This is always so nerve wracking...

Well damn. Time to come back tomorrow.

Yeah, was worried about this after the helium leak last night. :(

Looks like an abort about second stage thruster

9:38 a.m. EST tomorrow.

So I totally wasted going Tonya Harding on that referee.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk (so spelling be damned!!!)

Well, let's try this again...

Views don't look like they're going to be near as good today. Pretty cloudy/foggy

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Too cloudy for a good view. Will wait for the boom.

Well, you can't see shit, but it's off!

Dammit if they had waited just 5 more minutes the sky would've cleared enough for me to see it. As it is, when the clouds parted all that's left is the smoke trail.

Well, not the best views, but made it look easy once again! :thumb:

Here's video of the just the landing. Nice recording of the sonic booms.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CP0ficDsOkE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watched. Best views they could get. Amazing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/6Ve3YJoStm">pic.twitter.com/6Ve3YJoStm</a></p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/833332384913252352">February 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Drone shot! (Best viewed full-screen.)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/glEvogjdEVY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And a few high-res photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex.../in/datetaken/

This landing video DaFace posted should be 100% MANDATORY in ALL schools to show how great American technology is. This is what we should be teaching our children about! Big dreams and even bigger achievements.

I'll only say that I don't really think it's a good example of a partisan issue. I'm pretty left-leaning, for example, and I think this shit is fantastic. My hope is that we can all agree that stuff is important and worth investing in regardless of political leanings.

Agree 100% scho63!

Oh, and thanks for the link to the drone footage. Absolutely gorgeous in 4k.

I updated the OP with the current target for the next launch (2/28 late night), but I'm gonna be floored if they actually turn the pad around in 8 days with a brand new system in place.

I'm hoping they do, but mainly because I want to see the SES-10 launch happen as quickly as possible. I really want that to happen in March and not slip to April. A quick turnaround for Echostar 23 would be a good sign.

Yeah, unfortunately initial SpaceX timelines are always overly optimistic. I think the best gauge of how close they are to meeting 2020 we'll see this year will be the re-use launch with SES-10 in March/April (hopefully) and the first FH launch this summer (hopefully). Apparently the FH launch will be from SLC-40, so waiting for repairs to complete.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX">@SpaceX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dragon?src=hash">#Dragon</a> spacecraft has waved off today’s planned rendezvous and docking with <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station">@Space_Station</a>: <a href="https://t.co/mzKW5uV4hS">https://t.co/mzKW5uV4hS</a> <a href="https://t.co/XMmTJlQdeE">pic.twitter.com/XMmTJlQdeE</a></p>&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/834336113884012544">February 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dragon is in good health and will make another rendezvous attempt with the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station">@Space_Station</a> Thursday morning.</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/834346217853194243">February 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Kind of odd. Sounds like there's some sort of software issue that is easily corrected, but has resulted in a 24-hour delay. Not ideal, but glad it can be fixed easily.

Echostar 23 now Mar 12. Hoping SES-10 doesn't slip to April.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceX Falcon 9 launch with EchoStar 23 has a preliminary target of NET March 12 from 39A. <a href="https://t.co/Z3RgrwEalA">https://t.co/Z3RgrwEalA</a> <a href="https://t.co/DTRMh7zyeF">pic.twitter.com/DTRMh7zyeF</a></p>&mdash; Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/834534212120219651">February 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Damn - that's quite a slip. Not surprising, though.

They really need to get SLC-40 back up and running in a hurry so they can truck through all of these launches.

A little late for Christmas. :)

I absolutely love the fact that the landing of the booster has become routine.

Heck, we're almost at the point where the launches are routine.

Yeah, they really seem to have the landing thing down at this point. Sadly, the next launch will be the first one in a LONG time that's been in fully-expendable mode (due to payload requirements).

At this point, I'm mostly excited to see them re-launch one. That should happen in late-March or early-April.


(Oh, and Falcon Heavy is gonna be a sight to see too, but I'll honestly be surprised to see that happen in 2017.)

Port and starboard still matter in space!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceX announcement tomorrow at 1pm PST</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/836020571490021376">February 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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:hmmm:

I'm guessing spacesuits.

So apparently someone with a **** ton of money is paying SpaceX to fly them around the moon next year.

http://www.spacex.com/news/2017/02/2...moon-next-year

It'll make for a hell of a story if nothing else.

And be a kick in the ass to the 2019 SLS/Orion unmanned trip around the moon. Not that I expect SpaceX to be on time, but if they launch a manned mission within months of NASA's unmanned mission? Wow. Can you imagine man's first trip back to the moon being a couple of rich tourists?

Wish I was rich. I'd sign up in a heartbeat.

Totally cool. I am very glad to see the beginnings of space tourists is happening. SpaceX is working very hard to get humanity back into space, not just orbiting our little rock.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Static fire of Falcon 9 just completed. Targeting EchoStar XXIII launch from <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA">@NASA</a>&#39;s Kennedy Space Center on Mar. 14, early morning EDT. <a href="https://t.co/g8moLfwfnP">pic.twitter.com/g8moLfwfnP</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/839981566054998017">March 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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For the night owls tonight/tomorrow morning:

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Seems weird to see one without legs. Admittedly, assuming it goes fine, this won't be the most exciting launch to watch.

