SpaceX Falcon 9 - TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat

  SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat - Launching April 27, 2015

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat

Mission Rundown:

SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat

Written: February 2, 2021

Lift Off Time	April 27, 2015 - 23:03:00 UTC - 19:03:00 EDT
Mission Name	TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat
Launch Provider	SpaceX
Customer	Turkmenistan National Space Agency Monaco Space System International
Rocket	Falcon 9 V1.1 serial number B1016
Launch Location	Space Launch Complex 40 - SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Payload	Spacebus 4000C2 shared Communication Satellite
Payload mass	4 707 kg ~ 10 377 pounds
Where are the satellite going?	Geostationary Transfer Orbit - 211 km x 35 430 km
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?	No. One way ticket flying “bareback” with no grid fins or landing legs + hydraulic tanks, pumps...
Where will the first stage land?	The Atlantic ocean east of Florida
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?	No - Not expected to survive reentry or water impact
Are these fairings new?	Yes - Two Type 1 boat hull sized fairings - 34 x 17 feet with 10 evenly spaced ventilation ports in a circle
This will be the:	– 18th flight of all Falcon 9 rockets – 13th flight of Falcon 9 V1.1 rocket – 17th SpaceX launch from SLC-40 – 18th crash landing. Soft, hard, deliberate, Ups... – 5th mission for SpaceX in 2015
Where to watch Where to read more	SpaceX link Want to know or learn more link visit Tim Dodd

Launch debriefing (This is what happend)

T-00:19:35 - T-00:12:36 T-00:20:00 T-00:19:35 T-00:14:12 T-00:22:39 T 00:00:00 T+00:01:25 T+00:03:00 T+00:03:08 T+00:03:58 T+00:08:55 T+00:26:00 T+00:27:00 T+00:32:15

SpaceX Webcast at 00:22 John Insprucker is hosting - Audio only Clock stopped at 7:24 because of weather Clock reset at 7:37 SpaceX resumes countdown at 39:22 Clock stopped at 44:48 because of weather Clock reset at 46:18 Liftoff at 1:08:58 - No Flight Telemetry - 11:03 pm MaxQ at 1:10:22 MECO 1:11:57, stage separation 1:11:59 SES-1 at 1:12:06 Faring separation at 1:12:55 SECO at 1:17:52 and coasting - 11:13 pm SES-2 at 23:29 UTC or 11:29 pm - Doh - Same time SECO-2 at 23:30 UTC or 11:30 pm SpaceX doesn’t show deployment - 11:35 pm

ABS-3A Eutelsat 115 B	CRS-6	TürkmenÄlem 52°E  MonacoSAT	CRS-7	ORBCOMM OG2-2
Jason-3	SES-9	CRS-8	JCSAT-14	Thaicom-8

Did you know they were friends?

SpaceX’s customer for this mission is Thales Alenia Space. With this flight, the Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the TurkmenÄlem52E/MonacoSat satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Thales launch window is targeted to open at approximately 6:14pm EDT on Monday, April 27, 2015, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. If all goes as planned, the satellite will be deployed approximately 32 minutes after liftoff.

Weather delay postponed the launch twice 49 minutes to 23:03 UTC.

NOTAM area of Stage 1’s impact zone after launch of TurkmenÄlem52E - MonacoSat

The Payload

TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT (formerly referred to as TurkmenSat 1) is Turkmenistan's first satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center. Launched from Cape Canaveral on 27 April 2015 aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket, the satellite operates at 52°E in the geostationary orbit and has an anticipated service life of 15 years.

The 52°E position is controlled by the Principality of Monaco and the satellite includes 12 transponders that are referred to and commercialized as MonacoSAT as well as the 26 transponders referred to as TürkmenÄlem. The satellite is operated by the Turkmenistan National Space Agency. Wide Network Solutions is the satellite's biggest commercial operator.

The satellite was originally intended to be launched on a Chinese Long March 3B rocket but International Traffic in Arms Regulations prevented some US made parts being exported to China for the launch, and so it was switched to a SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 launcher in June 2013, and planned for late 2014/early 2015.

