SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - Thaicom 6 - Launching January 6, 2014
Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of Thaicom 6
Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 - Thaicom 6
Written: February 5, 2021
It’s colder up there, so why go GTO?
Thaicom 6 is a Thai television satellite of the Thaicom series, to be operated by Thaicom Public Company Limited (formerly Shin Satellite Public Company Limited), a subsidiary of Shin Corporation headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Thaicom 6 will be co-located with Thaicom 5 at 78.5 degrees East, ("Hot Bird" position), in geostationary orbit. The total cost for the satellite is US$ 160 million.
Thaicom 6 was launched on January 6, 2014, by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. This is SpaceX's official business name. From the North West lightning tower the camera clock showed 17:03:58 EST with T-2:00 on the countdown clock, so it’s assumed that the launch was performed at 17:05:59 EST.
This launch was SpaceX' second payload to a Geostationary transfer orbit. Like the previous SES-8 launch, the Falcon 9 rocket injected Thaicom 6 into a supersynchronous GTO, from which SES-8 will complete its orbit maneuvers to the final geostationary orbit under its own power using a BT-4 apogee motor.
The Payload
THAICOM 6 (Thai: ไทยคม 6) is a Thai satellite of the Thaicom series, operated by Thaicom Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of INTOUCH headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. THAICOM 6 is co-located with Thaicom 5 at 78.5 degrees East, in geostationary orbit. The total cost for the satellite is US$160 million.
THAICOM 6 is a 3-axis stabilized spacecraft, carrying 18 active C-band transponders and 8 active Ku-band transponders. The Ku-band transponders are both addressed as well as beam-switched to broadband. THAICOM 6 provides communication service to Southeast Asia, Africa and Madagascar with its primary role being DTH service for Thailand.
THAICOM 6 weighs 3.325 kg (7.330 pounds). It is based on a GEOstar bus built by Orbital Science Corporation, and gets 3,7 kW (5 hp) from its solar panels. Nothing more is mentioned about the satellite.
The spacecraft was launched on January 6, 2014, by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. The payload was delivered by SpaceX to a 90,000 kilometers (56,000 mi)-apogee supersynchronous elliptical transfer orbit that will later be reduced by the satellite builder Orbital Sciences Corporation to an approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,200 mi) circular geostationary orbit. The supersynchronous transfer orbit enables an inclination plane change with a lower expenditure of propellant by the satellite's small bipropellant kick motor.
This launch was SpaceX's second transport of a payload to a Geostationary transfer orbit. Both the SES-8 SpaceX launch before this and THAICOM 6 utilized a supersynchronous transfer orbit, but Thaicom 6 was at a somewhat greater apogee than that used for SES-8.
The Falcon 9 upper stage used to launch THAICOM 6 was left in a decaying elliptical low-Earth orbit which decayed over time and, on 28 May 2014, re-entered the atmosphere and burned up. Some 142 days and 324,6 orbits after the launch.
Space Launch Complex 40
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), previously Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) is a launch pad for rockets located at the north end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Before the Amos-6 Pad failure this was known.
On April 25, 2007, the US Air Force leased the complex to SpaceX to launch the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX made a number of changes to the place. The Titan service tower was torn down, the ramp to the launch platform was altered to handle the Falcon 9 Transport Erector, aka. the strongback erector, which stands 200 feet high, when erected with a Falcon 9. Read more about SLC-40 here and here.
Two claws (arms) hold the rocket just under the payload, that either is the Dragon cargo supply capsule, or the payload fairing which can hold several satellites on the Payload Adapter Fitting - PAF placed just above the second stage top of its LOX tank. The Dragon uses a short turtleneck payload adapter to join the second stage round top to the earlike shape of the Dragon’s folded side mounted solar panels.
Around the launch pad there are four 250 feet high lightning towers with wires between them for extra safety. Under the launch pad is the flame trench, which diverts the flames, the smoke, the sound and the steam produced during liftoff by the 9 Merlin 1D engines at almost full throttle. Around at the base is a number of fire fighting waterspouts, who douse the rocket flames during liftoff.
During April 2008, construction started on the ground facilities necessary to support the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Renovations included installation of new liquid oxygen tanks “size unknown'' and two 28.000 gallon kerosene tanks “106 cubic meters in each tank” and construction of a hangar for rocket and payload preparation.
The spherical liquid oxygen (LOX) tank was acquired from NASA. This spherical LOX tank was previously used at LC-34, where Apollo 1 met its demise, and it holds 110.000 gallon of LOX equal to 416,4 m3 or 475,1 ton LOX.
There are 6-7 railway cars with compressed Helium inherited from the Apollo/Titan era near the launch pad, and there are a number of Nitrogen gas tanks there as well. The most unusual tank is the N3 gas tank used in the Nitrogen Air Condition System ACS in the fairing, which keeps moisture, dust and corrosive air away from the payload.
I’m hearing the word “Nitrox” in the webcast, maybe I’m wrong about the above paragraph. Who knows for sure? I do know now. It is NitroLox that is used by divers and that means it's a pure moisture free artificial pressurized environment inside the fairings.
In total, 26 Titan IIIC, 8 Titan III(34)D, 4 Commercial Titan III, 5 Titan IVA and 12 Titan IVB rockets used SLC-40, with a total of 55 Titan rocket launches.
Just a grainy view of SLC-40 with SXM-8 from a Maxar satellite - Some sideway snapshot
LOX sphere and tanks close to the left. RP-1 tanks close to the right. TEL, the Falcon 9 and SXM-8 dead center. 4 square spaced lightning towers around the launch site. Helium and Nitrogen gas tanks behind the two left lightning towers. Storage and tool shed close by just behind the launch site and processing hangar with spare boosters to the far left.
Oh, and the black blast trench below the launch site. Water deluge Tower out of frame.
