That Japanese Luner lander that was lost apparently made contact.

With the surface of the Moon.

At 500 KPH.

OOOPS.

I wonder if someone could put a navigation and communication satelite cluster around the moon to reduce lunar mission failures?

Maybe a modified starlink cluster with GPS, comm relays and navigation radars would be a good idea if we are getting back into deep space missions.

Imagine your probe hooking up to a navigation satelite network and verifying its own position frequently as a backup to internal sensors.

Contracts have already been issued for such a system. Don’t think anyone has flying hardware for this specific mission just yet. But building a satellite communications networks is something we are pretty good at.

Looks like LunaNet is a part of the artemis program.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/lunanet-empowering-artemis-with-communications-and-navigation-interoperability

Mission:  Falcon 9, Starlink 2-10

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V1.5 internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean."

2) Launch window:    11:02 PM PDT  (30 May 2023).    (2:02 AM EDT on 31 May 2023)

3) Launch site:   SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

4) Launch direction:   South southeasterly

5) Webcast viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 5 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    None

7)  Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.   May 28.  Departure! Of Course I Still Love You droneship is outbound from the Port of Long Beach to support Starlink 2-10.

b.  Satellites:  See previous Starlink discussions.

c.  Ready for launch:


Jack Beyer:  https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight

d.  Navigation warning:   Do not use for navigation.  This was from Starlink 2-9



8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Drone ship OCISLY

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:      

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.

00:01:12   Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:26   1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:30   1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:36   2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:41   Fairing deployment
00:06:42   1st stage entry burn begins
00:07:01   1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:20   1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:40   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:08:43   1st stage landing
00:17:21   Starlink satellites deploy

10)  Orbit destination:    Starlink Shell 2; 570 km circular 70° low-Earth Orbit (LEO), initial orbit 222 x 333 km orbit at 70º inclination.
Source

Thank you.

I just set an alarm so I can watch it from the back porch.

This is launching from California.

Shit. Boo.

I was thinking of the one on June 1st. Not sure I’ll be able to see it.

Should be able to see the one on the 5th.

Damn! After the landing they said that was the 14th launch and landing for that booster! SpaceX is killing it. They don't really have any competition right now.

The Starlink 2-10 launch was successful.

Mission:  Falcon 9, CRS-28

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight is the 28th mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA."

2) Launch window:    11:47 AM EDT  (5 June 2023)

3) Launch site:   LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

4) Launch direction:   Northeast

5) Webcast viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 15 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    None

7)  Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out:


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.  28 May 2023.   Departure! ASOG droneship and Doug are outbound from Port Canaveral to support the CRS-28 mission.

b.  Crew Dragon capsule:


Credit:  NASASpaceFlight.com

c.  Ready for launch:


Credit:  NASASpaceFlight.com

d.  Navigation warning:


Raul@Raul74Cz.   LHA map for #CRS-28 Dragon2 mission from LC-39A planned NET 03 Jun 16:35 UTC, alternatively 04 to 09 Jun based on issued NOTMAR/NOTAM. Booster 1077.5 landing 667km downrange. Stage2 debris reentry in South Pacific on the first orbit.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Recovery on drone ship ASOG.  Booster returned to port at 11:05 PM EDT on 8 June 2023.

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:      

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:01:12   Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:31   1st Stage Main Engine Cutoff (MECO)
00:02:34   1st and 2nd Stages Separate
00:02:41   2nd Stage Engine Starts
00:06:46   1st Stage Entry Burn Begins
00:07:07   1st Stage Entry Burn Ends
00:08:21   1st Stage Landing Burn Begins
00:08:50   2nd Stage Engine Cutoff (SECO-1)
00:08:51   1st Stage Landing
00:12:05   Dragon Separates from 2nd Stage
00:12:53   Dragon Nosecone Open Sequence Begins

10)  Orbit destination:   ISS rendezvous

Weather is currently 30% favorable for both launches

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) June 2, 2023

awesome footage

Tracking footage of Falcon 9 first stage returning to Earth after launching the Ax-2 mission to orbit pic.twitter.com/fLPQ7OhJOg

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) June 3, 2023

It is like the impossible / "that can't be real life"!

And it now happens a few times a week..

There "really" are, SpacePorts. On Earth.

This.

I love RTLS missions.
Something to see with the naked eye. 2D video is very cool but barely shows that giant telephone pole coming in at such speed, and then lighting up, and then the noise of the engine and sonic booms.

Now targeting Sunday, June 4 for Falcon 9’s launch of @NASA’s CRS-28 mission from LC-39A in Florida to allow more time for vehicle preparations and for weather conditions to improve ? https://t.co/sV9VI89KrC

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) June 3, 2023

Mission:   Falcon 9, Starlink 6-4

1)  Mission Description:  "A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean."    SpaceFlightNow source

2) Launch window:   5:56 8:20 AM EDT (4 June 2023).    

