SpaceX F9 : Starlink v1.0 L21 : KSC LC-39A : 14 March 2021 (10:01 UTC)

[gongora]

Discussion thread for Starlink v1.0 L21

NSF Threads for Starlink v1.0 L21: Discussion

Successful launch 14 March 2021 at 6:01am EDT/10:01 UTC on Falcon 9 (booster 1051-9) from LC-39A. ASDS landing on OCISLY was successful. Fairing recovery is expected.

Payload: A batch of 60 Starlink satellites. Expected deployment orbit of approximately 260x280km.

The Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting this mission previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s first demonstration mission, RADARSAT Constellation Mission, SXM-7, and five 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. Falcon 9’s fairing previously flew on the Transporter-1 mission.

Please use the Starlink Discussion Thread for all general discussion on Starlink.

Check the Starlink Index Thread for links to more Starlink information.

L2 SpaceX:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=60.0

From a previous mission's Press Kit:

Each Starlink satellite weights approximately 260 kg and features a compact, flat-panel design that minimizes volume, allowing for a dense launch stack to take full advantage of Falcon 9’s launch capabilities. With four powerful phased array and two parabolic antennas on each satellite ... At end of their life cycle, the satellites will utilize their on-board propulsion system to deorbit over the course of a few months. In the unlikely event their propulsion system becomes inoperable, the satellites will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere within 1-5 years, significantly less than the hundreds or thousands of years required at higher altitudes. Further, Starlink components are designed for full demisability.

Starlink is targeting service to near global coverage of the populated world by 2021. Additional information on the system can be found at starlink.com.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

Will this actually fly in February?.

Most likely around Feb 21 timeframe from SLC-40.

A NET of Feb 21 (min 8 days) but also a Likely NLT Feb 27 (14 days).
The limitation is booster availability mostly. 1051 would be a L2L of 32 days on the 21 Feb and 35 days on the 24 Feb. 1058 would be a L2L of 28 days on the 21 Feb and 35 days on the 28 Feb.

Note that it is possible for a L21 launch from 39A with a NET of Feb 25 to a NLT of [Mar] 3.

5 launches in Feb still a possibility!!!!!!

[Jansen]

Due to delays of Starlink v1.0 L17 and limitations at LC-39A, this launch is unlikely to take place in February. Will most likely be first week of March.

[Elthiryel]

According to Next Spaceflight, this mission is now planned for March 13, 10:06 UTC (5:06 AM local) from LC-39A. Landing on OCISLY.

https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/2676

[Jansen]

According to Next Spaceflight, this mission is now planned for March 13, 10:06 UTC (5:06 AM local) from LC-39A. Landing on OCISLY.

https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/2676

That would be a new record turnaround of 9 days at LC-39A.

[Raul]

Issued NOTAM in MELBOURNE information region for Stage2 reentry of Starlink_v1.0-L21 confirming planned primary launch date NET March 13 10:06 UTC, backup date March 14 09:44 UTC.

MELBOURNE (FIR/FIC/ACC/COM/MET)
NOTAM #: F0727/21      Class: International      Status: Active      Issue Date UTC: 03/04/2021 1932      Start Date UTC: 03/13/2021 1110      End Date UTC: 03/14/2021 1325
F0727/21 NOTAMN
Q) YMMM/QWMLW/IV/BO/W/000/999/5301S12023E999
A) YMMM
B) 2103131110 C) 2103141325
D) 2103131110 TO 2103131347
   2103141048 TO 2103141325
PRI REENTRY 210313
E) ROCKET LAUNCH WILL TAKE PLACE
FLW RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
HAZARDOUS OPS WILL BE CONDUCTED FOR ATMOSPHERIC RE-ENTRY AND
SPLASHDOWN OF LAUNCH VEHICLE FALCON-9 STARLINK V1.0-L21  WI THE
FOLLOWING AREAS:
FM 2943S 06007E
TO 2455S 06427E
TO 3845S 08430E
TO 4512S 09945E
TO 4946S 11913E
TO 5042S 13819E
TO 4850S 15644E
TO 5146S 15808E
TO 5442S 14832E
TO 5620S 13103E
TO 5552S 10750E
TO 4911S 08505E
TO 3432S 06413E TO BEGINNING
F) SFC G) UNL

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

There are 2 booster available for use for this flight: 1060.6 at 37 days L2L and 1051.9 at 52 days L2L.

Also even though the ambitious 9 day pad turnaround for 39A is possible in practice due to many obstacles it has been more like 11 to 14 days. Putting a more likely launch date as 15th to 18th.

[zubenelgenubi: Manifest discussion cross-posted and continues in dedicated thread here.]

[Jansen]

There have been multiple threads on this topic [increasing launch frequency]. These are not new ideas, and have been thoroughly discussed.

I would suggest going through this thread to start:

Increasing SpaceX launch frequency
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52035.0

[zubenelgenubi: performed a small split/merge.]

