SpaceX Falcon 9 : PAZ & Microsat 2a/2b : SLC-4E : Feb 22, 2018 : DISCUSSION

[gongora]

The FCC grant for launch vehicle communications was updated with an additional condition, I wonder if someone has been tardy filing their paperwork 

[8] Prior to operating at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, SpaceX shall ensure proper UDS documentation is established to support their operations and send a letter to 2 ROPS/DOS officially appointing schedulers to interface with the Western Range Scheduling Office. After this documentation is in place, SpaceX schedulers can coordinate and schedule operations by contacting the Western Range Scheduling Office, 2 ROPS/DOS, at Email: [email protected] or (805) 606-8825 and the Frequency Control and Analysis Center (FCAC) at 805-606-9247.
[9] This authorization SUPERSEDES the previously issued authorization with the same call sign and file number: Adds Special Condition [8].

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Spanish govt Paz civil/military radar sat, built by @AirbusSpace, is readied for airlift from Spain to Calif/VAFB for Jan 30 @SpaceX mission. 1,400-kg Paz to launch w/ 2 SpaceX microsats that will demo future broadband constellation & provide ITU registration (BIU).

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/943087366499168256

[hootowls]

TerraSAR-X/PAZ Constellation brochure.

http://www.hisdesat.es/eng/docs/folletos/constellation.pdf

[Chris Bergin]

A good sign:

SpaceX Opens Media Accreditation for PAZ Mission


HAWTHORNE, Calif. – December 22, 2017. Media accreditation is now open for SpaceX's PAZ mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch is targeted for no earlier than late January 2018.

A flight-proven Falcon 9 will deliver PAZ to a low-Earth orbit (LEO).

[IanThePineapple]

A good sign:

SpaceX Opens Media Accreditation for PAZ Mission


HAWTHORNE, Calif. – December 22, 2017. Media accreditation is now open for SpaceX's PAZ mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch is targeted for no earlier than late January 2018.

A flight-proven Falcon 9 will deliver PAZ to a low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Flight proven, excellent!

[vaporcobra]

1035 and 1038 are probably the best bets for PAZ, so long as SpaceX choosing to expend 1036 later today indicates that they are trying to get rid of their Block 3 remnants.

Rather crazy. That will mean that between Oct and Feb, SpaceX may have flown eight missions with nine flight-proven boosters, out of a total of 11 missions in that period. It's almost hard to fathom how rapidly reused hardware has become a central feature of >70% of all of SpaceX's launches over a five month period. And this is all before Block 5 has been introduced...

[IanThePineapple]

1035 and 1038 are probably the best bets for PAZ, so long as SpaceX choosing to expend 1036 later today indicates that they are trying to get rid of their Block 3 remnants.

Rather crazy. That will mean that between Oct and Feb, SpaceX may have flown eight missions with nine flight-proven boosters, out of a total of 11 missions in that period. It's almost hard to fathom how rapidly reused hardware has become a central feature of 80%+ of all of SpaceX's launches over a five month period. And this is all before Block 5 has been introduced...

I think 1038 or 1041 are the most likely, since they flew from Vandy and might be there or at Hawethorne.  1040 or 1032 are also possible. I'm not sure if 1035 is likely, it's flown twice and they seem to only want to fly them twice. However, it does have a chance since it flew 2 calm RTLS landings.

[ZachS09]

Core B1041 is scheduled to fly Iridium-NEXT F5 next February, so B1038 is the only likely option for the Paz mission.

[IanThePineapple]

Core B1041 is scheduled to fly Iridium-NEXT F5 next February, so B1038 is the only likely option for the Paz mission.

Got it. However, there's still a chance for an Eastern booster to be assigned to the mission, but 38 is pretty likely.

[vaporcobra]

Core B1041 is scheduled to fly Iridium-NEXT F5 next February, so B1038 is the only likely option for the Paz mission.

Got it. However, there's still a chance for an Eastern booster to be assigned to the mission, but 38 is pretty likely.

Agreed. SpaceX has many, many boosters to choose from, so the main factors are refurbishment lead time, recovery wear and tear, and possibly Block precedent (speculative but rational).

[UKobserver]

Have moved my comment to the Manifest and Discussion Thread 5, but the relevant bit to this thread is that I agree with Zach; I wouldn't expect them to move a booster between coasts if they don't have to, so I think 1038 is the most likely for this launch.

[Marine_Mustang]

I don't see anything about a launch time in this thread. Anyone care to speculate on if we'll get another excellent RP-1 jellyfish?

[pb2000]

I don't see anything about a launch time in this thread. Anyone care to speculate on if we'll get another excellent RP-1 jellyfish?

As cool as it was, I suspect SpaceX may avoid doing that again unless it's absolutely necessary. We've seen one video showing a potential link with a major traffic collision, so the FAA may also step in and prohibit it outright or make SpaceX jump through a bunch of hoops.

[Lar]

Wait, what? The FAA would ban launches at certain times of day? That one was a very unusual set of circumstances, not only timing but the weather had to be perfect.

[russianhalo117]

I don't see anything about a launch time in this thread. Anyone care to speculate on if we'll get another excellent RP-1 jellyfish?

As cool as it was, I suspect SpaceX may avoid doing that again unless it's absolutely necessary. We've seen one video showing a potential link with a major traffic collision, so the FAA may also step in and prohibit it outright or make SpaceX jump through a bunch of hoops.

doubt it.

[pb2000]

Wait, what? The FAA would ban launches at certain times of day? That one was a very unusual set of circumstances, not only timing but the weather had to be perfect.

It was indeed a very unusual set of circumstances, especially with the boostback burn and RCS thrusters visible. The launch window changed by 6? minutes every day, so moving the launch plus or minus 4 days would probably be all it would take.

[Marine_Mustang]

In the interest of keeping on-topic, my question was about launch times for this launch. Launching into daylight is a concern, but the Iridiums have launched morning, afternoon, and evening local times. This orbital inclination is 97.44, so it'll be launching slightly east, which would give it a bit more sunlight, but if that was the only consideration then I would expect it to be an early-morning launch. This time of year, the terminator is nearly north-south, so before it even gets halfway through its first orbit it'll be in darkness.

[kdhilliard]

... This time of year, the terminator is nearly north-south, ...

Huh?  Didn't we just pass solstice?

[Marine_Mustang]

... This time of year, the terminator is nearly north-south, ...

Huh?  Didn't we just pass solstice?

Yep, never mind. I was using an app that apparently doesn't render the terminator very well. So after half an orbit it'll be heading into sunrise, is that right?

[Comga]

... This time of year, the terminator is nearly north-south, ...

Huh?  Didn't we just pass solstice?

Yep, never mind. I was using an app that apparently doesn't render the terminator very well. So after half an orbit it'll be heading into sunrise, is that right?

Not necessarily
To my knowledge no one here has given a time for the launch.
Therefore the relative location of the terminator is unknown.
It could launch in sunlight.
The flight path won’t differ dramatically from that of Iridium with that inclination, from the standpoint of observing from Southern California.