SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 6-51 : KSC LC-39A : 17 April 2024 (21:26 UTC)

[Perchlorate]

Landing and orbital insertion appear to have been successful.  Reloading feed shows current, but frozen, frame.

To be clear, I saw a landed booster and Stage 2 velocity static at 27,000±.  Sorry, didn't get screen cap.

[edkyle99]

Landing and orbital insertion appear to have been successful.  Reloading feed shows current, but frozen, frame.

Shows landed booster, but Stage 2 still short of orbital velocity, but seemed to be well on its way at the time of the capture.  EDIT.  If later update showed 27,000 km/hr, then seems good orbit.  My Hmmm wasn't at this thread, but at X for its failed SpaceX webcast.  Again.  It cut off at T+3:00 it seems.
EDIT 2:  SpaceX now confirms good initial orbit.  Second burn coming.

NSF had some great shots of ascent.

 - Ed Kyle

[wannamoonbase]

Landing confirmed (tentatively)


Ed: Don't Hmm at us.  Both first and second stage video cut out after separation.  It is unlikely something happened to them rather than the video being interrupted after being broadcast.

I find it easier to believe that Twitter is horrid at streaming and it just failed, not that SpaceX did anything wrong.

[Perchlorate]

American Airlines flight 1914 from Dallas-Fort Worth just landed successfully at Norfolk International Airport.  Saw that on FlightAware.

No news coverage of that routine event.

Are we getting to the point that Starlink 6-51 is so routine that it is worthy of no live coverage?

(Rhetorical...and I'll show myself out.)

[RedLineTrain]

Landing confirmed (tentatively)


Ed: Don't Hmm at us.  Both first and second stage video cut out after separation.  It is unlikely something happened to them rather than the video being interrupted after being broadcast.

I find it easier to believe that Twitter is horrid at streaming and it just failed, not that SpaceX did anything wrong.

They appeared to be testing streaming where you could rewind or come back to live, just as with YouTube.  Looks like that new feature glitched.

[edkyle99]

Should have completed second burn and payload deployment by now.  I'm watching X, but no update just yet.

And now, from SpaceX moments ago (around 2248 UTC):  Payload deploy confirmed.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1780729972161982761
 - Ed Kyle

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1780731281183273448

Falcon 9 launches from Florida, carrying 23 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit

And it looks like whatever problem with the live stream was resolved and it's now available at the original link, or here:

[raptorx2]

Perhaps this is part of the reason that the Launch Communications cut out?  There was none licensed?
Tomorrows flight of 6-52 also shows >>>Pending<<<<

0550-EX-ST-2024   WG9XHP   Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)   03/27/2024   >>>>Pending<<<<   03/27/2024

This application uses information from previous application 0161-EX-ST-2024. This STA is necessary to authorize launch vehicle communications for Mission 1946 Starlink Group 6-51 from Cape Canaveral FL at LC-40 CCAFS or LC-39a at KSC, and the experimental recovery operation following the Falcon 9 launch. Includes sub-orbital first stage, and orbital second stage.

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=current&application_seq=132838&RequestTimeout=1000

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1780711793910038700

John Kraus
@johnkrausphotos
The Falcon jumped over the Moon during today’s launch of 23 Starlink satellites 🚀🌗

https://twitter.com/CarstensPete/status/1780728663215878210

https://twitter.com/John_Winkopp/status/1780725830068355245

https://twitter.com/LaunchPhoto/status/1780736229849407684

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1780731281183273448


SpaceX
@SpaceXFalcon 9 launches from Florida, carrying 23 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/TylerG1998/status/1780736905090351402

https://twitter.com/TylerG1998/status/1780737177745297866

Tyler Gray
@TylerG1998
Updated orbital launch count as of Apr. 17:

Earth 🌎 — 73/74

USA 🇺🇸 — 45/45
China 🇨🇳 — 16/16* (1 partial failure)
Russia 🇷🇺 — 6/6
Japan 🇯🇵 — 2/3
Iran 🇮🇷 — 2/2
India 🇮🇳 — 2/2

1/3

Orbital launches by organization:

🇺🇸 — 39 SpaceX, 4 Rocket Lab, 2 ULA
🇨🇳 — 12 CASC (1 partial failure), 2 CASIC, 1 OrienSpace, 1 CAS Space
🇷🇺 — 5 RKTs-Progress, 1 Khrunichev
🇯🇵 — 2 MHI, 1 Space One ❌
🇮🇳 — 2 ISRO
🇮🇷 — 1 IRGC, 1 ISA

