As one mission ends, another begins. The action is almost nonstop here in the port!Fairing scooper, Shelia Bordelon, has departed Port Canaveral ahead of this weekend’s #Starlink mission.
Mission Overview:Capella 6 will be launched in May 2021, on a 53deg orbit at an altitude between 550km and 600km. For the purpose of this document, the worst case altitude in terms of lifetime of 600 km will be used for C-6. Capella 5 will be launched in June 2021, on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 500km and 550km.
QuoteMission Overview:Capella 6 will be launched in May 2021, on a 53deg orbit at an altitude between 550km and 600km. For the purpose of this document, the worst case altitude in terms of lifetime of 600 km will be used for C-6. Capella 5 will be launched in June 2021, on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 500km and 550km.
Just received clarification from @SpaceX that there are only 52 #Starlink satellites and 2 rideshares on this launch.
CelesTrak has pre-launch SupTLEs for the #Starlink V1.0-26 launch scheduled for 2021-05-15 22:54 UTC.
I don't know for sure which Starlink flight it's on.Quote from: gongora on 05/12/2021 10:20 pmhttps://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-MOD-20210512-00067QuoteMission Overview:Capella 6 will be launched in May 2021, on a 53deg orbit at an altitude between 550km and 600km. For the purpose of this document, the worst case altitude in terms of lifetime of 600 km will be used for C-6. Capella 5 will be launched in June 2021, on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 500km and 550km.
https://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-MOD-20210512-00067QuoteMission Overview:Capella 6 will be launched in May 2021, on a 53deg orbit at an altitude between 550km and 600km. For the purpose of this document, the worst case altitude in terms of lifetime of 600 km will be used for C-6. Capella 5 will be launched in June 2021, on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 500km and 550km.
Quote from: TS Kelso tweetJust received clarification from @SpaceX that there are only 52 #Starlink satellites and 2 rideshares on this launch.Celestrak shows 569x582, so this is Capella ridesharehttps://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/supplemental/
What is the other rideshare payload aboard Flight 26?
Capella confirms to me they have one radar satellite launching on the Falcon 9 mission Saturday evening. The identity of the other rideshare payload remains unclear, for now.
I'm waiting for the final pre-flight blurb from SpaceX before believing there are two rideshare payloads. The switch from two to one Capella sat was quite late.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 15 for its next Starlink mission launching aboard Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The instantaneous window is at 6:54 p.m. EDT, or 22:54 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, May 16 at 6:33 p.m. EDT, or 22:33 UTC. On board this mission are 52 Starlink satellites, a Capella Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, and Tyvak-0130.The Falcon 9 first stage booster that supported this mission previously launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and three Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be located in the Atlantic Ocean. One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported the SXM-7 mission, and the other previously supported the NROL-108 mission.
