Very true, I think they could even get by by just using one side of the HIF as a booster refurb facility, and have 2 Vandenberg boosters, since they'll only have like 3-5 Vandy launches per year.
Quote from: IanThePineapple on 05/22/2017 01:21 amVery true, I think they could even get by by just using one side of the HIF as a booster refurb facility, and have 2 Vandenberg boosters, since they'll only have like 3-5 Vandy launches per year.They have about 8 per year scheduled in 2017 and 2018. (I'd be surprised if they get that many launched in 2017, and a couple payload delivery dates could slip of course.)
Quote from: gongora on 05/22/2017 02:27 amQuote from: IanThePineapple on 05/22/2017 01:21 amVery true, I think they could even get by by just using one side of the HIF as a booster refurb facility, and have 2 Vandenberg boosters, since they'll only have like 3-5 Vandy launches per year.They have about 8 per year scheduled in 2017 and 2018. (I'd be surprised if they get that many launched in 2017, and a couple payload delivery dates could slip of course.)Vandy was envisioned by SpaceX to be launching 30x per year a couple years back. Much of the ConnX will be launched here, so those old numbers may be on low side. That starts in 2019, and probably will not show on manifest kept here. I would not be surprised to see weekly RTLS launches.
Quote from: AncientU on 05/22/2017 11:25 amQuote from: gongora on 05/22/2017 02:27 amQuote from: IanThePineapple on 05/22/2017 01:21 amVery true, I think they could even get by by just using one side of the HIF as a booster refurb facility, and have 2 Vandenberg boosters, since they'll only have like 3-5 Vandy launches per year.They have about 8 per year scheduled in 2017 and 2018. (I'd be surprised if they get that many launched in 2017, and a couple payload delivery dates could slip of course.)Vandy was envisioned by SpaceX to be launching 30x per year a couple years back. Much of the ConnX will be launched here, so those old numbers may be on low side. That starts in 2019, and probably will not show on manifest kept here. I would not be surprised to see weekly RTLS launches.They would need to revamp the TEL to do a throwback if they want to launch that often.
Yes, the Tel is not complete for FH. But memory says they were not planning any FH launches there now that 39a Tel will be upgraded for FH.Also, memory said the throwback was first used at Vandenberg. Does the Tel need any modifications?
Matt Desch @IridiumBoss 9m9 minutes agoAnd here are the those first two Iridium NEXT satellites for Launch 2 arriving at VAFB. I'm hoping visibility is much better on June 29th!
Matt Desch @IridiumBoss 18m18 minutes agoFirst two Iridium NEXT sats are on the road to VAFB for Launch #2! Tracking, of course, by Iridium M2M/IoT. F9 Stage 1 there now too
Matt Desch @IridiumBoss 5m5 minutes agoGreat progress continues towards Launch #2. Stage 2 arrived today joining Stage 1. Fairing too. 4 of 10 NEXT sats now being processed!
May 25, 2017New Target Date for Second IridiumŪ NEXT LaunchSecond Batch of 10 Iridium NEXT Satellites Now Scheduled for June 25th Launch from Vandenberg Air Force BaseMCLEAN, Va., May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) today announced the second launch for the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation has been moved earlier, and is now targeted for June 25, 2017 at 1:24:59 PDT with an instantaneous launch window. SpaceX informed Iridium that range availability had opened up at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, where SpaceX's west coast launch facility is located, and planned to target Iridium's launch four days earlier than originally scheduled. This launch will deliver the second payload of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit, bringing the total to 20 Iridium NEXT satellites in space."We're excited for this next launch," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, Iridium. "Satellites have already started to arrive at the launch site and are undergoing pre-launch preparations, so we'll be ready to go. An earlier launch date is all the better for our constellation deployment plans." Iridium has partnered with SpaceX for a series of eight launches scheduled to take place through mid-2018, delivering a total of 75 satellites to low-Earth orbit. Iridium NEXT is replacing the Company's existing constellation of satellites with more powerful capabilities, including Aireon's space-based global real-time aircraft surveillance and tracking service.For more information and up-to-date information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com .
Cool!
Most of the tweets and posts I've seen omit am or pm and most folks assume am. https://www.iridiumnext.com/ is saying 1:25 PM, but that's the only one and might be a goofy web person. What's the real poop?
Could this be due to SpaceX having limited launch teams and they need the same people for Vandy and the East coast Intelsat launch
Still kinda picking my jaw off the floor here, but that does seem like it would help flow a lotPaging Ed Kyle, when was the last time anyone (at least semi realistically) planned to launch 4 launchers as similar as these in the same 30 day span? Yeah probably won't happen but if they can pull it off, wow.