[Raul]

Map of Launch Hazard Areas of Starlink v1.0-L21 mission, based on NOTMAR messages.
Planned booster landing as usually 633km downrange. Estimated fairing recovery position could be ~707km downrange.
Stage2 reentry area corresponds again for double Stage2 burn with circular deploying orbit

080917Z MAR 21
NAVAREA IV 205/21(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   130901Z TO 131159Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   140839Z TO 141137Z MAR
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39-45N 080-38-13W, 29-41-00N 079-27-00W,
      29-29-00N 079-21-00W, 28-32-00N 080-19-00W,
      28-27-23N 080-31-33W.
   B. 31-44-00N 077-14-00W, 33-17-00N 076-03-00W,
      33-31-00N 074-59-00W, 33-10-00N 074-36-00W,
      32-27-00N 074-46-00W, 31-25-00N 076-56-00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 141237Z MAR 21.

080930Z MAR 21
HYDROPAC 753/21(61,75,76).
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 03, DNC 04, DNC 05.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   131110Z TO 131347Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   141048Z TO 141325Z MAR
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   29-43S 060-07E, 24-55S 064-27E,
   38-45S 084-30E, 45-12S 099-45E,
   49-46S 119-13E, 50-42S 138-19E,
   48-50S 156-44E, 51-46S 158-08E,
   54-42S 148-32E, 56-20S 131-03E,
   55-52S 107-50E, 49-11S 085-05E,
   34-32S 064-13E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 141425Z MAR 21.

[zubenelgenubi]

State of play on the Space Coast for the immediate future:

March 14 mid 13 - Starlink flight 22 (x60) [v1.0 L21] - Falcon 9-111 (1051.9 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 10:01 10:06 09:44
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day)

March 21 NET late - Starlink flight 23 (x60)  [v1.0 L22] - Falcon 9-112 (1060.6 S) - Canaveral SLC-40 - 04:37
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day)

NET very late March or April? - Starlink flight 24 (x60)  [v1.0 L23] - Falcon 9-113 (S) - Canaveral SLC-40 / Kennedy LC-39A?
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day)

NET April 22 NET 20 late - USCV-2: Dragon v2 Crew 2 - Falcon 9 (B1061.2 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 10:11 09:00-10:30 ~10:00
(ISS flights: launch 22-26 minutes earlier/day)

NET late April? Q2 - Starlink flight 25 (x60) [v1.0 L24] - Falcon 9 (S) - Canaveral SLC-40 / Kennedy LC-39A?
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day)

Changes on February 19th
Changes on March 3rd
Changes on March 4th
Changes on March 5th
Changes on March 9th
Changes on March 10th
Changes on March 11th
Changes on March 13th
zubenelgenubi

[scr00chy]

This is definitely going to be delayed. JRTI is busy with L20 and OCISLY is still in port.

[Thunderscreech]

The TFR for Saturday was just withdrawn, so that seems to be the case.

[Conexion Espacial]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

[Ken the Bin]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

Here's what I had calculated based on the NGA Rocket Launching notice:

Primary Day = Saturday, March 13 at ~10:06 UTC.
Backup Day = Sunday, March 14 at ~09:44 UTC.

[RocketLover0119]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

Here's what I had calculated based on the NGA Rocket Launching notice:

Primary Day = Saturday, March 13 at ~10:06 UTC.
Backup Day = Sunday, March 14 at ~09:44 UTC.

The switch to daylight savings here in the states is Saturday into Sunday, I would presume the back up day would be more like 08:44 UTC, here in Florida it will be UTC -4 with the change, which would be 4:44 am local. 

[zubenelgenubi]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

Here's what I had calculated based on the NGA Rocket Launching notice:

Primary Day = Saturday, March 13 at ~10:06 UTC.
Backup Day = Sunday, March 14 at ~09:44 UTC.

= Saturday, 13 March 5:06 am EST (EST = UTC - 5 hours)

("Spring Forward" 1 hour at 2:00 am local USA time)

= Sunday, 14 March ~5:44 am EDT. (EDT = UTC - 4 hours)

(UTC doesn't shift for daylight savings or summer time.  The affected time zone does.  It's one of the several reasons to love UTC.) 💘

[RocketLover0119]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

Here's what I had calculated based on the NGA Rocket Launching notice:

Primary Day = Saturday, March 13 at ~10:06 UTC.
Backup Day = Sunday, March 14 at ~09:44 UTC.

= Saturday, 13 March 5:06 am EST (EST = UTC - 5 hours)

("Spring Forward" 1 hour at 2:00 am local USA time)

= Sunday, 14 March ~5:44 am EDT. (EDT = UTC - 4 hours)

(UTC doesn't shift for daylight savings or summer time.  The affected time zone does.  It's one of the several reasons to LOVE UTC.)

Gotcha, thought it was the other way around because I thought starlinks got around 20 minutes earlier per delay day.

