Starlink flight 7 (x60, v1.0 flight 6) - Falcon 9 - KSC LC-39A - 22.04.2020, 19:30 UTC

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Трансляция пуска

на сайте SpaceX

spacex.com/webcast

или

на ТыТрубе

youtube.com/watch?v=wSge0I7pwFI

Начало трансляции: ~19:27 UTC / 22:27 ДМВ (ориентировочно за 10 мин до пуска)

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Согласно сообщению SpaceX время пуска изменено на 19:30 UTC.
Соответственно, начало трансляции ожидается около 19:20 UTC.

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04/22/2020 06:45 Stephen Clark

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket has been raised vertical at pad 39A in preparation for launch tomorrow at 3:37 p.m. EDT (1937 GMT).

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/21/spacex-modifies-starlink-network-design-as-another-60-satellites-gear-up-for-launch/

SpaceX modifies Starlink network design as another 60 satellites gear up for launch
April 21, 2020 | Stephen Clark


Artist's illustration of the distribution of satellites in SpaceX's Starlink network. Credit: SpaceX

Another 60 Starlink satellites are ready for launch Wednesday to beam Internet signals to future SpaceX consumers as the company seeks regulatory approval to fly all 4,400 relay stations in the network's first phase of deployment at lower altitudes than previously planned.

SpaceX's Starlink network is a multibillion-dollar program aimed at blanketing the planet in broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of consumers in homes, businesses, schools and hospitals. The network, which could eventually number thousands of satellites, is also designed to provide connectivity to airplanes and ships, and the U.S. military is testing the Starlink service to gauge its military usefulness.

"With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite Internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable," SpaceX says.

SpaceX has launched 360 Starlink satellites on six Falcon 9 rockets since last May. Another 60 are scheduled for launch Wednesday at 3:37 p.m. EDT (1937 GMT) fr om pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Sporting a previously-flown first stage and a recycled payload fairing, the Falcon 9 rocket will be fueled with super-chilled, densified kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around 35 minutes prior to liftoff.

There is a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather conditions for launch Wednesday, according to an outlook issued by the U.S. military's 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral. SpaceX says it moved up the launch by a day fr om Thursday to take advantage of the good weather forecast.

The Falcon 9's engine controller will command ignition of the rocket's nine Merlin 1D main engines around three seconds before liftoff. The engines will power up to full throttle and hold-down clamps will open to allow the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) launcher to take off from pad 39A with 1.7 million pounds of thrust.

Heading toward the northeast, the Falcon 9 rocket will surpass the speed of sound in about one minute, then shut down its first stage engines roughly two-and-a-half minutes into the mission. The 15-story first stage booster will separate and attempt a propulsive landing on SpaceX's drone ship parked several hundred miles northeast of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Falcon 9's second stage will fire its single Merlin engine to power the 60 quarter-ton Starlink satellites into orbit. Early in the second stage burn, the rocket will jettison its clamshell-like nose shroud once it has climbed above the dense, lower layers of the atmosphere.

SpaceX's two fairing recovery boats will also be on station in the Atlantic Ocean east of Charleston, South Carolina, to try to snare the two fairing halves in giant nets for potential reuse on a future mission.

The fairing on Wednesday's mission previously launched last August with the Israeli Amos 17 communications satellite, and were recovered at sea. The first stage assigned to Wednesday's flight is a veteran of three previous launches and landings, including on the unpiloted test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule in March 2019.


A plume of exhaust erupts from pad 39A's flame trench at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) Friday during SpaceX's static fire test. Credit: William Harwood/CBS News

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9's second stage will shut down its engine nearly nine minutes after liftoff, injecting the Starlink satellites into a preliminary elliptical orbit ranging more than 200 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth.

The 60 Starlink spacecraft will deploy from the Falcon 9 upper stage all at once over the North Atlantic Ocean around 14 minutes into the mission.

Each of the quarter-ton Starlink satellites is expected to unfurl a solar array wing and activate a krypton ion propulsion drive to begin climbing to an operational orbit 341 miles (550 kilometers) in altitude, wh ere they will join hundreds other Starlink nodes launched since last May.

