SpaceX Falcon 9 - NROL-108

  SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - NROL-108 - Launching December 19, 2020

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch attempt of NROL-108 in the fog two days before

Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 B5 - NROL-108

Written: August 4, 2021

Lift Off Time	December 19, 2020 - 14:00:00 UTC - 09:00:00 EST
Mission Name	NROL-108
Launch Provider	SpaceX
Customer	NRO National Reconnaissance Office
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5 serial number B1059-5
Launch Location	Historic Launch Complex 39A - LC-39A Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Payload	2 reconnaissance satellites USA-312 and USA-313
Payload mass	7 000 kg ~ 15 400 pounds - Estimated maximum
Where are the satellite going?	Low Earth Orbit - 528 km x 540 km x 53°
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?	Yes - There is enough fuel to return to LZ-1
Where will the first stage land?	LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?	Yes - The recovery ships Go Searcher and Go Ms Tree will recover the floating fairings
Are these fairings new?	Yes - Type 2.2 built with 8 venting ports evenly spaced near the bottom third of the fairing
This will be the:	– 103rd flight of all Falcon 9 rockets – 47th re-flight of all Falcon 9 boosters – 47th flight of Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket – 33rd re-flight of Falcon 9 Block 5 booster – 29th SpaceX launch from LC-39A – 69th booster landing overall – 26th and last mission for SpaceX in 2020
Where to watch Where to read more	SpaceX YouTube link Want to know or learn more link ask Tim Dodd

Launch debriefing (This is what happend)

T -00:14:14 Host: T 00:00:00 T+00:01:16 T+00:02:21 T+00:02:33 T+00:02:36 T+00:02:48 T+00:06:30 T+00:07:47 T+00:08:55 T+00:24:57 T+00:27:10 - T+00:34:58 T+00:08:36

SpaceX live feed at 05:42 Andy Tran got security clearance for this mission Liftoff at 19:57 MaxQ at 21:13 MECO 22:18, stage separation 22:22 SES-1 at 22:30 Boost back burn 22:33 by 3 Merlin 1D# for 34 seconds Fairing separation at 22:45 - Unseen Entry burn 26:27 by 3 Merlin 1D# for 28 seconds Landing burn 27:44 by 1 Merlin 1D# for 34 seconds SECO at 28:52 - Nominal orbital insertion - audio only SpaceX doesn’t resume live feed at 41:26 SES-2 - SECO-2 in xx seconds gave a velocity boost from 26 514 km/h to 33 682 km/h at 44:34 - maybe SpaceX doesn’t show deployment at 51:28 Rap up from SpaceX at 28:33

SMX-7	NROL-108	Türksat 5A	Starlink V1.0 L16	Transporter 1
Starlink V1.0 L18	Starlink V1.0 L19	Starlink V1.0 L17	Starlink V1.0 L20	Starlink V1.0 L21

If what goes up, does it come down?

SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 with NROL-108. This is a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.  The Falcon 9 will lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), from Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. Due to the classified nature of the payload, very little is known. However, the payload must have a mass of under 7,000 kg as it is a return to launch site (RTLS) mission.

B1059 first flew on the CRS-19 mission, which launched on December 5, 2019. NROL-108 is the booster’s fifth flight; its designation will change to B1059-5.

CRS-19	December 5, 2019	SAOCOM-1B	August 30, 2020
CRS-20	March 7, 2020	NROL-108	December 19, 2020
Starlink V1.0 L08	June 13, 2020

Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 will conduct 3 burns, a boost back burn to change flight direction back to the launch site, a reentry burn to break the descending boosters speed just before hitting the denser parts of the atmosphere and a landing burn to shave of the last 900 km/h or so speed to zero at touchdown. These three burns will make the booster softly touch down at LZ-1.

The Payload

NROL-108, shortened from NRO Launch 108, is part of an arbitrary numbering system used to identify the NRO’s satellites – without disclosing their identities – before launch.

Once in orbit, payloads are usually assigned another numerical designation, prefixed by the letters USA. In recent years, these USA designations have been assigned sequentially, with USA-312 the next available designation in the sequence.

However Wikipedia’s list over NRO launches tell us that two satellites were deployed, USA-312 and USA-313, its orbit altitude and inclination, but nothing else. Two equal sized satellites? One big satellite deploying one small CubeSat on its own? Or something unseen never to be imagined by civilians.

NROL-108’s existence was kept in shadow until late September when it was revealed in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing – a document that launch providers submit in order to gain approval to carry out necessary communications between launch vehicle and ground stations – and confirmed to be launched under NRO jurisdiction.

However, ground observers will be able to find the satellite after launch and calculate its orbit. Nevertheless, certain things are known.

SpaceX and the NRO have confirmed that Falcon 9’s first stage was to fly back towards Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1. Ahead of the launch, notices to airmen (NOTAMs) and mariners were released, establishing hazard areas that show the course NROL-108 will take after leaving the Kennedy Space Center.

