SpaceX F9 : Starlink group 9-9 : VSFB SLC-4E : 30 October 2024 (12:07 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

Thread for the Starlink Group 9-9 launch.

Launch 30 October 2024, at 12:07:00 UTC (5:07 am PDT), from Vandenberg SLC-4E, on booster 1075-14.  The first stage will land aboard Of Course I Still Love You.

Payload 20 Starlink V2.0 Mini satellites, 13 of which are Direct-to-Cell, to a 53 degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory.  Initial orbit 285 x 297 km.

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

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


L2 SpaceX: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=60.0

[zubenelgenubi]

What if the next Vandenberg Falcon 9 launch after OneWeb Flight 20 on October 20 UTC is not Starlink 11-2?

We saw the first and only Group 11 launch (no V2 Mini Direct-to-Cell satellites) on August 4.  What if Group 9 launches (13 V2 Mini Direct-to-Cell satellites each) now have the priority?

Or, the fourth SDA Starshield launch is next.

Edit October 18: It's the Starshield launch.

Edit October 23: It's Starlink 9-9.

Edited

[raptorx2]

Plenty of time to launch DtC after Nov. 19th

" Since receiving authority to deploy V-band payloads on satellites in its second-generation (“Gen2”)
system in late 2023, SpaceX has deployed those satellites at a blistering pace, expecting to reach
over 1,530 V-band-capable satellites by its first milestone on November 19, 2024. Although that rapid deployment is fewer than half of its initially authorized V-band system, the Commission
would serve the public interest by permitting SpaceX to continue deploying its remaining V-band
payloads beyond the milestone date as part of a subsequent processing round. "


See SAT-MOD-20240813-00183

https://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=29786374

[Galactic Penguin SST]

And so next West Coast Starlink launch is for…Group 9-9.

B0874/24 NOTAMN
Q) MMFR/QRDCA/IV/BO/W/000/999/
A) MMFR
B) 2410291130
C) 2411041342
D) OCT 29 1130-1600, 30 1107-1538, 31 1044-1515, NOV 01 1021-1452,
   02 0957-1428, 03 0934-1405, 04 0911-1342
E) DANGEROUS AREA FOR SPACEX STARLINK 9-9 LAUNCH
   LATERAL LIMIT AREA FORMED BY THE UNION OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS
   3051N 11734W
   3053N 11729W
   3037N 11704W
   3005N 11628W
   2942N 11606W
   2918N 11556W
   2858N 11622W
   2912N 11648W
   2932N 11706W
   3027N 11728W
   3051N 11734W
       MMFR
F) SFC
G) UNL

B0875/24 NOTAMN
Q) MMFR/QRDCA/IV/BO/W/000/999/
A) MMFO
B) 2410291306
C) 2411041530
D) OCT 29 1306-1748, 30 1243-1726, 31 1220-1703, NOV 01 1157-1640,
   02 1133-1616, 03 1110-1553, 04 1047-1530
E) DANGEROUS AREA FOR SPACEX STARLINK 9-9 REENTRY
   LATERAL LIMIT AREA FORMED BY THE UNION OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS
   0655N 12000W
   0522N 11857W
   0500N 12000W
   0655N 12000W
       MMFO
F) SFC
G) UNL

A1310/24 NOTAMN
Q) NTTT/QRDCA/IV/BO/W/000/999/0325N12003W011
A) NTTT
B) 2410291306 C) 2411041530
D) 29 1306-1748, 30 1243-1726, 31 1220-1703, 01 1157-1640, 02
 1133-1616, 03 1110-1553, 04 1047-1530
E) TEMPORARY DANGEROUS AREA DUE TO ATMOSPHERIC RE-ENTRY OF SPACEX
STARLINK 9-9 UPPER STAGE IN TAHITI FIR WITHIN AN AREA BOUNDED BY
FOLLOWING POINTS :
0330N 12000W - 0316N 12000W - 0330N 12010W - 0330N 12000W
THIS ACTIVITY IMPACTS KZAK, MMFO, SCIZ AND NO FIR AS WELL.
AIRSPACE USERS ARE ADVISED OF THE PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS NATURE
OF THE ACTIVITY AND ARE STRONGLY INVITED TO AVOID THE AREA
DURING THE ACTIVITY TIME SLOT.
OPERATORS ARE INVITED TO FILE THEIR FLIGHT PLAN WITH A
TRAJECTORY THAT ENSURES THAT THE AREA IS CIRCUMNAVIGATED.
F) SFC G) UNL

R0265/24 NOTAMN
Q) SCIZ/QRDCA/IV/BO/W/000/999/2415S09759W715
A) SCIZ B) 2410291306 C) 2411041530
D) OCT 29 1306-1748 OCT 30 1243-1726 OCT 31 1220-1703 NOV 01 1157-1640
 NOV 02 1133-1616 NOV 03 1110-1553 NOV 04 1047-1530
E)
ZONE ...D... SECT WEST PACIFIC DUE TO RE-ENTRY SPACEX STARLINK 9-9
STAGE 2 REENTRY ACTIVITY. THE AREA IS BOUNDED BY GEO COORD:
1500S 10724W
1500S 10441W
3122S 09024W
3420S 09024W
INSTRUCTIONS: SANTIAGO OCEANIC CONTROL 10024 KHZ FANS 1A EQUIPPED
ACFT LOG ON SCEZ
INFO PROVIDED BY SPACE X OPS, USA
F) SFC G) UNL

[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:
1075.14   Sep 20
1081.11   Sep 25

Edit October 28: It's B1075.14.