[Ken the Bin]

According to the TFR for March 14, what time would the launch be?, it seems that the window is a little earlier now.
https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_3440.html

Here's what I had calculated based on the NGA Rocket Launching notice:

Primary Day = Saturday, March 13 at ~10:06 UTC.
Backup Day = Sunday, March 14 at ~09:44 UTC.

= Saturday, 13 March 5:06 am EST (EST = UTC - 5 hours)

("Spring Forward" 1 hour at 2:00 am local USA time)

= Sunday, 14 March ~5:44 am EDT. (EDT = UTC - 4 hours)

(UTC doesn't shift for daylight savings or summer time.  The affected time zone does.  It's one of the several reasons to LOVE UTC.)

Gotcha, thought it was the other way around because I thought starlinks got around 20 minutes earlier per delay day.

The mid-inclination Starlink launches get a shade over 21.5 minutes earlier each day in absolute terms, so that's reflected in the time in UTC regardless of an time change.

If there is a time change, local time will be 38.5 minutes later for Spring Forward (what is shown in zubenelgenubi's calculations) or an hour and 21.5 minutes earlier for Fall Back.

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/Raul74Cz/status/1369773958741041152

#Starlink v1.0-L21 mission slipped to NET 14 March 09:44 UTC with #Starlink v1.0-L20 NET 11 March 08:13 UTC, based on issued NOTAMs for pre-launch and launch closures.

[Jansen]

Confirmation from SFN:

Launch time: 0944 GMT (5:44 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

[zubenelgenubi]

This is the next launch, in three days time!

[kdhilliard]

This is the next launch, in three days time!

OCISLY is still in port.  That's her bow on the left of this Fleetcam still.
(Link to start of L17 mission posts regarding the tow chain issue which delayed OCISLY's entrance.)
When would she have to leave port to make that launch date?

[Raul]

Issued NOTMAR messages of launch NET 14 March 09:44 UTC.
Alternative launch days: 15 March 9:24 UTC; 16 March 9:03 UTC; 17 March 8:41 UTC; 18 March 8:20 UTC; 19 March 7:58 UTC; 20 March 7:36 UTC; 21 March 7:15 UTC; 22 March 6:53 UTC

111015Z MAR 21
NAVAREA IV 212/21(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   140839Z TO 141137Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   150819Z TO 151117Z, 160758Z TO 161056Z,
   170736Z TO 171034Z, 180715Z TO 181013Z,
   190653Z TO 190951Z, 200631Z TO 200929Z,
   210610Z TO 210908Z AND 220548Z TO 220846Z MAR
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39-45N 080-38-13W, 29-41-00N 079-27-00W,
      29-29-00N 079-21-00W, 28-32-00N 080-19-00W,
      28-27-23N 080-31-33W.
   B. 31-44-00N 077-14-00W, 33-17-00N 076-03-00W,
      33-31-00N 074-59-00W, 33-10-00N 074-36-00W,
      32-27-00N 074-46-00W, 31-25-00N 076-56-00W.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 205/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 220946Z MAR 21.

111002Z MAR 21
HYDROPAC 785/21(61,75,76).
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 03, DNC 04, DNC 05.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   141048Z TO 141325Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   151028Z TO 151305Z, 161007Z TO 161244Z,
   170945Z TO 171222Z, 180924Z TO 181201Z,
   190902Z TO 191139Z, 200840Z TO 201117Z,
   210819Z TO 211056Z AND 220757Z TO 221034Z MAR
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   29-43S 060-07E, 24-55S 064-27E,
   38-45S 084-30E, 45-12S 099-45E,
   49-46S 119-13E, 50-42S 138-19E,
   48-50S 156-44E, 51-46S 158-08E,
   54-42S 148-32E, 56-20S 131-03E,
   55-52S 107-50E, 49-11S 085-05E,
   34-32S 064-13E.
2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 753/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 221134Z MAR 21.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

L-3 launch weather forecast is 90% GO

[Conexion Espacial]

The droneship is already heading to the recovery zone
https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1370007860072087555

[SPKirsch]

Crosspost

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1370169911197192206

#SpaceXFleet update:

Finn Falgout/JRTI/B1058 has not had an AIS ping. (This is normal- ghost tug I tell ya)

Hawk/OCISLY are well on their way going 7 knots towards the Starlink LZ.

Fairing scoopers Searcher/Navigator are almost to Morehead City to drop off their haul.

[zubenelgenubi]

The LV should be transported to the pad soon, assuming a Static Fire before the March 14 launch.
We're awaiting news of the identity of the first stage.

[RocketLover0119]

Worth noting this mission is getting kinda close to twilight territory. Launch at 5:44 comes about just under 2 hours to sunrise (clock moving forwards changes sunrise time). People along the east coast will have a show put on if the time sticks.

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1370415820891852800

CelesTrak has pre-launch SupTLEs for the #Starlink V1.0-21 launch set for Mar 14 at 0946 UTC. Deployment of 60 satellites is set for 10:51:01.860 UTC: https://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/supplemental/.

