Author Topic: SpaceX FH - Europa Clipper - KSC LC-39A - 14 October 2024 (16:06 UTC)  (Read 121028 times)

Offline ugordan

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Ascent Timeline from JPL's press kit.
Thanks, finally some UTC times for liftoff opportunities. So it's a daytime launch.

Offline Remes

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This mission is still planned to be fully expended?  Not even the side boosters recovered?
Yes, all three expended.
The boosters by the way launched Psyche last year. So everyone who heard the Psyche launch will hear the boosters again.


https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/launch/falcon-heavy-europa-clipper/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_first-stage_boosters

(That list is so crazy...)
B1065 and B1064
« Last Edit: 09/20/2024 06:15 am by Remes »

Offline Remes

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The statement/paraphrase attributed the performance increase to "hardware mods allowing more complete burning of propellant".  Changing the throttle profile doesn't sound like a good match.  Agreed we have no idea on what stage/booster the mods were implemented.
Could the hardware mods be as simple as removing the landing legs and grid fins from both the side boosters?

They are talking about the mods at 42:22



- mods to utilize all the fuel in the boosters (One could think of the added sensors which doomed the upper stage the other day, Starlink 9-3. That was the upper stage, but I assume they would add the sensor into every Merlin. I agree, very shaky assumption. It would mean they modified or exchanged the Merlin engines on the boosters.)
- optimize throttleling (citing experience with previous launches)
- better coverage through tdrs allows better burns (ground assets needs to be close to the area, where burns occurr)

Offline MattMason

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This mission is still planned to be fully expended?  Not even the side boosters recovered?

Depending on what press kit you look at, Clipper is the heaviest interplanetary spacecraft to-date, at about 13,371 lb/6065 kg. JUICE is around this number. Cassini was around 12,000 lb. To avoid additional gravity assists as JUICE is doing, Clipper needs only one Earth and one Mars flyby to reach Jupiter by April 2030, over 1 year before JUICE, launched in April 2023. So FH is pouring out all its power to pitch Clipper as hard as it can.
"Why is the logo on the side of a rocket so important?"
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Offline ugordan

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To avoid additional gravity assists as JUICE is doing, Clipper needs only one Earth and one Mars flyby to reach Jupiter by April 2030, over 1 year before JUICE, launched in April 2023. So FH is pouring out all its power to pitch Clipper as hard as it can.

To be fair, I believe the first JUICE Earth flyby was just to set the conditions for the rest of the cruise flyby sequence. This being due to Ariane V not having a restartable upper stage, limiting the Earth-escape hyperbolic trajectories available *. Rosetta had to do the same thing. To boil it down, JUICE has a +1 year extra cruise compared to what it would need if Ariane had a restartable upper stage.

[*] That's my understanding at least. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Offline MattMason

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To avoid additional gravity assists as JUICE is doing, Clipper needs only one Earth and one Mars flyby to reach Jupiter by April 2030, over 1 year before JUICE, launched in April 2023. So FH is pouring out all its power to pitch Clipper as hard as it can.

To be fair, I believe the first JUICE Earth flyby was just to set the conditions for the rest of the cruise flyby sequence. This being due to Ariane V not having a restartable upper stage, limiting the Earth-escape hyperbolic trajectories available *. Rosetta had to do the same thing. To boil it down, JUICE has a +1 year extra cruise compared to what it would need if Ariane had a restartable upper stage.

[*] That's my understanding at least. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yep, that fits my understanding, too.

Clipper's flight plan shows Falcon Heavy yeeting the spacecraft some distance beyond Mars orbit--not unlike its maiden flight to dispose of Elon Musk's car. A Mars 2/2025 assist, together with an Earth 12/2026 assist, gives all the energy needed.

Ariane 6 might've done a similar speedy run for JUICE, were it available, but alas, it was not. I concur. JUICE gets the scenic path to Jupiter since Ariane 5's upper stage couldn't relight. Main thing is that it gets there, and NASA and ESA can have a data lovefest in the system not unlike their Parker Solar Probe/Solar Orbiter work.
« Last Edit: 09/20/2024 04:10 pm by MattMason »
"Why is the logo on the side of a rocket so important?"
"So you can find the pieces." -Jim, the Steely Eyed

Offline GewoonLukas_

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Quote
Status report on Europa Clipper: All good for launch Oct. 10. Fueling of the spacecraft was completed over the weekend. Falcon Heavy's boosters were also mated together in the last few days.

https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/1838577305637011780
Lukas C. H. • Hobbyist Mission Patch Artist 🎨 • May the force be with you my friend, Ad Astra Per Aspera ✨️

Offline LouScheffer

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The statement/paraphrase attributed the performance increase to "hardware mods allowing more complete burning of propellant".  Changing the throttle profile doesn't sound like a good match.  Agreed we have no idea on what stage/booster the mods were implemented.
Could the hardware mods be as simple as removing the landing legs and grid fins from both the side boosters?
They are talking about the mods at 42:22
[...]
- better coverage through TDRS allows better burns (ground assets needs to be close to the area, where burns occurr)
This last point, TDRS coverage, could be a biggy.  For the most efficient possible injection, you pick a parking orbit and a location where the injection burn needed is precisely in line with the orbital velocity at that point.  This ideal location is often in the middle of nowhere (say over the South Pacific).  But then (especially since parking orbits are typically very low altitude) there is often no ground station contact at that point.

