SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 5-1 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 28 December 2022 (09:34 UTC)

[SpaceFinnOriginal]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1608033953721552898

Final rocket launch of the year for Florida’s Space Coast. Bring on 2023! 🚀💯

The final will be EROS C3 on December 30.

[GWR64]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1608038178518335488

We'll confirm satellite deployment after we regain ground station coverage in ~50 minutes.

Launch time to the second?

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1608035423846301698?s=46&t=WUcRLyIG9Rf1l90CSPLlgQ

~09:34:38 UTC

For what's worth for today's NSF stream the T0 time on our clock was set for 4:34:05am EST and the liftoff occurred only one second off from the clock so not sure if maybe Kelso did the wrong math or SpaceX further changed the clock compared to what he has.

Possibly the dogleg in the trajectory was not considered.
The exact shape of the dogleg was also probably unknown before launch.

[Alexphysics]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1608033953721552898

Final rocket launch of the year for Florida’s Space Coast. Bring on 2023! 🚀💯

The final will be EROS C3 on December 30.

EROS is launching from Vandenberg not Florida

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1608065880847486977

As the Mother of Fire awakens, the exhaust remnants from this morning’s flight of a Falcon 9 catch her first rays, illuminating vibrantly in the eastern sky.

https://twitter.com/mhaskellphoto/status/1608066821810278401

There’s just something to love about that post early morning launch sunrise.

[crandles57]

Also congratulations for 62 boosters launched, twice last years record of 31.

This also equals biggest % rise of 100% from 9 to 18 in 2017 over 2016 and from 3 to 6 in 2014 over 2013.  (Umm yes, this is since 2010 as that has infinite % rise of 2 over nothing but then that can never be beaten.)

[FutureSpaceTourist]

twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1608084127680544769

It is so fun to plan a photo, set up the shot, and then sit back and watch a nighttime rocket launch. Using one camera, with no other handheld/static cameras to attend to, makes that a bit easier.

Here’s a short moment of my thoughts during this morning’s Falcon 9 launch 🚀

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1608084841517522945

And then seeing the result on the back of the camera… priceless! Every time. (Even when it doesn’t work; luckily it did this time.)

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/sonicgabe/status/1608053242658983936

This morning’s launch of @SpaceX Starlink 5-1 as viewed from @StPeteFL. Got the reentry burn and a bunch of satellites, too.

[jcm]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1608038178518335488

We'll confirm satellite deployment after we regain ground station coverage in ~50 minutes.

Launch time to the second?

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1608035423846301698?s=46&t=WUcRLyIG9Rf1l90CSPLlgQ

~09:34:38 UTC

For what's worth for today's NSF stream the T0 time on our clock was set for 4:34:05am EST and the liftoff occurred only one second off from the clock so not sure if maybe Kelso did the wrong math or SpaceX further changed the clock compared to what he has.

As you note Kelso posted that there was a last minute update to the launch time, and implied it was 0934:38 UTC.  You say 0934:05.  Stephen Clark on spaceflightnow.com says 0934:00. Would be nice to resolve this!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1608118870107209728

Congratulations SpaceX Falcon team on 60 successful launches this year!!

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1608145311347707905

They did it!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1608159155038355458

Just received confirmation from @SpaceX that launch time was 2022-12-28 at 09:34:00 UTC with a deployment time of 09:52:51.940 UTC. Not surprising to see a 38s lag on the 'live' feed. All data has been updated on CelesTrak as we await the first ephemeris-based SupGP data.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1608172397265313792

On rereading the FCC filings, it seems more clear to me that the satellites from today's launch are "Gen 2 F9-1" satellites which are partial Gen2 payloads on Gen 1.5 buses.
 Looking forward to the satellite names showing up on Celestrak. I predict all will be Starlink 6xxx.

[OneSpeed]

Here are two comparisons with the Starlink 5-1 mission.

First is with the recent Starlink 4-37 mission to a 53.2° orbital inclination. The accelerations through the boost phase are basically identical, although 5-1 has less loft, and so has a 6 second shorter flight time.

The second stage accelerations are also basically identical, with no visible evidence of any dogleg manoeuvre. 5-1 inserts at an altitude of 211km and velocity of 7,473m/s, compared to 4-37 at 236km and 7,515m/s respectively.