[scr00chy]

The LV should be transported to the pad soon, assuming a Static Fire before the March 14 launch.

If it's B1060.6, I suspect they might skip SF. Probably not for B1051.9, though.

[RocketLover0119]

The LV should be transported to the pad soon, assuming a Static Fire before the March 14 launch.

If it's B1060.6, I suspect they might skip SF. Probably not for B1051.9, though.

Recent core 58 static fired before flight and was on its sixth flight.

[AndrewRG10]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1370556528323751938

Targeting Sunday, March 14 at 6:01 a.m. EDT for Falcon 9's next launch of 60 Starlink satellites. The first stage booster supporting this mission has completed eight flights to date http://spacex.com/launches

Looks like B1051 is doing another flight with no static fire

[zubenelgenubi]

Targeting Sunday, March 14 at 6:01 a.m. EDT for Falcon 9's next launch of 60 Starlink satellites. The first stage booster supporting this mission has completed eight flights to date.
http://spacex.com/launches

I wonder why the launch time shifted 17 minutes later?

Edit: USA "springs forward" to Daylight Savings Time at 2 am local time on Sunday, March 14.

6:01 am EDT + 4 hours = 1001 UTC

[Ken the Bin]

SpaceX has updated their Launches webpage for this launch.

[kdhilliard]

I wonder why the launch time shifted 17 minutes later?

Strange.  But a 06:01 a.m. EDT launch time does put it 91 minutes before the Cape's 07:32 sunrise.

Has anyone calculated when and where it should break into sunlight?

The the most recent pre-dawn launch was the L8 Starlink mission on 6 June, 2020 at 05:21 a.m. EDT, 65 minutes before the Cape's sunrise, and that was a couple weeks before the summer solstice, when sunrise became earlier going north.  It broke into the sunlight shortly after stage separation, at about T+03:00, and yielded some great views which can been seen in its thread starting here.  (My favorite -- second tweet.)
* L8 webcast, keyed to stage separation.

Tomorrow's launch is 26 minutes more before sunrise and a couple weeks before the equinox, not the solstice, so that works against it, and I'm doubtful it will put on as good a show for those in Florida.

[Rekt1971]

The website says: "Falcon 9’s fairing previously flew on the Transporter-1 mission." Usually, they say one fairing half, so in this case it could mean that both fairings are reused from Transporter-1.

[CorvusCorax]

A quick first order aproximation. The earth has ~40000 km circumference and turns once in 24 hours. That means in 30 minutes a point on the equator moves by around 833 km.

Cape canaveral is at ~28° latitude, cos(28°) is 0.88 which makes it only 733km.

But it's only 26 minutes, that makes it 635km -- still too far for to make the lightshow visible from the cape

But Stage2 still rises in altitude - stage sep is at aprox 80km altitude - at T+3:00 it's at aprox 85 km.

26 minutes is equivalent to 6.5° earth rotation. tan(6.5°)=h/l - h is tan(6.5°)*635km which is 72km - so the stage is also visible if it's at 85+72= 157 km
this is an altitude it reaches at around T+5:30

however the stage also covers distance in that time. the altitude needed to break sunlight is 72 km- (72/635) km per kilometer traveled
the altitude stage2 reaches is aprox 72/2.5 km/min

during that time stage2 accelerates from 8000 km/h to aprox 12000 km/h, so it moves at aprox 10000 km/h on average, reaching the extra 72km 416 km further downrange - aprox 0 km + (72/416) km per kilometer traveled

so we need to solve 0+(72/416)x=72-(72/635)x

as such the point where stage2 breaks into sunlight would be around 251km further downrange than on the L8 flight - assuming similar trajectory and ignoring some linearization errors

Edit: at around T+4:36 give or take 10 seconds

that's pretty far, but still visible from the launchsite, considering the stage by then is around 85+42= 127km high-ish - but we'll miss the plume separation effects

[scr00chy]

Visual mission profile by ElonX.net

[HVM]

Are UTC time(s) right? I think 6:01 EST is 11:01 UTC (yes but not)

Ok  it's "the second Sunday in March" and Summer time starts in there... (Snowbanks higher than my windowsills don't make me think such things)

[gongora]

Are UTC time(s) right? I think 6:01 EDT is 11:01 UTC

Daylight savings time

[Jansen]

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, March 14 for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The instantaneous window is at 6:01 a.m. EDT, or 10:01 UTC.

The Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting this mission previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s first demonstration mission, RADARSAT Constellation Mission, SXM-7, and five 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. Falcon 9’s fairing previously flew on the Transporter-1 mission.

Taking that to mean both halves. Is this the first dual reuse of a pair together?

[Ken the Bin]

L-1 weather forecast.  90% 'Go' for both Sunday and Monday.

[scr00chy]

Is this the first dual reuse of a pair together?

No, that happens all the time.

https://www.elonx.net/fairing-recovery-attempts/

[Jansen]

Is this the first dual reuse of a pair together?

