Webcast should be live any minute.

Scrubbed. winds

Boo. I'll update the OP shortly.

Looks to me like they imposed the building and the water tower in to be closer to the pad than it would really be.

What are they launching?

A rocket!

Or....from the Next Launch Details in the OP:


Feb. 21 Falcon 9 • Paz
Launch time: 06:17 PST / 14:17 UTC
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Paz satellite for Hisdesat of Madrid, Spain. Built by Airbus Defense and Space, Paz carries a radar imaging payload to collect views of Earth for government and commercial customers, along with ship tracking and weather sensors. Multiple smaller secondary payloads will also launch on the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch with a previously-flown first stage.

Na, that's where they're located. The angle makes the building (HIF) look a little closer than it is, but it's only a quarter mile away. And the water tower is what powers all of the "rain birds" that deluge the base of the pad on launch, so it's very close.

You can see the layout on the satellite view. HIF is straight south, water tower is northeast.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ke...!4d-80.6041086

I went ahead and added the next launch to the OP (for late Saturday night) since these two will be pretty close together. Could get even closer if Paz continues to have weather issues.

That is a really interesting article. Musk shaking things up big time!

be able to deliver some 70 tons to low-earth orbit, or less than 20 tons to Mars, while costing around $150 million per mission. According to Musk, the rocket cost somewhere north of $500 million to develop.

Then look at the Space Launch System (SLS) being built under NASA’s instruction by Boeing, also to explore the solar system. According to the new NASA budget released last week, it will fly for the first time in 2020, capable of carrying some 77 tons to low earth orbit at a cost of about $1 billion a flight.

LMAO

yeah, the cost of SpaceX is shockingly cheap compared to NASA.

https://www.airspacemag.com/space/is...ion-132285884/

I don't think SLS is quite dead, but it's got some major issues moving forward. It's pretty clear at this point that there's just too much bureaucracy involved at NASA to be competitive with commercial launchers. Once there's another heavy lift vehicle out there (New Glenn most likely), SLS is gonna be pretty damn useless.

This article lays it all out in (almost nauseating) detail.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018...eavy-launches/

Sigh.

So what are the collective thoughts on how Neil Armstrong and Neil Degrasse Tyson have been so damning of Space-X?

I think those guys have been douchebags, and I'm really happy Elon keeps proving them wrong.

I think part of it is old news and part of it is people taking quotes out of context. Armstrong's comments came in 2012 before the first Dragon had ever launched to ISS, let alone all the progress with rocket reusability. Even then, he wasn't happy with the way his comments were portrayed.

As for NGT, he has a tendency of trying to be a bit controversial for the publicity IMO. Even then, his actual stance is just that SpaceX won't get to Mars without NASA's help. And I don't disagree with that. NASA's role is obviously shifting, but they're still critical to space exploration.

Nice article!

I thought this was awesome:

Thanks for some of that clarity DaFace! Good details to redirect judgement.

It looks awesome. Thought it might have been shopped together.

Thought this was cool. A little short on specifics, but something fun to think about.

https://gizmodo.com/falcon-heavy-may...1823116009/amp

Maybe a Max-Q, but:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Not enough ignition fluid to light the outer two engines after several three engine relights. Fix is pretty obvious.</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/963107229523038211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's pretty clear that they at least considered the angles for photos when they built out the structure. Elon absolutely considers the marketing aspects of everything he does. (See: Roadster on a rocket.)

So for us non-rocket engineers, does anyone know the obvious fix? lol

More ignition fluid?

Yep.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z_kfM-BmVzQ" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It may be getting routine, but it never gets old...

Had they ever landed 2 at the same time? Even at different sites?

That was the first time they even launched more than one at a time I think... but definitely the first time landing multiple

That's what I thought. But it's so spectacular that maybe it had been done before

Webcast is live.

Yay. More Heavy, please.

Another successful launch!

They're trying to catch the fairing at the moment, so that's fun at least.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgHKDNAplx/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:49.9537037037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GP T6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAA AElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgHKDNAplx/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Going to try to catch the giant fairing (nosecone) of Falcon 9 as it falls back from space at about eight times the speed of sound. It has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher’s mitt welded on, tries to catch it.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elonmusk/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk</a> (@elonmusk) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-02-22T14:07:42+00:00">Feb 22, 2018 at 6:07am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

I seen that and had this thought 'Easy Peezy, what could go wrong'. ROFL

Not quite there yet.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Missed by a few hundred meters, but fairing landed intact in water. Should be able catch it with slightly bigger chutes to slow down descent.</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966692641533390848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgRX-lgIt6/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GP T6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAA AElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgRX-lgIt6/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Falcon fairing half as seen from our catcher’s mitt in boat form, Mr. Steven. No apparent damage from reentry and splashdown.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elonmusk/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Elon Musk</a> (@elonmusk) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-02-22T15:36:59+00:00">Feb 22, 2018 at 7:36am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don’t tell anyone, but the wifi password is “martians”</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966706924124188672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The MicroSat 2a and 2b are two identical satellites to test technologies for SpaceX's planned 4425-satellite Starlink constellation to provide broadband Internet access.

