SpaceX Falcon 9 : Spaceflight SSO-A : December 3, 2018 - DISCUSSION

[Lars-J]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1069679948103847939

So....why build giant nets on boats and practice catching them then?

So that they will eventually get the hang of it.

Also, for the earlier missions (Paz, Iridium-NEXT F5, GRACE-FO & Iridium-NEXT F6), why didn't they dry the fairings off and refly them?

It is possible that this fairing (and future fairings) has some changes to it that makes it handle seawater better.

[guckyfan]

It is possible that this fairing (and future fairings) has some changes to it that makes it handle seawater better.

Or maybe they learned that drying is good enough. Probably a complex process and they would still prefer to catch them.

[todd5ski]

That was a cool view of the landing from a distance!  I guess it helps to have the drone ship stationed just off the coast. 

EDIT: And congrats to the first Block 5 core, also the first to get the launch site trifecta.

I did not know this rocket core now has the launch site trifecta!  That is awesome! Congrats to all.

[kevinof]

If you can waterproof or make water-resistant the outside surface then it just might be ok. Given that it has a soft landing and doesn't (in small sea states) ship much, if any water then maybe drying out will do.

It is possible that this fairing (and future fairings) has some changes to it that makes it handle seawater better.

Or maybe they learned that drying is good enough. Probably a complex process and they would still prefer to catch them.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Here's the list of payloads on Gunter's website in alphabetical order. I count 68 payloads, but Spaceflight announced the mission is carrying 64 payloads. Hopefully we'll find out which four payloads didn't get a ride.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/centauri-1.htm

01 AISTECHSAT 2
02 Astrocast 0.1
03 Audacy 0
04 BlackHawk
05 BlackSky Global 2
06 BRIO
07 Capella 1 (SpaceCap)
08 Centauri II
09 Landmapper-BC 4 (CORVUS-BC 4)
10 CSIM-FD
11 EAGLET 1
12 Elysium Star II
13 ENOCH
14 ESEO (FUNcube 4)
15 Eu:CROPIS
16 eXCITe (PTB 1)
17 ExseedSat 1
18 FalconSat 6
19-21 Flock 3s 1..3
22 Fox 1C (1Cliff)
23 Hamilton 1
24-26 Hawk  A/B/C (HawkEye Pathfinder 1..3)
27 Hiber 2
28 IceCAP
29 Iceye X2
30 IRVINE02
31 ITASAT 1
32 JY1SAT
33 K2SAT
34 KazSciSat 1
35 KazSTSat
36 KNACKSAT
37 MinXSS 2
38 MOVE II
39 NEXTSat 1
40 Orbital Reflector (ORS 1)
41-42 ORS 7A/7B (Polar Scout 1/2)
43 PWSat 2
44 RAAF M1
45-46 RANGE A/B
47 ROSE 1
48 SeaHawk 1
49 SIRION Pathfinder 2
50 SeeMe
51-52 SkySat 14/15 (SkySat-2 12/13)
53 SNUGLITE
54 SNUSAT 2
55-57 SpaceBEE 5..7
58 STPSat 5
59 Suomi100
60 THEA
61-63 US Government (3)
64-65 US Government (2)
66 VESTA
67 VisionCube
68 WeissSat 1

[Wudizzle]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1069679948103847939

So....why build giant nets on boats and practice catching them then?

If that effort's end result was finding a way to reuse fairings then I would think it was a tremendous success, even if it wasn't how they first envisioned it. That's not to say it wouldn't surprise me a little bit. However, if they are right, the "why build giant nets?" question is probably bettered by "why hasn't anyone figured this out before now?"

[ppb]

I would think the SpaceX way is "let's keep trying to catch them dry, but let's have a backup plan to dry them out and reuse them when we miss. Over time, our catch percentage will rise, but we'll still be ahead with (somewhat less profitable) reuse in the meantime."

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/SurreySat/status/1069687074113183744

[Skyrocket]

Here's the list of payloads on Gunter's website in alphabetical order. I count 68 payloads, but Spaceflight announced the mission is carrying 64 payloads. Hopefully we'll find out which four payloads didn't get a ride.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/centauri-1.htm

01 AISTECHSAT 2
02 Astrocast 0.1
03 Audacy 0
04 BlackHawk
05 BlackSky Global 2
06 BRIO
07 Capella 1 (SpaceCap)
08 Centauri II
09 Landmapper-BC 4 (CORVUS-BC 4)
10 CSIM-FD
11 EAGLET 1
12 Elysium Star II
13 ENOCH
14 ESEO (FUNcube 4)
15 Eu:CROPIS
16 eXCITe (PTB 1)
17 ExseedSat 1
18 FalconSat 6
19-21 Flock 3s 1..3
22 Fox 1C (1Cliff)
23 Hamilton 1
24-26 Hawk  A/B/C (HawkEye Pathfinder 1..3)
27 Hiber 2
28 IceCAP
29 Iceye X2
30 IRVINE02
31 ITASAT 1
32 JY1SAT
33 K2SAT
34 KazSciSat 1
35 KazSTSat
36 KNACKSAT
37 MinXSS 2
38 MOVE II
39 NEXTSat 1
40 Orbital Reflector (ORS 1)
41-42 ORS 7A/7B (Polar Scout 1/2)
43 PWSat 2
44 RAAF M1
45-46 RANGE A/B
47 ROSE 1
48 SeaHawk 1
49 SIRION Pathfinder 2
50 SeeMe
51-52 SkySat 14/15 (SkySat-2 12/13)
53 SNUGLITE
54 SNUSAT 2
55-57 SpaceBEE 5..7
58 STPSat 5
59 Suomi100
60 THEA
61-63 US Government (3)
64-65 US Government (2)
66 VESTA
67 VisionCube
68 WeissSat 1

Two changes to my list:
* Al-Farabi 2 was also on board
* It is Centauri 1, not Centauri 2, on this launch

Possibly eXCITe and SeeMe count as one payload for the launch provider, as they are connected during launch

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/1069699371783073800

Hamilton-1 was also questionable based on FCC permits.