No, that happens all the time.

https://www.elonx.net/fairing-recovery-attempts/

I can’t find an example of dual reuse of a pair together from the same first flight.

[LandingZone-1]

Is this the first dual reuse of a pair together?

No, that happens all the time.

https://www.elonx.net/fairing-recovery-attempts/

I can’t find an example of dual reuse of a pair together from the same first flight.

Some examples of second flight reuse of both halves:
Starlink v1.0 L1 flew both halves from Arabsat-6A
Starlink v1.0 L5 flew both halves from Starlink v0.9
Starlink v1.0 L6 flew both halves from AMOS-17
Starlink v1.0 L10 flew both halves from Starlink v1.0 L3

[Elthiryel]

Two SpaceX records will be broken if the mission launches on time.

Time between two launches from LC-39A (10d 1h 37m). Previous record: Starlink-13 (V1.0 L12) -> Starlink-14 (V1.0 L13) (12d 00h 56m).

Time between two launches from the same coast (3d 01h 48m). Previous record: Starlink-17 (V1.0 L16) -> Transporter-1 (3d 01h 58m).

edit/gongora: fixed typo

[LandingZone-1]

Two SpaceX records will be broken if the mission launches on time.

Time between two launches from LC-39A (9d 20h 24m). Previous record: Starlink-13 (V1.0 L12) -> Starlink-14 (V1.0 L13) (12d 00h 56m).

Time between two launches from the same coast (3h 01m 48m). Previous record: Starlink-17 (V1.0 L16) -> Transporter-1 (3d 01h 58m).

my count for LC-39A turnaround is 10 days, 1 hour, and 37 minutes. (3/4 08:24 UTC --> 3/14 10:01 UTC)

[Elthiryel]

my count for LC-39A turnaround is 10 days, 1 hour, and 37 minutes. (3/4 08:24 UTC --> 3/14 10:01 UTC)

Yeah, that's right, thanks!

[Ken the Bin]

New NGA notices.  No postponement or anything like that, but they've added an additional launch opportunity on Tuesday, March 16 (emphasis added), launch time ~00:40 UTC.

131917Z MAR 21
NAVAREA IV 221/21(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   140839Z TO 141137Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   150819Z TO 151117Z, 160035Z TO 160213Z,
   160758Z TO 161056Z, 170736Z TO 171034Z,
   180715Z TO 181013Z, 190653Z TO 190951Z,
   200631Z TO 200929Z, 210610Z TO 210908Z
   AND 220548Z TO 220846Z MAR IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39-45N 080-38-13W, 29-41-00N 079-27-00W,
      29-29-00N 079-21-00W, 28-32-00N 080-19-00W,
      28-27-23N 080-31-33W.
   B. 31-44-00N 077-14-00W, 33-17-00N 076-03-00W,
      33-31-00N 074-59-00W, 33-10-00N 074-36-00W,
      32-27-00N 074-46-00W, 31-25-00N 076-56-00W.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 212/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 220946Z MAR 21.

131934Z MAR 21
HYDROPAC 820/21(61,75,76).
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 03, DNC 04, DNC 05.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   141048Z TO 141325Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   151028Z TO 151305Z, 160244Z TO 160401Z,
   161007Z TO 161244Z, 170945Z TO 171222Z,
   180924Z TO 181201Z, 190902Z TO 191139Z,
   200840Z TO 201117Z, 210819Z TO 211056Z
   AND 220757Z TO 221034Z MAR IN AREA BOUND BY
   29-43S 060-07E, 24-55S 064-27E,
   38-45S 084-30E, 45-12S 099-45E,
   49-46S 119-13E, 50-42S 138-19E,
   48-50S 156-44E, 51-46S 158-08E,
   54-42S 148-32E, 56-20S 131-03E,
   55-52S 107-50E, 49-11S 085-05E,
   34-32S 064-13E.
2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 785/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 221134Z MAR 21.

[soltasto]

"Press kit" capture with OCR.
SpaceX page still bugged on Chrome, but today I found out that it works fine on Microsoft Edge which also has a native tool for capturing the whole page. Neat!

[SPKirsch]

https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet/status/1370832482971566084

GO Searcher and GO Navigator departed from Morehead City overnight and are now arriving back at the Starlink LZ for fairing recovery.

[SPKirsch]

https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1370912565618958336

Early tomorrow morning, SpaceX will set a new record with B1051's 9th launch. Pad 39A will be supporting its second launch in just 10 days, also a record.

ARTICLE by Lee Kanayama (@Falcon_1e) and Trevor Sesnic (@124970MeV):
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/03/spacex-starlink-first-booster-fly-nine/

[Jansen]

Livestream starts at 5:20am EDT or 0920 UTC.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/stephenclark1/status/1371018137882267653

Falcon 9 is reflected in a placid Turn Basin this morning at KSC, ready for liftoff at 6:01am EDT.