SpaceX has modified the architecture of the Starlink network several times. Most recently, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communication Commission on Friday proposing to operate more satellites in lower orbits than the FCC previously authorized.

The first phase of the Starlink network will include 1,584 satellites orbiting 341 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth in planes inclined 53 degrees to the equator. That part of the constellation, which SpaceX intends to launch through the end of the year, remains unchanged in SpaceX's application.

SpaceX previously had regulatory approval from the FCC to operate another 2,825 satellites in higher orbits between 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) and 823 miles (1,325 kilometers) in altitude, in orbital planes inclined 53.8, 70, 74 and 81 degrees to the equator.

The modified plan submitted to the FCC by SpaceX foresees Ku-band and Ka-band satellites in the next phase of the Starlink network all operated at altitudes between 335 miles (540 kilometers) and 354 miles (570 kilometers) at inclinations of 53.2, 70 and 97.6 degrees.

The application covers 4,408 Starlink satellites, one fewer than SpaceX envisioned under the previous architecture.

In documentation submitted Friday to the FCC, SpaceX said lower altitude will put the satellites closer to Starlink consumers and allow the network "to provide low-latency broadband to unserved and underserved Americans that is on par with service previously only available in urban areas."

The change will also improve Starlink service for U.S. government users in polar regions and allow for more rapid deployment of the network, SpaceX said.

Flying Starlink satellites in lower orbits will help ensure they re-enter the atmosphere a shorter time in case of failure. And the spacecraft will broadcast signals at reduced power levels because they are closer to Earth, which SpaceX said will allow the Starlink fleet to be compliant with limits to reduce radio interference with other satellite and terrestrial wireless networks.

Last week's application to modify SpaceX's FCC license is the latest in a series of adjustments to the Starlink architecture. Before the first launch of 60 Starlink satellites last year, SpaceX received FCC approval to migrate the positions of the fleet's first 1,584 satellites from 714 miles (1,150 kilometers) to 341 miles (550 kilometers).

In December, the FCC granted a SpaceX request to reconfigure the distribution of the Starlink satellites in different orbital planes. SpaceX said that request was intended to expand Starlink coverage faster around the United States without the need for more satellites.

SpaceX wrote in the FCC filing Friday that the Starlink network remains on track to begins serving American consumers this year.


A view of 60 Starlink satellites stacked before a previous launch. Credit: SpaceX

At lower altitudes, the Starlink satellites will fly in a region with busier space traffic. SpaceX says its Starlink spacecraft can maneuver to avoid collisions with other objects in orbit, and it releases orbital data on the Starlink satellites so other operators can also perform evasive maneuvers.

Astronomers have also raised concerns about the brightness of the Starlink satellites, which could interfere with ground-based telescope images, particularly around sunrise and sunset.

The Starlink satellites reflect more sunlight than SpaceX or astronomers anticipated before the first dedicated Starlink launch last year. The American Astronomical Society and other groups are working with SpaceX to try and lim it the satellites' impacts on astronomy.

"SpaceX is committed to promoting all forms of space exploration, which is why it has already taken a number of proactive steps to ensure it does not materially impact optical astronomy," the company wrote in Friday's application to the FCC, which does not have regulatory authority over the brightness of satellites. "SpaceX is working with U.S. and international astronomy organizations and observatories to measure scientifically the actual impact of its satellites."

Flying more Starlink satellites at lower altitudes could make the relay nodes appear brighter from the ground, but there will be fewer Starlink satellites visible in the sky at one time. The spacecraft at lower altitudes will also spend less time illuminated by sunlight.

One of 60 Starlink satellites launched Jan. 6 carried a new darker coating intended to reduce the spacecraft's reflectivity. SpaceX said last month that preliminary data indicated a "notable reduction" in the brightness of that satellite, which has been dubbed "DarkSat."

Beyond this (darkening) treatment, SpaceX is developing new mitigation efforts that it plans to test in the coming months," SpaceX wrote in Friday's FCC filing. "Additionally, SpaceX will make satellite tracking data available so astronomers can better coordinate their observations with our satellites."

One change SpaceX is studying is the addition of a sunshade, or visor, to unfurl like an umbrella on Starlink satellites to reduce the amount of sunlight glinting off the spacecraft.