For a long time this was just considered a cost of doing business.  But then in 2002 the CONTOUR mission died while attempting this maneuver, and the cause could never be firmly established (though there were some good guesses), since there was no telemetry.  In the failure report lessons learned they said
Quote
A major lesson learned was that all spacecraft should retain telemetry or visual contact during critical phases of the mission.
and the recommendation was:
Quote
Always maintain telemetry or visual contact with spacecraft during critical phases of the mission.
To adhere to this rule, if Europa Clipper could only use ground stations, they would need to do the injection at a non-optimum time and place.  But then since they would not be at the optimum place, they would need to fire at an angle to the flight path.  This costs performance, potentially a lot of it.

But if they can use TDRS, they can fire at the right place and the right time, while still maintaining telemetry as required. This can be a big help.

Offline Asteroza

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The statement/paraphrase attributed the performance increase to "hardware mods allowing more complete burning of propellant".  Changing the throttle profile doesn't sound like a good match.  Agreed we have no idea on what stage/booster the mods were implemented.
Could the hardware mods be as simple as removing the landing legs and grid fins from both the side boosters?
They are talking about the mods at 42:22
[...]
- better coverage through TDRS allows better burns (ground assets needs to be close to the area, where burns occurr)
This last point, TDRS coverage, could be a biggy.  For the most efficient possible injection, you pick a parking orbit and a location where the injection burn needed is precisely in line with the orbital velocity at that point.  This ideal location is often in the middle of nowhere (say over the South Pacific).  But then (especially since parking orbits are typically very low altitude) there is often no ground station contact at that point.

For a long time this was just considered a cost of doing business.  But then in 2002 the CONTOUR mission died while attempting this maneuver, and the cause could never be firmly established (though there were some good guesses), since there was no telemetry.  In the failure report lessons learned they said
Quote
A major lesson learned was that all spacecraft should retain telemetry or visual contact during critical phases of the mission.
and the recommendation was:
Quote
Always maintain telemetry or visual contact with spacecraft during critical phases of the mission.
To adhere to this rule, if Europa Clipper could only use ground stations, they would need to do the injection at a non-optimum time and place.  But then since they would not be at the optimum place, they would need to fire at an angle to the flight path.  This costs performance, potentially a lot of it.

But if they can use TDRS, they can fire at the right place and the right time, while still maintaining telemetry as required. This can be a big help.

Didn't SpaceX recently get permission to use Starlink on F9, ostensibly to provide continuous connectivity?

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/1839025311528239173

Quote
Propellant Load Complete!

The #EuropaClipper propulsion module is a large aluminum cylinder holding 24 engines, 6,067.6 pounds of propellant, and the helium pressurant tanks. Together they will create a controlled chemical reaction to produce thrust in space during its journey!

Offline LouScheffer

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Clipper's flight plan shows Falcon Heavy yeeting the spacecraft some distance beyond Mars orbit--not unlike its maiden flight to dispose of Elon Musk's car. A Mars 2/2025 assist, together with an Earth 12/2026 assist, gives all the energy needed.

Ariane 6 might've done a similar speedy run for JUICE, were it available, but alas, it was not. I concur. JUICE gets the scenic path to Jupiter since Ariane 5's upper stage couldn't relight. Main thing is that it gets there, and NASA and ESA can have a data lovefest in the system not unlike their Parker Solar Probe/Solar Orbiter work.
Ariane 6 could not have launched JUICE on the Clipper trajectory.  Yes, it can re-light, but no, it does not have enough oomph.  The Ariane 6 User Manual does not have full performance curves, but it mentions 6900 kg to a C3 of 6.25.  The Clipper trajectory needs a C3 of 42.  Looking at other large liquid hydrogen upper stages (such as Vulcan VC6) moving from a C3 of 6.25 to a C3 of 42 will reduce your payload by about half.  So Ariane 6 could only launch about 3500 kg to the EC trajectory, whereas JUICE was about 6070 kg.

Ariane 64 can only launch about 2800kg into EC orbit

Offline redliox

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I heard there was some kind of error in the upper stage of Falcon 9.  Will the temporary grounding affect the 'Clipper launch?
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Offline theinternetftw

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Per that Falcon grounding (off-nominal deorbit burn of the second stage during Crew 9), here's a quote from the press kit here on the timeline they have to work with for Clipper:

Quote
The spacecraft’s launch period opens Oct. 10, 2024, with opportunities through Oct. 30. Additional contingency dates in early November are also available, if needed.

Those launch opportunities through the 30th are daily. Detailed information about the launch opportunities in early November aren't in the press kit.

Edit: Space Policy Online had the info on the last date in the window: November 6th.