[zubenelgenubi]

SFN, SpaceX rocket rolls out to pad 39A for next Starlink mission, dated March 13
Launch vehicle transported to pad early Saturday, March 13.

And, Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket poised to loft SpaceX’s next 60 Starlink satellites, dated March 14
Launch vehicle raised Saturday evening.

Also: no Static Fire.

[Jansen]

NSF stream is now live

[vaporcobra]

Go for prop load

[Chris Bergin]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1371029487891189763

[Jansen]

Venting at T-20

[Chris Bergin]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1371033906724679681

[EspenU]

SpaceX stream is live:

[Jansen]

Kate Tice is hosting

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1371036884894425092

Of Course I Still Love You ❤

Spraying down the landing area for landing.

[Jansen]

Vehicle fully loaded

[Jansen]

Liftoff!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1371038992465076225

[Jansen]

Good through Max-Q

[Jansen]

MECo, stage separation, and fairing separation

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1371039734546436096

[Jansen]

Entry burn

[Jansen]

Lost feed during landing

Landing confirmed

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[Jansen]

Nominal orbit insertion

Coverage resumes in about 35 minutes

Around T+44

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Nice pre-launch graphic

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1371036831572238337

SpaceX with Falcon 9 B1051.9's photo album.

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet/status/1371037129183203330

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1371041948321030144

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1371044633220898821

Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral with 60 Starlink satellites at 6:01am this morning.

Record-breaking ninth flight for this Falcon booster!

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/rdanglephoto/status/1371045331476037632

The #Falcon9 flies for a record setting 9th time! 1051 is delivering another batch of #Starlink satellites to orbit, another increase in the constellation for #SpaceX! Looking forward to watching the 10th flight of this booster!

[Jansen]

Video signal issues, but nominal orbit insertion after SES-2

Coverage resumes at T+1:04 for Starlink deployment

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1371050703372877826

[Jansen]

Deployment success

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1371055428600270849

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1371055836802387971

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1371056198376689666

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket left behind a beautiful, artificial noctilucent cloud over the Space Coast this morning after its launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1371046187890053121

Liftoff! And that’s a new record for Falcon 9 reuse! 🚀♻️

After separating from the second stage, which carried the #Starlink satellites, B1051 went on to land for a record 9th time on Of Course I Still Love You. See ya in port!

Mission overview: nasaspaceflight.com/2021/03/spacex…

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Photos from SpaceX website (by Ben Cooper)

[Edit to add: thanks to ChrisC for noting I’d attached the wrong image   Now corrected]

[OneSpeed]

Here is a comparison between the telemetry for Starlink L20 and L21. My only observation would be that from about T+115s to MECO1 L21 was throttled back by a few % compared to L20. To compensate, the terminal guidance phase ran about 3 seconds later, and at a slightly higher throttle. Overall, L21 might have had a slightly less taxing boost phase than for B1051's previous eight missions.

[cscott]

Nice view of the second stage gas nebula from the ground infrared tracking camera again.  This time they kept showing the camera view of a "star" which I'm pretty sure was the first stage.  It could be seen to vent once, but then they cut away just before the re-entry burn startup.

[guyw]

I was able to see the expanded plume from the second stage from my bedroom window here in New Hampshire. Could see it from at least a minute or so before second stage engine cutoff. It expands a lot.
 

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/r2x0t/status/1371054115875348480

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Thanks goes to @uhf_satcom for receiving this signal. We will be listening on 2nd orbit as well.

[ZachF]

By my calculations, Booster 1051 has now lifted more payload mass to orbit than any other booster:

116,722kg F9-1051
102,870kg SA-513 (Skylab)
91,440kg F9-1049

 

[LouScheffer]

Here is a comparison between the telemetry for Starlink L20 and L21. My only observation would be that from about T+115s to MECO1 L21 was throttled back by a few % compared to L20. To compensate, the terminal guidance phase ran about 3 seconds later, and at a slightly higher throttle. Overall, L21 might have had a slightly less taxing boost phase than for B1051's previous eight missions.

It would be interesting to see the difference between two flights of the same booster, perhaps L16 and L21 (both booster 1051).

Another explanation for the throttle down (and this is pure, pure speculation) might be a precautionary backoff.  Suppose each engine has, in addition to red lines, yellow lines for its parameters.   If one of these warning limits  is reached, they throttle back the engine to (say) 70%, smack in the middle of its operating region.  This is then compensated in the terminal guidance phase.  Such a throttle-down would have much less effect on the trajectory than a complete shutdown, but still be safer then continuing to run at full power and risking a failure than might hurt other engines.  This behavior would correspond to how we treat machines in our daily life, and SpaceX might have enough data on these engines to make this formal.

We know from acceleration on GTO flights that they run the second stage engine at about 70% for the GTO insertion.  I always assumed that this was because the engine was a single point of failure, and they wanted to run it at its most reliable setting. (And there are no gravity losses, and little Obereth losses since the burn is very short anyway.)

