SpaceX F9 : SARah 2/3 : VSFB SLC-4E : 24 December 2023 (13:11 UTC)

• #100 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:18
• 1ST Stage entry burn
  1st stage FTS safed

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• #101 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:18
• Landing at LV4
• #102 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:19
• Landed
  That's the 256 landing of an orbital stage booster.
  
  At the request of the customer, the webcast has ended.  Thanks to everyone here SpaceX and hope you have a Merry Christmas.
  
  Bye

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• #103 by Perchlorate on 24 Dec, 2023 12:20
• Nice job, Tony!
  
  Good of you to give Steven the night off, as it's Christmas in Adelaide in 10 minutes.
  
  Merry Christmas to all, and Congrats to SpaceX.
  
  --Pete
• #104 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:24
• Quote from: Perchlorate on 24 Dec, 2023 12:20

  Nice job, Tony!
  
  Good of you to give Steven the night off, as it's Christmas in Adelaide in 10 minutes.
  
  Merry Christmas to all, and Congrats to SpaceX.
  
  --Pete
  

  
  I wasn't expecting to do that, I'm actually supposed to be asleep (5 a.m. here).  I decided to do this anyway.  Nice to give Steven a rest.  The last time I did Live coverage was way back in the Sea Launch era when I was a small kitten.
  
  Best to you Perchlorate and have a Merry Christmas. 
  
  I'm headed to bed, will post the Spece Dev re-broadcast when it's made available.
  
  Best
  Tony (meow)
• #105 by HVM on 24 Dec, 2023 12:24
• What was the "stand by" and later zulu time reads in the nets? I don't remember hearing them before.
• #106 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:28
• Summary Video
  Runtime: 3:00
  
  
• #107 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:32
• Quote from: ZachS09 on 24 Dec, 2023 12:18

  I called it.
  
  I knew the stubby M-Vac nozzle would be used for this mission.
  

  
  It's was hard to see, but yes.

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• #108 by catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:35
• and here is the Space Dev HD re-broadcast of tonight's space launch.   My job is done.  Time to sleep.
  
  To everyone reading have a great Holiday wherever you are located.
  
  
  
• #109 by Nomadd on 24 Dec, 2023 12:37
• Quote from: catdlr on 24 Dec, 2023 12:19

  Landed
  That's the 256 landing of an orbital stage booster.
  

  The 100,000,000 landing. (In binary)
• #110 by ZachS09 on 24 Dec, 2023 12:40
• Both SARah satellites should've been deployed by now.
  
  Mission timeline says the payload separation sequence should end at the 25 minute, 6 second mark.
• #111 by HVM on 24 Dec, 2023 12:50
• https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1738919867523453029
  "Deployment of @ohb_se SRH2 and SRH3 confirmed"
• #112 by shiro on 24 Dec, 2023 13:38
• Some reusability stats for this launch (SARah 2/3):
  
  Booster B1075.8 turnaround time: 56 days 4 hours 11 minutes
  (its previous mission was Starlink Group 7-6 on Oct 29, 2023 UTC).
  
  FYI: median turnaround time for Falcon 9 / Heavy boosters is currently 49.21 days *
  * – based on the last 30 launches, excluding new first stages.
  
  Launchpad SLC-4E turnaround time: 16 days 5 hours 8 minutes
  (the previous launch from this pad was Starlink Group 7-8 on Dec 8, 2023 UTC).
  
  FYI: median turnaround time for SLC-4E is currently 12.88 days *
  * – based on the last 30 launches.
  
  The same type of stats for previous SpaceX launches may be found on this spreadsheet online.
• #113 by zubenelgenubi on 24 Dec, 2023 16:38
• Apparently, launch was on the minute, at :00 seconds.  (Bill Harwood drops the seconds in his tweets when the launch is on the :00 seconds, assuming launch time to the second is known.)
  https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1738910288575938680
  

  Quote

  F9/SARah-2: LIFTOFF! At 8:11am EST (1311 UTC)
• #114 by FutureSpaceTourist on 24 Dec, 2023 17:59
• https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1738910427894239387
  
  

  Quote

  Liftoff!

  
  https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1738912460751646738
  
  

  Quote

  Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on Landing Zone 4
• #115 by FutureSpaceTourist on 24 Dec, 2023 18:01
• https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1738987388784054506
  
  

  Quote

  Falcon 9 launches the @ohb_se SARah-2 mission from California

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• #116 by FutureSpaceTourist on 24 Dec, 2023 18:04
• https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1738905828516622563
  
  

  Quote

  F9/SARah-2: This will be the 96th F9 launch of '23 and the 284th single-stick F9 flight overall; booster B1075 is making its 8th flight; a successful return-to-launch-site landing would be SpaceX's 15th at Vandenberg and its 256th overall

  
  Edit to add: I think Bill has his numbers muddled - it’s the 90th F9 launch this year, 94th Falcon launch (including FH)
• #117 by aporigine on 24 Dec, 2023 18:12
• I set my alarm and watched this from my perch appx 145 miles east of Vandenberg.
  
  First time I saw boostback! The cauliflower of S1 exhaust fighting the thin atmosphere was amazing. Entry burn was plainly visible, with a very high angular rate of travel.
  
  5 min in, S2 rose into sunlight. At SECO1, the plume dominated the southern sky.  I followed the stage almost to horizon. The whole thing looked like a woodcut of a great comet in the 17th century.
  
  Photos look better in a dark place.

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• #118 by FutureSpaceTourist on 24 Dec, 2023 18:12
• More landing shots

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• #119 by zubenelgenubi on 24 Dec, 2023 18:19
• Quote from: aporigine on 24 Dec, 2023 18:12

  The whole thing looked like a woodcut of a great comet in the 17th century.
  

  Excellent description!