INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Update: First stage complete, main engine cutoff good, fairing separation good
Second engine ignition and cutoff successful, and GRACE-FO deployment complete (we won&t know if they&re in a good orbit until NASA
Second burn and Iridium orbit good…
All satellites deployed, making that a successful mission!
Today the day for SpaceX launch of Iridium NEXT communications satellites and a
pair of twin birds from NASA that will monitor the fresh water on the surface of the Earth
You can watch the launch right here:
Liftoff is scheduled for 12:47 PM Pacific Time, so SpaceX live stream should fire up about 15 minutes
ahead of that; NASA will also have its own updates, since it has skin in the game.
This is an unusual launch — the rocket will be making
some complicated maneuvers 300 miles up to make sure NASA satellites are deployed correctly, then it travels the rest of the way to the
targeted orbit for the communication satellites.
A few minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage (incidentally, the one that launched
the lost Zuma satellite in January) will detach and burn up
This will be its last mission — it not one of the &Block 5& rockets with all the durability improvements, so it would take a lot of money
and time to fly again, and the risk of failure would grow considerably every time
Rocket, we salute you.
The fairing, however, which covers the payload, may be recovered after ejection by Mr Steven, a boat with a huge net
on top.
Falcon 9 and Iridium-6/GRACE-FO went vertical last night ahead of today launch at 12:47 p.m
PDT, 19:47 UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
https://t.co/wJxwQ9XSKJ pic.twitter.com/jiRT8Cn2wU
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 22, 2018
The second stage will take the payload to about 300
miles up, at which point it will cut off, and about 11 minutes after liftoff the rocket will dip its nose and spin a bit to get the GRACE-FO
About 45 minutes after they deploy, it will make a second burn and take itself up to nearly 500 miles altitude (this will take about half an
hour), where Iridium satellites will be let out, ending the mission.
If for some reason things are delayed, the next launch opportunity is
tomorrow at the same time.