2/3

Launches by spaceport:

🇺🇸 — 19 CCSFS, 13 Vandy, 9 KSC, 1 Wallops
🇨🇳 — 5 Xichang, 5 Jiuquan, 3 Wenchang, 2 offshore, 1 Taiyuan
🇳🇿 — 3 Māhia
🇷🇺 — 3 Baikonur, 2 Vostochny, 1 Plesetsk
🇯🇵 — 2 Tanegashima, 1 Space Port Kii
🇮🇳 — 2 Satish Dhawan
🇮🇷 — 1 Shahrud, 1 Semnan

3/3

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1780741818830709033

Chris Bergin - NSF
@NASASpaceflight
Here's SpaceX's Falcon 9 B1077 landing for a 12th time, which wasn't shown live due to X's technical problems.

[Kasponaut]

https://twitter.com/TylerG1998/status/1780736905090351402

https://twitter.com/TylerG1998/status/1780737177745297866

Tyler Gray
@TylerG1998
Updated orbital launch count as of Apr. 17:

Earth 🌎 — 73/74

USA 🇺🇸 — 45/45
China 🇨🇳 — 16/16* (1 partial failure)
Russia 🇷🇺 — 6/6
Japan 🇯🇵 — 2/3
Iran 🇮🇷 — 2/2
India 🇮🇳 — 2/2

1/3

Orbital launches by organization:

🇺🇸 — 39 SpaceX, 4 Rocket Lab, 2 ULA
🇨🇳 — 12 CASC (1 partial failure), 2 CASIC, 1 OrienSpace, 1 CAS Space
🇷🇺 — 5 RKTs-Progress, 1 Khrunichev
🇯🇵 — 2 MHI, 1 Space One ❌
🇮🇳 — 2 ISRO
🇮🇷 — 1 IRGC, 1 ISA

2/3

Launches by spaceport:

🇺🇸 — 19 CCSFS, 13 Vandy, 9 KSC, 1 Wallops
🇨🇳 — 5 Xichang, 5 Jiuquan, 3 Wenchang, 2 offshore, 1 Taiyuan
🇳🇿 — 3 Māhia
🇷🇺 — 3 Baikonur, 2 Vostochny, 1 Plesetsk
🇯🇵 — 2 Tanegashima, 1 Space Port Kii
🇮🇳 — 2 Satish Dhawan
🇮🇷 — 1 Shahrud, 1 Semnan

3/3

Can someone tell Tyler that he is still missing one US launch this year? 😊 Starship IFT-3 should also be included.

[FLHerne]

Tyler Gray
@TylerG1998
Updated orbital launch count as of Apr. 17:

Can someone tell Tyler that he is still missing one US launch this year? 😊 Starship IFT-3 should also be included.

Not technically orbital?

[daedalus1]

Tyler Gray
@TylerG1998
Updated orbital launch count as of Apr. 17:

Can someone tell Tyler that he is still missing one US launch this year? 😊 Starship IFT-3 should also be included.

Not technically orbital?

It's in the orbital section of Jonathan's space report and it achieved orbital velocity.  So that is well good enough for me.

[Vettedrmr]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1780741818830709033

Chris Bergin - NSF
@NASASpaceflight
Here's SpaceX's Falcon 9 B1077 landing for a 12th time, which wasn't shown live due to X's technical problems.

Boy, the control system looks like it got saturated there for a minute a low altitude.  One fin went to full deflection and stayed there for a couple of seconds, plus the RCS got into the act to help out.  I'm guessing some low level winds needed to be countered.

[edkyle99]

It's in the orbital section of Jonathan's space report and it achieved orbital velocity.  So that is well good enough for me.

If it was orbital, if it achieved orbital velocity at orbital altitude above the atmosphere, it wouldn't have reentered.   You would also be able to find it on Space Track with an International Designation, etc., but you can't.  Also, if it was an orbital attempt, it failed.

Unlike Starlink 6-51, which was a successful orbital launch!

 - Ed Kyle

[catdlr]

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/_rykllan/status/1780877787517075662

rykllan
@_rykllan
Recent 26th #Starlink launch of this year via #SpaceX's #Falcon9 vehicle

[catdlr]