SpaceX F9 - CSG-2 - SLC-40

[Grendal]

Launch Date: January 31
Launch Window: 6:11pm EST (3:11pm PST, 23:11 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Booster Recovery: RTLS
Booster Type: B1052-3
Fairings: Likely Reused
Mass: 2205 kg (4860 lb)
Orbit: SSO

Second COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite. Originally scheduled to launch in 2021 on an ArianSpace Vega-C rocket, resulting delays caused the pandemic and two Vega launch failures led to ASI purchasing a Falcon 9 launch contract in September 2021 for the 2.2 ton satellite.

COSMO-SkyMed - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Stats:

• This will be SpaceX's 4th orbital launch of the year
• If successful this would be SpaceX's 112th successful orbital launch within the Falcon program in a row since the last failure.
• This will be Falcon 9's 137th orbital flight
• This will be the 6th flight of this booster.
• This will be SpaceX's 78th launch from SLC-40.
• This will be the 18th landing attempt at LZ-1.

The booster for this mission, B1052-3, previously supported the Arabsat 6A and STP-2 missions as a Falcon Heavy side booster. It has been converted to a standard F9 booster. This is the first time this has ever happened.

 

[bxr140]

Super pedantic, but mass in the text is correct (2.2T).

Also interesting that is going to be a dogleg out of Florida. Given the ASDS landing they're definitely putting more sats on that rocket. (SOCOM was RTLS so its not like there's some technical reason the dogleg SSO can't be RTLS). It would also be odd for the cosmo mission to just fork out another ~20M or whatever for the falcon over the Vega.

 

[Grendal]

Explanation of shift to SpaceX:

Launch of Italian radar satellite shifts from Arianespace to SpaceX – Spaceflight Now

Updated with new launch date and time.

 

[IdaX]

looking like this one's going to be a RTLS at LZ1 and not ASDS for the recovery!

Moderator: Thanks! Adjusted.

 

[Grendal]

First post updated.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Wow, a -6 booster for a commercial launch. Other than ride shares, is that a record?

 

[Grendal]

Wow, a -6 booster for a commercial launch. Other than ride shares, is that a record?

B1051 launched SXM-7 on it's seventh launch.
B1059 (before it failed a recovery) launched SAOCOM 1B (4th) and NROL 108 (5th).

List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Grendal]

Weather is good.

 

[Grendal]

Wow, a -6 booster for a commercial launch. Other than ride shares, is that a record?

It's been confirmed that this booster will be B1052-3. An old FH side booster used for the Arabsat 6A and STP-2 missions. So not a record, but a first.

 

[Grendal]

Tim Dodd will be doing his thing for CSG-2.

 

[Grendal]

weather is getting worse:

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX webcast:

 

[favo]

Delayed 24 hours.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1486831387336314882

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

New EA:

 

[favo]

New webcast for today.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Delayed until Sunday.

 

[808?]

Range issue (cruise ship) just now, they will try AGAIN tomorrow.

Coast Guard could not clear the infringing ship in time.

 

[Pricee2]

Scrubbed because of a cruise ship in the red zone.

I hope captain dip stick gets reprimanded.

 

[HVM]