Static fire just happened. We'll hear how successful it was soon.
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Mike1080i
Member
SpaceX via NSF's Chris Bergin:
MEDIA GUIDANCE FOR SPACEX’S ECHOSTAR XXIII LAUNCH
HAWTHORNE, Calif. – Mar. 9, 2017. Following today’s static fire test, SpaceX is targeting the launch of the EchoStar XXIII satellite from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Mar. 14. The launch window opens at 1:34 a.m. EDT and closes at 4:04 a.m. EDT.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
More details on the mission and pre-launch activities will be made available to credentialed media later this week. Updates will also be provided on SpaceX.com and through the company’s social media channels. Please note: the media credentialing period for EchoStar XXIII is closed.
MEDIA GUIDANCE FOR SPACEX’S ECHOSTAR XXIII LAUNCH
HAWTHORNE, Calif. – Mar. 9, 2017. Following today’s static fire test, SpaceX is targeting the launch of the EchoStar XXIII satellite from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Mar. 14. The launch window opens at 1:34 a.m. EDT and closes at 4:04 a.m. EDT.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
More details on the mission and pre-launch activities will be made available to credentialed media later this week. Updates will also be provided on SpaceX.com and through the company’s social media channels. Please note: the media credentialing period for EchoStar XXIII is closed.
Webcasts are up:
A quick reminder that there will be no landing attempt for this launch.
The weather is terrible in Florida today and currently there is a 60% chance of a scrub because of the weather.
Hosted:
The no frills Technical:
A quick reminder that there will be no landing attempt for this launch.
The weather is terrible in Florida today and currently there is a 60% chance of a scrub because of the weather.
Hosted:
EchoStar 23 vertical on the pad at LC-39A.
Image is directly from SpaceX.
This might be one of the last times you will see a Falcon 9 without landing legs.
Look at the tiny trucks to the right to get an idea of the size of the rocket.
Image is directly from SpaceX.
This might be one of the last times you will see a Falcon 9 without landing legs.
Look at the tiny trucks to the right to get an idea of the size of the rocket.
Last edited:
adiggs
Well-Known Member
Think of all that saved weight by not carrying landing legs! This could be huge!
Because of the lack of weight and the lack of recovery, there will be an extra 10 seconds on the burn for the booster. So EchoStar is getting the star treatment and, with the extra boost, a much shorter time to get into position for use. Time is money for satellites.
Let me see if I understand this correctly: this launch is to GTO and there will be no first stage recovery (so no landing legs) due to the fuel needed to achieve that high orbit with this heavy payload. But I have read comments in the SpaceX FB group that this may be the last Falcon launch we ever see where the first stage has no landing legs. Would that be because future launches to GTO will be made with the Falcon Heavy which will be able to easily boost heavy payloads to that high orbit and still have enough fuel remaining to recover all three first stages?
ccutrer
Active Member
Hmmm, so should SpaxeX charge less for a FH with three recoverable cores, or a F9 flying non-recoverable?
Also, once reusability kicks in, do they charge less for the person that re-uses a core, or the person that has a flight plan that allows the core(s) to be recovered? Or split the difference, and you only get the full discount if you fly a reused core, and it's a recoverable mission?
Good questions. There are really two reasons. The first is that we are in a short time from the new and final block 5 version of the Falcon 9 which will have even more lift capability and be designed with reuse in mind. This final design gets to use all the information the company has gained from actually recovering boosters and being able to examine them thoroughly. A unique situation for an orbital rocket. That is significant. Then also they now know for certain they can recover the cores of Falcon Heavy as well. So using a Falcon Heavy and recovering all three cores is not much different from using a Falcon 9 since in both cases the second stage, fairings, and payload reach orbit and are not recovered. No doubt there is more cost in fuel, refurbishment, and general coordination for more pieces for the FH but what is used and lost from the rocket is the same.
The company just needs to adjust their costs and charge appropriately while moving forward. No more RUDs or other failures and they should do very well.
JOEV1
*****joe
adiggs
Well-Known Member
I see this next launch as the start of a transition period that I'd guess will take a matter of a handful of years (more than months, but less than decades) where the overall mental model is still one in which rockets are sent up with a payload as brand new / single-use devices, but there's this outfit SpaceX that is reusing rockets. During this transition, we'll be learning about how many launches a single rocket is good for, and what each launch should charge to share the benefits of reuse while keeping SpaceX profitable.
We can guess at details, but we don't yet know what we don't know.
Over the next few years, as more rockets go up for a 2nd+ time and we get a better notion of how many launches a rocket is good for (and how they start wearing out, and what maintenance can be done to extend the rocket's life, etc..), the whole mental model will shift. An early indicator that I believe we'll see of this shift in mental model, will be the day when being the first payload on a rocket costs less than being the second payload on a rocket. Or in an alternative form, a new rocket is sent up with an inexpensive / who cares if it RUDs payload as the final QA on the rocket, and the first payload is the SECOND launch of the rocket.
The launch insurance people will have a lot of influence over how this evolves - will they start to see second launch vehicles as a better insurance risk, and price accordingly?
The larger mental model to draw on here, is to think of rockets like a big commercial airliner. If your flight from LA to New York was the FIRST flight for a new plane, how excited are you to be on that plane? If you're a business with a business critical delivery to make, how excited are you to have that delivery fly on a first flight plane? And are you willing to pay a premium to be on that FIRST flight?
We're not to anything like that level of reuse of course, and I expect it'll be decades to get that level of reuse. But I think just a few years for rockets to be used a half dozen or dozen times each, and to dramatically change the economics of launch services (and I hope / guess, insurance for launch).
Perhaps, if the mission can be accomplished with 3 core RTLS. In fact, it would be SpaceX's interest to drive that change whenever possible.
Lets not forget that SpaceX F9 block V will bring more performance to F9 launches. The # of missions that can't be dealt with F9 Block V with ASDS landing should be really narrow, and in the price bracket that should command a heft price any ways.
It's also possible that SpaceX could negotiate a higher price in exchange for placing the satellite in a higher energy orbit (like a super sync GTO), such that it saves satellite fuel and transit time.
The webcasts from the other night are still active. Use them for tonights launch.
Weather is 90% go for tonight.
1:35 AM EDT tomorrow.
11:35 PM West Coast today.
The webcasts begin about 20 minutes before launch.
Weather is 90% go for tonight.
1:35 AM EDT tomorrow.
11:35 PM West Coast today.
The webcasts begin about 20 minutes before launch.
e-FTW
New electron smell
Was thinking the same thing for the last two days. Is this some messed up daylight savings time funniness?
ccutrer
Active Member
New Mexico (where Grendal's profile says he's from) and Mountain Time is West Coast, right?!
N5329K
Active Member
ccutrer
Active Member
I hope you could see my implied sarcasmNo.
. I'm in the same time zone. Give us non-coasters a break. We promise we do exist, you don't just fly over us!Similar threads