3) Launch Site:   SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

4) Launch direction:  Southeast

5) Webcast viewing options:

a.   SpaceX webcast (Starts about 5 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    

7) Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.   31 May 2023.  Departure! JRTI droneship is outbound with tug Crosby Skipper to support Starlink 6-4.

b.  Satellites:


A side-by-side comparison of the Starlink V1.5 and the Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Credit: SpaceX / Spaceflight Now

c.  Ready for launch:  


d.  Navigation warning:


Raul@Raul74Cz.   LHA map for #Starlink Group 6-4 from CCSFS SLC-40 NET 04 Jun 09:56 UTC, alternatively 05 to 10 Jun based on issued NOTAM/NOTMARs. B1078.3 planned landing 643km downrange. Estimated fairing recovery ~691m downrange. S2 reentry area south of Cape Town.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Recover on drone ship JRTI.  JRTI returned to port on 6 June 2023 around 6:30 PM EDT.

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:    

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:32 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:35 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:42 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:03:08 Fairing deployment
00:06:16 1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:34 1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:07 1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:28 1st stage landing
00:08:44 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:22 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:24 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:02 Starlink satellites deploy

10)  Orbit destination:   530 km circular low-Earth orbit at 43 degrees inclination.  Insertion orbit 314 x 323 km at 43 degrees

Launch in two minutes.

And we're off!

That would have been great with a 5:56 AM launch.  Even now, from the ground you could see booster thruster firings after stage separation.

To get that level of perfection is amazing.

Three hours away for CRS 28.

Yep, even without optical help. Clear as a bell !

You saw those thruster firings naked eye?   Amazing.

CRS-28 will probably be scrubbed, the countdown clock stopped and the access arm has returned back to the spacecraft.

Standing down from today's launch of @NASA's CRS-28 mission to the @space_station due to high winds in the recovery area. New T-0 of 11:47 a.m. ET on Monday, June 5; teams will continue to monitor weather, which is 60% favorable for liftoff ? https://t.co/sV9VI89cC4 pic.twitter.com/JdFM7cbGtw

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) June 4, 2023

Yes. The sky was very clear with no haze. Sometimes you can see them in broad daylight when conditions are right.

Webcast just went live.

I thought that debris on the second stage nozzle was a mouse.

Still amazing

They do make an extremely difficult thing look EZ.

The CRS-28 second stage was using the new short nozzle.  I may have read it but forgot.  Why is that short nozzle being used as opposed to the original nozzle?

A shorter second stage nozzle will be used when we don’t need as much performance to get the payload to its final destination

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) April 15, 2023

Thanks but it reminds me of a flying saying:  Something to the effect that two things that are of no help are runway behind you and either something about airspeed or altitude.

I’m sure it’s cheaper to make, but by how much?

Same with lighter.

This video speculates it could be a $100k cost savings as the nozzle uses an expensive alloy. Space X also said the change would help with the turn around time (I'm assuming due to some combination of faster production rates of MVac engines, less QC issues while manufacturing the smaller nozzle, or mitigating supply chain issues of the C103 alloy).  

4 things that will not do you any good with an airplane.

#1 Fuel in the Bowser
#2 Runway behind you
#3 Altitude above you
#4 A doctor in a Baron

I may have to add to my Greg Scott collection.
Tried saving a pic but I keep getting file extension errors trying to upload pics lifted from twitter.

A few more shots from todays CRS-28 launch. #SpaceX #NASA pic.twitter.com/kvk5vQ5CFY

— Greg Scott (@GregScott_photo) June 5, 2023

I wonder if it's either common to the non-vacuum engines, or if perhaps they're able to cut it down from otherwise rejected nozzles.

Keep in mind that SpaceX has such an immense cost advantage that there's often a TON of performance to spare over the launcher that the satellite was really designed for.

Some of these payloads are really light for a vehicle of F9's capability. You'd never see them fly on an Atlas or a Delta, too expensive, but F9 is so relatively cheap that they can displace a smaller launcher.

IXPE will probably be the smallest payload that Falcon 9 flies outside of ride-share stuff. 370 Pound payload mass. It was originally supposed to go up on the Pegasus launcher but SpaceX was able to plunk it into an equatorial orbit with a launch out of Canaveral which may have performed the worlds largest power slide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IXPE

I know it’s been said before many times but... The flexibility of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy is truly impressive. Watching them do their thing is some of my wildest fantasies coming true. For a very long time I thought that we were going to have to wait until someone cracked gravity manipulation before we could put this much hardware into so many orbits.

And on June 6, the Dragon 2 fleet's cumulative time in space surpassed the Space Shuttle fleet's time with 1,324 total days in orbit! pic.twitter.com/IvGa6sexLw

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) June 7, 2023

I know this is a spacex thread, but I've talked a bunch of shit about blue origin and their late rocket engines.

Looks like they finally did a test fire of the vulcan.

I had a thread on it here

I just happened to see the discussion online about it a few minutes before it occurred.

Mission:   Falcon 9, Starlink 5-11

1)  Mission Description:  "A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V1.5 internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean."    SpaceFlightNow source

2) Launch window:   3:10 or 4:52 AM EDT (12 June 2023).    

