SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 6-58 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 12/13 May 2024 (00:53 UTC)

[Ken the Bin]

Thread for the Starlink 6-58 group launch.

Launch 13 May 2024, at 00:53:00 UTC (12 May 8:53 pm EDT), from CCSFS SLC-40, on booster 1073-15.  The first stage successfully landed aboard A Shortfall of Gravitas.

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.

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

032051Z MAY 24
NAVAREA IV 510/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   130011Z TO 130442Z MAY, ALTERNATE
   132345Z TO 140416Z, 142318Z TO 150349Z, 
   152252Z TO 160323Z, 162226Z TO 170257Z, 
   172200Z TO 180231Z 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. 26-25.00N 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 180331Z MAY 24.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

Ben Cooper's Launch Photography Viewing Guide; updated May 6; my bold:

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Starlink batch from pad 39A on May 8 at 10:42 a.m. to 2:42 p.m. EDT. A Falcon 9 will launch a Starlink batch from pad 40 on May 12 at 8:11 p.m.-12:11 a.m. EDT. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches.

[OneSpeed]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

Map from the NGA notice. ASDS 600km downrange.

EDIT:

Added NGA Space Debris map.

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

Map from the NGA notice. ASDS 600km downrange.

Oops! I forgot to include the multi-launch NGA Space Debris notices. The reason for that lapse was because I forgot to insert the Rocket Launching notice into my log of notices. If I had done that, I would have seen the multi-launch notices that were already there.

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.//

[realnouns]

Bob + JRTI departed PC on May 9 @ 7:36pm ET

[zubenelgenubi]

Which first stage will be used for this launch? (semi-rhetorical question)

Falcon 9 first stages are now apparently cleared for use up to twenty times for non-crewed launches, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon or Cygnus than these other payloads.

1064.6 and 1065.6 are the Falcon Heavy side boosters for Europa Clipper.  1072.1 and 1086.1 are assigned as the Falcon Heavy side boosters for GOES-U.

1073.15 and 1076.14 may undergo modifications to become Falcon Heavy side boosters for a future launch, but both are currently available for "single-stick" launches.

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1073.15  Apr 7
1062.21  Apr 13 (likely out of rotation for extensive engineering analysis)
1077.13  Apr 17
1080.8    Apr 18
1078.10  April 23

Edit May 10: It's B1073.15.

[Ron Lee]

1)  Cape sunset events and jellyfish alert.  The 8:53 PM EDT launch time may produce jellyfish as the booster heads southeast towards darker skies.  Later launch times would improve darkness along the Florida coast. At some unknown launch time the second stage will be firing while in Earth shadow so jellyfish effect may be absent or minimal from light from the second stage engine.

Sunset: 8:04 PM EDT
Civil twilight: 8:29 PM EDT
Nautical Twilight: 9:00 PM EDT
Astronomical Twilight: 9:32 PM EDT

2)  Southwest USA deorbit event.   If the timing is good areas from western TX, CO, NM, AZ may have the chance to see a second stage deorbit event around T+01:31:02.     If they launch at 9:03 PM EDT add 10 minutes to all the azimuth/elevation times below.  If they launch after midnight just stay in bed.

New Data format:  I will list the local time followed by two numbers separated by a "/"   Those two numbers are azimuth/elevation.

1)  Albuquerque, NM  12 May civil twilight:  8:29 PM MDT

8:23:25 PM   285/8
8:24:17 PM   277/15   Event
8:25:20 PM   250/30
8:26 PM   215/36
8:29 PM   139/6   Shadow entry

2)  Colorado Springs, CO  12 May civil twilight:  8:31 PM MDT

8:23:50 PM  260/8
8:24:17 PM   253/10.  Deorbit event about this time.
8:25:50  PM   215/15
8:27:30 PM   175/10

3)  Dallas, TX    Civil twilight:  8:44 PM CDT

9:24:17 PM   285/1   Event occurs
9:26:00 PM   270/9
9:28:05 PM   220/19
9:29 PM    190/17  Shadow entry

4)  El Paso, TX   12 May civil twilight:   8:20 PM MDT

8:24:17 PM  299/12  Event occurs
8:26:10 PM   280/59
8:26:50 PM    165/70
8:27:50 PM   130/25
8:29 PM  Shadow entry at horizon

5)  Phoenix AZ    12 May civil twilight:   7:46 PM MST

The sun is about one degree below the horizon so visibility of the event may be difficult or impossible.

