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SpaceX Falcon Missions Section / Re: SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 9-7 : VSFB SLC-4E : NET 15 October 2024 ~08:03 UTC

« Last post by Ken the Bin on Today at 04:01 am »

Preliminary information from CelesTrak. Note the "Launch window" line, which is an indication that the information did not come from SpaceX even though it says that it was provided by SpaceX.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

Starlink G9-7 Pre-Launch
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G9-7 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.
Launch: 2024-10-15 08:03:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-10-15 09:04:19.900 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-10-15 08:03:00 UTC to 2024-10-15 12:03:00 UTC.

22

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: What happens if it rains, are the heat tiles on Starship waterproof?

« Last post by abaddon on Today at 03:36 am »

The problem of how to waterproof was solved a long time ago.  How to make that waterproofing survive re-entry and be reusable has not, but that’s not going to be a problem until they can actually recover a Starship.

23

General Discussion / Re: ASCAN and Unassigned Astronaut training info and activities

« Last post by ddspaceman on Today at 03:33 am »

Pablo Álvarez
@Astro_Pablo_A
GT:
Looking forward to the launch of Starship in a few hours!

https://twitter.com/Astro_Pablo_A/status/1845299293478965461

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SpaceX Starship Program / Re: What happens if it rains, are the heat tiles on Starship waterproof?

« Last post by SpaceManJoe on Today at 03:22 am »

So Starship has been sitting outside in the open air for days now, has it been rained on? I mean they're going to launch out of Florida where it rains all the time. Have they really solved this problem? I wish someone would just ask Elon Musk.

25

SpaceX Facilities and Fleets / Re: SpaceX Vandenberg SFB facilities

« Last post by RedLineTrain on Today at 03:20 am »

What is the impact of the 36 flight restriction? Were those extra 14 flights mostly Starlink launches? If so, will SpaceX now reduce DoD launches to still get their Starlink polar-orbit sats in orbit?

No.  There will be no impact.  The Space Force will just finalize the 50-launch assessment without the Coastal Commission's concurrence.  Note that there was no impact to SpaceX's rapid launch tempo even when everybody figured out that SpaceX had already busted through the earlier limits and they had to redo the concurrence for the 36 launch limit.

In any event, both the 36 flight and 50 flight restrictions are just markers on the way to a 100 launch restriction.  So we can expect the Space Force to allow up to 50 flights this year and then request to the California Coastal Commission for a higher launch rate maybe mid-next year.   And then the Coastal Commission will have the opportunity to display its wonderfulness all over again.

26

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: Starship Flight 5 UPDATES : Starbase TX : NET 13 Oct 2024

« Last post by Steven Pietrobon on Today at 03:11 am »

PDF of updated press kit and link to X livestream.

https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RDGlyognOgJL

27

Other US Launchers / Re: US Launch Schedule

« Last post by Salo on Today at 02:54 am »

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/ssc-two-new-missions-tactically-responsive-space/

Tactically Responsive Space Missions to Demo Maneuver in Orbit
Oct. 4, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The Space Force’s “Victus” series, aimed at showing the service can respond to new developments in orbit on tactically relevant timelines, gained steam Oct. 4 with the announcement of two new missions in 2026.

Victus Surgo and Victus Salo, as the new missions are called, will offer new wrinkles to the “Tactically Responsive Space” (TacRS) effort by testing a new system for maneuvering in orbit and aiming not just at low-Earth orbit but geosynchronous orbit as well.

Both missions will be focused on space domain awareness.

Space Systems Command announced it inked a $34.5 million contract with Impulse Space, a startup founded by one of the first employees of SpaceX, for the two missions.

Each mission will send a spacecraft using Impulse’s ‘Mira’ Orbital Maneuver Vehicle (OMV), a propulsion system that provides swift “last-mile delivery” to carry payloads into space. After being launched into space, the OMV helps adjust or reposition the payload. The vehicle is designed to carry the payload up through LEO, MEO, GEO, or even to cislunar space.