[OneSpeed]

And so next West Coast Starlink launch is for…Group 9-9.

Maps from the NOTAMs.

[raptorx2]

This launch appears headed of our nomenclature.. Plane 13.


Current layout.

Plane 11 9-5
Plane 12 Empty
Plane 13 Empty (Group 9-9 NET Oct. 29th)
Plane 14 Empty
Plane 15 9-8
Plane 16 Empty
Plane 17 8-3
Plane 18 Empty
Plane 19 Group 8-1 (6 payloads)

All other planes for the Text constellation are populated.

[Martin_G]

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

SPACEX STARLINK 9-9, VANDENBURG SFB, CA
PRIMARY:   10/29/24   1130Z-1600Z
BACKUP:      10/30/24   1107Z-1538Z

[Ken the Bin]

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

These are S2 reentry notices, not the "Space Debris notice that is effectively a Rocket Launching notice" notice. The latter has not yet arrived.

250018Z OCT 24
NAVAREA XII 850/24(21,22,83).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
EASTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   1047Z TO 1703Z DAILY 29 OCT THRU 04 NOV
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   34-20.00S 090-24.00W, 31-22.00S 090-24.00W,
   00-10.00S 115-17.00W, 11-37.00N 123-13.00W,
   10-26.00N 124-56.00W, 01-19.00S 116-54.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 041803Z NOV 24.

250018Z OCT 24
HYDROPAC 3344/24(21,22,83).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
EASTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
DNC 06, DNC 07, DNC 13.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS
   1047Z TO 1703Z DAILY 29 OCT THRU 04 NOV
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   34-20.00S 090-24.00W, 31-22.00S 090-24.00W,
   00-10.00S 115-17.00W, 11-37.00N 123-13.00W,
   10-26.00N 124-56.00W, 01-19.00S 116-54.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 041803Z NOV 24.

[Ken the Bin]

These are S2 reentry notices, not the "Space Debris notice that is effectively a Rocket Launching notice" notice. The latter has not yet arrived.

Here is the NGA Space Debris notice that is effectively a Rocket Launching notice (expected launch window 11:30-13:00 UTC).

Note that the launch window for the first two days is only 90 minutes, then it reverts back to the usual four hours for the remaining days.

250040Z OCT 24
NAVAREA XII 851/24(21).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
MEXICO.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS:
   A. 291130Z TO 291331Z, 301107Z TO 301308Z,
      311044Z TO 311515Z OCT, 011021Z TO 011452Z,
      020957Z TO 021428Z, 030934Z TO 031405Z
      AND 040911Z TO 041342Z NOV
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      28-58.00N 116-22.00W, 29-18.00N 115-56.00W,
      29-42.00N 116-06.00W, 30-04.00N 116-28.00W,
      30-00.00N 116-50.00W, 29-50.00N 117-02.00W,
      29-32.00N 117-06.00W, 29-12.00N 116-48.00W.
   B. 291130Z TO 291325Z, 301107Z TO 301302Z,
      311044Z TO 311509Z OCT, 011021Z TO 011446Z,
      020957Z TO 021422Z, 030934Z TO 031359Z,
      AND 040911Z TO 041336Z NOV
      IN AREA BOUND BY
      30-48.00N 117-25.00W, 30-28.00N 116-56.00W,
      29-57.00N 116-48.00W, 30-17.00N 117-19.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 041442Z NOV 24.

[Ken the Bin]

Preliminary information from CelesTrak:

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

Starlink G9-9 Pre-Launch
Derived from a pre-launch Starlink-G9-9 state vector, provided by SpaceX. SupGP data is provided for the entire stack, as well as one for a single satellite.
Launch: 2024-10-29 11:30:00 UTC.
Deploy: 2024-10-29 12:30:50.040 UTC.
Launch window: 2024-10-29 11:30:00 UTC to 2024-10-29 15:29:00 UTC.

Note that CelesTrak shows the launch window ending at 15:29 UTC (window of 3 hours and 59 minutes) but the entire NGA marine hazard period (which includes time for the booster and fairing halves to return from space) ends at 13:31 UTC for location A and at 13:25 UTC for location B.