The second comparison is with Starlink 4-5 on Jan 6th earlier this year. This was the first Starlink mission from Florida with a Southeast launch azimuth, intended to improve the odds of favourable weather for booster and fairing recovery. However, a second stage dogleg was required North of the Bahamas to achieve her 53.2° orbital inclination.

Starlink 5-1 launched instead to a 43° inclination. The booster plot for Starlink 4-5 and 5-1 reiterates the substantial booster thrust increase achieved in recent launches.

Meanwhile, the second stage plot highlights the reduction in acceleration of 4-5 during the dogleg, with no visible reduction by 5-1. If 5-1 did perform a dogleg, it was so gradual and slight as to be invisible in the webcast telemetry.

Lastly, I've attached an anigif of stills from the Mission Control Audio webcasts for 4-5 and 5-1, which highlights the difference in ground tracks. Open the attachment in a web browser to view the animation.

[vaporcobra]

Starlink 3-4 vs Starlink "5-1": virtually identical

I didn't have a 4-37 screenshot on hand and someone pointed out that the only visible difference between the 3-4 and 5-1 satellites was actually present on Starlink 4-37 four months later. So the 5-1 satellites are 100% identical to past V1.5 satellites (as far as we can see).

https://twitter.com/VirtuallyNathan/status/1608130820841304065

[Josh_from_Canada]

After looking at the serial numbers of the satellites on this launch, they look to be v1.5 satellites. I'm guessing that SpaceX isn't ready to start launching the F9 sized v2.0 satellites (called F9-2 in the FCC request) so they are starting to launch v1.5 satellites into the Gen 2 constellation. The reason for this is the lower inclination orbital shells allow them to have more satellites covering the parts of the world where the Gen 1 constellation doesn't have enough bandwidth for customers. Having both Gen 1 and Gen 2 constellations overlap each other allows SpaceX to increase the capacity of the overall constellation. In order to launch v1.5 satellites into Gen 2 they needed a separate approval then the Gen 1 constellation so these satellites are called F9-1 in the FCC request.

[Robotbeat]

There are 3 Gen2 satellites. F9-1, which are essentially the same hardware as v1.5;
 And mass 303kg, F9-2 which mass 800kg and the starship 2000kg ones.

The ones launched are not “Gen1”, they are all Gen 2.

[ChrisC]

NSF needs a "haha" button.

Anyone new dropping in here to post their opinion about the V2-or-not of these satellites would be well advised to read the earlier pages of this thread.  Pay extra attention to talk about what was actually licensed by the FCC.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1608269663099817984

OK, I guessed wrong. Today's Starlinks have names from Starlink-4643 to Starlink-5434, mixed in with the IDs from other recent launches and so clearly off the same production line. Whatever SpaceX may imply, they are just V1.5 sats launched to the V2 Group 5 orbit.

[GWR64]

SpaceX has claimed there that it would launch Gen. 2 satellites. hmm 

https://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=18914073

Upcoming Gen2 System Launch Plans
SpaceX currently anticipates that it will begin launching Gen2 satellites on December 28,
2022. This launch will be followed by several additional launches in January and February
2023. In each of these launches, SpaceX expects to launch at least 10 Gen2 satellites equipped
with VHF tracking beacons for use only during LEOP or in an emergency, and while SpaceX is
seeking authorization for up to 450 satellites, it anticipates that the total number in operation at
any one time will be significantly lower.

SpaceX appreciates the Commission’s attention to this matter and urges it to process the
Amendment application expeditiously to enable SpaceX to operate safety-enhancing VHF
beacons in the United States to support critical LEOP and emergency operations for its Gen2
constellation.

and attachments there:
https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATAMD2022121600175&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number

edit: quote expanded

[Robotbeat]

SpaceX has claimed there that it would launch Gen. 2 satellites. hmm 

https://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=18914073

Upcoming Gen2 System Launch Plans
SpaceX currently anticipates that it will begin launching Gen2 satellites on December 28,
2022.

and attachments there:
https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATAMD2022121600175&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number

The hardware is essentially identical, but they are Gen2. F9-1, 303kg each. Gen2.

[mlindner]

SpaceX has claimed there that it would launch Gen. 2 satellites. hmm 

https://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=18914073

Upcoming Gen2 System Launch Plans
SpaceX currently anticipates that it will begin launching Gen2 satellites on December 28,
2022.

and attachments there:
https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATAMD2022121600175&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number

People need to stop confusing "Gen 2" with "version 2". "Gen 2" is about orbital shells and licensing. "Version 2" is about satellite design.