Deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed
Jessie's sign off to mark the 100th successful mission.
Ms. Chief is sailing offshore - going a mighty 19.4 knots - towards the splashdown site.The ship will arrive in about 4 hours to hopefully scoop the fairing.Specially chartered vessel 'Big Stone Leader' is already onsite and presumably has the task to babysit the fairing.
Since we no longer have dedicated update and discussion threads per mission, let me just say ... the live video of that landing looked “sporty.” . Not sure if it was the camera angle, the trajectory of the stage as it transitioned over the barge or what, but I sort of expected to see a flaming pile of debris when the image stabilized. Whew. (MODS - please feel free to move/delete as necessary).
Falcon 9 launches SpaceX’s 100th successful flight → https://www.spacex.com/updates/starlink-mission-10-24-2020/index.html
OCTOBER 24, 2020STARLINK MISSION - SPACEX’S 100TH SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTOn Saturday, October 24 at 11:31 a.m. EDT, 11:31 UTC, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 60 Starlink satellites to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Starlink satellites deployed approximately 1 hour and 3 minutes after liftoff.If you would like to receive updates on Starlink news and service availability in your area, please visit starlink.com.This mission also marked the 100th successful flight of a Falcon rocket since Falcon 1 first flew to orbit in 2008.SpaceX believes that fully and rapidly reusable rockets are the pivotal breakthrough needed to dramatically reduce the cost of access to space to enable people to travel to and live on other planets. While most rockets are expendable after launch — akin to throwing away an airplane after a one-way trip from Los Angeles to New York — SpaceX is working toward a future in which reusable rockets are the norm.Of its now 100 successful flights of Falcon rockets, SpaceX has landed a Falcon first stage rocket booster 63 times and re-flown boosters 45 times. This year, SpaceX twice accomplished the sixth flight of an orbital rocket booster. And, in the ten years since its demonstration mission, Falcon 9 has become the most-flown operational rocket in the United States, overtaking expendable rockets that have been launching for decades.The difficulty of precision landing an orbital rocket after it reenters Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic velocity is not to be overlooked — SpaceX remains the only launch provider in the world capable of accomplishing this task. At 14 stories tall and traveling upwards of 1300 m/s (nearly 1 mi/s), stabilizing Falcon 9’s first stage booster for landing is like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a hurricane. While recovery and re-flight of an orbital rocket booster may now seem routine, developing Falcon such that it would withstand reentry and return for landing was generally accepted as impossible — and SpaceX learned many lessons on the road to reusability.SpaceX’s accomplishments with flight-proven rockets and spacecraft have allowed us to further advance the fleet’s reliability and reusability, as well as inform the development of Starship — SpaceX’s next-generation fully and rapidly reusable super heavy lift transportation system. Starship’s capability of full and rapid reuse will lower the cost of spaceflight to help humanity return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately become multi-planetary.
Quote from: Herb Schaltegger on 10/24/2020 03:44 pmSince we no longer have dedicated update and discussion threads per mission, let me just say ... the live video of that landing looked “sporty.” . Not sure if it was the camera angle, the trajectory of the stage as it transitioned over the barge or what, but I sort of expected to see a flaming pile of debris when the image stabilized. Whew. (MODS - please feel free to move/delete as necessary). Wobbly camera. Landing was normal.
Shortly after rain threatened to interfere with today’s launch, Falcon 9 lifts off with 60 more Starlink satellites, followed by a successful landing on JRTI!Article by Danny Lentz for @NASASpaceflight: https://nasaspaceflight.com/2020/10/spacex-second-starlink-mission-in-week/
Can anyone explain how that low ceiling at launch did not violate the cumulus cloud rule? I thought you couldnt go through a deck like that.
Engine closeups from today's @SpaceX mission 🔭🔥 streamed live with the @Erdayastronaut crew... that rumble, so crispy 🙌 (@marylizbender aced the mics!) @elonmusk #Starlink
GO Searcher and GO Navigator have turned around and are returning to Port Canaveral.The two ships were deployed yesterday for Starlink fairing recovery but were ultimately not required.Ms. Chief completed repair work in North Carolina and was deployed at around T - 2 hours.
Here is what I think happened with fairing recovery - in more than 280 characters - posted on my Patreon-exclusive Discord server.SpaceX has not yet released any news regarding the outcome of the fairing recovery operation today.
Fleet update:It took the technicians roughly four hours to checkout and secure B1060 on the deck of JRTI putting the departure at roughly 6:00 pm ET. They are steadily making the trek back to Port Canaveral. Satellite tracking via @MarineTraffic. #SpaceXFleet
