SpaceX F9 - Starlink V1.0-16 - LC-39A

[Grendal]

Launch Date: January 20
Launch Window: 8:02 AM EST, 5:02 AM PST (1302 UTC)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Core Booster Recovery: ASDS - JRTI
Booster: B1051-8
Fairings: TBD
Mass: 60 satellites at 260 kg each - 15,600 kg (34,500 lbs)
Orbit: LEO

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 17th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L16.

 

[Grendal]

Updated. Likely the first launch of 2021. Cape Canaveral is now a part of Space Force.

 

[Grendal]

Updated. Should be second launch of 2021 now.

Time, date, and booster updated.

 

[Grendal]

70% chance for early tomorrow. 90% with a 24 hour delay.

 

[Grendal]

1 day delay.

 

[Electroman]

No video link? Grendal you are slacking.

 

[Grendal]

No video link? Grendal you are slacking.

SpaceX hasn't put one out yet... They usually put up the link somewhere between 12 and 24 hours ahead of time. Because the launches are so frequent, Starlink launches tend to be only about 12 hours or so.

 

[Grendal]

First webcast:

 

[808?]

 

[MyJoule]

Looks like it's postponed again

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/with_replies

 

[Cosmacelf]

Looks like it's postponed again

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/with_replies

"additional pre-launch inspections". Huh. I wonder what that could be since they've already been delayed?

 

[bxr140]

"additional pre-launch inspections". Huh. I wonder what that could be since they've already been delayed?

That's usually code for "someone forgot to check off that line in that procedure", where an otherwise self-evident non-issue necessitates a re-run (to some degree or another) of the procedure/process/whatever for completeness.

Could also be a flag for a lower level anomaly (whatever terminology they use) where its likely going to be UAI but with the slimmest chance of being a bigger deal.

If it were a verified anomaly, or something like a gator stuck somewhere unfortunate, we'd hear about it.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

"additional pre-launch inspections". Huh. I wonder what that could be since they've already been delayed?

Actually "additional time for pre-launch inspections".

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

Good launch, MECO, separation, first stage landing (8th!), SECO, and orbit. Another 45 minutes until payload deploy. I'm going back to bed though since that shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Nikxice]

Highest winds for a drone ship landing to date. SpaceX pushing the edge of the envelope. Nailed it, right down the centerline.

 

[mhan00]

A car drove right by the Starship as it was prepping for a possible static fire today. Crazy, and a huge range violation. No idea how they got by the road closures.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

T+11:19 to T+11;20.

Was that a satellite that came tumbling across the view of the camera?
I tried playing back at 1/4 speed but it's not clear.

 

[bxr140]

Was that a satellite that came tumbling across the view of the camera?
I tried playing back at 1/4 speed but it's not clear.

Bird?

Definitely some kind of debris, hard to tell where it actually came from. Maybe a small burst from a thruster or a blow-off valve of some sort dislodged A Thing? Maybe whatever causes that thermal blanket pulsating? (In the previous camera angle you can see one puff of the blanket)

Other than that, near as I can tell anyway, there's no momentum being added to the stack that would cause displaced debris to actually move relative to the stack.

There's also some pixels flashing by a few seconds before. That they're going slow enough to see implies they're from the stack, but they also seem to be coming from and moving in a really weird direction.