[HVM]

According to Suomi100 team, release time is 23:00 UTC and confirmation for working satellite is in Dec 4 7:00 UTC.

Also:

 

[gongora]

* It is Centauri 1, not Centauri 2, on this launch

Are you sure about that one?  Everyplace else reported Centauri 1 launching on the PSLV.

[Skyrocket]

* It is Centauri 1, not Centauri 2, on this launch

Are you sure about that one?  Everyplace else reported Centauri 1 launching on the PSLV.

A Fleetspace employee confirmed this on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Psykar/status/1069367901205884928

[strawwalker]

https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/1069699371783073800

Hamilton-1 was also questionable based on FCC permits.

I am pretty sure Hamilton-1 was not aboard based on that. Also SpaceICE, for which the permit also never got approved, was also omitted from the most recent update to the ELaNa schedule. I re-added Al-Farabi-2 to my list a couple days ago, and with the removal of ROSE-1 I now count 65 spacecraft, so we just need one more confirmed absence?

[strawwalker]

Two changes to my list:
* Al-Farabi 2 was also on board
* It is Centauri 1, not Centauri 2, on this launch

Possibly eXCITe and SeeMe count as one payload for the launch provider, as they are connected during launch

That is the way they are counted on the FCC exhibit, so I'd say yes. Centauri 1 is listed correctly on that filing as well, but everybody ignored it. Possibly because there were so many spelling errors in that document?

[Steven Pietrobon]

I am pretty sure Hamilton-1 was not aboard based on that. Also SpaceICE, for which the permit also never got approved, was also omitted from the most recent update to the ELaNa schedule. I re-added Al-Farabi-2 to my list a couple days ago, and with the removal of ROSE-1 I now count 65 spacecraft, so we just need one more confirmed absence?

Deleting Hamilton 1 and ROSE 1 and adding Al-Farabi 2 I now get 67 payloads. Where's the difference to your list?

01 AISTECHSAT 2
02 Al-Farabi 2
03 Astrocast 0.1
04 Audacy 0
05 BlackHawk
*06 BlackSky Global 2
07 BRIO
*08 Capella 1 (SpaceCap)
09 Centauri I
10 Landmapper-BC 4 (CORVUS-BC 4)
11 CSIM-FD
12 EAGLET 1
13 Elysium Star II
14 ENOCH
15 ESEO (FUNcube 4)
*16 Eu:CROPIS
17 eXCITe (PTB 1)
18 ExseedSat 1
19 FalconSat 6
*20-22 Flock 3s 1..3
*23 Fox 1C (1Cliff)
*24-26 Hawk  A/B/C (HawkEye Pathfinder 1..3)
*27 Hiber 2
28 IceCAP
*29 Iceye X2
*30 IRVINE02
31 ITASAT 1
*32 JY1SAT
33 K2SAT
34 KazSciSat 1
*35 KazSTSat
36 KNACKSAT
37 MinXSS 2
*38 MOVE II
39 NEXTSat 1
40 Orbital Reflector (ORS 1)
41-42 ORS 7A/7B (Polar Scout 1/2)
*43 PWSat 2
44 RAAF M1
45-46 RANGE A/B
*47 SeaHawk 1
48 SIRION Pathfinder 2
49 SeeMe
*50-51 SkySat 14/15 (SkySat-2 12/13)
52 SNUGLITE
53 SNUSAT 2
54-56 SpaceBEE 5..7
57 STPSat 5
*58 Suomi100
59 THEA
60-62 US Government (3)
63-64 US Government (2)
65 VESTA
66 VisionCube
67 WeissSat 1

* Confirmed to be in orbit.

[strawwalker]

Deleting Hamilton 1 and ROSE 1 and adding Al-Farabi 2 I now get 67 payloads. Where's the difference to your list?

Looks like our lists agree. My list counts the 2 RANGE craft as one, per the FCC exhibit. I am assuming that is reflected in Spaceflight's official, count, but possibly just another misprint. I'm also counting eXCITe/SeeMe as one.

[Lars-J]

Interesting factoid from Eric Berger:

SpaceX has now landed half of the rockets (first stages) they have launched.

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1069663195311280128

[Alexphysics]

I didn't notice it the first time, but you can see quite clearly where they cleared off the soot on the seams (presumably) for inspection on this booster.  I don't recall them doing that since the early days of the first few reuses, but it makes sense they would want to do that the first time they reuse a booster for the third time.

I know Elon said there are permanent scorch marks, but clearly there was a lot of soot on this one too.

They have been cleaning certain parts of almost all boosters, you can see that on closeup pictures of them on the pad. There is certainly soot, not as one would expect but there is a lot of soot on the booster, Matt Desch wrote his name on the soot of a booster with his bare finger... You can't do that on scorch marks.

[whitelancer64]

Interesting factoid from Eric Berger:

SpaceX has now landed half of the rockets (first stages) they have launched.

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1069663195311280128

It's SpaceX's 65th Falcon 9 launch. It's only 64 if you don't count Falcon Heavy, and 32 landings counts both side cores from the Heavy.