SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - SES-8 - DISCUSSION THREAD

[Ronsmytheiii]

I take it  SES-8 is going to LC-40 for encapsulation, can Falcon accept payloads that have already been encapsulated at other clean rooms (like Astrotech)?

[pippin]

If they are encapsulated in a SpaceX fairing....

[Prober]

If they are encapsulated in a SpaceX fairing....

One size fits all   

[Jim]

I take it  SES-8 is going to LC-40 for encapsulation, can Falcon accept payloads that have already been encapsulated at other clean rooms (like Astrotech)?

Yes.  And it also is a requirement of the NLS II contract.

[blazotron]

I take it  SES-8 is going to LC-40 for encapsulation, can Falcon accept payloads that have already been encapsulated at other clean rooms (like Astrotech)?

Yes.  And it also is a requirement of the NLS II contract.

What is the perceived benefit the customer expects by using a third party to encapsulate?  The launch service provider still has to send the fairing halves and a trained crew and the tooling required to mate them. Is that just a necessary consequence of wanting to use the third party for the rest of the sat checkout process? 

[mlindner]

I take it  SES-8 is going to LC-40 for encapsulation, can Falcon accept payloads that have already been encapsulated at other clean rooms (like Astrotech)?

Yes.  And it also is a requirement of the NLS II contract.

I guess I'm not understanding something. So will missions under NLS II (apparently not this one) mean that SpaceX will ship the fairing to someone else after which the payload + fairing will be shipped back to SLC-40? Will SpaceX still be involved in encapsulation or will they not be present?

[Jim]

I guess I'm not understanding something. So will missions under NLS II (apparently not this one) mean that SpaceX will ship the fairing to someone else after which the payload + fairing will be shipped back to SLC-40? Will SpaceX still be involved in encapsulation or will they not be present?

Spacex will bring their fairing to where ever the payload is, encapsulate it and then transport the encapsulated payload to the launch site

[Jim]

What is the perceived benefit the customer expects by using a third party to encapsulate?  The launch service provider still has to send the fairing halves and a trained crew and the tooling required to mate them. Is that just a necessary consequence of wanting to use the third party for the rest of the sat checkout process? 

The third party is not involved with the actual process of the payload or fairing. It is just a host.  Much like a stadium operator is to the two football teams playing in its facility.   And to take the analogy further, even though the two teams are separate entities and can manage their own affairs, the league (NFL) sends its own officials (different from the ones on field such as the referee) to ensure the game is properly run and managed.

[ChefPat]

I guess I'm not understanding something. So will missions under NLS II (apparently not this one) mean that SpaceX will ship the fairing to someone else after which the payload + fairing will be shipped back to SLC-40? Will SpaceX still be involved in encapsulation or will they not be present?

Spacex will bring their fairing to where ever the payload is, encapsulate it and then transport the encapsulated payload to the launch site

I assume it's a location very close by. I believe 17.1 feet (not including the trailer height) is way too tall to go under any freeway bridge.

[padrat]

I guess I'm not understanding something. So will missions under NLS II (apparently not this one) mean that SpaceX will ship the fairing to someone else after which the payload + fairing will be shipped back to SLC-40? Will SpaceX still be involved in encapsulation or will they not be present?

Spacex will bring their fairing to where ever the payload is, encapsulate it and then transport the encapsulated payload to the launch site

I assume it's a location very close by. I believe 17.1 feet (not including the trailer height) is way too tall to go under any freeway bridge.

Payloads are transported from Astrotech to the Cape all the time. No overhead restrictions that I'm aware of. And yes, we will be going to Astrotech and a few other locations to encapsulate payloads and transport them here. It's just a matter of the customer wanting to use other facilities besides ours to process their spacecraft....

[ugordan]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_10_10_2013_p01-01-625424.xml

Shanklin says engineers are still reviewing data from the Sept. 29 mission and the company is now planning an early November launch of SES-8.

“We are still reviewing the data, but we believe we understand the issue and we are confident we will be able to make the necessary adjustments before the next flight,” Shanklin said Oct. 9.

[Ben the Space Brit]

I assume it's a location very close by. I believe 17.1 feet (not including the trailer height) is way too tall to go under any freeway bridge.

Where are Astrotech based? Is the encapsulation facility/clean room in the Cape Industrial Area?

[Jim]

Where are Astrotech based? Is the encapsulation facility/clean room in the Cape Industrial Area?

In Titusville, outside the KSC gates.

Here     http://goo.gl/maps/yjbsb

and here   http://goo.gl/maps/ckPu2

[Chris Bergin]

So many launches, so many threads.

This was published at the end of last week, but not in here.

New launch date NET:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/10/spacex-realign-falcon-9-missions/

And One Stop Shop Update Area for L2 Level F9 v1.1/SES-8 Updates:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32768.0

[Chris Bergin]

I can't remember if I had already asked (possibly not) but we could do with a party thread title. Suggestions.....

[dcporter]

I can't remember if I had already asked (possibly not) but we could do with a party thread title. Suggestions.....

You did; my favorite suggestion (hat tip to somebody) was "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in honor of the inaugural geosynchronous launch.

[Prober]

I can't remember if I had already asked (possibly not) but we could do with a party thread title. Suggestions.....

You did; my favorite suggestion (hat tip to somebody) was "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in honor of the inaugural geosynchronous launch.

Merlin's magic, Merlin's Vacuum Magic, or Merlin's last stand

[QuantumG]

Let's Get Restarted In Here

[oiorionsbelt]

Nice QG

[Chris Bergin]

Let's Get Restarted In Here

I think we have ourselves a winner!

Ok, that's done. Back to discussion.