Quote
NASA is still expecting to launch the Europa Clipper probe on October 10 at the beginning of its multi-week launch window, but if necessary it could launch as late as November 6.  That’s several days beyond the original window thanks to SpaceX finding ways to get more performance out of the Falcon Heavy rocket and not needing to rely on ground stations to track the rocket’s trajectory.
« Last Edit: 09/29/2024 09:58 pm by theinternetftw »

Offline Oersted

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NASA is still expecting to launch the Europa Clipper probe on October 10 at the beginning of its multi-week launch window, but if necessary it could launch as late as November 6.  That’s several days beyond the original window thanks to SpaceX finding ways to get more performance out of the Falcon Heavy rocket and not needing to rely on ground stations to track the rocket’s trajectory.

I could make some joke about the FAA stopping any launch until Nov. 5th passes, so there would still be a launch opportunity the day after, but I think I shouldn't...

This mission is still planned to be fully expended?  Not even the side boosters recovered?

Depending on what press kit you look at, Clipper is the heaviest interplanetary spacecraft to-date, at about 13,371 lb/6065 kg. JUICE is around this number. Cassini was around 12,000 lb. To avoid additional gravity assists as JUICE is doing, Clipper needs only one Earth and one Mars flyby to reach Jupiter by April 2030, over 1 year before JUICE, launched in April 2023. So FH is pouring out all its power to pitch Clipper as hard as it can.

Heaviest interplanetary spacecraft launched was Mars-96 at 6,180 kg (13,620 lb). Though it de-orbited itself after reaching it's parking orbit. It was so heavy, that the Proton didn't have enough power for a direct launch to Mars. The spacecraft would have used its own propulsion to make up the final 550 m/s of the 3,700 m/s velocity change required (Block-D provided 3,150 m/s).
« Last Edit: 10/02/2024 05:27 am by Jrcraft »
AE/ME
6 Suborbital spaceflight payloads. 14.55 minutes of in-space time.

Offline catdlr

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NASA Sets Coverage for Europa Clipper Launch to Jupiter Moon

Article

Quote
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Tuesday, Oct. 8

1 p.m. – In-person, one-on-one interviews, open to media credentialed for this launch.

3:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper science briefing with the following participants:

Gina DiBraccio, acting director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
Robert Pappalardo, project scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL
Haje Korth, deputy project scientist, Europa Clipper, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Cynthia Phillips, project staff scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL
Coverage of the science news conference will stream live on NASA+ and the agency’s website, Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at: [email protected].

Wednesday, Oct. 9

2 p.m. – NASA Social panel at NASA Kennedy with the following participants:

Kate Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters
Caley Burke, Flight Design Analyst, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Erin Leonard, project staff scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL
Juan Pablo León, systems testbed engineer, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL
Elizabeth Turtle, principal investigator, Europa Imaging System instrument, Europa Clipper, APL
The panel will stream live on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube, X, and Facebook accounts. Members of the public may ask questions online by posting to the YouTube, X, and Facebook live streams or using #AskNASA.

3:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper prelaunch news conference (following completion of the Launch Readiness Review), with the following participants:

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX
Jordan Evans, project manager, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL
Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force
Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+, the agency’s website, the NASA app, and YouTube.

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at [email protected].

5:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper rollout show. Coverage will stream live on NASA+, the agency’s website, the NASA app, and YouTube.

Thursday, Oct. 10

11:30 a.m. – NASA launch coverage in English begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

11:30 a.m. – NASA launch coverage in Spanish begins on NASA+, the agency’s website and NASA’s Spanish YouTube channel.

12:31 p.m. – Launch

Audio Only Coverage

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, is carried on 321-867-7135.

Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch

NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 18 hours prior to the planned liftoff of the mission on the NASA Kennedy newsroom YouTube channel. The feed will be uninterrupted until the launch broadcast begins on NASA+.

NASA Website Launch Coverage

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 10 a.m., Oct. 10, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.

Follow countdown coverage on the Europa Clipper blog. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: [email protected] o Messod Bendayan: [email protected]

Attend the Launch Virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Watch, Engage on Social Media

Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #EuropaClipper and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

X: @NASA, @EuropaClipper, @NASASolarSystem, @NASAJPL, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP

Facebook: NASA, NASA’s Europa Clipper, NASA’s JPL, NASA’s Launch Services Program

Instagram: @NASA, @nasasolarsystem, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL

For more information about the mission, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper

-end-


n artist’s concept of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
It's Tony De La Rosa, ...I don't create this stuff, I just report it.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://x.com/nasa_lsp/status/1842200426474619276

Quote
🤩 One last look at #EuropaClipper as the payload fairings close!

The spacecraft will be on a nearly 6-year journey to investigate if there are habitable conditions on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Liftoff is targeted for Oct. 10 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy!🚀

blogs.nasa.gov/europaclipper/

https://twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/1842200429322498505

Quote
Before encapsulation, technicians mated Europa Clipper to the payload adapter and payload attach fitting that will connect the spacecraft to the the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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High res versions from NASA Kennedy flickr

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1842333550974247407

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Teams encapsulated @NASA 's Europa Clipper spacecraft into Falcon Heavy's fairing earlier this week ahead of next week's Falcon Heavy launch from pad 39A in Florida
« Last Edit: 10/04/2024 10:48 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

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