Beyond the 4,400 Ku-band and Ka-band satellites covered in Friday's application for a modified FCC license, SpaceX plans to launch another 7,500 V-band data relay stations into orbits around 214 miles (345.6 kilometers) in altitude. The FCC has already approved SpaceX to operate the V-band network.

SpaceX's next Starlink launch after Wednesday could happen as soon as early-to-mid May on another Falcon 9 rocket mission from Cape Canaveral.

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:!:  :!:  :!:  Время пуска изменено:

SpaceX ✔@SpaceX 4:56 PM - Apr 22, 2020

New T-0 of 3:30 p.m. EDT, 19:30 UTC, for today's launch of Starlink

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Chris G - NSF @ChrisG_NSF 5:07 PM - Apr 22, 2020

This would roughly match the technical opening of the ~14 minute launch window today -- with center of the window 7 minutes after window open being what is usually always targeted for maximum performance.  So opening v. middle of window.  Not a technical "move to the left". https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1252959401901559808 ...

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Julia @julia_bergeron 6:00 PM - Apr 22, 2020

B1051.4 is not afraid of recycling and reuse. Check out the scorch on this three time flown booster. Remotes are set! Join @ChrisG_NSF and I at 2:30 pm ET for a livestream of the launch and pre-launch chat. #Starlink

https://youtu.be/TvYjFNEPeSghttps://youtu.be/TvYjFNEPeSg ...




Brady Kenniston @TheFavoritist 5:42 PM - Apr 22, 2020

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Today is Earth Day and SpaceX is doing their part by reusing this booster for the fourth time.

Check out this graphic detailing what previous flights the various parts flew on, excluding the satellites of course.

Photo by the wonderful @julia_bergeron!

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Julia @julia_bergeron 6:13 PM - Apr 22, 2020

Naked recovered fairings courtesy of GO Ms. Tree who caught one half and GO Ms. Chief who fished out the other half from the Atlantic during AMOS-17 recovery. Maybe Earth Day will bring some extra reuse luck for the #SpaceXFleet and we'll finally see a double catch. #Starlink


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https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/22/timeline-for-falcon-9-launch-of-starlink-satellites-4/

Timeline for Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites
April 22, 2020 | Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket's ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is scheduled to lift off Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) from the pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Falcon 9 will head northeast from Cape Canaveral over the Atlantic Ocean to place the 60 Starlink satellites into an elliptical orbit ranging more than 200 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth. The satellites will use their ion thrusters to maneuver into their higher orbit for testing, before finally proceeding to an operational orbit at an altitude of approximately 341 miles (550 kilometers).

The Falcon 9's first stage will target a landing on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers) northeast of Cape Canaveral.

The first stage booster launching Wednesday previously flew on three missions. The booster first launched from the Kennedy Space Center with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on an unpiloted test flight in March 2019, then launched again last June from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with Canada's Radarsat Constellation Mission. Most recently, the first stage flew again Jan. 29 with SpaceX's fourth batch of Starlink satellites.

Thee payload fairing on Wednesday's flight previously flew in August 2019 with the Israeli Amos 17 communications satellite.

For Wednesday's mission, SpaceX will attempt to catch both halves of the Falcon 9's payload fairing using nets aboard the ocean-going ships "Ms. Tree" and "Ms. Chief" in the Atlantic Ocean. The attempt to catch the fairing will come around 45 minutes after liftoff.

Data source: SpaceX

Спойлер

T-0:00:00: Liftoff


After the rocket's nine Merlin engines pass an automated health check, hold-down clamps will release the Falcon 9 booster for liftoff from pad 40.

T+0:01:12: Max Q


The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure, a few seconds after surpassing the speed of sound.

T+0:02:32: MECO


The Falcon 9's nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.

T+0:02:35: Stage 1 Separation


The Falcon 9's first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.

T+0:02:43: Stage 2 Ignition


The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately six-minute burn to inject the Starlink satellites into orbit.

T+0:03:07: Fairing Jettison


The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons once the Falcon 9 rocket ascends through the dense lower atmosphere. The 43-foot-tall fairing is made of two clamshell-like halves composed of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb core.

