SpaceX F9 - Transporter 1 - SLC-40

[Grendal]

Launch Date: January 24
Launch Window: 10:00 AM EST, 7:00 AM PST (1500 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Core Booster Recovery: ASDS - OCISLY
Booster: B1058-5
Fairings: New
Mass: Approx 5000 kg - 133 satellites (a record)
Orbit: SSO

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 1 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The launch will include 10 Starlink satellites.

First flight of a Falcon 9 with a third stage.

3rd launch of the year for SpaceX.


Details:
Transporter-1 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Everyday Astronaut

 

[Cosmacelf]

Not just a rideshare mission, but one with 10 Starlink polar sats on it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/ktbzne/the_fcc_approves_launch_of_10_ten_starlink/

 

[Grendal]

Not just a rideshare mission, but one with 10 Starlink polar sats on it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/ktbzne/the_fcc_approves_launch_of_10_ten_starlink/

So this is also Starlink 16 launch as well.

 

[ICUDoc]

Launch Date: January 14
First flight of a Falcon 9 with a third stage.
Details:
Transporter-1 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Everyday Astronaut

Any details on the transfer stage?
Will we get to see it fire up?

 

[Grendal]

No clue. It's the Sherpa transporter thingy.

 

[Electroman]

Wow 3 stages? First of its kind for SpaceX?

 

[arnolddeleon]

Any details on the transfer stage?
Will we get to see it fire up?

It looks like for this launch it doesn't have propulsion. It appears that will be a smart dispenser allowing communication with the payloads.

 

[Grendal]

Delayed a week. Now the third launch of the year.

 

[bxr140]

Wow 3 stages? First of its kind for SpaceX?

The third stage is not a spaceX product. As far as Falcon is concerned, the mission is over when the transporter (and Starlinks) are deployed from the second stage.

Spaceflight - Mission Management, Including Licensing and Integration

 

[Grendal]

Booster was re-assigned. Now it's B1058-5. Now we have a launch time too.

 

[Grendal]

80% chance of good weather at the launch site. Starlink 16 showed us that weather in the recovery area can still mess up a launch even when the forecast at the launch site is very good.

 

[Grendal]

24 hour slip.

 

[Grendal]

First Webcast from NSF. I will post the SpaceX one when it pops up. Weather is 60% for tomorrow:

 

[Grendal]

Payload deployment process because "it's a doozy!":

 

[Cosmacelf]

Payload deployment process because "it's a doozy!":

OMG! People worry about rockets having issues but what are the odds that all that deployment will go off without a hitch?

 

[ICUDoc]

Planet SuperDoves!?!?!?!

 

[808?]

 

[jkirkebo]

Scrub for today due to surface electrical fields (weather). Backup opportunity tomorrow.

 

[bxr140]

Planet SuperDoves!?!?!?!

SuperDoves are a pretty significantly upgrade over their ‘baseline’ Dove satellites. I don’t think the resolution is much different (resolution is primarily a function of physical size) but they can do a bunch more spectral bands.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I can't wait for this one - normally deployment is the most boring part of the mission - this time it'll be pretty exciting to watch real time.