These satellites replace the MicroSat 1a and 1b microsatellites as the first test satellites for the SpaceX constellation. The first phase of testing will include two satellites: Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b. These two satellites are intended to be launched as early as 2017.

Both of these satellites will be deployed in one mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 v1.2 launch vehicle into an orbital plane of 514 km circular at 97.44 degrees inclination. After insertion, the satellite orbits will be raised to the desired mission altitude of 1125 km circular. The designed lifetime of each satellite is six months. If this lifetime is exceeded, SpaceX plans to continue operation until such time as the primary mission goals can no longer be met, at which point the spacecraft will be deorbited. Both Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b are identical in their construction and operation.

The primary structure for the Microsat-2a and -2b test spacecraft will be a box design measuring 1.1 m × 0.7 m × 0.7 m and carries the spacecraft flight computer, power system components, attitude determination and control components, propulsion components, GPS receiver, and broadband, telemetry, and command receivers and transmitters. The primary bus is mounted on the payload truss system, which also carries communications panels, inter-satellite optical link transmitters and receivers, star trackers, and a telemetry antenna. There are two 2 m × 8 m solar panels. Each demonstration spacecraft has a total mass of approximately 400 kg. The attitude of each spacecraft is 3-axis stabilized, and is dynamically controlled over each orbit to maintain attitude position for two pointing modes of operation: broadband antenna (antennas to nadir for testing) and solar array (solar arrays facing sun for charging). Power is provided by solar panels designed to deliver sufficient power at the predicted end of spacecraft life to not impair any test objectives. The Thermal Control System ensures that components are kept within operational temperature ranges.

In addition to proving out the development of the satellite bus and related subsystems, the test program for the Microsat-2a and -2b spacecraft will also validate the design of a phased array broadband antenna communications platform (primary payload) that will be included in the final spacecraft design for the proposed NGSO constellation. SpaceX intends to test the Microsat-2a and -2b communication paths utilizing five broadband array test ground stations located in the western United States, as well as three transportable ground stations that will be deployed near the fixed ground station locations, all within the contiguous United States (“CONUS”). With the orbit profile provided, broadband array tests (Ku-band) will be conducted on average once every 0.9 days for less than 15 minutes. The primary Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (“TT&C”) ground station will be located near the primary test site in Redmond, WA to facilitate and control the broadband array testing. The testing will help to validate a number of design parameters.

I wish I had a way to post this without a bump, but since I wasn't the last post otherwise, here's a bump to say that the thread shouldn't be bumped this weekend after all.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Standing down from this weekend&#39;s launch attempt to conduct additional testing on the fairing’s pressurization system. Once complete, and pending range availability, we will confirm a new targeted launch date.</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/967270883713679360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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.

There are rumors that Hispasat may launch in the next couple days, but nothing definitive. I'll bump the thread when we know.

Unrelated, the first Block 5 F9 is on the test stand. Looks like it's gonna be a more black and white rocket moving forward rather than just white. The legs will be black too. (The yellow cap on the top is just to hold it down during testing.)

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-c.../02/Block5.jpg

This probably isn't 100% accurate, but here's a brief synopsis of what people THINK the upgrades are:

https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comm..._readying_for/

boner

Next FH launch is officially slated for June.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/0...-heavy-launch/

In short, 25 different satellites all in one launch. Should be a hell of a deployment to watch if nothing else.

--

Also, Hispasat is officially on for Monday night.

Oh wow. Are they launching someone else's satellites, or their own?

Or I suppose, most likely, both?

I don't THINK any of them will be more test sats from SpaceX themselves. Sounds like it's a couple of Air Force satellites plus probably a barrage of cubesats from universities and such.

Heads up that Hispasat should be flying late tonight. Recovery attempt has apparently been called off due to poor conditions at the landing site, so that'll be interesting to see how they handle it.

T-1h

Still cool. And it's Davie Jones' locker for the first stage.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

A city bus to geostationary orbit? Nice.

I hadn't noticed this on the horizon until today. April could be a fun month.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-thr...aunches-month/

SpaceX aims for 3 rocket launches in a single week, 6 launches in 1 month
By Eric Ralph
Posted on March 8, 2018

Tailing an intense February that saw SpaceX successfully complete inaugural launches of both Falcon Heavy and two Starlink prototype satellites, the next three weeks of March are likely to be relatively quiet. However, by all appearances, SpaceX is preparing for a frenetic end-of-month that could include three Falcon 9 launches from three separate SpaceX launch pads, all in a single week, and as many as six launches total between March 29 and April 30.