3) Launch Site:   SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

4) Launch direction:  Southeast

5) Webcast viewing options:

a.   SpaceX webcast (Starts about 5 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    

7) Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.     Departed 6:17 PM EDT, 7 June 2023.  Departure! Just Read the Instructions droneship has found a gap in the storms and is getting underway to support Starlink 5-11.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.  Bob departed Port Canaveral at 9pm last night (9 June 2023) to support the upcoming Starlink 5-11 mission. JRTI droneship departed on Wednesday evening.

b.  Satellites:


A side-by-side comparison of the Starlink V1.5 and the Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Credit: SpaceX / Spaceflight Now

c.  Ready for launch:  


d.  Navigation warning:


Raul@Raul74Cz.   LHA map for #Starlink Group 5-11 from CCSFS SLC-40 NET 12 Jun 07:10 UTC, alternatively 13 to 18 Jun based on issued NOTAM/NOTMARs. B1073.9 landing with fairing recovery approximately 640km downrange. S2 debris reentry area in Indian Ocean.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Recover on drone ship JRTI.  Returned to port ~630 PM EDT on 14 June 2023.

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:    

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:25 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:28 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:35 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:43 Fairing deployment
00:06:14 1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:39 1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:02 1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:25 1st stage landing
00:08:35 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:06 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:08 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:24 Starlink satellites deploy

10)  Orbit destination:   Insertion orbit:  299 x 339 kilometers at 43 degree inclination.  Satellites will raise the orbit to about 530 kilometers.

Holy...

That didn’t take long. Relatively speaking.

The Starlink 5-11 launch was successful.   The booster landing was #199.

Mission:  Falcon 9, Transporter 8

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 8 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg."

2) Launch window:    2:19 - 3:16 PM PDT  (12 June 2023).

3) Launch site:   SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

4) Launch direction:   South-southwest

5) Webcast viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 10 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    None

7)  Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.   Departure! West Coast SpaceX support ship GO Beyond is underway from Port Long Beach to recover the fairing halves from the upcoming Transporter-8 mission.

The booster will RTLS and land at LZ-4, VSFB.

b.  Satellites:   See event timeline.

 
Source:  NASASpaceFlight.com


Many satellites labeled.  Credit:  gongora at NASASpaceFlight.com

c.  Ready for launch:  


d.  Navigation warning:


Raul@Raul74Cz.   LHA map for #Transporter-8 mission from VSFB SLC-4E NET 12 Jun 21:19 UTC, altern. 13 to 19 Jun based on issued NOTAM/NOTMARs. LZ-4 landing for B1071.9. Estimated fairing recovery position approx. 551km downrange. Stage2 debris reentry south of Cape Town.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Return to Landing Zone 4

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:      

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:01:05 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:14 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:18 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:26 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:31 1st stage boostback burn begins
00:02:56 Fairing deployment
00:03:25 1st stage boostback burn ends
00:06:17 1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:32 1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:25 1st stage landing burn begins
00:07:42 1st stage landing
00:08:24 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:56:52 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:56:55 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:59:59 FOSSASAT-FEROX deploys
01:00:31 AII-DELTA deploys
01:00:44 GEISAT deploys    Photo credit Exolaunch
01:00:54 Ayris-1 deploys
01:01:06 EIVE deploys
01:01:10 Ayris-2 deploys
01:01:20 LEMUR 2 EMBRIONOVIS deploys
01:01:29 MISR-A deploys
01:02:41 LEMUR 2 NAZIYAH deploys
01:02:52 LEMUR 2 AADAM-ALIYAH deploys
01:03:13 Swarm Spacebees deploy   Photo credit ExoLaunch  Photo credit ExoLaunch
01:03:23 Droid.001 deploys
01:03:39 XVI deploys   Photo credit L3 Harris Technologies
01:03:51 MISR-B deploys
01:04:03 Tiger-4 deploys
01:04:17 NewSat 40 deploys
01:04:31 NewSat 41 deploys
01:05:56 NewSat 43 deploys
01:06:07 NewSat 42 deploys
01:06:35 MuSat-1 satellite deploys
01:07:57 AFR-1 deploys
01:08:52 Tomorrow-R2 deploys
01:09:43 Grégoire deploys
01:10:42 1st ICEYE satellite deploys   Photo credit IC Eye
01:11:48 Orbiter SN3 deploys      Photo credit Launcher
01:12:54 2nd ICEYE satellite deploys
01:14:43 3rd ICEYE satellite deploys
01:15:47 HotSat-1 deploys
01:16:55 4th ICEYE satellite deploys
01:17:17 Skykraft-3 deploys
01:17:59 GHOSt-3 deploys        Photo credit Orbital Sidekick
01:19:04 Blackjack Aces-2 deploys
01:19:30 QPS-SAR-6 AMATERU-III deploys
01:19:50 Runner-1 deploys   Photo credit Terran Orbital
01:20:16 ION SCV-011 Savvy Simon deploys
01:20:39 Blackjack Aces-4 deploys
01:21:33 Blackjack Aces-1 deploys
01:22:38 W-Series 1 deploys
01:24:48 Blackjack Aces-3 deploys


10)  Orbit destination:  Sun synchronous orbit.  Approximately 500 - 550 kilometer altitude

To be fair, probably 95% of that time consists of a Dragon docked to the ISS doing nothing.

235 PM PDT liftoff for Transporter-8.