SpaceX Falcon 9 : Koreasat 5A : Oct. 30, 2017 : DISCUSSION THREAD

[ugordan]

I may be a bit out of the loop here, but how often has SpaceX launched a payload to GTO with a returning first stage?

Most of the launches with the v1.2 or whatchamacallit F9 version, actually. Only a few have been expendable.

[ugordan]

Did anyone else lose most of the deployment there?

Yeah, me too.

Oh well, all's well that ends well.

[abaddon]

Did anyone else lose most of the deployment there?

Yeah, me too.

Same here.  Was viewing with youtube FWIW.

[Thorny]

I may be a bit out of the loop here, but how often has SpaceX launched a payload to GTO with a returning first stage?

I think this was the seventh. JCSAT-14, THAICOM-8, JCSAT-16, SES-10, BULGARIASAT-1, SES-11, and now KOREASAT 5A.

[cscott]

Question: before the second ignition of the second stage engine the feed shows what seems to be a lot of particles flying around. What is this?

Ice. Possibly oxygen ice.

In an earlier webcast the bigger chunks were explicitly noted as oxygen ice.

The engine shutdown sequence purges the oxidizer lines, and a bunch of that purged o2 mist seems to freeze and hang around, to be shaken loose again during the restart sequence.

[nicp]

I believe it is oxygen ice because - as noted - a previous commentary described it as such.
Even so, I thought solid (and liquid) oxygen was a bit blue.

[ugordan]

Even so, I thought solid (and liquid) oxygen was a bit blue.

Never trust the automatic white balance of the camera.

[llanitedave]

The SpaceX steamroller continues!

With the level of armchair fault nitpicking that always follows these threads, I’m frankly surprised that SpaceX bothers with a stream at all.

If you wonder why SpaceX is less open these days with images and video, look in the mirror.

I'm looking at China.

[Lar]

I may be a bit out of the loop here, but how often has SpaceX launched a payload to GTO with a returning first stage?

Since they started landing stages reliably,many of their flights have been to GTO and all but three returned. The launch log will be a good resource for you, as I am working from memory.

(and got ninja'ed to boot.. well this makes up for it, they all didn't give the link....

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=40544.0

)

[RotoSequence]

So, is this two post-flight kerosene fires in a row? Seems like there's some sort of anomaly in the design if that's the case.

[cscott]

So, is this two post-flight kerosene fires in a row? Seems like there's some sort of anomaly in the design if that's the case.

Well, the previous one was technically a deliberately-set TEA/TEB fire (albeit w/ unintended consequences), so I think it's a bit early to start claiming commonality.

[gongora]

I may be a bit out of the loop here, but how often has SpaceX launched a payload to GTO with a returning first stage?

Since they started landing stages reliably, most of their flights have been to GTO and all but three returned. The launch log will be a good resource for you, as I am working from memory.

(and got ninja'ed to boot.. well this makes up for it, they all didn't give the link....

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=40544.0

)

Majority of flights still to LEO this year, but 7 GTO launches with maybe one more to go in 2017 ain't bad.

[ugordan]

So, is this two post-flight kerosene fires in a row?

Yes, well, after you explain how said kerosene was deposited onto the side tankage of the booster.

Jeff Bezos must be ecstatic at these landing "failures".

n.b. I'm not a SpaceX apologist, my snark is aimed toward realizing that stage landings are still "experimental" and that "stuff" can be expected to happen post landing.

Personally, I'm still reeling from the fact that GTO-launch stages are not completely lost. 2013/2014 seems like so long ago...

[whitelancer64]

I may be a bit out of the loop here, but how often has SpaceX launched a payload to GTO with a returning first stage?

SpaceX has attempted to land a GTO mission's booster 9 times with 7 successful landings. There were also 3 GTO launches with no recovery attempts. I'm not counting Amos-6, which would have been to GTO.

[zubenelgenubi]

Congrats to SpaceX and KoreaSat!

(Steamroller noises)

Instead of the 1970's Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine"...
https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gallery/sports/mlb/2014/03/03/photos-the-big-red-machine/5975103/

What do you think of the SpaceX "Big Blue Machine"?

(The color would also match the livery of the LA Dodgers, with SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne.)

[leetdan]

 

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=40544.0

The important thing is, we now have a good footnote for the log to go with this otherwise-routine launch. 

[FutureSpaceTourist]

As is often the case, I think Eric Berger nicely puts this flight into context:

SpaceX is about to go for its 16th successful launch attempt of the year 2017. Previous record for any year: Eight.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/925082506034114560

Another aspect of this launch. Previously, a lot of SpaceX launches were US government. This year, 11 of 16 have been commercial.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/925083923624943616

SpaceX has now landed more rockets (19) in less than two years than all of the Apollo and Skylab crew launches from 1968 to 1975.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/925087543976218626

(Yes, I know the comparison is hardly like for like!)

[envy887]

Anyone know the target orbit parameters?

[AncientU]

So, is this two post-flight kerosene fires in a row? Seems like there's some sort of anomaly in the design if that's the case.

Right. If they dumped them in the ocean, fires wouldn't break out after landing.

[saliva_sweet]

SpaceX has now landed more rockets (19) in less than two years than all of the Apollo and Skylab crew launches from 1968 to 1975.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/925087543976218626

(Yes, I know the comparison is hardly like for like!)

How about - only Russia has launched more rockets this year than SpaceX has landed?