SpaceX F9 - Starlink 4 - SLC-40

[SMAlset]

Not sure what you were watching ecarfan .

Here’s a shot of one of the fairing halves falling back to Earth. Not sure what the other circled is of. Occurred some minutes after.

 

[bmah]

Wait a minute...I watched the livestream and saw the booster land on target. What are you guys talking about? The webcast host stated the booster landing was successful.

Am I in the wrong thread? Can’t be based on the date/time of your posts.

After the booster anding the host said the sat deploy would be at about 45 minutes post launch. I stepped away for about 15 minutes to do other stuff, now watching the webcast showing the usual animation. It’s T+35 minutes. But the SpaceXNow app states the sats were deployed already.

I would guess that either:

1) You're actually watching a replay of an old Starlink mission.

2) You're posting from an alternate reality. Maybe the universe where Spock has a beard?



Bruce.

 

[ecarfan]

So I was watching the webcast in a browser on my iPhone. I now realize that I was streaming the webcast from the previous Starlink mission! I thought I had reloaded the browser window but apparently I did not.

I went to my iPad and opened a new window and went back in the webcast to watch the landing and now understand what happened today. Very surprising to see the booster miss OCISLY by around 50 meters or so.

I should have been tipped off to my mistake when I noticed Spock sporting a goatee...

Edit: this story just gets more hilarious. I watched with my spouse. I just reminded her that during the webcast (the one we were watching) when the video signal was lost during booster descent just after the re-entry burn I said to her “The same thing happened on the last Starlink mission, I wish SpaceX would improve the reliability of the booster video feed”. She just told me that at the start of the webcast she noticed the host had her hair done the same way as last time and appeared to be wearing the same outfit. But neither of us put two and two together to realize we were watching the last mission!

 

[Cosmacelf]

Wait a minute...I watched the livestream and saw the booster land on target. What are you guys talking about? The webcast host stated the booster landing was successful.

Am I in the wrong thread? Can’t be based on the date/time of your posts.

After the booster anding the host said the sat deploy would be at about 45 minutes post launch. I stepped away for about 15 minutes to do other stuff, now watching the webcast showing the usual animation. It’s T+35 minutes. But the SpaceXNow app states the sats were deployed already.

Maybe you watched the wrong stream? Booster def did not land on drone ship.

 

[ecarfan]

I’m focusing on the fact that the lost booster was well used and the goal of the mission was a success; 60 Starlinks achieved the right orbit!

 

[Nikxice]

Maybe we can get this guy to lobby for all us SpaceX fans. The fact is today's booster did land successfully!

 

[SMAlset]

Wait a minute...I watched the livestream and saw the booster land on target. What are you guys talking about? The webcast host stated the booster landing was successful.

Am I in the wrong thread? Can’t be based on the date/time of your posts.

After the booster anding the host said the sat deploy would be at about 45 minutes post launch. I stepped away for about 15 minutes to do other stuff, now watching the webcast showing the usual animation. It’s T+35 minutes. But the SpaceXNow app states the sats were deployed already.

sounds like you were watching an older launch replay. Maybe old link? This launch was a quick one at 7:04am PT. I loaded the SpaceX site directly this morning.


note: just read your later post above and loved your wife’s comments! You guys made my day

 

[SMAlset]

Any idea what the debris was in my second posted photo (#21)? Space debris or some cabling that came off the first stage? You can zoom in on the photo.

 

[Grendal]

Any idea what the debris was in my second posted photo (#21)? Space debris or some cabling that came off the first stage? You can zoom in on the photo.

The informed speculation on SpaceX Facebook is that it is a piece of ice. Ice can be flexible in certain environments like this.

 

[jdevo2004]

I might be mistaken but during stage separation the first stage seemed to be exposed to more of the second stage back blast than usual. This might have caused problems with the plumbing for the grid fins.

I wonder if they have implemented the auxilary backup pump system for the grid fins yet.

 

[ecarfan]

I might be mistaken but during stage separation the first stage seemed to be exposed to more of the second stage back blast than usual. This might have caused problems with the plumbing for the grid fins.

It looked the usual distance away to me. I think that separation is farther than it might appear due to a lack of reference points and the extreme wide angle view.

I just finished watching the correct webcast of today’s launch. Yes, Lauren was wearing different clothes and had her hair done differently than the previous Starlink launch webcast.

I am very curious to learn why the booster missed OCISLY by such a large distance. I hope SpaceX releases the results of their investigation, and I hope today’s problem does not postpone the next F9 launches, but I suspect it will.

 

[Brass Guy]

If I recall with any accuracy, the booster aims beside the landing objective until very late in the decent; and adjusts to the target after everything checks out. My guess is something wasn't perfect so it self-aborted.
I hope we find out what really happened.

 

[bxr140]

Best to not inadvertently bomb your landing pad, as it were...

 

[Cosmacelf]

If I recall with any accuracy, the booster aims beside the landing objective until very late in the decent; and adjusts to the target after everything checks out. My guess is something wasn't perfect so it self-aborted.
I hope we find out what really happened.

I know they do that for a land landing, but do we know for sure they do that for an ocean landing?

 

[miimura]

I know they do that for a land landing, but do we know for sure they do that for an ocean landing?

I recall hearing that explanation (the initial target is off to the side of the drone ship) when the center core of the first Falcon Heavy was lost.

 

[e-FTW]

Today’s missed landing shall henceforth be referred to as Lost in Translation because my wife is so much wittier than I am.

I found the cause btw, something that many noticed but could not identify:

 

[e-FTW]

If I recall with any accuracy, the booster aims beside the landing objective until very late in the decent; and adjusts to the target after everything checks out. My guess is something wasn't perfect so it self-aborted.
I hope we find out what really happened.

Yup. They aim for the ocean, and then if all is well the booster does a translation maneuver to hit the bullseye.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Surprised no comment yet on what went wrong?

 

[bxr140]

Sounds like it was lost in translation.

 

[e-FTW]

Sounds like it was lost in translation.

My wife heard that! Lol