SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 6-57 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 6 May 2024 (18:14 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

Thread for the Starlink 6-57 group launch.

Launch 6 May 2024, at 18:14:00 UTC (2:14 pm EDT), from CCSFS SLC-40, on booster 1069-15.  The first stage will land aboard Just Read The Instructions.

Payload 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to 43 degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory.  Initial orbit 284 x 292 km.

Please use the Starlink Discussion Thread for all general discussion on Starlink.

Check the Starlink Index Thread for links to more Starlink information.

[zubenelgenubi]

Noting:

Well more NOTAMs for yet another Starlink launch from the Cape has been filed...and it's Group 6-54 that was never explicitly filed with the FCC (but which a recent "generic" communication license has been granted for such launches).

Starlink 6-55 is currently scheduled to launch from SLC-40 on May 2 UTC.

And:
Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide; updated April 26; my bold:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch two Galileo navigation system satellites for Europe from pad 39A on April 27 at ~8:35 p.m. EDT. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on April 28 at 5:50-9:50 p.m. EDT. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on May 1 around 9:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. EDT. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches.

And:
NSF Launch Roundup: SpaceX to land its 300th booster, NASA tests a solar sail, and China launches three more taikonauts, April 22, by Martin Smith

[Galileo-FOC Flight 12 could be the last or the penultimate launch from LC-39A before it is reconfigured for Falcon Heavy which is expected to lift the GOES-U mission in late June. These preparations can typically leave a gap of around 40 to 50 days between the previous use of the pad and a Falcon Heavy launch.

And, assuming that SpaceX intends to continue Starlink Group 6 launches to fulfill their FCC request, here follows...


My thoughts:

Starlink 6-56 could be the next Florida Starlink launch.  Extrapolating logistics forward, launch NET would be circa May 5, from SLC-40, with JRTI catching the first stage.

There could be a Starlink launch from LC-39A circa 10 days after the Galileo-FOC launch.

However, SpaceX may choose to interleave launches from Groups 6, 7, and 8.

A reasonable assumption would be that the Florida Starlink Group 8 launches will start with Starlink 8-4, only after Starlink 8-2 and 8-3 launch from Vandenberg.  So, not quite yet, but NET May.

Particularly, Starlink 7-28 is apparently also eligible for launch now/in the nearest future?


Also:

Two NGA Space Debris notices (the same notice for two different Navigational Areas).

Note that these notices are effective from 00:01 to 23:59 UTC every day through May 31, so they are multi-launch notices.

240407Z APR 24
HYDROLANT 869/24(57,61,71).
EASTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC.
INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02, DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   0001Z TO 2359Z DAILY 27 APR THRU 31 MAY
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   08-53.00S 092-28.00E, 07-46.00S 089-27.00E,
   30-12.00S 061-09.00E, 40-45.00S 002-21.00W,
   42-56.00S 002-24.00W, 32-16.00S 063-10.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 010059Z JUN 24.//

240407Z APR 24
HYDROPAC 1342/24(57,61,71).
EASTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC.
INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02, DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   0001Z TO 2359Z DAILY 27 APR THRU 31 MAY
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   08-53.00S 092-28.00E, 07-46.00S 089-27.00E,
   30-12.00S 061-09.00E, 40-45.00S 002-21.00W,
   42-56.00S 002-24.00W, 32-16.00S 063-10.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 010059Z JUN 24.//

[Galactic Penguin SST]

NET ~midday EDT May 6 per this:

F1605/24 NOTAMN
Q) YMMM/QWMLW/IV/BO/W/000/999/1538S08307E700
A) YMMM
B) 2405061724 C) 2405121941
D) 2405061724 TO 2405062218
   2405071658 TO 2405072152
   2405081632 TO 2405082126
   2405091606 TO 2405092100
   2405101540 TO 2405102034
   2405111513 TO 2405112007
   2405121447 TO 2405121941
E) ROCKET LAUNCH WILL TAKE PLACE
FLW RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
HAZARDOUS OPS WILL BE CONDUCTED FOR ATMOSPHERIC RE-ENTRY AND
SPLASHDOWN OF LAUNCH VEHICLE FALCON 9 STARLINK 6-56 ROCKET WI THE
FOLLOWING AREAS:
2033S 07500E
0746S 08927E
0853S 09228E
2422S 07500E TO BEGINNING
PRIMARY REENTRY DAY 06 MAY 24
BACKUP AS PER FIELD D
F) SFC G) UNL

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Guide.html

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on May 2 at 9:17 p.m.-1:17 a.m. EDT. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on May 6 at 11:34 a.m.-3:34 p.m. EDT. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 39A on May 7 at 6:09-10:09 p.m. EDT. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches.

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

The NGA Space Debris notices are multi-launch and already cross-posted by zubenelgenubi above (link).