“We are continuing to push the boundary to prove out how to quickly deliver on the warfighters’ urgent needs,” Col. Bryon McClain, SSC’s program executive officer for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power, said in a release.

Victus Surgo includes a commercial off-the-shelf optical payload—often referring to a type of imaging system—carried by the OMV. Additionally, the mission will see Impulse’s first use of its ‘Helios’ technology.

The imaging system will initially be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)—a pathway to reach GEO. Once in GTO, the Helios will separate from the rocket and provide additional propulsion to help maneuver the spacecraft all the way up to GEO. The Helios vehicle can lift more than 5 tons of payload from LEO to GEO in less than a day, according to the company’s description.

Once in GEO, the OMV will help the optical payload readjust to its final position. The Defense Innovation Unit is co-sponsoring this mission and will add its own payload or equipment to the Helios system.

Victus Salo, on the other hand, will be launched into LEO on one of SpaceX’s rideshare rockets. It will carry a government-provided payload developed by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. SSC did not immediately provide any further information on the payload’s type or capabilities.

“Victus Surgo and Victus Salo will offer more responsive solutions to address urgent on-orbit needs,” said Lt. Col. Kahoa Miller, SSC’s materiel leader for Space Safari.

The projected launch timeframe for Surgo is “late summer/early fall of 2026,” while Salo is scheduled tentatively for the fall timeframe of 2026, an SSC spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The spokesperson added that the exact launch dates are “still being coordinated and finalized.” The project is set to be completed by no later than December 2026.

The Victus series is part of the service’s broader “Tactically Responsive Space” (TacRS) initiative, aimed at drastically reducing the time it takes to launch payloads and improve readiness in response to potential threats.

“The commercial space industry is delivering products we need to provide highly capable options for future TacRS operations,” added Miller.

Last September, the Space Force set records with Victus Nox, deploying a satellite in LEO just 27 hours after receiving launch orders. Next up is an effort Victus Haze, a dual effort that Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman wants to go even faster than Victus Nox. Budget documents have also suggested another mission, Victus Sol, after that.

Victus Surgo marks the first TacRS mission deployed into GTO, with the final destination intended for GEO, the spokesperson added.

“The collaboration with Impulse, MIT LL, and many others further enables our ability to rapidly integrate, deploy, and operate on tactically relevant timelines,” added McClain about the two newly announced Victus missions.

Impulse Space was founded in 2021 by Tom Mueller, a former SpaceX engineer known for his work on propulsion systems. Early this year, the company welcomed retired Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, former Chief of Space Operations to its board of directors.

https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Portals/3/FINAL%20FOR%20POSTING%20ONLINE%20-VICTUS%20SURGO%20and%20VICTUS%20SALO%20Release%20%28Oct%203%2C%202024%29.pdf

28

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: Starship Flight 5 DISCUSSION : Starbase TX : NET 13 Oct 2024

« Last post by chalz on Today at 02:39 am »

Just seeing the licence update posts but am I correct in thinking that any booster catch anomoly is not part of the damage exceptions so is grounds to revoke the licence until addressed?
Am I then correct in interpreting that as SpaceX being confident in the catch? Or confidence in the landing abort?
Or does it mean that the consequences of faliure are too great to excuse it?

29

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: Starship Flight 5 DISCUSSION : Starbase TX : NET 13 Oct 2024

« Last post by abaddon on Today at 02:36 am »

With the Starship reentry/landing seeming to be slightly more biased to the eastern part of the Indian Ocean,  is it likely we might see a daylight (or at least evening) landing?

Cheers,   RcT

Flight 4 was dark the whole way down, other than re-entry plasma, so I would guess no.

30

SpaceX Starship Program / Re: Starship Flight 5 DISCUSSION : Starbase TX : NET 13 Oct 2024

« Last post by RcTeller on Today at 02:33 am »

With the Starship reentry/landing seeming to be slightly more biased to the eastern part of the Indian Ocean,  is it likely we might see a daylight (or at least evening) landing?

Cheers,   RcT