A Falcon Heavy side booster, block 3, makes an appearance with the first block 5.
I am really hoping for some core movement now the Bangabandhu launch was successful. 1048 should be finished by now, might even have been ready for some time even. Who knows..1047 for sure has been much longer at McGregor then expected, so not sure what might be the hold up. Some possibilities (pure speculation):- They want to first dissect 1046- They we’re waiting for a successful launch- NASA requires them to proof 1047 to be exactly identically build like 1046 and that requires a lot of additional inspection at McGregorAnyone with maybe some other ideas?Anyway, keep an eye out for cores being transported...
Yes, it [Iridium-7] will be Block 5.
Some new info from Matt Desch:QuoteYes, it [Iridium-7] will be Block 5.Source: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995693917717827585EDIT: He doesn't know the core numberSource: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995761202440663045So what core can it be...
Quote from: IanThePineapple on 05/13/2018 08:22 pmSome new info from Matt Desch:QuoteYes, it [Iridium-7] will be Block 5.Source: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995693917717827585EDIT: He doesn't know the core numberSource: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995761202440663045So what core can it be... Not really new info. It was already expected to be a new Block 5.
Quote from: gongora on 05/13/2018 08:45 pmQuote from: IanThePineapple on 05/13/2018 08:22 pmSome new info from Matt Desch:QuoteYes, it [Iridium-7] will be Block 5.Source: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995693917717827585EDIT: He doesn't know the core numberSource: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995761202440663045So what core can it be... Not really new info. It was already expected to be a new Block 5.It's a confirmation, though.If someone confirmed it was Block 5 before, I must have missed it, sorry.
Quote from: IanThePineapple on 05/13/2018 09:23 pmQuote from: gongora on 05/13/2018 08:45 pmQuote from: IanThePineapple on 05/13/2018 08:22 pmSome new info from Matt Desch:QuoteYes, it [Iridium-7] will be Block 5.Source: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995693917717827585EDIT: He doesn't know the core numberSource: https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/995761202440663045So what core can it be... Not really new info. It was already expected to be a new Block 5.It's a confirmation, though.If someone confirmed it was Block 5 before, I must have missed it, sorry.This is the second time Desch confirmed it.
Could you please link the picture of it on L2 for those of us who have access to it and are lazy? xDBtw, B1048 has been spotted heading to McGregor on the I-20 in Abilene, TX.https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/just-saw-a-falcon-9-passing-through-jal-nm.117355/#post-2796450
Quote from: Alexphysics on 06/10/2018 06:04 pmCould you please link the picture of it on L2 for those of us who have access to it and are lazy? xDBtw, B1048 has been spotted heading to McGregor on the I-20 in Abilene, TX.https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/just-saw-a-falcon-9-passing-through-jal-nm.117355/#post-2796450He said it was heading west in a later reply. That would mean that it's leaving McGregor and heading to Vandenberg for Iridium-7.
It happens a lot that people mix East and West. It actually happens everytime there's a sighting of a core and it's unlikely there's a core now heading to Vandy since 1047 has already left McGregor towards the Cape. The best guess is that this is 1048 being transported from Hawthorne to McGregor and the poster just made that mistake. It would be nice to ask him again about where it was heading. Anyways, the opening of the post (and the picture) says he saw it in Jal, New Mexico and that by 9am the booster was spotted on the I-20 in Abilene, Texas (that's what he actually says on the message I posted), so it was clearly moving east, not west.
SpaceX’s third Block 5 rocket heads to Texas test site as launch marathon nearsA SpaceX Falcon 9 – almost certainly the third Block 5 booster to leave the company’s factory – was spotted passing through New Mexico on the last leg of its trip from California to Texas. Although the shipment is a great sign, it begs the question of how exactly SpaceX plans to launch its next six launches penciled in for July and August.
QuoteSpaceX’s third Block 5 rocket heads to Texas test site as launch marathon nearsA SpaceX Falcon 9 – almost certainly the third Block 5 booster to leave the company’s factory – was spotted passing through New Mexico on the last leg of its trip from California to Texas. Although the shipment is a great sign, it begs the question of how exactly SpaceX plans to launch its next six launches penciled in for July and August.https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-9-block-5-texas-static-fire-tests/
After conducting routine static fire testing in McGregor, the booster spotted on Monday – B1048 – will likely be shipped West to Vandenberg Air Force Base for the first West coast Block 5 launch in mid-July. B1047, the second Block 5 booster to leave SpaceX’s Hawthorne factory, was spotted miles from Cape Canaveral, FL near the end of May, while B1046‘s early May launch marked the debut of Falcon 9 Block 5 and was expected to undergo several months of disassembly and analysis to ensure the rocket upgrade was functioning as intended. Based on previous patterns, the fourth Block 5 Falcon 9 booster – B1049 – should not be expected to ship from the factory to McGregor until late June or early July. Finally, the last orbital Block 4 booster (B1045) will conduct its second and final launch in the last few days of June, currently NET June 29.Put simply, B1049 is unlikely to arrive at its first launch site until mid or late July and can thus be taken out of the July running. B1045 will be (presumably) expended after launch, also taking it out of the running for future launches. B1048 will almost certainly travel to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) for its first launch in July, effectively ruling out its availability for other July and August launches. Furthermore, Iridium’s CEO Matt Desch has stated that both Iridium-7 and Iridium-8 are expected to launch on unflown boosters. Fundamentally, this leaves two Block 5 boosters readily available for four loosely scheduled July and August launches on the East Coast.Focusing on July’s schedule as it currently stands, B1047 would be required to launch two high-energy geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions in as few as two weeks. The nature of drone ship recoveries would cut the time available between the booster’s return to port and its second static fire to perhaps 5-10 days. In other words, there would be almost no time whatsoever for refurbishment, at least compared to the current prospective record of B1045, roughly 70 days between launches.