SpaceX F9 - Starlink Group 6-32 - SLC-40

Launch Date: December 22
Launch Window: 11:00PM EST (8:00PM PST, 04:00 UTC on the 23rd)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida
Core Booster Recovery: ASDS
Booster: B1058.19
Fairings: Reused
Mass: 23 Starlink 2.0 mini Satellites
Orbit: LEO
Yearly Launch Number: 93 orbital, 2 suborbital losses

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 129th group of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 6-32. The Starlink Group 6-32 mission is a V2 mini launch to their second generation constellation.

The Starlink Group 6-32 mission is headed to the 43º inclination shell of Starlink's second generation constellation. Satellites in this shell will be orbiting Earth in a 530km circular orbit at 43º inclination. This mission will carry 23 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a 344x353km 43° orbit and from there they'll raise their orbits to operational altitude.

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

This will be the first time to 19 launches for a booster!

Update: And 19th landing for the booster!

 

[ecarfan]

So impressive.

Do we know if any of the engines have been replaced on this booster?

 

[JB47394]

Do we know if any of the engines have been replaced on this booster?

The consensus is that normal refurbishment doesn't involve swapping out engines. If they replace any, they'd surely run a static fire on the booster at the launch site. I can find no reports of such static fires except after the very first landing.

 

[scaesare]

And they said recently they are targeting certifying boosters for 25-30 reuses... I'd assume that means that they've not had to do major stuff like engine swaps...

 

[JB47394]

I'd assume that means that they've not had to do major stuff like engine swaps...

I dunno. This is all new territory for the aerospace industry. Aircraft go through 3-4 sets of engines during their lifetime. I would think that extending the life of a booster by swapping some or even all of its engines would be fine. It'll still keep the overall cost of the booster lower than creating a new one with all new engines. Though I guess it depends on how much work the rest of the booster requires to keep it flying - and only SpaceX is accumulating data on that.

So my take on this is that SpaceX is going to run these things as long as they can. Instead of testing something to destruction on the test stand, they're going to test them as close to the point of destruction as possible. This is a grand test program for everyone in the aerospace industry. Lots and lots of data which, unfortunately, is not obliged to be in the public domain. That's one downside to using private companies.

It would be interesting to see engines outlasting boosters. I can't imagine SpaceX redesigning the Falcon 9 in response, but it would be a neat outcome.

 

[scaesare]

Good point, I guess I was assuming that the "certification" implied that an entire booster could be re-used without needed to swap an engine with just maintenance (although obviously indications of a premature failure would warrant a replacement).

But perhaps it's like an "airframe" certification, in that it's the overall structure that gets certified, and components are swapped as needed...

 

[JB47394]

Good point, I guess I was assuming that the "certification" implied that an entire booster could be re-used without needed to swap an engine with just maintenance (although obviously indications of a premature failure would warrant a replacement).

But perhaps it's like an "airframe" certification, in that it's the overall structure that gets certified, and components are swapped as needed...

Here's a 2015 article talking about certification. There are apparently three certification levels awarded by NASA, with each successive level allowing for more valuable payloads to be carried.

I'm speculating, but I think that NASA certifies a booster according to the refurbishment process that it has undergone. So if a booster requires engine replacement, and that process has never been certified, then SpaceX would work with NASA to establish that they have a good process for that operation, allowing them to maintain a given level of certification. Later boosters can then go through that same process to keep that level of certification.

 

[kellynice]

This will be the first time to 19 launches for a booster!

Update: And 19th landing for the booster!

Obviously Musk is great enough, and I greatly admire some of his contributions to technology.