The NRO’s mission patch and fairing art for NROL-108 displays a gorilla, with the motto “Peace Through Strength” printed on the outer circle. According to the agency, this mission represents a gorilla in the sense that “it is constantly vigilant and ready to defend its own, demonstrating NRO’s commitment to protecting U.S. warfighters, interests, and allies.”

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle and payload were rolled out to the pad and raised to vertical on Wednesday. Typically, SpaceX prefers to conduct a static fire test of the Falcon 9’s Merlin-1D first stage engines a handful of days before the launch; however, the company elected to forgo such a test before this mission for the fifth time.

Up there and back down again

Falcon 9 with NROL-108 on booster B1059-5 didn’t show us more than a launch and the return flight of the booster with a picture perfect landing. It was acting just like a Hobbit going there and back again. B1059-5 is a “Baggins”.

Somebody in the 45th Space Force made an alternative mission patch based on Tolkien’s “The Ring” trilogy. By the way “The flaming eye” has a man standing in the middle of it, it’s not a catlike monster eye.

The black speech on the ring says following:

One satellite to rule them all

One satellite to find them all

One satellite to blind them all

And in space bind them

The word “blind” in the third line is my interpretation of the spelling, what is realy written I don’t know. It looks like “Brint”, but that doesn’t make sense to me.

If assumed that “blind them” means that NROL-108 is built to cause enemy satellites to lose their “senses” cameras, antenna arrays, receivers and transmitters inoperational aka. “blind them”, well a high power laser can burn a hole in just about anything vital except the fuel tanks. No need to explode it all over the orbit.

Solar array power cables, ion battery banks, star cameras, attitude thrusters, exposed fuel or pressurized gas lines or control cables to any of the mentioned “senses” can cripple a satellite without blowing it up.

Anyway a lot goes bump in the darkness of space without anyone the wiser. Don’t sweat it. You can’t do anything about it. So carry on with whatever floats your boat.

Here’s my two cents worth on the NROL-108 mission and perhaps purpose.

It sure looks like somebody is a Tolkien fan - Who can blame him - My precious...

Author Trevor Sesnic link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen link

SpaceX Falcon 9 - SXM-7

  SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - SXM-7 - Launching December 13, 2020

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of SXM-7

Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - SXM-7

Written: August 3, 2021

Lift Off Time	December 13, 2020 - 17:30:00 UTC - 12:30:00 EST
Mission Name	SXM-7
Launch Provider	SpaceX
Customer	Sirius XM
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5 serial number B1051-7
Launch Location	Space Launch Complex 40 - SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Payload	1 SSL1300 Radio Broadcasting Satellite
Payload mass	7 000 kg ~ 15 432 pounds
Where did the satellite go?	Geostationary Transfer Orbit 237 km x 19 389 km x 27°
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?	Yes - JRTI was towed due east downrange
Where will the first stage land?	Just Read The Instructions located 643 km downrange
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?	Yes - The recovery ships Ms Tree and Go Searcher will recover the fairings from the water
Are these fairings new?	Yes and No - Type 2.2 fairing - A odd couple of fairings one is new and one previously flew on ANASIS-II
This will be the:	– 102nd flight of all Falcon 9 rockets – 46th re-flight of all Falcon 9 boosters – 46th flight of Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket – 32nd re-flight of Falcon 9 Block 5 booster – 5th flight made by B1051 in 2020 – 61st SpaceX launch from SLC-40 – 68th booster landing overall – 25th mission for SpaceX in 2020
Where to watch Where to read more	SpaceX YouTube link Want to know or learn more link ask Tim Dodd

Launch debriefing (This is what happend)

T-00:13:18 Host: T 00:00:00 T+00:01:15 T+00:02:36 T+00:02:47 T+00:03:40 T+00:06:21 T+00:08:15 T+00:08:20 T+00:25:00 T+00:26:07 - T+00:30:00 T+00:31:44 T+00:31:58

SpaceX live feed at 04:01 Kate Tice wrapping presents between her comments Liftoff at 17:20 - Ground camera view to MECO MaxQ at 18:34 MECO 19:56, stage separation 20:00 SES-1 at 20:07 - Green TEA-TEB ignition Faring separation at 21:00 Entry burn 23:40 by 3 Merlin 1D# for 24 seconds Landing burn 25:34 by 1 Merlin 1D# for 21 seconds? SECO at 25:39 and coasting SpaceX resumes live feed at 42:20 SES-2 - SECO-2 in 47 seconds gave a velocity boost from 26 516 km/h to 33 682 km/h at 43:27 SpaceX resumes live feed at 47:20 SpaceX shows deployment at 49:04 Rap up from Kate at 49:18

GPS III SV04	Crew-1	SENTINEL-6A	Starlink V1.0 L15	CRS-21
SMX-7	NROL-108	Türksat 5A	Starlink V1.0 L16	Transporter 1

Listen to that funky music Man

Successful launch December 13, 2020 at 12:30 EST - 17:30 UTC on a Falcon 9 using booster 1051-7 from SLC-40 to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

SpaceX will be launching the SXM-7 satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). SXM-7 will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, which will mark the second heaviest non-classified payload SpaceX launched into GTO. The Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40, at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida.

For this mission, Maxar delivered SXM-7 to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station — as it was called at the time — in October 2020. The facility was renamed on Wednesday, 9 December to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This marked Falcon 9’s and SpaceX’s first flight from the newly renamed spaceport, with the location’s debut launch under the new name coming one day later when United Launch Alliance used their Delta IV Heavy to launch the classified NROL-44 mission.

Soon after delivery at the center, SXM-7 was taken to the payload integration facility and loaded with propellant before technicians integrated it onto the Falcon 9’s payload adaptor. Soon after, the satellite was encapsulated by the Falcon 9’s 5.2 meter (17 feet) diameter payload fairing. One of the payload fairings has already been used on the ANASIS-II mission back in July 2020. This will be the first time a used payload fairing is reused on a non-Starlink mission. The active fairing with the logo is the new one.

Amos-17 being encapsulated in fairings - Note the steel plate used for atmospheric penetration during ascent - It gets red glowing hot just like the titanium “Bear Claw” grid fins - Credit SpaceX

B1051 first flew the first Crew Dragon for SpaceX’s uncrewed DM-1 mission on March 2, 2019. This booster B1051 is being launched for the fifth time within a year. B1051 seventh flight with SXM-7 will change its flight number to B1051-7.

SpaceX DM-1	March 2, 2019	Starlink V1.0 L9	August 7, 2020
RADARSAT	June 12, 2019	Starlink V1.0 L13	October 18, 2020
Starlink V1.0 L3	January 29, 2020	SXM-7	December 13, 2020
Starlink V1.0 L6	April 22, 2020

Before the satellite was attached to the Falcon 9, a final static fire test needed to be completed. The fully stacked Falcon 9, without the payload, was rolled out to SLC-40 on December 8, raised vertical and tested for seven seconds at 13:21 EST.

Normally, B1051 has usually — and coincidentally — launched from the historic Launch Complex LC-39A and landed on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ - OCISLY, but having launched five times from LC-39A and landed on OCISLY six times. This mission saw the booster launch from SLC-40 a second time and land for the first time on ‘Just Read The Instruction’ - JRTI. It’s hard to keep score with boosters nowadays.

SpaceX recovery fleet have hardly finished with one retrieval, then on to the next one SXM-7

The Payload

SXM-7 is a high power broadcasting satellite. The Sirius XM satellite constellation currently consists of 5 satellites in geostationary orbit. SXM-7 is one of two upcoming satellites, the other being SXM-8 which is launching in early 2021, aiming to replace the XM-3 and XM-4 satellites.

SXM-7 was built by Maxar Technologies and is based on their SSL-1300 satellite bus; a satellite bus is simply a set of core components that all satellites need (such as avionics, power, communication…) that customers can add to suit their needs.

The satellite contains two large solar arrays and batteries for on-orbit storage. SXM-7 will operate in the S-band spectrum, between 2.32 GHz and 2.345 GHz. Each satellite has an operational lifetime of 15 years, after which the satellite is moved into a graveyard orbit.

The Sirius XM satellite constellation was formed in 2008 when Sirius and XM merged into Sirius XM. The constellation provides satellite radio and online radio services to a significant portion of the world.

Sirius XM’s latest satellite SXM-7 built by Maxar, launched by SpaceX, suffers “failures” during in-orbit testing, the company noted in a securities filing on Wednesday, although it did not disclose the cause of the malfunction.

Maxar didn’t repair a design flaw on SXM-7 properly, before handing the satellite over to Sirius XM, who then asked SpaceX to launch SXM-7, which they did flawlessly. During insertion toward geostationary orbit SXM-7 underwent a series of tests, where a fatal flaw was found, and now it’s an insurance battle and a blame game.

However, failures like this underscore something that is not entirely obvious to those unfamiliar with modern GSO, GeoStationary Orbit satellites, these birds fold up nice and compact for launch but they unfold like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis in space.

GSO is another piece of American alphabet soup best left untouched.

There are truly enormous PV arrays and a complicated array of high-gain TTC antennas; uplink receiver antennas; and re-transmission antennas and RF waveguides, all the internal connections between the above; as well as internal thermal control systems to keep the electronics operable, which typically include radiators.

There's a lot going on during orbit-raising and then on-station checkouts. It's entirely conceivable that something deployable on the bird got stuck and didn't deploy properly, or that some system failed during checkouts because of a pre-existing flaw that the manufacturer thought (and hoped!) it had addressed prior to launch. It's doubtful anyone not on the Boards of Directors or executive committees of the companies involved, and their insurers, will know the details any time soon.

Even something small like a burnt out bearing on a gyroscope can bring a satellite into a heap of trouble. The Hubble Telescope had this problem repaired several times.

Author Trevor Sesnic link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen link to launch list