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#40
by
gongora
on 07 Apr, 2017 18:41
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There's already a perfectly useful word for the F9 expendable configuration: expendable. We really don't need more terms for it.
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#41
by
Wolfram66
on 07 Apr, 2017 19:13
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There's already a perfectly useful word for the F9 expendable configuration: expendable. We really don't need more terms for it.
Why does everyone dwell, ad nauseam, on minutia? Are the EXPENDABLE F9FT's at the cape or not? And FYI Slick comes from Aircraft terminology, meaning "Nothing Hanging", External Stores, or pylons/hardpoints. An F9 S1 can have Legs and Fins and still be expendable.
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#42
by
envy887
on 07 Apr, 2017 19:53
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There's already a perfectly useful word for the F9 expendable configuration: expendable. We really don't need more terms for it.
Why does everyone dwell, ad nauseam, on minutia? Are the EXPENDABLE F9FT's at the cape or not? And FYI Slick comes from Aircraft terminology, meaning "Nothing Hanging", External Stores, or pylons/hardpoints. An F9 S1 can have Legs and Fins and still be expendable.
Not in any practical sense. Recovery hardware always means a recovery attempt... it's too heavy and expensive to put on otherwise.
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#43
by
Comga
on 07 Apr, 2017 21:40
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There's already a perfectly useful word for the F9 expendable configuration: expendable. We really don't need more terms for it.
Why does everyone dwell, ad nauseam, on minutia?
You don't come here often, do you?
Are the EXPENDABLE F9FT's at the cape or not?
EchoStar 23 launched on an expendable F9. You can
see the rocket without legs or grid fins.
(It looked kind of naked to me....)
It launched from the cape so it was at the cape, but what specifically are you asking?
They are not distinct rockets, just regular Falcon 9s prepared differently.
And FYI Slick comes from Aircraft terminology, meaning "Nothing Hanging", External Stores, or pylons/hardpoints. An F9 S1 can have Legs and Fins and still be expendable.
Interesting, but it would be confusing here.
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#44
by
feynmanrules
on 07 Apr, 2017 22:40
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Does it not make business sense to say well, Inmarsat has leapfrogged you now, NROL, because you missed your booked date?
I think because of of setup times and a lack of launchpads, a late fee might make more sense.
Also remember that spacex is always pushing the envelop and being late is a common side-effect. Trying to penalize customers for missing a date probably isn't going to go over well. ULA could probably do that if they wanted to, but they also charge enough they shouldn't care.
Maybe if spx ever gets to a true-service business model, where rockets are going up everyday with whatever payload is ready and they have enough parallelization in their flow to allow for delays... doesn't seem to be case today.
in summary- may15th it is! (back on topic
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#45
by
RedLineTrain
on 07 Apr, 2017 22:49
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As KSC moves right two weeks, perhaps Vandenberg can move left two weeks.
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#46
by
deruch
on 09 Apr, 2017 00:58
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In the discussion of why Inmarsat can't jump left into the NROL slot, in my experience, it's almost always easier to delay scheduling than it is to advance it. There are payload processing teams from both Boeing and Inmarsat that have to be scheduled. With a short delay, you're essentially borrowing time from an inexhaustible source (i.e. the future). Advancing is much trickier.
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#47
by
smfarmer11
on 09 Apr, 2017 15:46
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Also, this is Spacex's first NRO launch, they probably want everything to go off without a hitch so they wouldn't be willing to risk having the launch pushed further back. The NRO launch is still only one month behind its original contracted launch time, and keeping it as close as possible is better for getting potential future contracts.
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#48
by
Chris Bergin
on 10 Apr, 2017 15:55
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SpaceX Opens Media Accreditation for Inmarsat-5 F4 Mission
Media Contact: John Taylor
[email protected]HAWTHORNE, Calif. – April 10, 2017. Media accreditation is now open for SpaceX's Inmarsat-5 F4 mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch is targeted for no earlier than May.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will deliver Inmarsat-5 F4 to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
Members of the media who are interested in covering the launch must fill out this media accreditation form by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 13.
