Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : NASA IXPE : KSC LC-39A : 9 December 2021 (0600 UTC) (Read 112683 times)

soltasto · « **Reply #140 on:** 12/08/2021 09:06 am »

Captured "press kit" with OCR

Alvian@IDN · « **Reply #141 on:** 12/08/2021 09:23 am »

Quote from: igloz on 12/06/2021 09:25 am

I wonder why this mission is not RTLS? A lightweight payload to LEO...

Because of sideways burn to change inclination

Rondaz · « **Reply #142 on:** 12/08/2021 10:57 am »

Falcon 9 vertical at Launch Complex 39A in Florida ahead of launch of @NASA’s IXPE mission →

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1468424061436903427

Rondaz · « **Reply #143 on:** 12/08/2021 01:11 pm »

Launch Readiness Review Concludes: IXPE a ‘Go’ for Thursday

James Cawley Posted on December 8, 2021

Teams from NASA and SpaceX completed a launch readiness review ahead of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission. The result: launch teams are a “go” for liftoff of NASA’s first satellite dedicated to measuring X-ray polarization.

IXPE is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 1 a.m. EST. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy.

IXPE will study targets over a broad range of types of astronomical X-ray sources with emphasis on black holes and neutron stars. The mission will achieve high-sensitivity measurements of the polarization of X-rays coming from astronomical objects including neutron stars and black holes.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2021/12/08/launch-readiness-review-concludes-ixpe-a-go-for-thursday/

Rondaz · « **Reply #144 on:** 12/08/2021 01:16 pm »

The pelicans were paid actors #IXPE

https://twitter.com/TrevorMahlmann/status/1468572344167940101

RocketLover0119 · « **Reply #145 on:** 12/08/2021 01:22 pm »

SpaceX patch, and mission timeline.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/

Rondaz · « **Reply #146 on:** 12/08/2021 02:20 pm »

Live IXPE Broadcast Early Thursday, NASA EDGE Show Today

James Cawley Posted on December 8, 2021

Live coverage of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida begins at 12:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 9. Tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website for a live broadcast – or stay right here for a live blog to take you through the launch day events.

At 11:30 a.m. today, NASA EDGE will host the IXPE rollout show. The program will air live on NASA TV, the agency’s website and YouTube.

IXPE is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A at 1 a.m. EST on Dec. 9. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy.

IXPE will study the polarization of X-rays coming to us from some of the universe’s most extreme sources, including black holes and dead stars known as pulsars.

NASA selected IXPE as a Small Explorer mission in 2017. The IXPE project is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama manages the IXPE mission. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations with support from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/ixpe/2021/12/08/live-ixpe-broadcast-early-thursday-nasa-edge-show-today/

Rondaz · « **Reply #147 on:** 12/08/2021 04:14 pm »

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) sits atop Falcon 9 ahead of it’s targeted 1am EST (6am UTC) liftoff.

From low earth orbit, this small but powerful telescope will help unlock more mysteries of the universe.

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1468610256720867334

Rondaz · « **Reply #148 on:** 12/08/2021 04:15 pm »

A few more photos from remote setup. For those keeping score at home, this will be the 5th flight for booster B1061.
Also, LC-39A will be turned around quickly, as the next ISS resupply mission (CRS-24) is only 2 weeks away!

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1468613115923292162

kdhilliard · « **Reply #149 on:** 12/08/2021 05:31 pm »

Quote from: kaa on 12/05/2021 05:22 pm

If you go to the Ball Aerospace IXPE page there is a clean room photo with a standard human and also a video of the boom extension test.

Thanks!
That embedded boom extension test video on Ball's page doesn't play well for me, but here it is on NASA MSFC's YouTube channel.
(Same as the Ball video, but without the non-funky music soundtrack.)
YouTube video g9XDzxBguu0 · 0m30s · 1080p.

ZachS09 · « **Reply #150 on:** 12/08/2021 05:57 pm »

Quick question about the two Stage 2 burns.

Will the first burn be a direct insertion to the 600-km orbit, or will it be an elliptical parking orbit with the second burn having the dual purpose of the large inclination change and circularization?