The launch was initially scheduled for 21 March 2015 but this was delayed to study a problem with a helium pressurization system on the Falcon 9 rocket, and a new launch date was set for no earlier than 24 April 2015.

SpaceX clarified the reason for the delay: "the issue wasn’t with the [helium] bottles themselves, but rather other bottles from a similar lot that failed testing at the company’s assembly plant. We identified a potential condition that could be shared with those on board the Thales vehicle."

Screenshot of the computer rendered TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT satellite with the Spacebus 4000C2 between the two solar panels and supporting three transponder beam reflectors

The spacecraft will maneuver to its final location via its onboard thrusters. The satellite’s primary propulsions system is an Astrium S400 bipropellant engine. After the subsequent launch on 27 April 2015 ground stations successfully positioned the satellite at 52°E.

12 of the 38 transponders have been leased to Space Systems International for the life of the satellite, in exchange for the use of Monaco’s geostationary slot at 52 degrees East. SSI have, in turn, leased these transponders to SES who will operate them under the name MonacoSat. Sharing the transmitters and cost on geostationary satellites is common.

TurkmenÄlem/MonacoSat is designed to operate for at least fifteen years.

Although TurkmenÄlem is Turkmenistan’s first true satellite, it is not the country’s first association with spaceflight. In August 2005, a capsule containing the country’s flag and the writings of then-President Saparmurat Niyazov was launched into orbit attached to the third stage of a Dnepr rocket. The capsule remains in orbit.

Author William Graham link link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen link to launch list

SpaceX Falcon 9 - CRS-6

  SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - CRS-6 - Launching April 14, 2015

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of CRS-6

Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - CRS-6

Written: February 2, 2021

Lift Off Time	April 14, 2015 - 20:10:41 UTC - 16:10:41 EDT
Mission Name	CRS-6
Launch Provider	SpaceX
Customer	NASA
Rocket	Falcon 9 V1.1 serial number B1015
Launch Location	Space Launch Complex 40 - SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Payload	Cargo Dragon serial number C108-1
Payload mass	1 898 kg ~ 4 184 pounds - That’s without packaging
Where are the Dragon going?	Low Earth Orbit to the International Space Station with an orbit of 199,4 km x 363,8 km x 56,16 degrees
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?	Yes - A drone ship will be waiting downrange
Where will the first stage land?	A soft controlled test landing on “Just Read The Instruction” placed East of Jacksonville
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?	No. The Dragon capsule have a jettisonable nose cone and solar panel covers on the Trunk
This will be the:	– 17th flight of all Falcon 9 rockets – 12th flight of Falcon 9 V1.1 rocket – 16th SpaceX launch from SLC-40 – 17th crash landing. Soft, hard, deliberate, Ups... – 7th ocean test landing attempt – 2nd ASDS test landing attempt – 4th mission for SpaceX in 2015
Where to watch Where to read more	SpaceX link Want to know or learn more link visit Tim Dodd

Launch debriefing (This is what happend)

T-00:15:35 Host: T-00:12:59 - T 00:00:00 T+00:01:25 T+00:02:40 T+00:02:49 T+00:03:45 T+00:04:35 T+00:06:43 T+00:08:06 T+00:09:30 T+00:10:07 T+00:12:36 T+00:12:37 - - T+63:18:19 876:54:19 882:31:19

SpaceX live feed at 00:23 Voice of John Insprucker - Mr Rocket Man himself View of “Kennedy” launch control center GO - NO GO Poll count by Flight Director Liftoff at 15:59 - No Flight Telemetry - 20:10:41 UTC MaxQ at 17:24 MECO 18:39, stage separation 18:42 SES-1 at 18:48 Nose cone of at 19:43 - In frame at 20:14:30 UTC Boost brake burn at 20:34 - 35 seconds Entry burn at 22:42 by 3 Merlin 1D for 20 seconds Landing burn at 26:05 by 1 Merlin 1D - Failure SECO at 25:29 and coasting Cargo Dragon C108-1 deployment at 26:05 Solar panel fairings pop of at 28:35 - Rare sight Solar panels deployment at 28:36 Rap up from SpaceX at 29:52 Other events during this CRS-6 mission was: Berthing with ISS Harmony Nadir airlock at 13:29 UTC Released from ISS after 34 days at 11:05 UTC Landed in Pacific Ocean near NRC Quest at 16:42 UTC

