SpaceX F9 : Starlink v1.0 L7 : June 3/4, 2020 : Discussion

[wannamoonbase]

I've checked all the threads I can think of and the SpaceX twitter feed.

Is there any word on the fairing recovery attempt on last nights launch?

[salpun]

I've checked all the threads I can think of and the SpaceX twitter feed.

Is there any word on the fairing recovery attempt on last nights launch?

No, ships are heading back.

[RocketLover0119]

I've checked all the threads I can think of and the SpaceX twitter feed.

Is there any word on the fairing recovery attempt on last nights launch?

Nope. Should be able to tell if they were fished or caught by the net they are sitting on. If they are sitting on the blue net they were caught, or the black net means they were fished.

Probably fished them judging by lack of communication though.

[Lars-J]

This is not exactly what we see on the video. The stack of satelites separates together from the stage with a definite push, which is definitely delayed relative to the jettisoning of the rod.

Look closer. As soon as the rods clear (some connection at the top is broken), the satellites slowly start "falling away" due to the rotation. As for evidence on the rotation, note the moon in the shot (tiny dot due to wide angle), moving across the screen and reflecting of the stage/payload.

[ChrML]

We already know SpaceX is pushing the envelope in terms of reuse count and rapid reuse with their own Starlink satellites.

But if launch windows and range availability becomes the largest constraint, could we see them pushing the envelope on the weather constraints? To see the actual limits and margins on the rocket.

They already said they're producing more satellites than they can launch.

[CorvusCorax]

I was wondering the same thing considering last nights tight weather margins.

Falcon9 is a thin and long rocket, so its relatively vulnerable to wind shear, turbulence, etc... so I can't really see them launching through a proper thunderstorm cloud. Rain and hail is also not nice if you go though it supersonic and want to reuse your fairing.

But if it's just high static electricity field strengths? Why not.

It might actually be great data for NASA and other customers to have a few lightning strikes on non-customer-launches and see the effect on avionics, launch abort charges, payload, etc... just no customer wants to be the one to provide that data.

[wannamoonbase]

We already know SpaceX is pushing the envelope in terms of reuse count and rapid reuse with their own Starlink satellites.

But if launch windows and range availability becomes the largest constraint, could we see them pushing the envelope on the weather constraints? To see the actual limits and margins on the rocket.

They already said they're producing more satellites than they can launch.

Doubtful, they'll stretch the weather limits too far.  The F9 does a great job getting off the pad on time when not weather constrained.  They can take a few delays here and there, all while queuing up the next launch.

The critical path for launch pace seems to be booster and ASDS availability.

[kessdawg]

Also correct me if I'm wrong but I believe there are some weather constraints that will close the range regardless of rocket requirements.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Ultra simple, ultra effective. Part count: zero.

Part count is at least four, since there are four hold down posts that are released and left to decay in LEO.

[Lars-J]

Ultra simple, ultra effective. Part count: zero.

Part count is at least four, since there are four hold down posts that are released and left to decay in LEO.

Four? Explain your logic there. There appears to be only two pieces that separate from the upper stage. And satellite / debris tracking confirms that.

[Elthiryel]

No, actually tracking confirms it's four (despite the fact that looking at the stream I would also say it's two). Here's the example from launch 7, but it's the same for each of them.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1263692953467457536

[haywoodfloyd]

I'm not sure where to post this so feel free to move it.
Does anyone know where I could find the TLE file containing  the newest Starlink satellites so I can download it to Stellarium?
Or alternately what the designations of the satellites are/will be (STARLINK-XXXX)?
Thanks

[Elthiryel]

All objects with the international designator starting with 2020-035 are the objects from the last Starlink launch (Starlink-8 or Starlink V1.0 L7).

http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?tleFile=starlink&title=Starlink&orbits=0&pointsPerRev=90&frame=1

[haywoodfloyd]

Thank you very much Elthiryel.

[rsdavis9]

Anybody know if S2 reentered already?
I saw the sats last night and one was bright continuous and one flashed briefly. So assume the one bright was the S2? I couldn't find the S2 in heavens above search. A lot of them appear as
"FALCON 9 DEB"
but none of them had a launch date of the Jun 4th.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

I hadn’t remembered that B1049 and JRTI have history ...

The only time B1049 returned to port aboard Just Read the Instructions was on the West coast following the Iridium-8 mission. Today, the same booster is again set to arrive aboard JRTI, but this time on the EAST coast, after its FIFTH successful launch and landing. #spacex

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1269699906081521666

[kessdawg]

Starlink fairing deploy sequence

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1270466922459459590

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Starlink fairing deploy sequence

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1270466922459459590

twitter.com/djsnm/status/1270470538553679877

Things to see here:
* Watch for the fairing flexing after separation.
* It falls out away from rocket, then rear half gets kicked by the exhaust, reversing the rotation.
* The limb of the earth is visible as a reflection in side of satellite stack.

https://twitter.com/djsnm/status/1270470539564519425

* the parachute likes and steering hardware are all visible, see how the lines are laid out inside the fairing.
* Probably the best shot we've ever see of Merlin Vacuum in flight.
* The blue exhaust from illumination by the sun
* A view of the exhaust trail from inside!

[Alexphysics]

Funny how SpaceX calls this mission just "Starlink 7" considering all the fights people have had about calling these either by their flight number or just the number of flights of the version they're in. During old times I defended using "Starlink #" with the number being the flight number within the v1.0 version since that's what appears on official documentation and internally by SpaceX. Many others thought that it was better to just number them in flight order instead so this one would have been Starlink 8 not Starlink 7. I stopped caring about this right after Starlink v1.0 L2 because it's just stupid. But just letting you know again that SpaceX, even to this day, still considers v0.9 an experiment and sort of like "flight 0". It feels good to be right from time to time

[tyrred]

And here it is on you tube.

Mesmerizing.