LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 - Thaicom-6 - January 6 - LAUNCH UPDATES

[beancounter]

Well done SpaceX and all involved.  Looking forward to a great 2014.  Lots of interesting stuff to come hopefully:  F9R, FH, GH, Dragon Cargo and Crew, new pads and perhaps some info' on Raptor.
First time I've been beeped at the lights checking my phone for news on the way to work. 

[Jcc]

I have trouble trying to decipher these timings due to the built-in webcast delays, so check me, but it seemed to me that the first stage burned for about 177 seconds, following by a 10 second period for stage separation and second stage startup, with the second stage first burn then lasting about 350 seconds, which is about 15 seconds longer than the time listed in the press kit.  The initial parking orbit was stated to be 173 x 497 km x 27.3 deg.

 - Ed Kyle

So, you think they were saving some extra fuel for a longer reentry burn?

[411rocket]

Congrat's to SpaceX on making it a hat-trick for the Falcon 9 v1.1 All the best wishes for a bumper year of successful launches like this one.

Now let the speculation begin as to what the first stage really did after MECO-1 

Agreed & the speculation will be fun reading too.

[mme]

Congratulations SpaceX! Your hard work made it look easy and I'm excited to see what 2014 brings.

[R.Simko]

Congratulations SpaceX, you are getting better with every launch.  This one looked picture perfect to me.  I voted 7 launches this year, but with launches like today's, I looked forward to you beating that number.

WAY TO GO! 

[rockinghorse]

Good job SpaceX! Now lets hope that they publish some additional info on Ses-8 and Thaicom-6 first stage re-entry data. These were both high velocity re-entries so there should be plenty of interesting data how F9 behaves during re-entry.

[edkyle99]

I have trouble trying to decipher these timings due to the built-in webcast delays, so check me, but it seemed to me that the first stage burned for about 177 seconds, following by a 10 second period for stage separation and second stage startup, with the second stage first burn then lasting about 350 seconds, which is about 15 seconds longer than the time listed in the press kit.  The initial parking orbit was stated to be 173 x 497 km x 27.3 deg.

 - Ed Kyle

So, you think they were saving some extra fuel for a longer reentry burn?

The first stage seemed to perform as advertised.  It is the longer than announced second stage burn that has me puzzled.  Perhaps the press kit didn't take Merlin 1D Vacuum g-limit throttling into account.  Or maybe the press kit is just a hand waving rough estimate.  There were similar variations between press kit and flight for SES 8.

At any rate, congratulations SpaceX on another boring flight. 

 - Ed Kyle

[darkenfast]

Congratulations to SpaceX for the first U.S. launch of 2014 (but not the world, thanks to excellent work by ISRO)! Another exciting step towards making this all boringly routine! Good job as usual to Chris and the rest of the NSF contributors!

[MP99]

Congrats to SpaceX, and everyone involved in the launch.

Hitting the start of the window made it look like the pad is settling down nicely.

Cheers, Martin

[TrevorMonty]

Congrats SpaceX. Here is looking forward to recovery attempt on next launch

[Chris Bergin]

Remember, this thread is allowing one post of congrats from anyone. Discussion belongs on the discussion thread.

Presser


 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida – Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully launched the THAICOM 6 satellite for leading Asian satellite operator THAICOM.  Falcon 9 delivered THAICOM 6 to its targeted 295 x 90,000 km geosynchronous transfer orbit at 22.5 degrees inclination.  The Falcon 9 launch vehicle performed as expected, meeting 100% of mission objectives.

 

Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 5:06 PM Eastern Time.  Approximately 184 seconds into flight, Falcon 9’s second-stage Merlin vacuum engine ignited to begin a five minute, 35 second burn that delivered the THAICOM 6 satellite into its parking orbit. Eighteen minutes after injection into the parking orbit, the second stage engine relit for just over one minute to carry the THAICOM 6 satellite to its final geostationary transfer orbit.  The restart of the Falcon 9 second stage is a requirement for all geostationary transfer missions.

 

“Today’s successful launch of the THAICOM 6 satellite marks the eighth successful flight in a row for Falcon 9,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX. “SpaceX greatly appreciates THAICOM’s support throughout this campaign and we look forward to a busy launch schedule in 2014.”   

 

The THAICOM 6 mission marks Falcon 9’s second flight to a geosynchronous transfer orbit and begins a regular cadence of launches planned for SpaceX in 2014. SpaceX has nearly 50 launches on manifest, of which over 60% are for commercial customers.

 

This launch also marks the third of three qualification flights needed to certify the Falcon 9 to fly missions under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. Once Falcon 9 is certified, SpaceX will be eligible to compete to launch national security satellites for the U.S. Air Force.

About SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches the world's most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. Today, SpaceX is advancing the boundaries of space technology through its Falcon launch vehicles and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX is a private company owned by management and employees, with minority investments from Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Valor Equity Partners. The company has more than 3,000 employees in California, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Florida. For more information, visit www.spacex.com.

[Chris Bergin]

SpaceX photo:

[yg1968]

Full launch webcast video (about 50 minutes):

[Geron]

Congratulations SpaceX! I have never doubted your abilities and today's launch makes me so proud. I look forward to each of your successes as I believe the odds of me getting to orbit get better with each payload of a paying customer that you guys loft to orbit:) way to start the new year off right!!

[Galactic Penguin SST]

A few more photos of the launch now posted on the SpaceX website. The overcast skies at dusk makes the launch look pretty surreal! 

[padrat]

Maybe now I can get a break.





Wait, what's that?.......Dragon what?

[Zannanza]

Congrat SpaceX! Well done.
btw, camera lens still very dirty. And why there seems to be more vibration of the rocket when compared with previous launches?

[Lar]

Maybe now I can get a break.

Wait, what's that?.......Dragon what?

Congrats to SpaceX, Orbital, Thaicom, the range, and to the gang keeping the NSF news machine humming along. And please, if it's not too much trouble, don't give Padrat a break, we want him busy busy busy.

[llanitedave]

Congratulations SpaceX!  I wanted to be bored and casual about this, but once the clamps on the strongback retracted, I started holding my breath.  I saw the weather coming in fast, the rocket swaying in the wind, and the plumes blowing fast.  I didn't breathe again until the second stage cutoff.

And thanks for your work, Padrat.  You deserve a party!  And a nap.

And thanks to NSF for hosting this party.  It's fun.

[blazotron]

Congrats SpaceX on all the hard work your employees put in for this launch.  Keep up the good work!