Friday, June 23, 2017

SpaceX Falcon 9 - BulgariaSat-1

  SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust - BulgariaSat-1 - Launching June 23, 2017

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast

Mission Rundown: SpaceX FT - BulgariaSat-1 

Written: January 27, 2021

Lift Off Time

June 23, 2017 - 19:10 UTC - 15:10 EDT

Mission Name

BulgariaSat-1

Launch Provider

SpaceX

Customer

Bulgaria Sat.

Rocket

Falcon 9 Full Thrust serial number B1029-2

Launch Location

Kennedy Launch Complex 39A - LC-39A

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Payload 

SSL-1300 Communication Satellite

Payload mass

3 669 kg ~ 8 089 pounds

Where did the satellite go?

Super Synchronous Geostationary Transfer Orbit initially 212 km x 65 512 km later fixed at 35 780 km altitude

Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?

Yes - A drone ship have been towed downrange

Where will the first stage land?

OCISLY - Stationed 679 km downrange

Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?

No - Engineers have landed at least two fairings so far

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:

– 36th flight of all Falcon 9 rockets

– 16th flight of Falcon 9 Full Trust “V1.2” booster 

– 2nd re-flight of a Falcon 9 FT booster

– 7th SpaceX launch from LC-39A

– 12th booster landing overall

– 8th mission for SpaceX in 2017

– 1st use of Octograbber to secure boosters

Where to watch

Where to read more

SpaceX link

If you want to learn more look up Tim Dodd


Launch debriefing

(This is what happend)

T-00:15:58

Host:

T  00:00:00

T+00:01:20

T+00:02:39

T+00:02:46

T+00:03:37

T+00:06:30

T+00:08:18

-

T+00:08:38

T+00:24:57

T+00:27:10

-

T+00:34:58

-

SpaceX live feed at 00:32

John Federspiel is first man to bat

Liftoff at 16:30 - Flight telemetry broke at T+7:14

MaxQ at 17:50

MECO 19:08, stage separation 19:11

SES-1 at 19:16

Faring separation at 20:07

Entry burn 23:00 by 3 Merlin 1D+ for 17 seconds

Landing burn 24:47 by 3 Merlin 1D+ for 21 seconds

Hard brake burn over water, then sliding sideways

SECO at 25:08 and coasting. Wasn't shown

SpaceX resumes live feed at 41:26

SES-2 43:40 and SECO-2 in 66 seconds gave a velocity boost from 26 477 km/h to 36 136 km/h

SpaceX shows deployment at 51:28

SpaceX raps up from 52:00


Slamming the booster down hard

SpaceX is targeting the launch of BulgariaSat-1 from Launch Complex 39A - LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. BulgariaSat-1 is the first geostationary communications satellite in Bulgaria’s history. It got delayed to Friday June 23 launching at 19:10 UTC - 15:10 EDT.

Falcon 9’s first stage B1029 for the BulgariaSat-1 mission previously supported the Iridium-1 mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in January of this year. Following stage separation, from a successful west coast landing Falcon 9’s first stage will now attempt a landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast.

The Payload

Screenshot of BulgariaSat-1 from SpaceX webcast

BulgariaSat-1 is based on an intermediate-power variant of the SSL 1300 satellite bus with a 15+ year design life. Coupled with the boost provided by its Falcon 9 launch vehicle, it carries enough fuel for more than 18 years of service. Power is supplied by two three-panel solar arrays delivering 10 kilowatts, while propulsion is provided by an R-4D-11 hypergolic rocket engine supplemented by an array of attitude control thrusters.

The spacecraft is equipped with 30 Ku-band broadcasting-satellite service (BSS) transponders and 3 Ku-band fixed-satellite service (FSS) transponders. It will be parked in a geostationary orbit at 1.9° East.

BulgariaSat-1 is the first Bulgarian satellite to operate in geostationary orbit, and is the nation's second spacecraft after Bulgaria 1300 in 1981.

SSL (formerly Space Systems/Loral) was announced in September 2014 to be the selected manufacturer of BulgariaSat-1. In addition, the company has partnered with Bulgaria Sat to secure financing, insurance, and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The Export–Import Bank of the United States has provided US$151 million in export credit financing to Bulgaria Sat. The CEO of Bulgaria Sat, Maxim Zayakov, stated that the total cost of the BulgariaSat-1 project was US$ 235 million.