[Herb Schaltegger]

We know from acceleration on GTO flights that they run the second stage engine at about 70% for the GTO insertion.  I always assumed that this was because the engine was a single point of failure, and they wanted to run it at its most reliable setting. (And there are no gravity losses, and little Obereth losses since the burn is very short anyway.)

Payloads also have G limits and frankly, Mvac is almost over-powered for a relatively small second stage.

[zubenelgenubi]

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Wow! That is an almost empty 2nd stage LOX tank!
Also, liquid oxygen is lovely. 

[overby]

Nice view of the launch this morning from the Boston, MA area. Sunrise was about an hour after launch, and the sun illuminated the exhaust cloud and the stage.  I was able to see the stage even after burn-out. The only previous Falcon launch I've seen (GPS III last year) was in much darker skies and the 2nd stage disappeared when it shut down.

Glen

[punder]

A new (IR?) camera used in the last two launches, unless I’m behind the times. Great shots of both stages and both fairing halves, awesome 2nd stage plume, but on both flights commentators seem curiously uninterested.

[abaddon]

A new (IR?) camera used in the last two launches, unless I’m behind the times. Great shots of both stages and both fairing halves, awesome 2nd stage plume, but on both flights commentators seem curiously uninterested.

Maybe they've had these views available internally for longer than the last two flights.  I agree, they're very interesting to see.

[Comga]

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Wow! That is an almost empty 2nd stage LOX tank!
Also, liquid oxygen is lovely. 

Images from the LOX tanks are among my favorites
Is this from after the orbital insertion (2nd) burn?
What keeps the LOX so intact and stuck to the act end in 0g?

[Tommyboy]

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Wow! That is an almost empty 2nd stage LOX tank!
Also, liquid oxygen is lovely. 

Images from the LOX tanks are among my favorites
Is this from after the orbital insertion (2nd) burn?
What keeps the LOX so intact and stuck to the act end in 0g?

Considering the assymetrical pooling, this is propable during the yeet-maneuver in which the stage is spinning head over heels, and thus not in 0g.

[kdhilliard]

...
Considering the assymetrical pooling, this is propable during the yeet-maneuver in which the stage is spinning head over heels, and thus not in 0g.

That would make sense, except you can see from the exterior shots (either those in which the Earth is visible, or those where you can see non-moving shadows on the Merlin) that it is not yet in its flat spin.

So I guess it must be surface tension, but I'm surprised there aren't some LOX globules floating about.

[ChrisC]

Photos from SpaceX website (by Ben Cooper)

Really?  The first one says Stephen Marr on it.  Wrong photo attached?  Or is Stephen helping out Ben?

A new (IR?) camera used in the last two launches, unless I’m behind the times. Great shots of both stages and both fairing halves, awesome 2nd stage plume, but on both flights commentators seem curiously uninterested.

Absolutely, this view that we have been seeing in the last two launches is fantastic.  I agree that they should be commenting on it more (e.g. explain why four dots) and then keep tracking (and showing us) the first stage as it enters.  Maybe put up three screens (S1+S1+S2) instead of just two (S1+S2).

[From r00t tweet]
Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Wait WHAT?!  They are able to downlink and decode the SpaceX telemetry?  That's new, and I sure hope it's OK, and continues!  I could see how this might violate ITAR and SpaceX has to now start encrypting their feed.  Or has to improve their encryption

There's a lot more explanation here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/m4xbvc/so_today_at_1021utc_i_got_my_own_recording_of/
... starting with this summary:

So today at 10:21UTC i got my own recording of Falcon9 video feed downlink on S band 2272.5MHz and with u/Aang253's software SatDump i could easily decode it from the recording straight down to mxf, avi or mp4 video file! Even with very simple recieving setup!

And here's their writeup on what they've learned about the SW2 telemetry downlink:
https://www.r00t.cz/Sats/Falcon9

Considering the assymetrical pooling, this is propable during the yeet-maneuver in which the stage is spinning head over heels, and thus not in 0g.

Thanks for that, I was also wondering why we weren't seeing free-floating liquid.  Extremely cool.

[Robotbeat]

It either isn't ITAR violating or it was *always* ITAR-violating as "adversaries" have easy access to better radio equipment than amateurs.

[Comga]

...
Considering the assymetrical pooling, this is propable during the yeet-maneuver in which the stage is spinning head over heels, and thus not in 0g.

That would make sense, except you can see from the exterior shots (either those in which the Earth is visible, or those where you can see non-moving shadows on the Merlin) that it is not yet in its flat spin.

So I guess it must be surface tension, but I'm surprised there aren't some LOX globules floating about.

Perhaps the second stage is venting slightly off axis and generating a fraction of a milli-gee but not torque and rotation.
edit: venting as in ulage before a deorbit burn. It appears to be serving that purpose.

[ulm_atms]

https://twitter.com/r2x0t/status/1371054115875348480

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Thanks goes to @uhf_satcom for receiving this signal. We will be listening on 2nd orbit as well.

