SpaceX F9 : OneWeb F20 (20x) : VSFB SLC-4E : 19/20 October 2024 (05:13 UTC)

[DanClemmensen]

First NOTAM is out, launching September 30th in the early morning: ...

B0776/24 NOTAMN ...

Although the S2 re-entry area makes sense for an SSO launch, I don't know what to make of the booster re-entry area.

OneWeb satellites operates at 1200 km orbits @ 87.9° inclination, so it's more like non-SSO polar orbit.

If I recall correctly, they picked 87.9° because it is very stable and therefore requires minimal propulsive correction.

[michaelmalinsky]

Launch 20 patch

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Space Debris notice that is effectively a Rocket Launching notice.

251833Z SEP 24
NAVAREA XII 779/24(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS:
   A. 300649Z TO 300728Z SEP, 010644Z TO 010723Z,
   020639Z TO 020718Z, 030634Z TO 030713Z,
   040629Z TO 040708Z, 050624Z TO 050703Z
   AND 060619Z TO 060658Z OCT
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   30-25.00N 120-27.00W, 30-23.00N 120-11.00W,
   30-02.00N 120-06.00W, 29-44.00N 120-29.00W,
   29-54.00N 120-51.00W, 30-17.00N 120-48.00W,
   30-22.00N 120-38.00W.
   B. 300649Z TO 300722Z SEP, 010644Z TO 010717Z,
   020639Z TO 020712Z, 030634Z TO 030707Z,
   040629Z TO 040702Z, 050624Z TO 050657Z
   AND 060619Z TO 060652Z OCT
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   31-26.00N 120-37.00W, 31-29.00N 120-29.00W,
   30-25.00N 120-27.00W, 30-22.00N 120-38.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 060758Z OCT 24.

Edit to add:

NGA Space Debris notice.

252135Z SEP 24
HYDROPAC 3136/24(61).
SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   300900Z TO 300933Z SEP, 010855Z TO 010928Z,
   020850Z TO 020923Z, 030845Z TO 030918Z,
   040840Z TO 040913Z, 050835Z TO 050908Z
   AND 060830Z TO 060903Z OCT
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   42-51.00S 025-15.00E, 42-43.00S 022-34.00E,
   59-48.00S 020-10.00E, 59-56.00S 024-05.00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 061003Z OCT 24.

[Brigantine]

?? Could they launch (VLEO test) Starlink Gen v2.0 Mini to the 97.6 shell? Is that inclination change even possible?

Did you mean with the upper stage?

87.9⁰ to 97.6⁰ is 0.17 radians, times the ~7260m/s at OneWeb altitude, the delta-V is about 1230 m/s. At MVac ISP (3350 m/s) you'd need to have additional fuel remaining to the tune of 45% of the (starlink mass + S2 dry mass).

Making up some numbers, if changing to ASDS landing leaves you with 7.5 ton of payload margin, and S2 dry mass is 5 ton, then you could take 3.6 ton of secondary payload, so maybe 4 Starlinks.

Slightly more if you want to drop the altitude back down to ~560km (~1280m/s if done in the same burns?), and/or change the ascending node. But in this back of the envelope guesswork I'll ignore it.

But also, the Argon Hall thrusters can do some of that work, if you're patient

[zubenelgenubi]

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

Falcon 9 first stages are now cleared for use up to forty times for non-human spaceflight missions, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon and Cygnus than these other payloads.

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1082.7      Aug 4
1061.23   Aug 12
1063.21   Sep 6

Edit September 27: It's B1082.7.

[GWR64]

?? Could they launch (VLEO test) Starlink Gen v2.0 Mini to the 97.6 shell? Is that inclination change even possible?

Did you mean with the upper stage?

87.9⁰ to 97.6⁰ is 0.17 radians, times the ~7260m/s at OneWeb altitude, the delta-V is about 1230 m/s. At MVac ISP (3350 m/s) you'd need to have additional fuel remaining to the tune of 45% of the (starlink mass + S2 dry mass).

Making up some numbers, if changing to ASDS landing leaves you with 7.5 ton of payload margin, and S2 dry mass is 5 ton, then you could take 3.6 ton of secondary payload, so maybe 4 Starlinks.

Slightly more if you want to drop the altitude back down to ~560km (~1280m/s if done in the same burns?), and/or change the ascending node. But in this back of the envelope guesswork I'll ignore it.

But also, the Argon Hall thrusters can do some of that work, if you're patient

There would certainly be other candidates for an SSO launch.
However, the reentry corridor of the 2nd stage does not look like a retrograde orbit.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=61410.msg2627361#msg2627361

[Brigantine]

Making up some numbers, if changing to ASDS landing leaves you with 7.5 ton of payload margin

However, the reentry corridor of the 2nd stage does not look like a retrograde orbit

NextSpaceFlight now also showing it as a LZ-4 RTLS, which isn't consistent with a large secondary payload to SSO.
Also "Each satellite in the constellation weighs 147.7 kg" so all up only 3 tons. Stubby nozzle candidate.

[Martin_G]

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

SPACEX ONEWEB, VANDENBERG SFB,CA
PRIMARY:   9/30/24      0649Z-0728Z
BACKUP:      10/1/24      0644Z-0723Z
      10/2/24      0639Z-0718Z
      10/3/24      0634Z-0713Z
      10/4/24      0629Z-0708Z
      10/5/24      0624Z-0703Z
      10/6/24      0619Z-0658Z

[Craigles]

Making up some numbers, if changing to ASDS landing leaves you with 7.5 ton of payload margin

However, the reentry corridor of the 2nd stage does not look like a retrograde orbit

NextSpaceFlight now also showing it as a LZ-4 RTLS, which isn't consistent with a large secondary payload to SSO.
Also "Each satellite in the constellation weighs 147.7 kg" so all up only 3 tons. Stubby nozzle candidate.