Members of the media who are foreign nationals must also provide photocopies of their valid visa and passport to
[email protected].
Requesting accreditation is not required of media who hold current annual press credentials issued by Kennedy Space Center security, but it is appreciated for planning purposes.
Kennedy Space Center security, not SpaceX, decides which media are credentialed to cover launches from LC-39A. Please keep in mind simply making the request in a timely fashion does not guarantee the request will be granted. Be sure to provide all the information included on the SpaceX form.
More details on the mission and pre-launch media activities will be made available at a later date closer to launch.
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#49
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 25 Apr, 2017 16:11
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#50
by
NX-0
on 01 May, 2017 12:27
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Inmarsat 5 is now PRIME.
What's the window?
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#51
by
BabaORileyUSA
on 01 May, 2017 14:49
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Inmarsat 5 is now PRIME.
What's the window?
Window Open: 15/23:20:46 GMT May 2017
Window Close: 16/00:10:16 GMT May 2017
Target Orbit: SSTO
1st Stage RTLS: No (expendable)
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#52
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 02 May, 2017 11:17
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Target Orbit: SSTO
As this is a Geosynchronous bird, I think the target orbit is GTO.
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#53
by
macpacheco
on 02 May, 2017 11:44
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Target Orbit: SSTO
As this is a Geosynchronous bird, I think the target orbit is GTO.
SSTO = super sync transfer orbit, aka similar to GTO but higher energy (likely as partial compensation for the delays).
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#54
by
M.E.T.
on 02 May, 2017 12:04
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Inmarsat 5 is now PRIME.
What's the window?
Window Open: 15/23:20:46 GMT May 2017
Window Close: 16/00:10:16 GMT May 2017
Target Orbit: SSTO
1st Stage RTLS: No (expendable)
Expendable! Do people still watch such boring launches?
Follow up question, would this have been expendable on the upgraded Block 5 too?
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#55
by
DreamyPickle
on 02 May, 2017 12:17
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At 6100 kg this is the heaviest Falcon 9 GTO launch so far, right?
It is quite a bit heavier than the advertised maximum for Falcon 9 v1.1. According to
this link in the header this was this initially contracted assuming it would launch on Falcon Heavy:
Under the terms of its agreement with SpaceX, Inmarsat expects to use the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, but will retain the possibility of using a Falcon 9 as an alternative, providing further launch flexibility.
Switching a payload to the regular Falcon 9 is a first for SpaceX, right? It also seems likely that Inmarsat paid for a heavy so this will be a very profitable launch for SpaceX.
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#56
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 02 May, 2017 12:19
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SSTO = super sync transfer orbit, aka similar to GTO but higher energy (likely as partial compensation for the delays).
Ahhh, I thought the acronym meant Sun Synchronous Transfer Orbit! :-)
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#57
by
Johnnyhinbos
on 02 May, 2017 12:22
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I was thinking he was going extremely optimistic with Single Stage To Orbit :-)
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#58
by
Star One
on 02 May, 2017 12:25
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SSTO = super sync transfer orbit, aka similar to GTO but higher energy (likely as partial compensation for the delays).
Ahhh, I thought the acronym meant Sun Synchronous Transfer Orbit! :-)
These acronyms are uninformative when they can be interpreted more than one way.
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#59
by
BabaORileyUSA
on 02 May, 2017 12:39
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SSTO = super sync transfer orbit, aka similar to GTO but higher energy (likely as partial compensation for the delays).
Ahhh, I thought the acronym meant Sun Synchronous Transfer Orbit! :-)
These acronyms are uninformative when they can be interpreted more than one way.
A Super-synchronous Transfer Orbit (SSTO) has an apogee height considerably above the GEO belt, with the added implications that after the perigee height is raised to GEO altitude, and inclination lowered to near-Equatorial, additional braking burns must be performed to lower the apogee height back down to GEO altitude, circularizing the final orbit. Not to be confused with an sSTO, or sub-synchronous transfer orbit, where the apogee altitude is considerably lower than GEO....
