30.07,2018
Space Coast will host yet another early morning SpaceX launch next weekend
The Space Coast will host yet another early morning launch next weekend when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral, marking the fourth mission in a row targeting a pre-dawn liftoff.
While exact times have not yet been confirmed, a warning to pilots and mariners issued by the Air Force's 45th Space Wing indicated that the area around Launch Complex 40 must be clear between 11:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, and 3:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4. SpaceX's opportunity to launch will be within that window, likely after midnight.
The rocket's first stage is expected to target an autonomous drone ship landing shortly after liftoff and return to Port Canaveral a few days later. The Air Force will release a weather forecast by Wednesday.
Secured inside the Falcon 9's protective nose cone, or fairing, will be Merah Putih, a 12,800-pound commercial communications satellite also known as Telkom-4 for PT Telkom Indonesia. The name refers to the red and white of the Indonesian flag, according to California-based SSL, which built the spacecraft.
Its mission: Provide communications services to the 17,000 islands of the Indonesian archipelago, India and parts of Southeast Asia over the course of its 15-year lifespan.
Merah Putih kicks off a busy August for the Space Coast, which will host another early morning launch when NASA's high-profile Parker Solar Probe takes flight on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 37 at 3:48 a.m. on Aug. 11. SpaceX is also expected to launch at least one more Falcon 9 from the Cape next month.
Quelle: Florida Today
---
Update: 3.08.2018
.
SpaceX test fires previously flown Falcon 9 ahead of launch from Cape Canaveral next week
A previously flown Falcon 9 rocket tasked with launching SpaceX's next mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was successfully test fired Thursday afternoon, paving the way for a launch early next week.
Teams will have a two-hour window opening at 1:18 a.m. Tuesday to launch the rocket topped with a commercial communications satellite from Launch Complex 40. The Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron is expected to release a forecast this weekend.
The launch will mark the first time a Block 5 version of Falcon 9, which sports improved reusability features and more thrust, flies a second mission. The booster originally launched the Bangabandhu-1 payload from Kennedy Space Center in May.
Shortly after liftoff, the 156-foot-tall booster will perform an automated descent and target a landing on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship, which is based at Port Canaveral. The SpaceX fleet should return to port a few days later.
On board will be Merah Putih, a 12,800-pound, California-built communications spacecraft also known as Telkom-4 for PT Telkom Indonesia. Once it achieves geostationary orbit thousands of miles above Earth, it will provide communications services to the 17,000 islands of the Indonesian archipelago.
Merah Putih refers to the red and white of the Indonesian flag, according to SSL, which built the spacecraft.
Tuesday morning's early launch – the fourth pre-dawn mission in a row – kicks off a busy month for the Space Coast, which will also see:
– NASA's high-profile Parker Solar Probe take flight on a three-core United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 37 at 3:48 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. The window to launch the probe closes on Aug. 23 before it opens again next May.
– SpaceX is again expected to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape, this time with the Telstar 18 VANTAGE commercial communications satellite for Canada-based Telesat.
Launch Tuesday
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
- Mission: Merah Putih / Telkom-4 communications satellite
- Launch Time: 1:18 a.m.
- Window: Two hours
- Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
- Landing: Drone ship
- Weather: Forecast expected this weekend
Join FloridaToday.com/Space for countdown updates and chat at 12:30 a.m. Monday, including streaming of SpaceX’s launch webcast starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.
Quelle: Florida Today
---
Update: 6.08.2018
.
---
Update: 7.08.2018
.
LIVE-Frams:
Quelle: SpaceX