T+0:07:04: Stage 1 Entry Burn Complete


A subset of the first stage's Merlin 1D engines completes an entry burn to slow down for landing. A final landing burn will occur just before touchdown on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers) northeast of Cape Canaveral.

T+0:08:45: Stage 1 Landing


The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage booster touches down on SpaceX's drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

T+0:08:55: SECO 1


The Merlin 1D vacuum engine turns off after placing the Starlink satellites in an elliptical orbit ranging between 130 miles (210 kilometers) and 227 miles (366 kilometers) above Earth, with an inclination of 53 degrees.

T+0:14:51: Starlink Deployment


The 60 flat-panel Starlink satellites, each with a mass of about 573 pounds (260 kilograms) deploy from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage.

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T.S. Kelso @TSKelso 7:09 PM - Apr 22, 2020

Starlink-7 launch is set for 2020-04-22 19:30 UTC with deployment at 19:45:25.430 UTC.

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Профиль

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Gavin - SpaceX Fleet Updates @SpaceXFleet 8:42 PM - Apr 22, 2020

Tracking maps indicate that support ship GO Quest has finished preparing the droneship and is now retreating to a safe distance.

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04/22/2020 21:01 Stephen Clark

T-minus 1 hours, 30 minutes. SpaceX's launch team will soon complete checkouts of the rocket ahead of the start of fueling of the Falcon 9 with super-chilled, densified RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants.

SpaceX's launch conductor will verify all members of the launch team are ready to proceed with the final 35-minute automated countdown sequence at 2:52 p.m. EDT (1852 GMT), followed by the start of filling the rocket with super-chilled, densified RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants at 2:55 p.m. EDT (1455 GMT).

Liquid oxygen loading into the second stage will begin at T-minus 16 minutes, at 3:14 p.m. EDT (1914 GMT), followed by final chilldown of the rocket's nine Merlin first stage engines, a final pre-flight engine steering check, switching of the rocket to internal power, and pressurization of the Falcon 9's propellant tanks leading up to liftoff.

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Gavin - SpaceX Fleet Updates @SpaceXFleet 8:11 PM - Apr 22, 2020

Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief are in position and ready to try and catch the fairing!

Here's the scoreboard:

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Время пуска уточнено!

Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow 9:07 PM - Apr 22, 2020

SpaceX is counting down to liftoff of its seventh launch of the year at 3:30:30pm EDT (1930:30 GMT) from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

A Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 60 more Starlink Internet satellites to orbit. LIVE COVERAGE:
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/22/falcon-9-starlink-6-mission-status-center/ ...

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04/22/2020 21:30 Stephen Clark

T-minus 60 minutes. Here are some statistics on today's launch:

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• 84th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010
  
• 92nd launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006
  
• 4th launch of Falcon 9 booster B1051
  
• 72nd Falcon launch from Cape Canaveral
  
• 115th launch from pad 39A
  
• 21st SpaceX launch from pad 39A
  
• 7th launch dedicated to SpaceX's Starlink network
  
• 7th Falcon 9 launch of 2020
  
• 7th launch by SpaceX in 2020
  
• 35th time SpaceX has launched a previously-flown booster
  
• 8th orbital launch based out of Cape Canaveral in 2020
  

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04/22/2020 21:40 Stephen Clark

T-minus 50 minutes. SpaceX intends to recover the first stage after today's launch. The company's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" is parked roughly 400 miles (630 kilometers) northeast of Cape Canaveral.



The Falcon 9's first stage booster will target a propulsive landing on the football field-sized drone ship at T+plus 8 minutes, 45 seconds.

SpaceX's two fairing recovery ships -- named "Ms. Tree" and "Ms. Chief" -- are also in position in the Atlantic Ocean to try and catch the two halves of the Falcon 9's payload shroud around 45 minutes after launch.

The vessels are equipped with giant nets to catch the fairing shells as they descend under parafoils. On today's flight, SpaceX is reusing the fairing after retrieving the hardware from the sea following a previous mission.

But catching them in the nets prevents the shells from being drenched in salt water. That eases their refurbishment and reuse, SpaceX says.

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