Weather is iffy, but as of this moment they're planning to go for it in an hour. 2.5-hour window, so even if it's not there at the beginning, they could possibly postpone.

Don't think I'm staying up if it gets delayed though.

EDIT: Scrubbed for weather. Good night.

Not sure I'm gonna make it tonight, but in case anyone's a night owl.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All systems go for Falcon 9 launch of <a href="https://twitter.com/EchoStar">@EchoStar</a> XXIII. Liftoff now set for 2:00am EDT, 6:00am UTC. Watch here → <a href="https://t.co/gtC39uBC7z">https://t.co/gtC39uBC7z</a> <a href="https://t.co/lLKF5HEhZB">pic.twitter.com/lLKF5HEhZB</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/842231864286896128">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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I'll probably watch if I can't sleep.

The first previously-flown booster is now on the clock. This one I'm excited for. (Glad they didn't blow Echostar up, though.)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceX has March 27 (Window 1658-2058 Eastern) *Range Approved* for the SES-10 launch on the historic Falcon 9R 1021 (re-)launch! <a href="https://t.co/HJRzD7sefh">pic.twitter.com/HJRzD7sefh</a></p>&mdash; Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/842482961907892224">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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----

This has since been bumped to March 29th due to a conflicting ULA launch being delayed.

I watched the replay this morning and was super-unstoked once I found out that they had to burn longer, thus no 1st stage landing. Bummer, but I understand...

Yeah, certainly wasn't the most exciting launch they've done in a while. Next one should hopefully make up for it though. If they successfully re-launch it and re-land it, it's gonna be a hell of a party in Hawthorne.

I'd love to see #1 what the refit/refurb effort amounts to, and #2 what the criteria is for a go/no-go decision reusing the 1st stage..

Couple of cool developments this week. First, SpaceX has apparently engineered and produced some sort of crazy robot (being referred to as a giant roomba) called Optimus Prime that will live on the drone ship and automatically go out after a landing to secure the rocket to the ship. According to theory, that will help to eliminate some of the dangerous aspects of securing the ship and hauling it back. There aren't very good pictures out there, but this gives you the idea (more here):

http://i.imgur.com/rbRdZ4h.jpg

Second, they have leased a big warehouse at Port Canaveral that they are going to use specifically to refurbish rockets, so they won't have to ship them across the country to clean them up anymore.

Pretty cool to see the effort they're now putting toward IMPROVING the recovery process rather than just landing them in the first place.

First launch of a previously-flown rocket is coming up in a week.

-----

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10. <a href="https://t.co/0tZ7u6gngI">pic.twitter.com/0tZ7u6gngI</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/846428353435332608">March 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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24-hour bump. Tomorrow's launch will be historic if nothing goes wrong. If they can successfully launch and re-land this booster for a second time, things are gonna accelerate quickly.

Whoot! Love SpaceX launches. I cancel all meetings during the window.

Do we know if tomorrow's 6:27-8:57 p.m. EDT launch is scheduled to have the primary stage land? I think the last one didn't because of the weight of the payload and the need keep the burn going because of the weight, not sure about this one.

Yeah, the last one was fully expendable (the first one of those since 2015). This one is a landing on the drone ship OCISLY, but it's one of those "coming in hot" landings where fuel could be an issue if conditions aren't in their favor.

From my perspective, a successful launch is a huge win. A successful launch and landing is a game changer.

-----

Full press kit with a summary of everything that will go down is here:
http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/f...10presskit.pdf

I agree, what this group of people have done is amazing. And they're only going to do more.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Checkouts of the SES 10 telecom satellite running ahead of schedule. Falcon 9 launch set for 6:27pm EDT (2227 GMT). <a href="https://t.co/lQGWudgCox">https://t.co/lQGWudgCox</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbMe06uLlf">pic.twitter.com/zbMe06uLlf</a></p>&mdash; Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/847451738307088386">March 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Stage 1 cleaned up pretty good!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Falcon 9 and SES-10 vertical on Kennedy Space Center’s historic Pad 39A. Launch window opens at 6:27pm EDT, 10:27pm UTC. <a href="https://t.co/0jdC29Uqxa">pic.twitter.com/0jdC29Uqxa</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/847478493206138882">March 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Whoa, looks like they're attempting to recover the fairings from this one too. (Frist time for that, and they're worth about a million each.) Nifty.

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20% chance of breaking the Thick Cloud Layer Rule. Launch go is at 80%.

All systems and weather are go.

Eastern range is a go.

T - 35:00

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Webcast is live.

These last couple minutes are always so tense.

(don't blow up, don't blow up, don't blow up...)

Here we go..

:popcorn:

I love launch days. Go baby go!

Yee Haa!!!!

Rocket Surgery folks!!!

MaxQ and it's holding...

Hell of an achievement every time.

An orbital booster has officially been reused. Stage 1's job is done.

Now time to bring it back again!

Those camera angles. LOL. They are going nuts.

Hell yeah....

I'd do anything to go back in time and work at a place where we cheered our successes like this....

Yeah, the views on this one are fantastic.

The landing is going to be glorious.

Science bitches!!!

Well maybe not. But she has landed!

Whoot!

And she's back again! I'm serious tearing up a bit.

That's so damn sweet!

Welcome back, again!

This!

Whoa, Elon live on the webcast!

Proven what can be done, that many people said was impossible. Thank you. drops mic

- Elon