010941Z MAY 24
NAVAREA IV 488/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   061534Z TO 062005Z MAY, ALTERNATE 
   071508Z TO 071939Z, 081442Z TO 081913Z, 
   091416Z TO 091847Z, 101350Z TO 101821Z, 
   111323Z TO 111754Z AND 121257Z TO 121728Z MAY
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39.00N 080-37.69W, 28-39.00N 080-28.00W,
      28-30.00N 080-10.00W, 28-24.00N 080-09.00W,
      28-21.00N 080-11.00W, 28-23.00N 080-19.00W,
      28-29.35N 080-32.49W.
   B. 26-15.00N 076-00.00W, 26-06.00N 074-58.00W,
      25-36.00N 074-03.00W, 25-23.00N 073-53.00W,
      25-09.00N 074-01.00W, 25-06.00N 074-16.00W,
      25-08.00N 074-38.00W, 25-18.00N 075-00.00W,
      25-58.00N 075-59.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 121828Z MAY 24.//

[OneSpeed]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

Maps from the NGA notices. ASDS 600km downrange.

[realnouns]

Bob + JRTI departed PC on May 3 @  1:53pm ET

[crandles57]

Have 6-56 and 6-57 mission names been confused/assumed incorrectly?

LAUNCH/REENTRY:
SPACEX STARLINK 6-57, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/06/24      1534Z-2005Z
BACKUP:      05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
...
SPACEX STARLINK 6-56, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
BACKUP:      05/08/24      1442Z-1913Z


neither says KSC
Does this thread just need 6-56 changing to 6-57 or are more changes needed?

[Ken the Bin]

Have 6-56 and 6-57 mission names been confused/assumed incorrectly?

LAUNCH/REENTRY:
SPACEX STARLINK 6-57, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/06/24      1534Z-2005Z
BACKUP:      05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
...
SPACEX STARLINK 6-56, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
BACKUP:      05/08/24      1442Z-1913Z


neither says KSC
Does this thread just need 6-56 changing to 6-57 or are more changes needed?

As I replied in the 6-57 topic, that information is incorrect. No changes are needed.

[Ken the Bin]

Have 6-56 and 6-57 mission names been confused/assumed incorrectly?

LAUNCH/REENTRY:
SPACEX STARLINK 6-57, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/06/24      1534Z-2005Z
BACKUP:      05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
...
SPACEX STARLINK 6-56, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:   05/07/24      1508Z-1939Z
BACKUP:      05/08/24      1442Z-1913Z


neither says KSC
Does this thread just need 6-56 changing to 6-57 or are more changes needed?

As I replied in the 6-57 topic, that information is incorrect. No changes are needed.

Okay, something's going on, because this weather forecast says 6-57. Either incorrect information is being posted by someone(s), or SpaceX swapped the mssions after the S2 NOTAMs came out.

I guess we'll have to wait for the SpaceX mission webpage to know for sure.

L-1 weather forecast. 90% 'Go' for both May 6 and May 7. All Additional Risk Criteria are Low.

[Ken the Bin]

Cross-post from the topic currently known as 6-57:

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-57

That's for tomorrow, so it actually needs to go in the topic currently known as 6-56 and both topics need to be renamed. 😬

[Ken the Bin]

Launch window = 16:36-18:48 UTC. Booster = B1069.15.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-57

SpaceX is targeting Monday, May 6 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 12:36 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 2:48 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Tuesday, May 7 starting at 11:08 a.m. ET.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.

This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 10 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1787223938826932626

Targeting Monday, May 6 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida → http://spacex.com/launches

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit.

[catdlr]

SpaceX Broadcast Link on Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1yoJMwjyBrwKQ

Space Affairs YouTube (Re-broadcast):  https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZMiiodhovD8

Replay supplied by The Space Dev's (15 min after the broadcast end):  https://youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos

Summary Video provided by SciNews (15 min after the broadcast ends):  https://youtube.com/@SciNewsRo/videos

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/tskelso/status/1787373406276726912

CelesTrak has pre-launch SupGP data for the @Starlink Group 6-57 launch from Cape Canaveral on 2024-05-06 at 16:36:00 UTC: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?FILE=starlink-g6-57 Deployment of 23 satellites at 17:41:23.460 UTC. Data for 6 backup launch opportunities also provided: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

[Ken the Bin]

NSF webcast (video id j7YaUP51q90):

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/ExploreSpaceKSC/status/1787496097239245124

SpaceX is now targeting 2:14 p.m. for liftoff.

(=18:14 UTC)

[Ken the Bin]

The SpaceX mission webpage confirms ...

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-57

SpaceX is targeting Monday, May 6 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 2:14 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 2:48 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Tuesday, May 7 starting at 11:08 a.m. ET.

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1787516442306572394

UPDATE #1: @SpaceX is now targeting the 3rd backup launch opportunity for the @Starlink Group 6-57 launch on 2024-05-06 at 18:14:00 UTC with deployment at 19:19:23.460 UTC: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1787533918704652731

Less than an hour remaining in the count, all systems are ready and weather in Florida is looking fantastic for today’s @Starlink launch

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1787537664352342477

Propellants are now flowing into Falcon 9 at pad 40