Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION  (Read 206919 times)

Online gongora

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NSF Threads for Inmarsat 5 F4 : Discussion / Updates / L2 Coverage May-June / ASDS / Party
NSF Articles for Inmarsat 5 F4 :
   SpaceX improving launch cadence, testing new goals
   Falcon 9 readies for Static Fire test ahead of Inmarsat 5 F4 mission
   SpaceX Falcon 9 in flawless Inmarsat-5 F4 launch

Successful launch of 6086kg Inmarsat-5 F4 on May 15, 2017 at 1921 EDT (2321 UTC) on Falcon 9 (expendable first stage 1034) from LC-39A at Cape Canaveral.


Other SpaceX resources on NASASpaceflight:
   SpaceX News Articles (Recent)  /   SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews)
   SpaceX Dragon Articles  /  SpaceX Missions Section (with Launch Manifest and info on past and future missions)
   L2 SpaceX Section



[2013] Inmarsat to purchase fourth Inmarsat-5 satellite from Boeing
Quote
Inmarsat has triggered an option to purchase a fourth Inmarsat-5 spacecraft – under its existing contract with Boeing Satellite Systems International.

The programme schedule from Boeing has a satellite delivery date of mid-2016.

The fourth satellite will have a dual strategic role – firstly, as an early available spare in the unlikely event of a launch failure of any of the first three Inmarsat-5 satellites.
...
Boeing will immediately begin construction of the fourth Inmarsat-5 satellite. The total cost of the option and certain related expenditure will be between US$220 million and US$250 million.

Inmarsat: The I5 Satellites
Quote
The I-5 satellites, based on Boeing’s proven 702HP spacecraft platform, will deliver consistent high-performance download speeds of up to 50Mbps and up to 5Mbps over the uplink from their position in geosynchronous orbit. Their impressive statistics include:

    The I-5 body – at 6.98 metres (22.9ft), the height of a double decker bus
    User beams – 89 Ka-band beams generated by two transmit and two receive apertures
    Spot beams – six steerable spot beams to direct additional capacity where it is needed
    Solar arrays – a wingspan of 33.8 metres (111ft)
    Solar panels – five panels of ultra triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells generate 15 kW of power at start of service and 13.8 kW by end of life
    Station-keeping thrusters – a xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) handles in-orbit manoeuvring
    Launch mass – 6,100kg
    Mission lifespan – 15 years

Inmarsat 5 F4 on Gunter's Space Page

Inmarsat Jul 2 2014: launch contract announcement originally mentioned in this NSF thread Topic: Inmarsat to use SpaceX for satellite launches

So Inmarsat 5 F4 really is launching on Falcon, and EuropaSat/HellasSat 3 may move to a different launch vehicle but final decision not made yet.

SpaceNews: Inmarsat, juggling two launches, says SpaceX to return to flight in December
Quote
Inmarsat has three launch contracts with SpaceX. Up to now, it had planned to launch its Inmarsat 5-F4 Ka-band broadband mobile communications satellite on a Falcon 9 in late 2016; an S-band aeronautical-connectivity satellite on a new Falcon Heavy rocket in early 2017; and the first of the Inmarsat-6 satellites after that.
Quote
Inmarsat has decided to stick with SpaceX for the 5-F4 satellite, but to seek alternatives for the mid-2017 S-band satellite launch.

“It’s largely a function of where you are in the manifest,” Pearce said of Inmarsat’s launch reasoning. “With Inmarsat 5 F4, we’re well up in the queue — I think we are number five or six.
...

There was an interesting comment on Reddit by someone who appears to be a SpaceX employee:
Reddit comment by /u/Spiiice
Quote
We have more than one launch on the manifest that is considered expendable, and no recovery will be attempted.

This would make a lot of sense for a couple payloads that were originally assumed to be flying on FH (Inmarsat 5 F4, Europasat).

« Last Edit: 05/15/2017 11:59 pm by gongora »

Offline WHAP

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Potential change in launch vehicle for "an" Inmarsat payload, consistent with information above. http://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-spacex-may-lose-inmarsat-launch-order-1478165008
« Last Edit: 11/04/2016 05:50 pm by WHAP »
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Online gongora

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Potential change in launch vehicle for "an" Inmarsat payload, consistent with information above. http://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-spacex-may-lose-inmarsat-launch-order-1478165008

The payload that may change launchers is Europasat, not this one.

Offline russianhalo117

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Potential change in launch vehicle for "an" Inmarsat payload, consistent with information above. http://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-spacex-may-lose-inmarsat-launch-order-1478165008
but it just got I-5-F4  from Proton last month.
Potential change in launch vehicle for "an" Inmarsat payload, consistent with information above. http://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-spacex-may-lose-inmarsat-launch-order-1478165008

The payload that may change launchers is Europasat, not this one.
Europasat chose during investor call to defer discussion of a launcher switch until the next quarterly conference call.

Offline vapour_nudge

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So is this the launch they just lost to Arianespace due to their delays?

Online gongora

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So is this the launch they just lost to Arianespace due to their delays?

Once again, no.  This isn't the S-band satellite.

