SpaceX F9 - GPS III SV03 - SLC-40

[Grendal]

Launch Date: June 30
Launch Window: 3:55-4:10 p.m. EDT (1955-2010 GMT)
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Booster Recovery: ASDS
Booster: B1060
Mass: 3,880 kg (8,553 lb)
Orbit: Semi-synchronous MEO

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s third third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin. The Air Force previously planned to launch the second GPS 3-series satellite on this mission.

 

[ggr]

Geosynchronous orbit really? I thought GPS were a lot lower than that.

 

[Grendal]

Geosynchronous orbit really? I thought GPS were a lot lower than that.

Semi-synchronous MEO according to wiki. Corrected.

 

[e-FTW]

Air Force was nice enough to post amazing pics of the booster (more pics inside): Imgur

I want that office...

 

[Grendal]

Delayed until April. I expect the delay doesn't come from SpaceX.

 

[Grendal]

The satellite just arrived at the Cape for the future launch.

 

[Grendal]

First post updated with known information. The Air Force will now let SpaceX attempt to recover the core.

 

[e-FTW]

McGregor static fire test was good on 1/13, per Air Force: Twitter

 

[Grendal]

Sill looking good for April. They began media accreditation for the launch.

Launch date and time added with current information.

 

[ggr]

Delayed again, this time due to COVID-19, to early June.

 

[e-FTW]

Delayed again, this time due to COVID-19, to early June.

Yup, straight from the range boss: Starlink mission scheduled for next week at Kennedy Space Center - SpaceNews.com

 

[Grendal]

I wonder if the new booster on the right is for the upcoming GPS III-03 USAF mission in June?

Yes. B1060 is new and will be allowed to attempt recovery for this launch.

 

[Grendal]

Now we have a semi-official date and time.

SpaceX needs to get this one up so they can hopefully recover the booster. They need it to keep the Starlink launches moving along quickly. Adding B1060 into the availability mix gives SpaceX 5 main boosters to launch from:

B1049
B1051
B1058
B1059
B1060

The quickest turnaround time for a Block 5 booster has been two months.

 

[adiggs]

Am I confused? I think I see 3 F9 launches on the schedule IN JUNE.

Starlink 8 in a few days (12th)
Starlink 9 10 days later (22nd)
And this one 8 days later (30th)

I wonder if Boeing has ever done 3 launches in a month, ever. Heck - I wonder what other entity has launched something into spaced 3 times in a month, ever.


So what - Starlink 10 by July 10?

 

[Pricee2]

Starlink 7 launched June 4th. If the three launches adiggs listed in the above post all launch in June that will give Spacex 4 in June.

 

[bxr140]

I wonder what other entity has launched something into spaced 3 times in a month, ever.

To be fair, that's a bit like asking "I wonder what diesel F250 has ever been electric"...

I know I've beating this horse for years now, but its all about demand for a rocket company and explicitly not supply. Nobody's launched 3 of the same payload rockets in a month, because they're not structured to do so, because they don't need to be. SpaceX's internal demand has creates a modified paradigm there, and certianly their pricing has created a secondary effect of making [other] mega-constellations slightly more plausible, but the future of the mega constellation is still a little bit fuzzy.

 

[Grendal]

Starlink 7 launched June 4th. If the three launches adiggs listed in the above post all launch in June that will give Spacex 4 in June.

It is four launches in June if they don't get delayed somewhere. If they do that the May 30th launch of Bob and Doug made it two days away from five launches in June! Which is also their entire available fleet of boosters. There are two others in final testing for approval but they aren't officially sanctioned boosters quite yet. Those two are already assigned to Crew 1 and GPS III SV04.

 

[e-FTW]

It is four launches in June if they don't get delayed somewhere. If they do that the May 30th launch of Bob and Doug made it two days away from five launches in June! Which is also their entire available fleet of boosters. There are two others in final testing for approval but they aren't officially sanctioned boosters quite yet. Those two are already assigned to Crew 1 and GPS III SV04.

Man that would be epic. All 5 boosters in inventory flown in a month to 5 weeks!

 

[Grendal]

Static Fire for B1060 set for the 24th or 25th. So there could be two functional Falcon 9's on their two pads at the Cape at the same time - for the first time. Another landmark achievement for SpaceX.

 

[Grendal]

It happened. Static fire for B1060 happened today. So two Falcon 9's were vertical on two launch pads at the Cape.