LouScheffer · « **Reply #151 on:** 12/08/2021 07:48 pm »

Quote from: ZachS09 on 12/08/2021 05:57 pm

Quick question about the two Stage 2 burns. Will the first burn be a direct insertion to the 600-km orbit, or will it be an elliptical parking orbit with the second burn having the dual purpose of the large inclination change and circularization?

I don't know for sure, but strongly suspect elliptical parking orbit, then plane change/circularization. It's a lot more efficient to include the circularization component in the (very large) plane change burn, because it's at ~~right angles to the plane change. Therefore the hypotenuse will be barely larger than the largest component, the plane change.~~

Edit: Oops, it's not at right angles. But it should still be more efficient than direct insertion into a 600x600 orbit.
Numerical example: Changing a 200x600 orbit to 600x600 takes 113 m/s. Direct injection will take more than this (depends on exact trajectory). Including circularization as part of the plane change will involve increasing the 3612 m/s plane change to ~~sqrt((cos(27.5)*3612+113)^2 + (sin(27.5)*3612)^2) = 3713 m/s, about 101 m/s more~~. So definitely better than direct injection.

Edit 2: Oops, wrong again. The change in direction is 27.5^o but that's not the direction of the burn. Instead, use the law of cosines to find the delta V directly:
a = 7600 #Orbital speed
b = 7713 #Orbital speed after circularization
rslt = sqrt(a**2+b**2 - 2*a*b*cos(27.5^o))
which gives 3641 m/s, about 29 m/s more than the plane change alone. So the conclusion holds - it's better than direct injection.

niwax · « **Reply #152 on:** 12/08/2021 10:26 pm »

Quote from: LouScheffer on 12/08/2021 07:48 pm

Quote from: ZachS09 on 12/08/2021 05:57 pm
Quick question about the two Stage 2 burns. Will the first burn be a direct insertion to the 600-km orbit, or will it be an elliptical parking orbit with the second burn having the dual purpose of the large inclination change and circularization?
I don't know for sure, but strongly suspect elliptical parking orbit, then plane change/circularization. It's a lot more efficient to include the circularization component in the (very large) plane change burn, because it's at ~~right angles to the plane change. Therefore the hypotenuse will be barely larger than the largest component, the plane change.~~

Edit: Oops, it's not at right angles. But it should still be more efficient than direct insertion into a 600x600 orbit.
Numerical example: Changing a 200x600 orbit to 600x600 takes 113 m/s. Direct injection will take more than this (depends on exact trajectory). Including circularization as part of the plane change will involve increasing the 3612 m/s plane change to sqrt((cos(27.5)*3612+113)^2 + (sin(27.5)*3612)^2) = 3713 m/s, about 101 m/s more. So definitely better than direct injection.

What would happen with a much higher transfer orbit to reduce the size of the plane change? Say 200x10000x27.5 -> 600x10000x0 -> 600x600

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #153 on:** 12/08/2021 10:34 pm »

Second orbital launch today, December 9 UTC:
RocketLab Electron Flight 23,
this launch.

LouScheffer · « **Reply #154 on:** 12/08/2021 11:26 pm »

Quote from: niwax on 12/08/2021 10:26 pm

What would happen with a much higher transfer orbit to reduce the size of the plane change? Say 200x10000x27.5 -> 600x10000x0 -> 600x600

Alas, it does not help.
200x200x27.5 > 200x10000x27.5 = 1516 m/s
200x10000x27.5 >200x10000x0 = 3734*sin(27.5) = 1724 m/s
200x10000x0 > 600x10000x0 = 79 m/s (but can be combined with previous burn, so not quite this much)
600x10000x0 > 600x600x0 = 1394 m/s

So at least 1516+1724+1394 = 4634 m/s, worse than the pure plane change of 3612 m/s. Without working it out, I suspect it will always be worse, no matter the intermediate apogee.

SPKirsch · « **Reply #155 on:** 12/09/2021 01:23 am »

NSF article:
https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1468751863445086215

Quote

Attention now turns to Florida, where a SpaceX Falcon 9 is prepared to launch NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to orbit. The window opens at 1 AM EST (06:00 UTC).

Article by Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF) and Haygen Warren (@haygenwarren):
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/12/ixpe-launch/

NSF launch coverage: