SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Globalstar-2 FM-15 - Launched June 19, 2022
Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of Globalstar-2 FM-15
Mission Rundown:
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Globalstar-2 FM-15
Written: August 10, 2022
Let's get up there together - Quiet like
Sunday, June 19 at 12:27 EDT, Falcon 9 launched Globalstar FM15 to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully launched the next Globalstar communication satellite in the Globalstar constellation. There was only one known satellite (Globalstar-2 FM-15) on this mission, but 4 more unknown payloads disguised as satellites for the United States government might have been on board.
The booster successfully landed on Just Read The Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.
Following stage separation, the second stage’s Merlin Vacuum engine ignited, beginning the six minute long burn toward a direct circular 535 km orbit.
Three Merlin engines lit for 29 seconds to perform the ‘entry burn’, protecting the booster from the aerodynamic stresses and chock bow plasma burns caused by the atmospheric reentry. The single center engine then lit one final time to land B1061-9 on JRTI. It was the 126th landing overall and the 52nd consecutive successful landing of a Falcon rocket.
Second stage burned for 9 minutes 59 seconds to insert itself directly into its first orbit. This orbit measured 335 km x 336 km. During this orbit the four secret payloads were deployed. After that the second stage coasted for 55 minutes before Second Engine Start (SES-2) for 3-4 seconds, entering its transfer orbit of 356 km x 1210 km at an inclination of 53 degrees. SES-3 starting at T+00:59:00 minutes circularized the second orbit, where the Globalstar FM15 payload deployed.
B1061-9 did not perform a static fire test after refurbishment and waiting for an east coast launch out of the Cape. SpaceX has omitted this safety precaution several times so far. It is not required to perform a static fire test inhouse missions like Starlink, that will save money and time before the launch.
B1061-9 will have made its ninth flight after launching the following missions:
SpaceX is the first entity ever that recovers and reflies its fairings. After being jettisoned, the two fairing halves will use cold gas thrusters to orientate themselves as they descend through the atmosphere. Once at a lower altitude, they will deploy drogue chutes and parafoils to help them glide down to a soft landing for recovery.
Falcon fairings halfs have been recovered and reused since 2019. Improved design changes and overall refurbishment procedures have decreased the effects of water landings and led to an increased recovery rate of fairings.
The fairings are an old pair. Only one fairing survived the landing. The active fairing is equipped with four pushrods to separate the other passive fairing. Nitrogen gas is pumped into the fairing to prevent humid air from entering, corroding and damaging the payload.
Fairings have evenly spaced venting ports that have been redesigned a number of times by having first ten, then eight and now having their venting ports built as close pairs along the fairing edge. This prevents saltwater from the ocean from flooding and sinking the fairing, and makes refurbishment toward the next flight easier.
The semisecret Payload
Over the past two decades, numerous Globalstar satellites with variations in their design have been launched, primarily by Soyuz 2.1a rockets with the Fregat upper stage. Almost all previous Globalstar satellites have been placed in a circular 1410 km (876 mi) orbit at a 52 degree inclination. Globalstar satellites have an estimated lifetime of 15 years.
Two major versions of the Globalstar satellite have been launched. The original Globalsar satellites were launched between 1998 and 2007. Three years later the second series, Globalstar-2, began their launches. The common designation for a given satellite is Globalstar XX. For this mission, SpaceX will launch the Globalstar 87 satellite.
Traditionally, these satellites have launched in groups of six. However, due to the indication of the potentiality of multiple payloads, including for the US government, it appears that there is only one Globalstar satellite onboard.
The constellation of Globalstar satellites aims to provide digital real time voice, data, and fax transmissions from anywhere in the world. Each satellite weighs about 700 kg (1500 lb) and is equipped with 16 transponders from C to S-band. They also have 16 receivers from L to C-band. On each side are two deployable solar arrays which supply the satellite with 2.4 kW of its required power.
Each satellite is built by Alcatel Alenia Space in one of their four production facilities in France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. They use the ELiTeBus-1000 which has power and propulsion capabilities. These propulsion capabilities enable the satellite to raise itself into its final orbit. Initially, each satellite is placed into a phasing orbit of 920 km (570 mi) at 52 degrees of inclination.
Now about the secret payload. Little is known for sure. 4 satellites were deployed from a structure similar to a Starlink V1.5 Satellite dispenser, so everybody is assuming that as a fact. It could be true but with a twist.
DoD could have tinkered a little or a lot with the internal electronics, transmitters, receivers and other things making a prototype military Starlink satellite, that would secure direct communication between two or more ground units without sending coded messages to and from geostationary defense satellites.
The military transmitter on ground could be tracked by a geostationary spy satellite especially if it is close by. There he is, go get him and destroy him. It would make sense to reduce the traffic to and from geostationary defense satellites, and make it a weaker and less traceable signal flow between close-by military units: Division HQ to Company HQ.
So unless DoD has launched 4 secret microsatellites of their own, then what’s written above is just a calculated piece of guesswork.
Just me ranting about the U-Boot war
German U-Boats in the 2nd World War gave their positions away every time they sent a coded weather report. Or a battle report about convoy traffic. The Enigma code was good, but every radio call was a dead giveaway. Enemy signals are triangulated to this position. Chance course immediately. Let's give them a wide berth. Admiral Döenitz was a fool.
Plot a given course on map. Send a U-Boot on that course. Send your U-Boot number every third hour on the dot. Send it twice if enemy contact is achieved, delay your number x amount of seconds is x number of ships, and second delay is y number of degrees equal to their course. Then send a number for distance to where the U-Boot should be on the original course. Admiral Döenitz could then look at a map and say:
Das U-Boot und unser Feind sind hier. Signal nach alles. Angreifen.
All that high powered signal traffic to and from geostationary defense satellites must be dead giveaways for the location of every unit in the allied forces on the ground.
Never mind what they say. Just hit the transmitter. They are close enough.
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