Wow....they don't leave much margin do they?    That's what...a few seconds from the depletion sensor being triggered?  I've seen LOX tank pics but not with the bottom center baffle uncovered....

[edkyle99]

https://twitter.com/r2x0t/status/1371054115875348480

Freshly received #SpaceX #Falcon9 video, enjoy these incredible shots!

Thanks goes to @uhf_satcom for receiving this signal. We will be listening on 2nd orbit as well.

Wow....they don't leave much margin do they?    That's what...a few seconds from the depletion sensor being triggered?  I've seen LOX tank pics but not with the bottom center baffle uncovered....

At this point in the life of the v1.2 Falcon 9, they don't need a lot of margin.  They have a lot of flight data that builds confidence.  They can cut residuals to the bone.  They only need one second of Vacuum Merlin restart for Starlink, plus a bit for deorbit.  They obviously cut it very close for deorbit because there have been a couple of stages that failed to deorbit as planned.  At any rate, there's a sump that is full of LOX here probably, plus the piping, which itself holds quite a bit.

 - Ed Kyle

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1371258068617543680

B1051-9 has been secured and OCISLY droneship is en-route to Port Canaveral, following this morning's launch. ETA Tue/Wed (Subject to change)

GO Searcher and Navigator are also underway after completing fairing recovery ops.

[CorvusCorax]

Difference between an empty LOX tank and a "really empty" LOX tank (with some floating drops)
If I understand correctly this was 2nd pass, so after payload sep

screenshot attached

https://twitter.com/r2x0t/status/1371086899645968386

[Jansen]

B1051-9 has been secured and OCISLY droneship is en-route to Port Canaveral, following this morning's launch. ETA Tue/Wed (Subject to change)

That’s really fast! Usually it takes a day to secure the booster and get underway.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

It either isn't ITAR violating or it was *always* ITAR-violating as "adversaries" have easy access to better radio equipment than amateurs.

I think it must be the former, as SpaceX have shown live tank shots multiple times. If they hadn’t I wouldn’t have been comfortable posting it here.
(Contrary to appearances, I don’t post everything I see on-line!  )

[su27k]

Unexpected 'parabola of light' over NC this morning was SpaceX satellite launch

People across the Triangle were surprised by an unexpected phenomenon in the skies over NC on Sunday morning.

Phone calls, pictures and videos poured in from WRAL viewers, as people sent images of a large parabola of light moving across the skies around 6:10 a.m.

Some called it space debris. Others referred to it as a meteor. Still others reported "possible aliens."

[Steven Pietrobon]

Here's a better screen grab of the LOX tank.

[OneSpeed]

It would be interesting to see the difference between two flights of the same booster, perhaps L16 and L21 (both booster 1051).

It's a little hard to read with all the noise in the acceleration values, but here are the B1051 boost phase plots for L3, L16 and L21.

[Citabria]

It's a little hard to read with all the noise in the acceleration values, but here are the B1051 boost phase plots for L3, L16 and L21.

Have you tried smoothing the acceleration values? Or differentiating over a longer delta-time to reduce noise?

I don't know how you are calculating acceleration but, for example, instead of An = (Vn - Vn-1) / (Tn - Tn-1) you could use (Vn+1 - Vn-1) / (Tn+1 - Tn-1) or (Vn+2 - Vn-2) / (Tn+2 - Tn-2) or such. There are even more sophisticated FIR differentiating filters which use various coefficients in summing Ci * Vn+i for several values of i.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1371604368701669380

SpaceX recovery fleet status as of March 15th!

Expecting lots of arrivals tomorrow. GO Searcher/Navigator are due after 6:30am ET with the fairing.

OCISLY and B1051-9 are due after 11am ET (Likely mid-afternoon)

Support my work: ko-fi.com/spacexfleet

[FutureSpaceTourist]

GO Searcher has returned one fairing half. There were some Fleetcam issues, so here’s a distant shot

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet/status/1371821595988258822

Both halves appear viable

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/kyle_m_photo/status/1371915561500880898

B1051.9 can be seen on the horizon. #SpaceXFleet #SpaceX

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1371961092549791745

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/johnpisaniphoto/status/1371967371607441411

https://twitter.com/johnpisaniphoto/status/1371975013625126913

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/gregscott_photo/status/1372243211608072192

A NEW RECORD: 2 boosters (1051-9 & 1058.6), 1 droneship OCISLY, 1 Fairing half, 2 practice Dragon Capsules, 2 fairing ships (Chief & Tree) & Go Quest all together for 1 port shot I got today from above. Its never happened before & maybe never happen again. #SpaceX #NASA @elonmusk

https://twitter.com/gregscott_photo/status/1372243657789739012

A few more pics from this mornings helicopter ride.

[SPKirsch]

B1051 was flying over the stand.
Now next to the stand.

EDIT: Finally on the stand.

[SPKirsch]

B1051 now leaving Port Canaveral.