That nextspaceflight.com description mentioning 147.7 kg may be outdated, since it says

OneWeb is expected to begin customer demonstrations in 2022

and since it says they use ion engines from Russia's OKB-Fakel. Does anybody have indications about OneWeb's post-merger next generation of satellites, or possibly OneWeb inter-satellite communications?
Edit: The EuTel-OneWeb constellation general thread is https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=37814.0

[GewoonLukas_]

Booster B1082-7
Launch at 06:54 UTC

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, September 29 at 11:54 p.m. PT for Falcon 9’s launch of the OneWeb Launch 20 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. If needed, there is a backup opportunity available on Monday, September 30 at 11:49 p.m. PT.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

This is the seventh flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched USSF-62 and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=oneweblaunch20

Unfortunately no Twitter/X webcast link yet as it's broken 

[zubenelgenubi]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1839740776915578982

Targeting Sunday, September 29 for Falcon 9’s launch of the @EutelsatGroup OneWeb Launch 20 mission to orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E in California → https://spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=oneweblaunch20

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit.

[Ken the Bin]

Postponed to October 1 per a launch alert email from Vandy, however it's not clear if that's October 1 PDT (October 2 at 06:44 UTC) or October 1 UTC (06:49 UTC). Because these emails are intended for the general public, I suspect it's the former. The SpaceX mission webpage has not yet been updated.

The Vandenberg SFB Spaceport will now support a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the OneWeb Launch 20 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) no earlier than October 1st.

About eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg.

A sonic boom is expected in areas local to Vandenberg upon landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

SpaceX’s live webcast will begin approximately 10 minutes before Falcon 9’s liftoff at spacex.com/launches.

 All launch dates and times are subject to change based on mission requirements

[Ken the Bin]

FAA ATCSCC COPA now shows this launch as TBD.

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

SPACEX ONEWEB, VANDENBERG SFB,CA
PRIMARY:        TBD
BACKUP:         TBD

EFFECTIVE TIME: 290128 - 290959

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Reason for the delay:

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1840245345118498987

After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area.
 
We will resume launching after we better understand root cause

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/eutelsatgroup/status/1840286468587028979

We are standing down from tonight's #OneWebLaunch20 mission from California and will share a new launch opportunity once available.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Postponed to October 1 per a launch alert email from Vandy, however it's not clear if that's October 1 PDT (October 2 at 06:44 UTC) or October 1 UTC (06:49 UTC). Because these emails are intended for the general public, I suspect it's the former. The SpaceX mission webpage has not yet been updated.

The Vandenberg SFB Spaceport will now support a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the OneWeb Launch 20 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) no earlier than October 1st.

About eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg.

A sonic boom is expected in areas local to Vandenberg upon landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

SpaceX’s live webcast will begin approximately 10 minutes before Falcon 9’s liftoff at spacex.com/launches.

 All launch dates and times are subject to change based on mission requirements

New NOTAM for 2nd stage de-orbit zone issued 3 hours ago seems to leave October 1 UTC/September 30 PDT open:

A3136/24 NOTAMN
Q) FAJO/QWMLW/IV/BO/W/000/999/5049S02328E580
A) FAJO B) 2410010855 C) 2410060903
D) 01 OCT 0855-0928, 02 OCT 0850-0923, 03 OCT 0845-0918, 04 OCT
0840-0913, 05 OCT 0835-0908, 06 OCT 0830-0903
E) AREA BOUNDED BY (4251S 02515E, 4243S 02234E, 5948S 02010E, 5956S
02405E):  SPACEX ONEWEB-4 STAGE 2 ROCKET RE-ENTRY OPS TAKING PLACE.
APPLICABLE AIRSPACE DOWNGRADED TO CLASS G.
F) SFC G) UNL

EDIT: Also https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp:
SPACEX ONEWEB, VANDENBERG SFB,CA
PRIMARY:   10/01    0644-0723
BACKUP:   10/02   0639-0718
      10/03   0634-0713
      10/04   0629-0708
      10/05   0624-0703
      10/06   0619-0658

[Ken the Bin]

New NOTAM for 2nd stage de-orbit zone issued 3 hours ago seems to leave October 1 UTC/September 30 PDT open:

OTOH, the SpaceX mission webpage is gone. At this point, attempting to access the mission webpage via the URL redirects to the home page. That's not a good sign for an October 1 UTC launch.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=oneweblaunch20

[Galactic Penguin SST]

According to https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp the launch has slipped all the way to NET October 9 - looks like the discussion is to let some Starlinks fly first:

SPACEX ONEWEB, VANDENBERG SFB,CA
PRIMARY:   10/09    0644Z-0723Z
BACKUP:      10/10   0639Z-0718Z
      10/11   0634Z-0713Z
      10/12   0629Z-0708Z
      10/13   0624Z-0703Z
      10/14   0619Z-0658Z

[Ken the Bin]

The NGA notices, which were for September 30, are canceled TBD.

302049Z SEP 24
NAVAREA XII 790/24(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CANCEL NAVAREA XII 779/24 AND THIS MSG,
OPERATIONS POSTPONED.

302031Z SEP 24
HYDROPAC 3168/24(61).
SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 01, DNC 02.
CANCEL HYDROPAC 3136/24 AND THIS MSG,
OPERATIONS POSTPONED.