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Thank you. You are correct. I got the info from SpaceX Facebook and they must have just put in an incorrect placeholder time frame.
This launch has a two hour launch window so:
Launch window: 1810-2010 GMT (2:10-4:10 p.m. EDT)
The weight of this satellite if I haven't mentioned it before is 8800 lbs. A little less weight and it could be a RTLS. So it will be an easy ASDS as long as everything is nominal.
My error again. The time frame changed because the launch date slipped to Saturday, June 17th.
BulgariaSat booster arriving for final prep work. This was the recovered Iridium 1 booster from the West Coast. SpaceX twitter posted this picture.
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Guys this is my first and possibly my last post on this forum. I got to reading this thread and just had to through in my two cents worth.
I think its possible that Spacex will force customers to buy new boosters in the near future. They are going to be launching a huge number of their own satellites before long which puts them in competition with their customers. The best way to make this undertaking profitable is to require customers to buy new boosters and once they are recovered use those boosters to do Spacex launches. Those launches would then be incredibly cheap. Take the booster that the customer has paid for but doesn't own fix it up a bit and reuse it along with a second stage booster that you can launch at its actual cost.
The customer is still getting their launch cheaper using Spacex than any other provider. Diabolical I know. Some might say dirty and underhanded. This won't be the first time something like this has happened its called business and progress.
I think its possible that Spacex will force customers to buy new boosters in the near future. They are going to be launching a huge number of their own satellites before long which puts them in competition with their customers. The best way to make this undertaking profitable is to require customers to buy new boosters and once they are recovered use those boosters to do Spacex launches. Those launches would then be incredibly cheap. Take the booster that the customer has paid for but doesn't own fix it up a bit and reuse it along with a second stage booster that you can launch at its actual cost.
The customer is still getting their launch cheaper using Spacex than any other provider. Diabolical I know. Some might say dirty and underhanded. This won't be the first time something like this has happened its called business and progress.
Well, "welcome" and "sorry to see you go so soon".
"Possible"? A lot of things are possible but I don't think that will happen. At the rate SpaceX is launching now, used 1st stages are accumulating rapidly and the SpaceX satcom fleet is a long ways away from being ready to launch.
Very interesting idea but I also doubt SpaceX would be that ham handed with their launch customers. Yes, economics and maximizing profits ultimately govern most decisions of this type. But companies led by visionaries rather than bean counters also like to foster partnerships, friendships and various types of 'win - win' with their customers. Once SpaceX is able to speed up the pace and reliability of their launch cadence and reuse faring and eventually 2nd stages, the prices they charge will both grab the lions share of the launch market AND make them gobs of cash. SpaceX won't need to piss off their customers to get their 2K mini sattelites to orbit for cheaper than any competitors for that new market.
hockeythug
Active Member
I'm sure they will double check all the calipers are accounted for this time. Joking of course.
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Static fire pushed back to Thursday.
Weather for Saturday is not good with thunderstorms. Sunday looks much better being just overcast.
Weather for Saturday is not good with thunderstorms. Sunday looks much better being just overcast.
And it just became semi-official (reputable news source with evidence) that the launch has slipped to Monday because of the bad weather.
Interestingly, the time frame didn't change. Or I haven't had confirmation of a time change...
Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) | Twitter
Chris B - NSF @NASASpaceflight
Interestingly, the time frame didn't change. Or I haven't had confirmation of a time change...
Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) | Twitter
Chris B - NSF @NASASpaceflight
Static Fire occurred 20 minutes ago and SpaceX just tweeted that it was successful.
Targeting Monday, June 19th as the launch date.
Targeting Monday, June 19th as the launch date.
Krugerrand
Meow
Nope, won't happen for one reason. Elon Musk doesn't roll like that.
Good question. The answer is: not really. Test firings are done on occasion of the engines on stands. But specifically on the launch pad? Not really. The reason for that is that most launch companies and governments use solid rocket boosters to add lift. Solid rocket boosters are light and launch. The Space Shuttle did a hold down fire of the shuttle engines then lit the solid side boosters for launch. SpaceX wants to confirm everything is working properly and their engines are designed with multiple firings in mind. So numerous firings are built into the system. In the long term, it means that SpaceX will have less issues.
Exactly. ~$50M a ride is still a lot of money. $50M can go a long way for just about anyone. And $50M of someone else's money >> $50M of your money. Times X launches...
And...for better or worse, the constellation is definitely on Elon time, so it's not like we're talking a couple years before mass production. Probably more like 5-7.
What will really be disruptive is the effect the constellation has on demand for GEO spacecraft. One has to assume the cost/bit of a constellation is going to be significantly cheaper than today's or tomorrow's GEO technology, not to mention there's better coverage, better redundancy, less lag, and there's always going to be newer technology due to a shorter lifecycle. At some point in the not too distant future, who's going to want to buy a GEO? And so, who's going to need a rocket to get to GEO? (So to speak...)
Has anyone seen any analysis of how profitable the constellation projected services and scope will be for SpaceX? Factoring in when competition using similar tech puts downward pressure on how much SpaceX can charge?
If that projected profit is substantial, I would think Elon would want to get there as fast as possible without sacrificing talent from development of the BFR.
As the news article points out, the weather for Monday is questionable: 40% chance. Tuesday is equally bad with the same 40% chance. Basically lots of rain and thunderstorms. This is not an instantaneous launch window so that gives a better chance for something happening within the 2 hour window.
BulgariaSat has been pushed back and, surprisingly, not due to weather:
SpaceX on Twitter
New launch date and times will be posted when they are known.
I know the next question on everyone's mind after reading this will be: What about the Iridium launch? Will this delay affect that launch?
The answer is no. SpaceX has two launch teams and Iridium just tweeted that SpaceX "could have a weekend double header."
SpaceX on Twitter
New launch date and times will be posted when they are known.
I know the next question on everyone's mind after reading this will be: What about the Iridium launch? Will this delay affect that launch?
The answer is no. SpaceX has two launch teams and Iridium just tweeted that SpaceX "could have a weekend double header."
SpaceX website is poorly updated and maintained. If there is a launch that is scheduled within the week, I would expect that to show up in the home page, instead we still see the last Dragon mission.
And the icing on the cake is the Bulgaria Sat launch update still shows Monday 2:10 EST - and ironically it is already past 2:10 pm now. This page was last updated on the 17th. This is shoddy website work
BulgariaSat-1 Mission Press Kit
And the icing on the cake is the Bulgaria Sat launch update still shows Monday 2:10 EST - and ironically it is already past 2:10 pm now. This page was last updated on the 17th. This is shoddy website work
BulgariaSat-1 Mission Press Kit
