SLC-4E

All posts tagged SLC-4E

SpaceX Iridium-8 Launch Fulfills NEXT Contract

Posted by Chris Tobias on January 8, 2019
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by Chris Tobias

The first SpaceX launch of the New Year is scheduled to take place (NET) Friday, January 11 at 10:31 AM EST (15:31 UTC).  SpaceX completed the static fire for the Iridium-8 mission at Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg AFB in California on January 6, and will launch 10 satellites of the Iridium NEXT constellation aboard a Falcon 9 from the same pad this weekend.

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(image courtesy AmericaSpace)

The relationship between SpaceX and Iridium traces back to 2010, when Iridium contracted Elon Musk’s private space company to launch its entire NEXT satellite constellation shortly after the very first successful flight of a Falcon 9.  It would be seven years before SpaceX would be able to start fulfilling that contract, but since the first of seven previous Iridium NEXT missions was completed in 2017, SpaceX has been able to launch and deploy each subsequent group of satellites every few months with little interruption.  This month’s launch will be the eighth and final launch of the Iridium NEXT constellation of satellites, and upon its completion, SpaceX will have launched a total of 75 satellites for Iridium in just two years.

The Falcon 9 for this mission will be a previously-flown booster that was launched and recovered in September of 2018 during the Telstar 18V mission.  This final group of ten Iridium NEXT satellites will be inserted into a Low Polar Orbit, and the first stage of the Falcon 9 will land once again, this time at sea aboard SpaceX’s Pacific drone barge Just Read the Instructions.

Those who wish to watch this milestone mission can tune into SpaceX’s live webcast at spacex.com and on the company’s YouTube channel.  Coverage will begin approximately 20 minutes before liftoff.

Peace, love and rockets…

SpaceX’s SAOCOM-1A Launch This Weekend Will Feature First RTLS Landing on the West Coast

Posted by Chris Tobias on October 6, 2018
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by Chris Tobias

SpaceX plans to launch the SAOCOM-1A satellite this weekend from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with liftoff currently scheduled for 10:21 PM EST (2:21 UTC) on Sunday, October 7 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E).

This weekend’s launch will feature the same Falcon 9 Block 5 first stage that launched Iridium NEXT 7, and will be just the second time that a Block 5 Falcon 9 core has been reflown.  The payload, the SAOCOM-1A satellite, will be delivered to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit, where it will be part of a six-satellite constellation that CONAE (the Argentine space agency) will use to image the Earth in conjunction with the Italian COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation.

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A Falcon 9 first stage comes in for a landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.  (Photo:  Spaceflight Now)

What makes this launch particularly interesting is that the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to the launch site at Vandenberg AFB to land, which will make it the first RTLS (Return to Launch Site) landing on the West Coast.  All of SpaceX’s previous RTLS landings have been conducted at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.  The Falcon 9 first stage that is being reflown for this mission previously landed at sea aboard SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions during the Iridium NEXT 7 mission back in July.

A live webcast of the launch should be available at spacex.com and on the company’s YouTube channel approximately 20 minutes before liftoff.

Peace, love and rockets…

SpaceX Turns Two with Launch from Vandenberg on Tuesday

Posted by Chris Tobias on May 21, 2018
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by Chris Tobias

SpaceX will make it a double when it launches its next Falcon 9 into the black from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg AFB in California on Tuesday, May 22.  The “Block 4” Falcon 9, which flew previously for that top-secret ZUMA mission back in November, will carry two satellite payloads into Low Earth Polar Orbit– Iridium-6 and GRACE-FO.

The instantaneous launch window will open at 3:47 EST (19:47 UTC).  The GRACE-FO satellites will deploy early in the mission (less than twelve minutes after liftoff).  The five Iridium NEXT satellites will deploy roughly an hour into the mission.

As the name suggests, Iridium-6 will be the sixth mission SpaceX has flown for Iridium as it replaces and upgrades the world’s largest commercial satellite network.  At the conclusion of this mission, SpaceX will have just two missions remaining for Iridium, after which it will have delivered a total of 75 new satellites into orbit– 66 operational satellites and nine on-orbit spares.  The ongoing Iridium NEXT mission is one of the largest “tech upgrades” in space history.

