SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 5-1 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 28 December 2022 (09:34 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

Thread for the Starlink 5-1 group launch.

NSF Threads for Starlink 5-1: Discussion

Launch December 28, 2022, 09:34 UTC (4:34 am EST), from Canaveral SLC-40, on booster 1062-11.  First stage landing aboard A Shortfall of Gravitas is successful.

Main payload: 54 Starlink v1.5 satellites, also the Starlink upgraded network Flight 1.

Rideshare passengers:
D-Orbit ION?

Going to a mid-inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory.  Initial orbit is 212 x 338 km at 43 degrees.

Starlink v1.5 satellite mass is about 300 kg.

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

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post :

1825-EX-ST-2022
Mission 1923 Starlink Group 5-1 from Cape Canaveral FL at LC-40 CCAFS or LC-39a at KSC,
NET end of November [30]

I wonder if they may have put the wrong ship coordinates, unless Group 5 is something different than we expected.
North  25  36  35   West  74  47  47

Unless I missed an update, Group 5 is assigned to the same altitude and inclination as Group 3. The difference between them is the number of orbital planes (6 for group 3, 4 for group 5) and the number of satellites per plane (58 for group 3, 43 for group 5).

[kevin-rf]

It is similar to the descending node Starlink 4-9 (24°24'15.0"N 76°20'28.0"W) and 4-15 (24°38'38.0"N 75°02'33.0"W) launches.

Assuming it's not a typo, is it to replenish shell 1?

[zubenelgenubi]

Confirmation:

NextSpaceFlight, updated December 12:
Launch NET January 2023

Launch could easily be later than January, given the busy launch schedule at both Florida launch complexes.

Previously, this launch, and others, appeared to be NET 2023, as other launches had firmer launch dates in December.  Then the HAKUTO-R launch was delayed by two weeks.

SFN, SpaceX launches Dragon cargo ship to deliver new solar arrays to space station, November 26:

The launch Saturday was the 54th SpaceX mission so far in 2022. SpaceX aims to launch around a half-dozen Falcon 9 rockets from Florida and California by the end of December to reach the company’s goal of 60 missions this year.

The next Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 30, carrying a commercial lunar lander into space for the Japanese company ispace. The privately-developed spacecraft will attempt to become the first commercial mission to make a soft landing on the moon next year.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

Starlink 2-2 takes Transporter-6's place in the SLC-40 launch queue:
Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated late in the day December 14:

A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on late December.

Before or after Christmas? 🎄

Starlink 2-2 slipped to January and it's Starlink 5-1 that's planned for late December (specifically Dec 28), as per Spaceflight Now and Next Spaceflight.

Yes, the new information was posted in the hours between my post and scroochy's reply.

NextSpaceFlight, updated December 15:
Launch December 28 3:19 am EST = 08:19 UTC, from SLC-40.

[zubenelgenubi]

What first stage will launch this flight?

Available first stages and most recent landing date:
1052.8    Sep 5 (last use before modifications to return to a Falcon Heavy side booster to launch ViaSat-3 Americas NET January)
1060.15  Oct 8
1062.11  Oct 20
1076.2    Nov 26
1069.5    Dec 8 (maybe?)

Edit Dec 19: It's 1062.11.

[gongora]

Looking at recent filings and press releases, this could be the first Gen2 launch and could be a rideshare mission.

SpaceX made a filing (SAT-STA-20221215-00174) for its VHF tracking beacons on the gen2 sats (the beacon transmissions haven't been approved yet) and mentioned launches starting this month.

D-Orbit put out a press release yesterday saying they have an ION launching to mid-inclination orbit in Q4-2022, and will be operating at 270km.

SpaceX also made filings for its user terminals to connect to gen2 sats, and for Swarm's VHF ground stations to receive the VHF tracking beacons.

Also looks like they're going back to the southeastern trajectory for the winter months?

[jackvancouver]

Polar does make sense for the T-mobile "Anywhere on earth" pitch. Could that have been a reason why polar was chosen first? (assuming it's according to the original V1.5 shell plan)

Or is it more like Shell 2?

[scr00chy]

D-Orbit put out a press release yesterday saying they have an ION launching to mid-inclination orbit in Q4-2022, and will be operating at 270km.

Not sure how this fits. Group 5 launches are polar, not "mid-inclination". Unless the presence of V2 sats means the shell designation doesn't apply anymore and this mission isn't actually going to be launching to a polar orbit.

Which FCC licence would these F9-V2 sats be operated under anyway? Because the new V2 licence doesn't have a shell that corresponds to the old V1 Group 5.

[Alexphysics]

Not sure how this fits. Group 5 launches are polar, not "mid-inclination". Unless the presence of V2 sats means the shell designation doesn't apply anymore and this mission isn't actually going to be launching to a polar orbit.

The thing is this launch isn't going to polar orbit, the landing coordinates for the barge match the ones they used for southeast launches of shell 4 missions, so this is a mid inclination launch to a roughly 53° orbital inclination launch. There aren't three shells at 53° orbital inclination on the first generation constellation. This mission was already weird when the FCC launch and landing permits came out and kept being weird when subsequent Group 5 missions kept being pretty much the same. This being Starlink v2 sats would pretty much explain all of that weirdness

[kevin-rf]

The other option is they decided to name Shell 1 replenishment missions 5-x.

[jackvancouver]

It is confusing how they're going to fill out the rest of the polar sats but they're for sure at some point going to put more Group 2 70 degree satellites.

[r1279]

Group 5 launches are polar, not "mid-inclination". Unless the presence of V2 sats means the shell designation doesn't apply anymore...

The 5th row (shell) in the table describing the 2nd Gen orbital configuration is 53° at 525km.  So perhaps just an overlapping / confusing [or as suggested deprecated] reference?

[crandles57]

When will droneship have to leave? Fairly early on 25th? Happy Christmas 

[pb2000]

When will droneship have to leave? Fairly early on 25th? Happy Christmas 

Ah yes, sailor, the one profession guaranteed to always be home for the stat holidays.

[OceanCat]

D-Orbit put out a press release yesterday saying they have an ION launching to mid-inclination orbit in Q4-2022, and will be operating at 270km.

Not sure how this fits. Group 5 launches are polar, not "mid-inclination". Unless the presence of V2 sats means the shell designation doesn't apply anymore and this mission isn't actually going to be launching to a polar orbit.

Gen1 Group 5 name was assumed based on a table in the submitted pdf file. But that's just an assumption. The orbits described in the gen1 mdb file have only four shells. Shell 3 has 10 planes in the mdb file.

[zubenelgenubi]

Time change for launch?
Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated December 18:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on December 28 around 5 a.m. EST.

= ~10:00 UTC
Circa 2 hours later

Will the upper atmosphere be illuminated while the ground is still in darkness?  There may be a pre-dawn light show for those to the southeast of the Cape.

[ZachS09]

Time change for launch?
Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide, updated December 18:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on December 28 around 5 a.m. EST.

= ~10:00 UTC
Circa 2 hours later

Will the upper atmosphere be illuminated while the ground is still in darkness?  There may be a pre-dawn light show for those to the southeast of the Cape.

It's WAY too early for the twilight phenomenon at that time in the morning.

Per https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/, sunrise will be at 7:14 AM EST (12:14 UTC). Coordinates are 28.5619578, -80.5771995.

It'd have to be at least 6:30 AM EST (10:30 UTC) for the twilight phenomenon to happen.

[crandles57]

Per https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7035

1062.11 for this launch

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1604883505153990656

Guess the booster!

Another Falcon 9 rolls from HangarX to the launch pad, passing the KSC press site

nsf.live/spacecoast