SpaceX F9 : Starlink v1.0 L17 : KSC LC-39A : 4 March 2021 (0824 UTC)

[GetCrispy]

No camera views from 1st stage being shown on this flight...

Interesting. I wonder if this has something to do with the light show we got when the engine failed / heat issues on the last Starlink...

Or something with the video feed hardware is on the fritz and they don’t think it’s important enough to fix.

[zubenelgenubi]

Counting down through T-5 minutes.  No issues.

[wannamoonbase]

No camera views from 1st stage being shown on this flight...

Interesting. I wonder if this has something to do with the light show we got when the engine failed / heat issues on the last Starlink...

Or something with the video feed hardware is on the fritz and they don’t think it’s important enough to fix.

I’d bet on not wanting to rush broadcasting problems.

They said they’d have telemetry but he didn’t specifically say that they’d be showing it on the screen.

[zubenelgenubi]

Abort at T-1 minute:24 seconds!

Standing by for further information.

Next launch opportunity will be tomorrow, March 1, 8:15 pm EST = 0115 March 2 UTC.  (That does not mean the launch is officiallyrescheduled for a 24 hour delay.  It's only the next opportunity.)

End of SpaceX web cast.

Apparently, not enough time to resolve and restart countdown within the launch window.  That's why the countdown clock reset to T-15:00.

[edkyle99]

I wonder if the strongback did not fully retract, or retracted too late.   It didn't look quite right to me.

 - Ed Kyle

[Mandella]

Wow at the instant "they must not want to us to see them fail!!!" speculation on the no camera announcement.

As I recall, last time they did not show camera it was a regulatory issue with NOAA in regards to Earth imaging (it really was). Maybe they let their license run out?

[zubenelgenubi]

Some catch-up posts to tonight's scrub:

SpaceX set to launch long-delayed Starlink mission, February 28, by Colin Fletcher

https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1366192765223260161

Falcon 9 B1049 has been teasing us for the last month or so, but tonight, she is ready to loft 60 #Starlink satellites. This will be the 2nd booster to accomplish 8 flights!

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1366196129050857474

Falcon 9 B1049.8 enjoying her T-20 minute vent.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1366198180975624193

No seagulls spotted.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1366200812318384130

ABORT! Falcon 9 B1049.8 aborted at T-1:24.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1366201147602649092

24 hour scrub turnaround, pending what caused the abort.

Great talk after the scrub from the NSF crew!

[gongora]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1366205026603950082

Auto-abort at T-1:24 ahead of tonight's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink; next launch opportunity is tomorrow, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. EST

[Jansen]

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1366204420225073152

Now expected to be approximately 255x287km.

[LouScheffer]

No camera views from 1st stage being shown on this flight...

Interesting. I wonder if this has something to do with the light show we got when the engine failed / heat issues on the last Starlink...

Or something with the video feed hardware is on the fritz and they don’t think it’s important enough to fix.

My guess was that given the problems on L-19, they want to see every single sensor at every single timepoint, and that takes precedence over video in the telemetry stream.  But this is only speculation.

[Jansen]

Only 60% GO for launch conditions on March 1, with moderate booster recovery risk.

[Ken the Bin]

SpaceX has reupdated their Launches webpage for this launch.

[Ken the Bin]

New NGA notices, however the times for the Alternate days look wrong to me.

010438Z MAR 21
NAVAREA IV 181/21(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   020100Z TO 020308Z MAR, ALTERNATE
   022348Z TO 030246Z, 032327Z TO 040225Z AND
   042305Z TO 050203Z MAR
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39-10N 080-37-48W, 29-00-00N 080-14-00W,
      29-15-00N 079-56-00W, 29-26-00N 079-41-00W,
      29-20-00N 079-35-00W, 29-07-00N 079-47-00W,
      28-50-00N 080-02-00W, 28-34-00N 080-22-00W,
      28-30-21N 080-32-58W.
   B. 31-44-00N 077-12-00W, 33-17-00N 076-03-00W
      33-32-00N 074-59-00W, 33-10-00N 074-34-00W,
      32-27-00N 074-46-00W, 31-25-00N 076-53-00W.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 171/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 050303Z MAR 21.

010415Z MAR 21
HYDROPAC 676/21(GEN).
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   020309Z TO 020452Z MAR,
   ALTERNATE 030157Z TO 030430Z,
   040136Z TO 040409Z AND
   050114Z TO 050347Z MAR
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   29-43S 060-07E, 24-55S 064-27E,
   38-45S 084-30E, 45-12S 099-45E,
   49-46S 119-13E, 50-42S 138-19E,
   48-50S 156-44E, 51-46S 158-08E,
   54-42S 148-32E, 56-20S 131-03E,
   55-52S 107-50E, 49-11S 085-05E,
   34-32S 064-13E.
2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 660/21.
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 050447Z MAR 21.

[AndrewRG10]

No camera views from 1st stage being shown on this flight...

Interesting. I wonder if this has something to do with the light show we got when the engine failed / heat issues on the last Starlink...

Or something with the video feed hardware is on the fritz and they don’t think it’s important enough to fix.

If it returns next launch then it could very well just be an issue with the camera on stage 1 that isn't worth fixing, if it doesn't return I think it's very fair to assume they don't want people seeing their boosters failing and having it shown off to the world.

I think it is the latter personally because they scrubbed due to a stage 2 camera issue that they wanted to check just in case. I'll be glad to be proven wrong but people got to remember spacex is more than allowed to try and hide failures or control the messaging to avoid bad press, no one was forcing them when they used to show off failures of Falcon 9.

[Pete]

... people got to remember spacex is more than allowed to try and hide failures or control the messaging to avoid bad press, no one was forcing them wen they user to show off failures of Falcon 9.

Of course they are allowed to try and hide their failures, but I would be utterly flabbergasted if this becomes their policy after 19 years, 111 orbital launches, and a few dozen test launches. During which time they never hid their successes or failures, even to the point of making a Video about how *not* to land a Falcon 9 booster.

Why I vaguely recall them livestreaming the two most excellent KaBooms just this year, already. That surely does not seem like someone who "try and hide failures" to me!

[scr00chy]

Elon Musk even specifically said that it was a mistake to cut away from the CRS-16 failure and that it would not happen in the future (meaning they'd always show their failures).

[Ken the Bin]

New NGA notices, however the times for the Alternate days look wrong to me.

The problem is an inconsistent offset between the beginning of the hazard periord and launch time.  Accounting for that, here are my calculated launch times.

Primary Day = Tuesday, March 2 at 01:15 UTC.
Backup Day #1 = Wednesday, March 3 at ~00:53 UTC.
Backup Day #2 = Thursday, March 4 at ~00:32 UTC.
Backup Day #3 = Friday, March 5 at ~00:10 UTC.

[Rekt1971]

Falcon 9 is horizontal at pad 39A after last night’s Starlink scrub. Scheduled to launch at 2015 ET tonight, but stay tuned.

https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1366402811009916929

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1366412437117939717

Falcon 9 B1049.8's launch from KSC 39A with the L-17 Starlink mission is now in a 48 hour scrub turnaround stance.

New NET (No Earlier Than) March 2 at 19:53 Local, per KSC notices.

Photo: Stephen Marr (@spacecoast_stve) for NSF.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1366434925692542979

Due to poor weather conditions in the recovery area and to allow additional time for pre-launch checks, now targeting Tuesday, March 2 at 7:53 p.m. EST for launch of Starlink from LC-39A