Offline srcln

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Inmarsat's own press release on this seems to explicitly state that this is not the launch they moved to Arianespace:

Quote
Inmarsat will launch Inmarsat-5 F4, a Global Xpress (GX) satellite, with SpaceX.  This launch is planned for H1 2017 and Inmarsat is looking forward to continuing to work with SpaceX going forward.

from: http://www.inmarsat.com/news/inmarsat-signs-contract-launch-ean-satellite-arianespace/

Offline WHAP

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So is this the launch they just lost to Arianespace due to their delays?

Once again, no.  This isn't the S-band satellite.

Everyone wants to be like Jim.  I realize vapour_nudge didn't ask what it was, but sometimes that's more helpful than saying what it wasn't.  According to Aerospace Daily, this was "the Inmarsat S-band/Hellas-Sat 3 telecommunications spacecraft". 
http://aviationweek.com/awinspace/inmarsat-switches-launch-spacex-arianespace
Also https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=40756.msg1617381#msg1617381
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Online gongora

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So is this the launch they just lost to Arianespace due to their delays?

Once again, no.  This isn't the S-band satellite.

Everyone wants to be like Jim.  I realize vapour_nudge didn't ask what it was, but sometimes that's more helpful than saying what it wasn't.  According to Aerospace Daily, this was "the Inmarsat S-band/Hellas-Sat 3 telecommunications spacecraft". 
http://aviationweek.com/awinspace/inmarsat-switches-launch-spacex-arianespace
Also https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=40756.msg1617381#msg1617381

Just to be clear, when WHAP says "this" he's talking about the satellite that switched launchers (Europasat/HellasSat 3), which is not Inmarsat 5 F4.
« Last Edit: 12/09/2016 04:21 pm by gongora »

Offline dglow

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The manifest thread lists this mission as GTO with RTLS. Is that accurate or no?

Online gongora

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #10 on: 01/20/2017 02:36 am »
The manifest thread lists this mission as GTO with RTLS. Is that accurate or no?

No.  I'm betting on expendable for this flight, but we'll see if it ends up being an ASDS landing.

Offline ZachS09

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #11 on: 01/20/2017 03:53 am »
The manifest thread lists this mission as GTO with RTLS. Is that accurate or no?

No.  I'm betting on expendable for this flight, but we'll see if it ends up being an ASDS landing.

We've never seen an expendable Falcon 9 mission since TürkmenÄlem 52E/MonacoSat in April 2015.
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Offline old_sellsword

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #12 on: 01/20/2017 04:44 am »
The manifest thread lists this mission as GTO with RTLS. Is that accurate or no?

No.  I'm betting on expendable for this flight, but we'll see if it ends up being an ASDS landing.

We've never seen an expendable Falcon 9 mission since TürkmenÄlem 52E/MonacoSat in April 2015.

Well expect to see some in the future.

Quote from: Spiiice
We have more than one launch on the manifest that is considered expendable, and no recovery will be attempted.

...

new [cores]!
...I'm honestly pretty surprised by that myself.

Quote from: Spiiice
This is about right. Upcoming expendable F9 launches will skip the legs 'n' fins, for example.
« Last Edit: 01/20/2017 04:44 am by old_sellsword »

Offline ZachS09

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #13 on: 01/20/2017 01:32 pm »
Spiiice, when you said "skip the legs 'n fins", are you saying that SpaceX will remove the legs and fins from the core, or will they leave them on the core while disarmed?
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Online gongora

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #14 on: 01/20/2017 01:38 pm »
Spiiice, when you said "skip the legs 'n fins", are you saying that SpaceX will remove the legs and fins from the core, or will they leave them on the core while disarmed?

Spiiice is a user on Reddit, and he was saying that expendable flights won't have legs and fins.

Online Johnnyhinbos

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #15 on: 01/20/2017 01:41 pm »
If expendable then there's no need to toss away expensive legs and fins. These things are installed at the launch site, so this step would just be skipped.

HOWEVER, it's my strong hope that Block 5 (1.3? Fullest Thrust??) or FH would be available by launch time, thereby not having to go the expendable route. I think it's baked right into SpaceX's very core to not expend (<- see what I did there?)
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Offline guckyfan

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #16 on: 01/20/2017 02:13 pm »
If expendable then there's no need to toss away expensive legs and fins. These things are installed at the launch site, so this step would just be skipped.

HOWEVER, it's my strong hope that Block 5 (1.3? Fullest Thrust??) or FH would be available by launch time, thereby not having to go the expendable route. I think it's baked right into SpaceX's very core to not expend (<- see what I did there?)

I don't think block 5 will do much in that regard. It is more about ease of reusability. They need to do some expendable flights because FH is not yet ready for regular flight and flight rates. Which will need block 5.

Offline Norm38

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #17 on: 01/20/2017 02:58 pm »
What does "NET 1H" mean?  Oh, is it 'first half'?
« Last Edit: 01/20/2017 02:58 pm by Norm38 »

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #18 on: 01/20/2017 03:03 pm »
No earlier than the first half of the year. As in, this is the very earliest it could launch.
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Online gongora

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Re: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Inmarsat 5 F4 - May 15, 2017 - DISCUSSION
« Reply #19 on: 01/20/2017 03:12 pm »
What does "NET 1H" mean?  Oh, is it 'first half'?

Yes, first half (whether I type 1H or H1 might depend on the phase of the moon or how much coffee I've had that morning, I'm not terribly consistent).  There is a quote above where they said they were around fifth or sixth in the queue, so this should be in the next couple flights after SES-10.

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