ABS-3A Eutelsat 115 B	CRS-6	TürkmenÄlem 52°E  MonacoSAT	CRS-7	ORBCOMM OG2-2
Jason-3	SES-9	CRS-8	JCSAT-14	Thaicom-8

Incoming. Where’s my helmet?

After six successful missions to the International Space Station, including five official resupply missions for NASA, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are set to liftoff from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, for their sixth official Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-6) mission to ISS.

Liftoff was targeted for Tuesday April 14, 2015, at 4:10pm EDT. Cargo Dragon C108-1 will arrive at the station approximately two days after liftoff.

Cargo Dragon C108-1 is expected to return to Earth approximately five weeks later for a parachute assisted splashdown off the coast of southern California.

The Dragon Payload

As of July 2014, the launch was tentatively scheduled by NASA for February 2015, with berthing to the station occurring two days later. However, as a result of delays in the launch of the previous SpaceX CRS-5 mission, CRS-6 launched on 14 April 2015 due to bad weather conditions the day before.

NASA has contracted for the CRS-6 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. The Dragon spacecraft was filled with 2 015 kg (4,387 pounds) of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support about 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44.

A part of this payload includes science experiments from high schools, such as a project from Ambassador High School in Torrance, California.

For its return journey, Dragon will be loaded with 1,370 kilograms (3,020 lb) of hardware to be brought back to Earth.

The Dragon is the only spacecraft that allows a significant amount of hardware to be returned to Earth from the space station – the only other spacecraft capable of returning items is Russia’s Soyuz, which is limited to what can be fit into the spacecraft around its crew of three cosmonauts.

Many of the US and Japanese ISS resupply missions carry CubeSats or other small payloads to be deployed from the space station. CRS-6 is no exception, as the Arkyd-3R technology demonstrator and fourteen Flock-1 Earth observation satellites are hitching a lift to orbit on the launch.

A replacement for the Arkyd-3 satellite, lost in October’s Antares launch failure, Arkyd-3R is a three-unit (3U) CubeSat to be operated by Planetary Resources as a pathfinder for its Arkyd-100 telescope constellation.

The 14 Flock-1e satellites will join Planet Labs’ Flock constellation. Utilizing a very large fleet of short-lived satellites, named Doves, Planet Labs aims to provide quick and updated good-resolution images of the Earth, at a lower cost than with bigger imaging satellites.

The test landing of booster B1015

After the separation of the second stage, SpaceX conducted a flight test and attempted to return the nearly-empty first stage of the Falcon 9 through the atmosphere and land it on a 90x50-meter (300 ft×160 ft) floating platform as an autonomous spaceport drone ship.

The Marmac 300 barge was rebuild and named “Just Read The Instructions” by SpaceX

The unmanned rocket technically landed on the floating platform, however it came down with too much lateral velocity, tipped over, and was destroyed on impact. Elon Musk later explained that the bipropellant valve was stuck, and therefore the control system could not react rapidly enough for a successful landing.

This was SpaceX's second attempt to land the booster on a floating platform after an earlier test landing attempt in January 2015 had to be abandoned due to bad weather conditions. The booster was fitted with a variety of technologies to facilitate the flight test, including grid fins and landing legs to facilitate the post-mission test.

If successful, this would have been the first time in history that a rocket booster was returned to perform a vertical landing.

On 15 April, SpaceX released a video of the terminal phase of the descent, the landing, the tip over, and a small deflagration as the stage broke up on the deck of the first ASDS “Just Read The Instruction” aka. the barge Marmac 300.

Author William Graham link link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen link to launch list