7:24:17 PM    307/33   Event

6)  San Antonio, TX   12 May civil twilight:   8:43 PM CDT

9:24:17 PM   298/1   Event
9:26:10 PM   290/11
9:28:05 PM   240/40
9:29 PM   175/33  Shadow entry

[Ken the Bin]

Primary launch window = 00:11-04:11 UTC.
Booster = B1073.15.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-58

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, May 12 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 8:11 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 12:11 a.m. ET on Monday, May 13. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, May 13 starting at 7:45 p.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 SES-22, ispace's HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, and nine Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1789063978435645631

Targeting Sunday, May 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida → http://spacex.com/launches

[Alexphysics]

Bob + JRTI departed PC on May 9 @ 7:36pm ET

ASOG will support this mission. Reason for JRTI leaving from Kiko:

https://twitter.com/TurkeyBeaver/status/1789098132950692158

Bob departed Port Canaveral on Thursday evening towing Just Read the Instructions droneship. Bob is reporting its destination as Freeport, The Bahamas.

Curious to see what this trip is for - JRTI just had a major month-long overhaul back in January.

Nothing major, but JRTI needs a quick dry dock stop for some additional preventative maintenance. It’s important the vessels are ready to sustain a fast recovery cadence as launch rate increases.

[realnouns]

Signet Warhorse III + ASOG departed PC on May 10 @ 7:41pm ET

[realnouns]

Doug departed PC on May 10 @ 10:26pm ET

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit and link to Twitter livestream.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1dRKZEmEXOQxB

[Ken the Bin]

L-1 weather forecast. 85% 'Go' for May 12/13. 70% 'Go' for May 13. Solar Activity risk is Moderate-High for May 12/13 and Moderate for May 13. All other Additional Risk Criteria are Low.

[Martin_G]

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp:

SPACEX STARLINK 6-58 CAPE CANAVERAL SFB, CA
PRIMARY:   05/13/ 24      0011Z-0442Z
BACKUP:      05/13/24      2345Z-0416Z
      05/14/24      2318Z-0349Z
      05/15/24      2252Z-0323Z
      05/16/24      2226Z-0257Z
      05/17/24      2200Z-0231Z

[Galactic Penguin SST]

For some reason it's more than a full day before and SpaceX already moved the T-0 to 8:53 pm EDT = 00:53 UTC.

...Liftoff is targeted for 8:53 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 12:11 a.m. ET on Monday, May 13.

[Orbiter]

With the severity of the on-going solar storm (with aurora literally being seen in the Space Coast) I wouldn't be surprised if this one slips 24 hours or so.

[Ken the Bin]

Primary launch opportunity = 2024-05-13 00:53:00 UTC per CelesTrak.

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1789462874802594237

CelesTrak has pre-launch SupGP data for the @Starlink Group 6-58 launch from Cape Canaveral on 2024-05-13 at 00:53:00 UTC: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?FILE=starlink-g6-58. Deployment of 23 satellites at 01:58:25.320 UTC. Data for 3 backup launch opportunities is also provided: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/.

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/

Launch: 2024-05-13 00:53:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-05-13 01:58:25.320 UTC.
Launch: 2024-05-13 01:03:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-05-13 02:08:25.320 UTC.
Launch: 2024-05-13 04:03:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-05-13 05:08:25.320 UTC.
Launch: 2024-05-13 04:11:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-05-13 05:16:25.320 UTC.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[catdlr]

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

Space Affairs YouTube (Re-broadcast):  https://youtube.com/watch?v=1dytbHKQlUI

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