Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : Iridium NEXT Flight 5 : March 30, 2018 : Vandenberg - UPDATES  (Read 85900 times)

Offline Chris Bergin

UPDATES ONLY THREAD for Flight 5 of the Iridium NEXT missions.

Flight 5 is expected March 30, 2018 at 07:14:51 PDT (14:13:51 UTC) on a reused Falcon 9 (1041.2) from SLC-4 at Vandenberg.

   Flight 5 will send all of its satellites into plane 1.

   NSF Threads for Iridium NEXT Flight 5: Discussion / Updates / L2 Coverage / ASDS / Party
   NSF Articles for Iridium NEXT Flight 5: 
      [Jan. 22, 2018] Iridium-5 to launch in March; government shutdown creates manifest uncertainty



See the Flight 1 Discussion Thread for more information and links to other Iridium Next threads and articles.

General information for Iridium flights 1-5 & 7-8
   Payload Mass: 8600kg for 10 satellites + 1000kg for dispenser = 9600kg
   Launch orbit: 625km, 86.66 degrees
   Operational orbit: 778km, 86.4 degrees

81 Satellites will be built for Iridium NEXT, with 66 being needed for a fully operational constellation.  All of the satellites will carry ADS-B aviation tracking hosted payloads for Aireon, and 60 of the satellites will carry AIS maritime tracking hosted payloads for exactEarth.



Other SpaceX resources on NASASpaceflight:
   SpaceX News Articles (Recent)  /   SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews)
   SpaceX Dragon Articles  /  SpaceX Missions Section (with Launch Manifest and info on past and future missions)
   L2 SpaceX Section
« Last Edit: 03/29/2018 02:12 pm by gongora »
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Offline Chris Bergin

SpaceX: Iridium-5 to launch in March; government shutdown creates manifest uncertainty -
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/01/spacex-iridium-5-launch-shutdown-manifest-uncertainty/

- by Chris Gebhardt:

Iridium element was embargoed until the top of the hour (as in now).
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Online gongora

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Iridium Announces Date for Fifth Iridium® NEXT Launch

First Iridium launch of 2018 set to begin rapid launch cadence targeting completion by mid-year
 
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that the fifth Iridium NEXT launch has been targeted by SpaceX for March 18, 2018 at 8:19 am PDT (15:19 UTC) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The first of four launches planned for 2018, Iridium-5 will deliver 10 more Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit, bringing the total number of new satellites deployed to 50. This launch will use the same Falcon 9 first stage as the Iridium-3 launch that took place in October 2017 and begin a rapid-cadence launch schedule targeting completion of the Iridium manifest by mid-2018.

“We are entering the home stretch,” said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, at Iridium. “This is going to be a monumental year for us as we complete our constellation refresh. In addition to four launches, we will continue the testing and validation processes for our new specialty broadband service, Iridium CertusSM, and look forward to its commercial launch later this year. We consider 2017 to be a great success and anticipate this year to be even better.”

The Iridium network is comprised of six polar orbiting planes, each containing 11 operational crosslinked satellites, for a total of 66 satellites in the active constellation. The Iridium-5 launch will deliver the new satellites to orbital plane 1, where all 10 will go directly into service after testing and validation.  Following Iridium-5, the Iridium-6 Rideshare mission is targeted for mid-to-late April.  The Rideshare will carry five Iridium NEXT satellites and the twin satellites for the NASA/German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission. The final four launches will bring a total of 35 new satellites to space, completing the constellation of 66 operational satellites and 9 in-orbit spares.

Iridium NEXT is the company's $3 billion, next-generation, mobile, global satellite network scheduled for completion in 2018. The constellation features 66 active satellites, plus nine on-orbit spares. In total, 81 new satellites are being built, with the six remaining satellites serving as ground spares. Iridium NEXT will replace the company's existing global constellation in one of the largest technology upgrades ever completed in space.  It represents the evolution of critical communications infrastructure that governments and organizations worldwide rely on to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more.

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com

Offline Chris Bergin

SpaceX:

HAWTHORNE, Calif. – Feb. 15, 2018. Media accreditation is now open for SpaceX's Iridium-5 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The launch is targeted for no earlier than March 20.

A flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications.
« Last Edit: 02/15/2018 09:54 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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For @IridiumComm, if @SpaceX launches today OK as planned, the 5th IRDM 10-sat Falcon 9 launch should occur on March 29. Then 6th F9 launch end-April.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/966668323093086209

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Something else to look forward to with this Iridium launch:

Quote
when's the next attempt to recover a fairing with Mr. Steven?
https://twitter.com/DMOberhaus/status/966695503911116804

Quote
About a month
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966695975132610560

Offline niwax

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Something else to look forward to with this Iridium launch:

Quote
when's the next attempt to recover a fairing with Mr. Steven?
https://twitter.com/DMOberhaus/status/966695503911116804

Quote
About a month
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966695975132610560

If they really get a shot at recovery about once a month that six months to successful fairing recovery might not be too far off.
Which booster has the most soot? SpaceX booster launch history! (discussion)

Online gongora

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Tweet from Peter B. de Selding:
Quote
For @IridiumComm @IridiumBoss, liftoff of @spacex means we can start moving our sats into the VAFB facility starting tomorrow.

Offline WheelsStop

Quoting from the discussion thread, because this feels like an update.  I am a little suspicious however, as this is exactly 1 hour offset from the March 18 launch time in last months press release

Edit: no longer suspicious; it looks like the Iridium launch plane precesses at a rate of about 5.5 min/day:

Tweets:
Quote
Tagnan:
@IridiumBoss approximately what time will Iridium 5 launch at? Close to sunset/sunrise or no?