At the time of SSL's contract award, BulgariaSat-1 was scheduled to launch by the end of 2016. Delays within SpaceX, including the loss of two Falcon 9 rockets CRS-7 and Amos-6, pushed the launch back to 15 June 2017; additional delays resulting from pressure within SpaceX's launch schedule and the need to replace a valve in the Falcon 9 launch fairing pushed the launch to 23 June.

The “Helicopter” Landing

The Falcon 9 first stage landed with a one - three - one engine landing burn on OCISLY during the BulgariaSat-1 launch. This was the second successful launch and landing of a previously flown orbital booster. This was also the first booster to have landed on both active drone ships. While the landing was considered a success, the booster was "slammed sideways" and suffered a six degree tilted 'hard landing' which resulted in 'most of the emergency crush core being used'. Fast replay here.

This style of landings is similar to helicopter landings on warships. They hover to one side and then move sideways for the landing. It’s done for safety reasons in Navyes world wide, but SpaceX doesn't want a sizable hole in the Drone Ship deck, and rocket landings go extremely fast with last millisecond corrections.

A Falcon 9 crash landing at speed next to the Drone Ship is like dropping a depth charge in the water. That is not healthy for the hull and thrusters. It has happened before.

The leaning tower of Pisa is getting “competitors” from SpaceX these days.

Author Unknown SpaceX employe

link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen

link to launch list



Saturday, June 3, 2017

SpaceX Falcon 9 - CRS-11

 SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust - CRS-11 - Launching June 3, 2017

Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of CRS-11

Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 FT - CRS-11

Written: January 27, 2021

Lift Off Time

June 3, 2017 - 21:07:38 UTC - 17:07:38 EDT

Mission Name

CRS-11

Launch Provider

SpaceX

Customer

NASA

Rocket

Falcon 9 Full Thrust serial number B1035-1

Launch Location

Kennedy Launch Complex 39A - LC-39A

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Payload

Cargo Dragon serial number C106-2

Payload mass

2 708 kg ~ 5 958 pounds

Where are the Dragon going?

Low Earth Orbit to the International Space Station

Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?

Yes - The booster have fuel enough to return

Where will the first stage land?

LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

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:

– 35th flight of all Falcon 9 rockets

– 15th flight of Falcon 9 Full Trust “V1.2” booster 

– 14th maiden flight of a Falcon 9 FT rocket

– 1st re-flight of a Cargo Dragon capsule C106-2

– 100th launch from LC-39A - Saturn V - Space Shuttle

– 6th SpaceX launch from LC-39A

– 11th booster landing overall

– 7th mission for SpaceX in 2017

Where to watch

Where to read more

SpaceX link

If you want more link visit Tim Dodd


Launch debriefing

(This is what happend)

T-00:19:28

Hosts:

T 00:00:00

T+00:01:19

T+00:02:25

T+00:02:35

T+00:02:40

T+00:03:18

T+00:06:09

T+00:07:10

T+00:09:19

T+00:10:19

T+00:12:49

T+00:13:24

-

T+42:59:22

705:33:22

711:04:22

SpaceX live feed at 00:31

Lauren Lyons, Tom Praderio and Brian Mahlstedt

Liftoff at 20:00 - 21:07:38 UTC June 3, 2017

MaxQ at 21:19 - 1st stage flight telemetry

MECO 22:25, stage separation 22:27

SES-1 at 22:35 - Not shown - Flames on grid fins

Boost back burn at 22:40 by 3 Merlin 1D+ 51 seconds

Nose cone separation not seen at 23:18 ???

Entry burn 26:09 by 3 Merlin 1D+ for 13 seconds

Landing burn 27:10 by 1 Merlin 1D+ for 31 seconds

SECO at 29:19 and coasting

Dragon C106-2 PAF separation at 30:19

Deployment of solar array at 32:48

Rap up from 33:24

Other events during this CRS-11 mission was:

Berthing with ISS Harmony Nadir airlock at 16:07 UTC

Released from ISS after 27-28 days at 16:41 UTC

Landed in Pacific Ocean near NCR Quest at 12:12 UTC



Re-flying Dragons as well?

SpaceX is targeting the launch of its eleventh Commercial Resupply Services mission CRS-11 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Saturday, June 3 at 5:07 p.m. EDT or 21:07 UTC. Dragon will separate from Falcon 9’s second stage about 10 minutes after liftoff and attach to the station on June 4.

