the success of the Starhopper flight.

Until a clearer picture of the future of SS orbital occurs I do not recommend posting any additional speculative flights of SS. But I do expect most of the early orbital flights would carry Starlink sats. Most other flights or flights with reduced numbers wouldbe demo/test flights such as tanker tests or HSF equipped unmanned test demos which could include flights to th Moon. But speculation is not scheduled/anticipated "funded/contracted" flights.

[almightycat]

https://twitter.com/steviecSES/status/1170982381068722176

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/o3b-21.htm

Launch date is 2021 as of 2017.

[soltasto]

Wonder how many launches / satellites per launch. Doubt they can launch all of them at once just for volume constraints.

[almightycat]

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190909005381/en/

"We are delighted to have SpaceX as partners for our historic O3b mPOWER launch, and together, we will extend high-performance connectivity to all who have limited access to it today.”

This suggests that it is one launch.

[soltasto]

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190909005381/en/

"We are delighted to have SpaceX as partners for our historic O3b mPOWER launch, and together, we will extend high-performance connectivity to all who have limited access to it today.”

This suggests that it is one launch.

Not a quote but from the very same article:

SES announced today that it has selected SpaceX as a launch partner to deliver its next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation into space on board Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral.

[almightycat]

Not a quote but from the very same article:

SES announced today that it has selected SpaceX as a launch partner to deliver its next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation into space on board Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral.

Huh, well then i have no idea. I think they plan to build more than the 7 initial satellites, so it might be similiar to Iridium and they launch the whole constellation of 40 satellites. But the 7 first ones will be on one launch.

Does anyone have more information on this? I don't want to speculate to much.

[Chris Bergin]

Presser:
SES Selects SpaceX to Launch Groundbreaking O3b mPOWER MEO Communications System

Long-term innovation partners team up to launch seven Medium Earth Orbit satellites onboard Falcon 9, dramatically scaling proven O3b low-latency, high-performance connectivity services

September 09, 2019 05:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

LUXEMBOURG — SES announced today that it has selected SpaceX as a launch partner to deliver its next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation into space on board Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral. The two companies have disrupted the industry in the past when SES became the first to launch a commercial GEO satellite with SpaceX, and later as the first ever payload on a SpaceX reusable rocket. Their next launch, in 2021, will be another one for the records as the revolutionary terabit-scale capabilities of SES’s O3b mPOWER communications system disrupt the industry again.

The global O3b mPOWER system comprises an initial constellation of seven high-throughput, low-latency MEO satellites, each capable of generating thousands of electronically-steered beams that can be dynamically adjusted to serve customers in various markets including telecom and cloud, communications-on-the-move and government. O3b mPOWER also will include a variety of intelligent, application-specific Customer Edge Terminals integrated with SES’s terrestrial network and dynamically optimised using the recently announced Adaptive Resource Control (ARC) software system, further boosting O3b mPOWER’s market-leading flexibility.

“Momentum in the O3b mPOWER ecosystem is accelerating quickly as we continue to build the right partnerships to bring this massively innovative communications system to market,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES. “Working with SpaceX as our launch provider is fitting because in the last seven years we have already jointly made multiple revolutionary industry advancements that make access to space innovation more cost-efficient and unlock new opportunities in critical markets. We are delighted to have SpaceX as partners for our historic O3b mPOWER launch, and together, we will extend high-performance connectivity to all who have limited access to it today.”

“We are pleased that SES has once again selected Falcon 9 to launch their powerful, groundbreaking communications system,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX. “SES has been an important partner for SpaceX – fully supporting our efforts to make rocket reusability a reality. We are proud to play a part in SES bringing revolutionary connectivity solutions to the market.”

The O3b mPOWER system leverages the proven concept of the current O3b MEO constellation and its success delivering fibre-equivalent connectivity services to customers operating in nearly 50 countries today. The O3b system is the only technically-, operationally- and commercially-proven non-geostationary system for delivering low-latency data communications today.

Visit the interactive platform to learn more about SES’s O3b mPOWER MEO communications system: o3bmpower.ses

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1171038196446171137

.@SES_Satellites says it likely will use 2 @SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to launch the 7 O3b mPower MEO broadband spacecraft - 3 on one, 4 on a second- in 2021. @Arianespace says SES mPower launch procurement was open, but Ariane 5/6 manifest for 2021 is fairly full.

[gongora]

https://mobile.twitter.com/pbdes/status/1171004186923810816

[Star One]

https://mobile.twitter.com/pbdes/status/1171004186923810816

Here’s the text of that Tweet for those who don’t do Twitter:

.
@SES_Satellites
 chooses
@SpaceX
 Falcon 9 to launch 'up to seven' O3b mPower MEO-orbit broadband satellites starting in 2021. Unclear how many 1,700-kg O3b mPower sats will go on each Falcon 9.