(more at the link)

Falcon Heavy highlight video. Center core splashdown footage is at 1:11, so that's fun(ish).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why Falcon Heavy &amp; Starman?<br><br>Life cannot just be about solving one sad problem after another. There need to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity. That is why we did it. We did for you. <a href="https://t.co/5STO7q4wro">https://t.co/5STO7q4wro</a></p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/972628124893671432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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https://i.imgur.com/kjsJhbL.gif

When the cores are coming down they aim for a location next to the barge and only divert to on the barge at the last minute if everything is ok. This was going too fast, so no diversion.

- Reddit

Makes a lot of sense actually.

In case anyone uses Facebook to keep track of SpaceX stuff...

Elon Musk has removed Tesla and SpaceX’s Facebook pages after Twitter challenge

Who needs facebook when you have Daface?


No really, Musk is the man.... but the facebook feed was nice.

I'm always fascinated by subtle, yet incredibly smart lines of thinking.

Iridium's slipping, for once not due to a SpaceX issue.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are having an issue with 1 of the 10 satellites in prep for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iridium5?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iridium5</a>. Our supplier and launch team is resetting for NET 3/31, with potential to shift into next week, if not resolved quickly. Launch success is priority #1! Will provide more info as available. <a href="https://t.co/WBIWczrBvD">pic.twitter.com/WBIWczrBvD</a></p>&mdash; Matt Desch (@IridiumBoss) <a href="https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/978709671556141056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Should be an exciting weekend with CRS-14 on deck for next Monday.

-----

EDIT: Looks like they figured it out, so date has been moved back UP.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Positive update to our satellite and launch delay. Just been apprised there has been a technical resolution; satellites and F9 are in great shape and ready to go! Was ground harness test cable issue - now fixed. Launch now pulled back to Friday, 3/30 at 7:14am pdt! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoTeam</a>!</p>&mdash; Matt Desch (@IridiumBoss) <a href="https://twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/978795278118653952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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(Less than) 24-hour bump for Iridium Next 5. I may have to come in to work a little early tomorrow to catch it.

No landing for either this or CRS-14, though. I understand why they're burning through their stockpile, but it doesn't make for very exciting webcasts.

SpaceX won approval from the FCC for their satellite internet constellation.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/fcc-...-services.html

If they do it, it'd be a minimum of 45 launches and up to 250 to get it going. Guess they're counting on this reusability thing to actually work because that's a **** ton of launches.

Bump.

Since this was clearly a highly exciting launch (/s), here are the only things that you really need to know:

• Mission success. All 10 satellites deployed and operating properly.
• No landing attempt for the first stage on this one. They're still clearing out old boosters it seems.
• Still no success on catching the fairing. Apparently they're having trouble getting the parafoil guidance system to work right because the fairing itself is messing with the air flow. Still a work in progress.

Dropped the ball on my usual 24-hour bump, but ISS-bound Dragon launches today at 4:30pm Eastern. No landing - they're still plowing through boosters apparently.

NASA coverage is live. SpaceX coverage should be in 5-10 minutes.

Launch this Royals team into orbit please.

I’m at Cocoa beach today. Had no clue this was happening but about 15 minutes ago a bunch of people started pointing their cameras toward Canaveral.

Looked like a successful launch.

So far so good at least.

Experimental landing maneuvers? Interesting, but we won't hear any more about it, apparently.

Yeah, they've been doing a bunch of weird stuff on the landings lately for these launches where they're dumping the booster. Probably not much that's exciting for us laymen - just seeing how far they can push the limits and still keep things in control.

I was hoping for some sweet flips.

Interesting, I'd seen it got approval but hadn't seen details. Fiber speeds sounds pretty crazy for satellite. Then again, fiber speeds doesn't really define much. If you're in the boonies, it's almost assuredly better than DSL though.

The sound was intense.

It was miles away from us but when the sound finally reached us it was like a subwoofer in my ear with the bass to the max.

The Space Shuttles had three times the Sound.

24-hour bump for TESS. The launches are becoming a bit mundane, but this is the coolest payload SpaceX has ever launched. Assuming the mission goes well, you'll hear about the exoplanet discoveries being made with TESS for years. Here's a brief overview video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q4KjvPIbgMI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Aside from that, there's this goofy bastard.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceX will try to bring rocket upper stage back from orbital velocity using a giant party balloon</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/985655249745592320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
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-----

Scrubbed until Wednesday.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Standing down today to conduct additional GNC analysis, and teams are now working towards a targeted launch of <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA_TESS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA_TESS</a> on Wednesday, April 18.</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/985975566535831552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Bump. Should be on in 2 hours.

Yay, I made it..

Wait, what?

Theory is they're going to try using something called a ballute:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballute

I sure hope this goes well. This is definitely one of the more important things SpaceX has launched so far.

Looks like a beautiful day to watch a rocket launch.

Feels like it's been forever since we've actually had a landing to watch. All looks good thus far.