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Meanwhile, the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission is intended to continue GRACE’s 15-year legacy of tracking the movement of Earth’s mass.  These twin satellites will allow the distribution of Earth’s mass to be mapped monthly and tracked over larger periods of time.  This will, in turn, provide valuable data about climate change, including changes in ice sheets and glaciers, water levels in large lakes and rivers as well as sea level, and various water and energy cycles.

Since the Falcon 9 being used for this mission is a “Block 4” model, it is unlikely that there will be a landing of the rocket’s first stage.  SpaceX will attempt to capture the fairings, however, and Mr. Steven, the company’s “spider-boat” that was designed especially for that purpose, is already at sea.

Those who would like to follow the mission’s progress can catch SpaceX’s live webcast, which will begin approximately 20 minutes before liftoff at spacex.com and on the company’s YouTube channel.

Peace, love and rockets…

SpaceX Iridium-5 Launch Planned for March 30

Posted by Chris Tobias on March 28, 2018
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by Chris Tobias

SpaceX’s next launch, the latest in a series of missions to deploy satellites of the Iridium Next mobile communications fleet, will liftoff on Friday, March 30 from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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Iridium-5 mission patch (courtesy nasaspaceflight.com)

A Falcon 9 rocket that was previously launched, recovered and then re-flown during the Iridium-3 mission will carry 10 satellites into the black and deploy them into Polar Low Earth Orbit.  Liftoff is scheduled for 10:13am EDT (14:13 UTC).

This mission was to have launched on Thursday, March 29, but Iridium reported an issue with one of the ten satellites during preparation for the mission, which necessitated a postponement until Friday.

It is still unknown whether SpaceX will attempt to land and recover the first stage of the Falcon 9 for this mission.  At this point it looks unlikely, but if there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from SpaceX, it’s a willingness to defy expectations.

For those who would like to watch the launch live, SpaceX’s webcast of the launch will go live approximately 20 minutes before liftoff at spacex.com and on the company’s YouTube channel. 

Peace, love and rockets…

SpaceX Back to Business with PAZ Launch February 21

Posted by Chris Tobias on February 20, 2018
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by Chris Tobias

There is a sports car in deep space.  Everyone with a smart phone knows what the Falcon Heavy is.  It’s official:  SpaceX has made launching rockets sexy.

But while the public recovers from its “Falcon Heavy hangover,” SpaceX is already focused on the next mission.  And that mission is the launch of the PAZ satellite to Low Earth Orbit aboard a Falcon 9 this Wednesday morning, February 21 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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PAZ Mission Patch (SpaceX)

The Falcon 9’s first stage that is being used for the PAZ mission previously flew for the FORMOSAT-5 mission from SLC-4E in August of 2017.  SpaceX will not attempt to recover the Falcon 9’s first stage after launch, which is almost becoming standard operating procedure for launches involving the older model of their previously-flown boosters.

The PAZ satellite was to have been launched this past Sunday, but SpaceX’s team at Vandenberg wanted to take some additional time to perform final checkouts of the upgraded fairing, which necessitated a postponement to February 21 due to mission requirements.  It is perhaps a testament to just how much SpaceX has raised public awareness of the private space industry that the initial delay of this West Coast rocket launch actually made the local news broadcasts in this writer’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA!

Tomorrow’s PAZ mission is scheduled for liftoff at 9:17am EST (14:17 UTC).  For those who’d like to enjoy a rocket launch with their eggs and coffee, SpaceX’s live webcast should begin approximately 20 minutes before liftoff on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

And don’t forget, there has never been a better time to write SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk and/or President and COO Gwynne Shotwell to congratulate them on their recent success and ask them to consider the name Serenity for the company’s first Crew Dragon.  If you’re not sure what else to write, just tell them we Browncoats think Serenity is the perfect name for a space capsule that will become the flagship of a company that makes doing the impossible look routine!

Peace, love and rockets…