Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : GPS III SV01 : SLC-40 : Dec. 23, 2018 - UPDATES  (Read 87656 times)

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Current weather at the Causeway 3 miles form SLC-40 at T-1hr 11mins.  Partly cloudy skies (high altitude cirrus clouds right now).  Temp.: 54 F.   Winds very light.
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 11:58 am by ChrisGebhardt »

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Upper Level Winds are NO GO.  New T0 of 09:34 EST (1434 UTC)



EDIT to add:
Good time to remind everyone that Falcon 9 launch weather forecasts DO NOT include Upper Level Winds - the limits of which are mission specific and analyzed by SpaceX, not the 45th Space Wing of the Air Force.
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 12:21 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Apparently, launch window has also been extended to 09:37 EST (1437 UTC) - so with our 09:34 EST (1434 UTC) new target launch time, that leaves 3mins of wiggle room for Falcon 9 today.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Current Upper Level Winds over Cape.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
T-38 minutes. SpaceX Launch Director should be verifying go for propellant load.
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 12:48 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
T-38 minutes. SpaceX Launch Director should be verifying go for propellant load.

No.  We are still further out than that.  We have about 6 more minutes to go before that.
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 12:48 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
No.  We are still further out than that.  We have about 6 more minutes to go before that.

The SpaceX stream is showing launch at 14:24 UTC.
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 12:49 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
No.  We are still further out than that.  We have about 6 more minutes to go before that.

The SpaceX stream is showing launch at 14:24 UTC.

No. Launch is 14:34 UTC.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
Here's the tweet confirming 14:34 UTC.

twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1075020725545689088

"New T-0 of 9:34 EST, 14:34 UTC, to account for upper level winds. Launch webcast will go live about 15 minutes before liftoff → http://spacex.com/webcast"
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
T-40 minutes. SpaceX Launch Director should be verifying go for propellant load. (hopefully!)
« Last Edit: 12/18/2018 12:58 pm by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
GO for propellant load!

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
T-35min and COUNTING.  RP-1 kerosene and Liquid Oxygen are now flowing into Falcon 9's fuel tanks.


Teams have received their standard "what to do in the case that an urgent need to abort the count - including Upper Level Winds breaching safety limits - arises."

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1075029153240408064

T-30 minutes until Falcon 9 launch of GPS III SV01. Launch webcast will go live in about 15 minutes → http://spacex.com/webcast
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
LD loop quiet.  All is going well with the autosequence and fueling.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Stage 2 RP-1 load closed out.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Big vent at expected T-20mins mark.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
Some funky music to start four launches in 24 hours!
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39463
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 33125
  • Likes Given: 8906
T-16 minutes. Second stage LOX loading should be starting now.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
Stage 2 LOX load underway.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

  • Assistant Managing Editor
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7842
  • ad astra scientia
  • ~1 AU
  • Liked: 7877
  • Likes Given: 853
GPS III-SV01 is on internal power.

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0