SpaceX F9 : Starlink v1.0 L15 : CC SLC-40 : Nov 24 2020 (Nov 25 0213 UTC)

[Steven Pietrobon]

Separation!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1331424769632215040

Deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed

[Steven Pietrobon]

Satellites moving away.

Wrapping up webcast.

End of webcast.

Congratulations to SpaceX and Starlink for the successful launch!

[Chris Bergin]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1331424978399531008

[niwax]

This booster has now delivered Telstar 18V, the second heaviest commsat ever launched, eight Iridium satellites and 300 Starlinks, for a total of around 100t of payload.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1331425327369891840

Tonight we celebrate the 100th Falcon 9 launch with B1049.7 successfully launching from LC-40 and landing on Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic Ocean. May the seas be kind to this booster and the crew that watches over.

NSF Article: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/11/starlink-falcon9-100-flights/

https://twitter.com/mike_seeley/status/1331424614023573504

Definition: SEPTUPLE (noun)
1. a sum seven times as great as another: a sevenfold amount: the seventh multiple
2. the number of times #SpaceX has launched the B1049 #Falcon9 booster

The #Starlink launch tonight is the 100th Falcon 9 launch.

Congrats @elonmusk & team!

(📷:me)

https://twitter.com/emrekelly/status/1331426557882150913

Some clouds = better than no clouds

#Starlink

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Congratulations to SpaceX. Not only first time a booster has flown 7 times but also first time SpaceX has had four launches in a month.

[Elthiryel]

It was also the 22nd SpaceX orbital launch in 2020, breaking the previous record of 21 orbital launches in a year (from 2018).

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1331431972430700545

Falcon 9 launches Starlink to orbit – the seventh launch and landing of this booster

[Orbiter]

My shot of tonight's Falcon 9 launch.

[OneSpeed]

Here is a comparison of the telemetry for Starlink V1.0 L15 and L7.

1. I picked L7 because of its similar vee-shaped throttle bucket, also used by L10.
2. L15 also marks a return to the higher 216km coast insertion altitude used by L6, L7, L10 and also L11.
3. L15 does not have the S2 throttle down used by L7, and last used by L9.

[rasumner]

By my accounting in addition to all the other records mentioned for this flight, it also represents the fastest time between 3 launches (9 days), 4 launches (19 days), 5 launches (31 days), 6 launches (38 days), 7 launches (50 days), 8 launches (83 days), 9 launches (86 days), 10 launches (98 days) and 11 launches (110 days). I didn't go farther back. Everything rounded to the closest number of whole days.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1331438173373812738

Liftoff! SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket soars from Cape Canaveral at 9:13pm this evening, launching another 60 Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s internet constellation.

This particular Falcon booster, B1049.7, has now competed seven flights to space — a new record for the Falcon fleet.

https://twitter.com/johnpisaniphoto/status/1331437260710047745

Seven launches and landings for this booster and another 60 #starlink satellites in orbit. Nice work 🤙 🚀

@SpaceX #Falcon9 #spacecoast

https://twitter.com/rdanglephoto/status/1331435136144072704

100th #Falcon9 launch, 7 launches and landings for Booster 1049! #SpaceX has successfully sent another batch of #Starlink sats to orbit while continuing to push the boundaries on reusability!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1331601315777142792

The fairing recovery team look to be well underway back to Port Canaveral this morning, following the Starlink mission. Outcome TBD.

The booster recovery team will have been hard at work first thing this morning to prepare B1049.7 for the journey back to Florida.

[Nomadd]

This booster has now delivered Telstar 18V, the second heaviest commsat ever launched, eight Iridium satellites and 300 Starlinks, for a total of around 100t of payload.

So, we can call it SpaceX's first Saturn V class booster?

[webdan]

Maybe he’s from the future. Anyway, nice view from west central FL... watched the second stage for a long time.

[wannamoonbase]

This booster has now delivered Telstar 18V, the second heaviest commsat ever launched, eight Iridium satellites and 300 Starlinks, for a total of around 100t of payload.

So, we can call it SpaceX's first Saturn V class booster?

That is a heck of a resume, 309 satellites.  It has flown 7% of all Falcon 9 missions. 

I find that to maybe be the crazy stat for this impressive booster.

Fingers crossed for 3 more successful flights and a healthy fairing recovery as well.

Question: do we know if SpaceX is going to retire boosters at 10 flights or will they keep going as long as the vehicle is healthy and find the usable life of F9?

[ugordan]

This booster has now delivered Telstar 18V, the second heaviest commsat ever launched, eight Iridium satellites and 300 Starlinks, for a total of around 100t of payload.

So, we can call it SpaceX's first Saturn V class booster?

I wouldn't go that far, but I remember a time when Jim (TM) was saying that a single Atlas V CCB was providing more total impulse than an F9 first stage.

Where do we stand on that now? What's the proper metric to consider here?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1331659224305311751

Of Course I Still Love You droneship has departed from the Starlink landing zone and is en-route to Port Canaveral, Florida!

[ugordan]

Did I miss a memo, or did SpaceX change the vent ports for the fairings (ones covered with tyvek covers) to be toward the fairing half edges as opposed to being symmetrically distributed?

I can see that as being a decision to make them less susceptible to sinking, but this was the first launch I actually noticed this?

EDIT: Looks like this is indeed a first, the previous Starlink mission 1 month ago still had the vent ports at the usual places and here those "legacy" ports seem to have been patched up (you can see the 2 patched spots as slightly brighter).