Author Topic: SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 2-8 : VSFB SLC-4E : 17 March 2023 (19:26 UTC) (Read 17672 times)

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #40 on:** 03/17/2023 06:30 pm »

MECO, stage sep and SES-1

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #41 on:** 03/17/2023 06:30 pm »

Fairing sep

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #42 on:** 03/17/2023 06:32 pm »

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #43 on:** 03/17/2023 06:33 pm »

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1636812192702922752

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Staging 1-2.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #44 on:** 03/17/2023 06:33 pm »

Entry burn

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #45 on:** 03/17/2023 06:35 pm »

Landed!

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #46 on:** 03/17/2023 06:36 pm »

SECO and nominal orbital insertion

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #47 on:** 03/17/2023 06:36 pm »

Live stream ended

chrisking0997 · « **Reply #48 on:** 03/17/2023 06:38 pm »

is it me, or was one of the landing legs fluttering before deployment?

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #49 on:** 03/17/2023 06:39 pm »

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1636813687791992848

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SpaceX Falcon 9 B1071-8 becomes -9 following successful landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You.

179th landing of the orbital class rocket. The sort of experience that will play into Starship's return accuracy.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #50 on:** 03/17/2023 06:41 pm »

Quote from: chrisking0997 on 03/17/2023 06:38 pm

is it me, or was one of the landing legs fluttering before deployment?

I didn’t notice. Maybe an artefact of movement in the landing burn flames?

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #51 on:** 03/17/2023 06:42 pm »

Starlinks should have deployed now

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #52 on:** 03/17/2023 06:47 pm »

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1636816323027288064

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Deployment of 52 Starlink satellites confirmed

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #53 on:** 03/17/2023 06:54 pm »

Congratulations to SpaceX on their 18th mission of the year (and 19th due in a few hours).

It's only the middle of March and yet SpaceX has already comfortably exceeded the number of launches that nearly any other launch provider will do for the whole year.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #54 on:** 03/17/2023 07:00 pm »

https://twitter.com/inbarspace/status/1636819307370823692

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During today's Falcon 9 launch I noticed a debri of some sort, falling from stage 1 during re-entry. I never saw this before. Any thoghts?

Alexphysics · « **Reply #55 on:** 03/17/2023 07:08 pm »

It's ice and it happens on pretty much every flight, people either just forget or don't pay enough attention. Over 200 launches and still happens heh

smoliarm · « **Reply #56 on:** 03/17/2023 07:22 pm »

Quote from: Alexphysics on 03/17/2023 07:08 pm

It's ice and it happens on pretty much every flight, people either just forget or don't pay enough attention. Over 200 launches and still happens heh

Yes, this happens frequently, the only thing - it seems to me it's not an ice (aka frozen water).
I would guess it is a solid oxygen, which forms during engine purge.

Comga · « **Reply #57 on:** 03/17/2023 07:36 pm »

Quote from: smoliarm on 03/17/2023 07:22 pm

Quote from: Alexphysics on 03/17/2023 07:08 pm
It's ice and it happens on pretty much every flight, people either just forget or don't pay enough attention. Over 200 launches and still happens heh
Yes, this happens frequently, the only thing - it seems to me it's not an ice (aka frozen water).
I would guess it is a solid oxygen, which forms during engine purge.

The engines are a long way from the camera, which is at the top of the stage, as can be seen by the grid fins.
That would have to be an enormous ring at that distance.

And my guess would be that it's solid nitrogen from one of the cold gas thrusters.
It might be solid condensation around a vent that cools when the gas expands as the thrusters are used.
Then the nozzels warm up and these delicate frost rings float away.
Does anyone know the diameter of the cold gas thruster nozzels and their locations on the first stage?
We could see if those correspond to the image using the grid fin for scale.

Lars-J · « **Reply #58 on:** 03/17/2023 08:53 pm »

Quote from: smoliarm on 03/17/2023 07:22 pm

Quote from: Alexphysics on 03/17/2023 07:08 pm
It's ice and it happens on pretty much every flight, people either just forget or don't pay enough attention. Over 200 launches and still happens heh
Yes, this happens frequently, the only thing - it seems to me it's not an ice (aka frozen water).
I would guess it is a solid oxygen, which forms during engine purge.

Yes, most likely during the upper stage engine purge/chilldown that happens shortly before staging.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #59 on:** 03/17/2023 11:40 pm »

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1636889890700029952

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Congrats to the SpaceX team on launching two Falcon 9 missions ~4 hours apart today, completing our 18th and 19th missions of 2023 so far