This CRS-11 mission will be the first reflight of a Dragon spacecraft. C106-2 was used on the CRS-4 mission and marked the 100th launch from historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. After stage separation, the first stage of Falcon 9 will attempt to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The Dragon Payload

NASA has contracted for the CRS-11 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-11 carried a total of 2 708 kg (5 970 lb) of material into orbit. This included 1 665 kg (3 671 lb) of pressurized cargo with packaging bound for the International Space Station, and 1 002 kg (2 209 lb) of unpressurised cargo composed of three external station experiments:

A constellation of five CubeSats was also carried on the mission as part of Birds-1, one each from the countries of Japan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Mongolia. The satellites from Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Mongolia (Mazaalai) were those countries' first satellites in space.

The Dragon Mission

CRS-11 launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 3 June 2017 at 21:07 UTC from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The spacecraft rendezvoused with the station on 5 June and conducted a series of orbit adjustment burns to match speed, altitude, and orientation with the ISS. After arriving at the capture point at 13:37 UTC, the vehicle was snared at 13:52 UTC by the Canadarm2, operated by Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer. It was berthed to the Harmony module at 16:07 UTC.

The CRS-11 Dragon remained attached to the ISS for just over 27 days. Having been filled with around 1,900 kg (4,100 lb) of cargo, Dragon was unberthed from the station on 2 July 2017 at approximately 18:00 UTC. It was moved to its release position by Canadarm2, but poor sea below conditions forced a delay to the following day.

On 3 July at 06:41 UTC, crew members commanded Canadarm2 to release Dragon, and soon after the spacecraft began a series of thruster firings to move it away from the station. About five hours after departing from the ISS, Dragon closed its GNC bay door and conducted a 10-minute deorbit burn. Immediately after, the spacecraft jettisoned its cargo trunk and oriented itself for reentry.

Dragon C106-2 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California at 12:12 UTC.

The Historic Launch Complex 39A

By this launch date June 3, 2017 and since the days of Apollo in the late sixties, Pad 39A and 39B have launched 159 times sending men, women and hardware into orbit. The 160th launch from Kennedy Space Center was a single air-launched Pegasus rocket that was dropped from a B-52 flying from the Shuttle Landing Facility.

 

Saturn V rocket is here launching Skylab in 1973

STS-135 Space Shuttle Atlantis launching in July 2011

Pad 39A has launched 12 of the Saturn V rockets into orbit and beyond to the Moon. Apollo 4 was the first Saturn V test flight, and the Saturn V with its converted 3rd stage “Skylab'' was the 12th and last from Pad 39A. The rest of the Saturn V rockets that were launched from 39B were the Apollo 10, three Saturn 1B that paid visits to Skylab and the last launch of the Saturn 1B went to do the Apollo Soyuz test program.

The Space Shuttle Era started in april 1981 with STS-1 Columbia from Pad 39A followed by 23 others before Pad 39B was ready to launch an ill fated STS-51-L Challenger on the cold freezing infamous day January 28, 1986.

I saw that happening sitting in my room. God. Those idiots always chose the cheapest contractor without looking at the best solution. You don’t look only at the bottom line, when people's lives are at stake.

Pad 39A and Pad 39B now shared the launches between them until STS-116 launched from Pad 39B, and it was converted to launch Ares I-X which was the 59th and last launch from Pad 39B. The Space Shuttle continued from Pad 39A until STS-135 Atlantis in April 2011 launched as the last and 82nd Shuttle from LC-39A.

The Vandenberg Pad 6E was made ready to launch Space Shuttles but never used as intended, which was a huge waste of money. Scott Manley, a web blogger, made a video about the design and development of the Space Shuttle, where it’s mentioned that the US Department of Defense design criteria was so far out there, that it got too expensive, too filled with special wishes and requests, that it became a flying “White Elephant”.

US Congress kept tightening the purse strings to NASA, keep’t choking the life of the space programs already halfway underway and forced NASA management to cut too many corners, so fatal disasters and serious accidents were bound to happen. Just do this:

Make something big happen in Space, that We can be proud of. COTS - CRS...

In 2017 SpaceX has now launched 6 Falcon 9 Full Thrust rockets from LC 39A since CRS-10 in February bringing the total launches to 100 from LC-39A. 12 Saturn V, 82 STS and 6 Falcon 9 launched from LC-39A. Coming close to 150 launches by august 2022.

Author William Graham among others

link

Coauthor/Text Retriever Johnny Nielsen

link to launch list


SpaceX - Eutelsat 36D

Screenshot from the launch of Eutelsat 36D. At last we get to see a normal GTO mission in daylight Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 - Eutels...