Matt Desch:
7:20am pst.  That’s about 25 minutes after sunrise.  Hard to terrorize Southern California that way, but we’ll do our best...

Dark Energy:
It is PST or PDT? I think you change the clocks on the 11th there in America, right?

Matt Desch:
How ‘bout we do it this way?:  14:19:49 UTC

That is 7:20am PDT
« Last Edit: 02/27/2018 09:42 pm by WheelsStop »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Retweeted by Iridium:

Quote
Les dix satellites de la cinquième grappe d’#IridiumNEXT sont arrivés à Vandenberg. Lancement prévu à la fin du mois sur un #Falcon9 de @SpaceX. @IridiumComm @Thales_Alenia_S

https://twitter.com/StefanBarensky/status/973177015791706113

Microsoft Translation:

Quote
The ten satellites of the fifth cluster @IridiumNEXT have arrived at Vandenberg. Scheduled launch at the end of the month on a @Falcon9 de #SpaceX. #IridiumComm @Thales_Alenia_S

Offline Chris Bergin

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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Iridium press release:

Quote
All 10 Satellites for the Fifth Iridium® NEXT Launch Have Arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Satellites are Undergoing Pre-Launch Preparation for Late-March SpaceX Launch, the First Iridium Launch of 2018

MCLEAN, Va., March 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that all 10 Iridium NEXT satellites for its fifth launch have arrived and are in processing at SpaceX's west coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This launch will increase the total number of Iridium NEXT satellites in space to 50 and is the second Iridium launch to use a "flight-proven" SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Iridium-5 is currently targeted for March 29, 2018 at 7:19 am PDT (14:19 UTC).

The operational Iridium constellation is comprised of 66 interconnected satellites, divided into six polar orbiting planes with 11 satellites in each plane — as well as nine additional in-orbit spares with one or two in each plane. Destined for Iridium orbital plane one, all 10 of the Iridium NEXT satellites deployed during this launch will immediately go into service following rigorous testing and validation. To date, four Iridium NEXT launches carrying 10 satellites each have been completed, and over half of the Iridium NEXT constellation has been put into active service. Iridium has contracted with SpaceX to deliver 75 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit through a series of eight launches.

"Now that we are more than halfway deployed, we can really focus on the impact our next-generation of services will make on the industry," said Iridium CEO, Matt Desch. "Testing of our exciting new L-band broadband service, Iridium CertusSM, has been performing well, and with every successful launch, we are closer to bringing our full suite of Iridium NEXT solutions to life.  With each day, we are meeting key milestones to complete our new network this year, and we can't wait to see this fifth set arrive in space to keep up the momentum."

This fifth launch will use the same Falcon 9 rocket first stage that carried the third set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit in October of 2017. Upon arrival to the launch site, each Iridium NEXT satellite begins a number of pre-launch processing steps including mating to the dispenser, fueling and encapsulation within the fairing.  The satellites were shipped two at a time, in specially-designed motion and temperature-controlled containers designed to maintain optimal environmental conditions.

Iridium NEXT is the company's $3 billion next-generation mobile, global satellite network scheduled for completion in 2018. Iridium NEXT will replace the Company's existing global constellation in one of the largest technology upgrades ever completed in space.  It represents the evolution of critical communications infrastructure that governments and organizations worldwide rely upon to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more. Iridium NEXT will enable and introduce new services like the Company's next-generation communications platform, Iridium Certus, and the AireonSM space-based ADS-B aircraft surveillance and flight tracking network. 

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com.

Iridium is exhibiting at SATELLITE 2018 in Washington, DC.  Visit booth #1801 between Tuesday, March 13th and Thursday, March 15th to learn more about Iridium and check out the new Iridium Augmented Reality experience.

http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1060507

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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#Iridium5 Update: Less than 2 weeks from the 5th #IridiumNEXT launch & all 10 satellites have been mated to their dispensers. Next steps include fueling, stacking & encapsulation- What fuel do they use? Check out our blog from last June... bit.ly/2pi6iyy  #freakyfuel

https://twitter.com/iridiumcomm/status/974744947780935686?s=21

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Offline Chris Bergin

Just waiting for a spotting of Falcon 9 booster (B1041.2) sat on SLC-4E.

That should be soon if they are going for a NET Sunday morning Static Fire test ahead of Iridium NEXT-5. As always, subject to change.
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Offline Scylla

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I reject your reality and substitute my own--Doctor Who

Offline Chris Bergin

ARTICLE: Falcon 9 readying at Vandenberg for static fire ahead of the fifth Iridium NEXT mission - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/falcon-9-vandenberg-static-fire-fifth-iridium-next-mission/

- By Ian Atkinson
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Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Comparing Planet Satellite imagery of SLC-4 for March 23rd vs 24th, the TEL is not on the pad on the 23rd, but IS on the 24th (and likely has the Falcon 9 on it for the static fire)

23rd vs 24th below, respectively

https://goo.gl/ADFXdq

Edit: turned it into a gif do you can see it better
« Last Edit: 03/25/2018 10:46 am by Ronsmytheiii »

Offline Chris Bergin

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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Everything is currently looking green for launch on Thursday morning.  Satellites are all happy and buttoned up and ready to go.  An early view of the weather is very positive too...  Beginning my prelaunch rituals and happy thoughts #pleaseohpleaseohplease

https://twitter.com/iridiumboss/status/977993684166893568?s=21

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