[realnouns]

Debra C + OCISLY departed PoLB on Oct 22 @ 6:30pm PT / 9:30pm ET

Debra C + OCISLY + B1063 returned to PoLB on Oct 26 @ 1:04pm PT / 4:04pm ET

Debra C + OCISLY departed PoLB on Oct 27 @ 1:41pm PT / 4:41pm ET

[OneSpeed]

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

Here is the NGA Space Debris notice that is effectively a Rocket Launching notice (expected launch window 11:30-13:00 UTC).

Maps from the NGA notices. The NGA again has separate areas for the ASDS and the fairing halves.

[realnouns]

Go Beyond departed PoLB on Oct 22 @ 8:29pm PT / 11:29pm ET

Go Beyond returned to PoLB on Oct 26 @ 7:55am PT / 10:55am ET

Go Beyond departed PoLB on Oct 27 @ 7:15pm PT / 10:15pm ET

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1851012060752331144

Targeting Tuesday, October 29 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from California, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities →

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-9-9

SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, October 29 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 4:44 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 5:40 a.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Wednesday, October 30 starting at 4:07 a.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 14th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, Transporter-11, SARah-2, and 10 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

B1075.14

[catdlr]

Here is a consolidated post of available video links for this launch:

SpaceX direct live broadcast on Twitter:  https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1mrxmMgNMpBxy

Space Affairs YouTube (SpaceX Re-broadcast):  https://youtube.com/watch?v=NCuxk_Mmj-4

Replay supplied by The Space Devs (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

Launch Ground Video (from a resident in Santa Barbara - I'll post if available)

Typically, NSF doesn't provide coverage, but SFN may: https://youtube.com/watch?v=e2rjlY4aTTg

[catdlr]

Weather Update:

Clear but cold and blustery, that type of condition where you get the chills and shakes while you sit on a cold park bench on the beach bluff, waiting for a rocket launch in the dead of night.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
228 PM PDT Mon Oct 28 2024

.SYNOPSIS...28/851 AM.

A cold low pressure system will sweep across the region Today and
Tuesday. Significant cooling is expected by Tuesday, which will
last through late in the week. Widespread gusty northerly winds
will peak today, followed by weak offshore flow on Wednesday.
Periods of light rain are possible over the weekend.

&&

.SHORT TERM (TDY-THU)...28/228 PM.

Synoptically, an upper-level trough has dropped down the west
coast with very cold air behind a cold front. This feature brings
a slight (<25%) chance of north slope precipitation tonight and
tomorrow. Another trough will affect the coast on Friday through
next Monday, with ensemble solutions split between a coastal
track and another mild rain producer, or an interior track that
would be another wind producer.

Temperatures are down 5-15 degrees from yesterday except for
the immediate coast which was tempered by clouds.  Current
satellite imagery shows a strong cloud buildup to our north and
there may be some north slope precipitation before the day is
done. Rain totals, if any, will be less than one tenth of an
inch. The snow level will drop to less than 7000' tonight so there
could even be a light dusting at higher elevations, but not down
to the Grapevine.

The most impactful weather element will remain the gusty wind.
All available guidance indicates northwest to north winds will
increase across the area today through tonight, before slowly
diminishing Tuesday morning. Widespread gusts of 35-55 MPH can be
expected with local 60+ MPH gusts late this afternoon and evening
in the mountains. Current slate of WIND ADVISORIES looks to handle
the situation very well through tonight/Tuesday morning (see
LAXNPWLOX for the latest details).

The trough will move to the east on Tuesday/Wednesday with broad
cyclonic flow over the area. Near the surface, flow will shift to
the northeast Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, and still look
to be quite enough to not require any advisories.

Thursday should be dry. Weak onshore flow will allow the marine
layer stratus/fog to become more established across the coasts
and coastal valleys. Whatever slight temperature gains may be made
Wednesday will likely be negated.

[catdlr]

SFN live line is available for this middle-of-the-night launch (FST - this is a better site to take screenshots of posting -limited over-screen messages).

[Ken the Bin]

Launch opportunities on CelesTrak:

https://twitter.com/TSKelso/status/1851096966467596432

CelesTrak has pre-launch SupGP data for the @Starlink Group 9-9 launch from Vandenberg SFB on 2024-10-29 at 11:44:00 UTC: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/table.php?FILE=starlink-g9-9. Deployment of 20 satellites is at 12:44:50.420 UTC. Data for 4 backup launch opportunities is also provided: https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/supplemental/.

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

Launch: 2024-10-29 11:44:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-10-29 12:44:50.420 UTC.
Launch: 2024-10-29 12:28:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-10-29 13:28:50.420 UTC.
Launch: 2024-10-29 12:36:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-10-29 13:36:50.420 UTC.
Launch: 2024-10-29 12:38:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-10-29 13:38:50.420 UTC.
Launch: 2024-10-29 12:40:00 UTC. Deploy: 2024-10-29 13:40:50.420 UTC.

[Steven Pietrobon]

PDF of online press kit.