SpaceX launches heaviest payload on Falcon 9 rocket – Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

“Our enactment volition let SpaceX to statesman deployment of Gen2 Starlink, which volition bring adjacent procreation outer broadband to Americans nationwide, including those surviving and moving successful areas traditionally unserved oregon underserved by terrestrial systems,” the FCC wrote successful its Dec. 1 bid partially approving the Starlink Gen2 constellation. “Our enactment besides volition alteration worldwide outer broadband service, helping to adjacent the integer disagreement connected a planetary scale.

“At the aforesaid time, this constricted assistance and associated conditions volition support different outer and terrestrial operators from harmful interference and support a harmless abstraction environment, promoting contention and protecting spectrum and orbital resources for aboriginal use,” the FCC wrote. “We defer enactment connected the remainder of SpaceX’s exertion astatine this time.”

Specifically, the FCC granted SpaceX authorization to motorboat the archetypal artifact of 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites into orbits astatine 525, 530, and 535 kilometers, with inclinations of 53, 43, and 33 degrees, respectively, utilizing Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies. The FCC deferred a determination connected SpaceX’s petition to run Starlink Gen2 satellites successful higher and little orbits.

Like the archetypal Gen2 motorboat past month, the Starlink 5-2 ngo Thursday targeted the 530-kilometer-high (329-mile) orbit astatine an inclination of 43 degrees to the equator.

The Starlink 5-2 ngo volition adhd 56 much satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink net network. Credit: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX presently has astir 3,400 functioning Starlink satellites successful space, with much than 3,100 operational and astir 200 moving into their operational orbits, according to a tabulation by Jonathan McDowell, an adept tracker of spaceflight enactment and an astronomer astatine the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

The first-generation Starlink web architecture includes satellites flying a fewer 100 miles up, orbiting astatine inclinations of 97.6 degrees, 70 degrees, 53.2 degrees, and 53.0 degrees to the equator. Most of SpaceX’s caller Starlink launches person released satellites into Shell 4, astatine an inclination of 53.2 degrees, aft the institution mostly completed launches into the archetypal 53-degree inclination ammunition past year.

Shell 5 of the Starlink web was wide believed to beryllium 1 of the polar-orbiting layers of the constellation, astatine 97.6 degrees inclination. But the sanction of the archetypal Gen2 missions — Starlink 5-1 and 5-2 — look to suggest SpaceX has changed the naming strategy for the Starlink shells.

SpaceX’s motorboat squad was stationed wrong a motorboat power halfway conscionable southbound of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for Thursday’s predawn countdown. SpaceX began loading super-chilled, densified kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the Falcon 9 conveyance astatine T-minus 35 minutes.

Helium pressurant besides flowed into the rocket successful the past half-hour of the countdown. In the last 7 minutes earlier liftoff, the Falcon 9’s Merlin main engines were thermally conditioned for formation done a process known arsenic “chilldown.” The Falcon 9’s guidance and scope information systems were besides configured for launch.

After liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket vectored its 1.7 cardinal pounds of thrust — produced by 9 Merlin engines — to steer southeast implicit the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX has resumed launches this wintertime utilizing the southeasterly corridor from Cape Canaveral, alternatively than trajectories to the northeast, to instrumentality vantage of amended oversea conditions for landing of the Falcon 9’s archetypal signifier booster.

Throughout the summertime and fall, SpaceX launched Starlink missions connected paths toward the northeast from Florida’s Space Coast.

Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral connected the Starlink 5-2 mission, hauling a heavyweight payload of 56 Starlink net satellites into orbit. https://t.co/x2eCfZ7y5F pic.twitter.com/4a1hN8JeH7

— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) January 26, 2023

The Falcon 9 rocket exceeded the velocity of dependable successful astir 1 minute, past unopen down its 9 main engines two-and-a-half minutes aft liftoff. The booster signifier separated from the Falcon 9’s precocious stage, past fired pulses from acold state power thrusters and extended titanium grid fins to assistance steer the conveyance backmost into the atmosphere.

Two braking burns slowed the rocket for landing connected the drone vessel “Just Read the Instructions” astir 410 miles (660 kilometers) downrange astir 9 minutes aft liftoff. The reusable booster, designated B1067 successful SpaceX’s inventory, completed its ninth travel to abstraction Thursday.

The Falcon 9’s reusable payload fairing jettisoned during the 2nd signifier burn. A betterment vessel was besides connected presumption successful the Atlantic to retrieve the 2 halves of the chemoreceptor cone aft they splash down nether parachutes.

Landing of the archetypal signifier connected Thursday’s ngo occurred conscionable arsenic the Falcon 9’s 2nd signifier motor chopped disconnected to present the Starlink satellites into orbit.

Separation of the 56 Starlink spacecraft, built by SpaceX successful Redmond, Washington, from the Falcon 9 rocket occurred 19 minutes aft liftoff. SpaceX’s crushed squad waited to corroborate the spacecraft deployment milestone erstwhile the rocket passed successful scope of a tracking presumption successful Australia astir an hr aft liftoff.

The Falcon 9’s guidance machine aimed to deploy the satellites into an elliptical orbit astatine an inclination of 43 degrees to the equator, with an altitude ranging betwixt 131 miles and 209 miles (212-by-337 kilometers). After separating from the rocket, the 56 Starlink spacecraft volition unfurl star arrays and tally done automated activation steps, past usage ion engines to maneuver into their operational orbit.

ROCKET: Falcon 9 (B1067.9)

PAYLOAD: 56 Starlink satellites (Starlink 5-2)

LAUNCH SITE: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 26, 2023

LAUNCH TIME: 4:32:20 a.m. EST (0932:20 GMT)

WEATHER FORECAST: 70% chance of acceptable weather; Low to mean hazard of precocious level winds; Low hazard of unfavorable conditions for booster recovery

BOOSTER RECOVERY: “Just Read the Instructions” drone vessel northeast of the Bahamas

LAUNCH AZIMUTH: Southeast

TARGET ORBIT: 131 miles by 209 miles (212 kilometers by 337 kilometers), 43.0 degrees inclination

LAUNCH TIMELINE:

• T+00:00: Liftoff
• T+01:12: Maximum aerodynamic unit (Max-Q)
• T+02:28: First signifier main motor cutoff (MECO)
• T+02:31: Stage separation
• T+02:38: Second signifier motor ignition
• T+02:42: Fairing jettison
• T+06:42: First signifier introduction pain ignition (three engines)
• T+07:00: First signifier introduction pain cutoff
• T+08:23: First signifier landing pain ignition (one engine)
• T+08:43: Second signifier motor cutoff (SECO 1)
• T+08:44: First signifier landing
• T+18:49: Starlink outer separation

MISSION STATS:

• 199th motorboat of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010
• 209th motorboat of Falcon rocket household since 2006
• 9th motorboat of Falcon 9 booster B1067
• 171st Falcon 9 motorboat from Florida’s Space Coast
• 111th Falcon 9 motorboat from pad 40
• 166th motorboat wide from pad 40
• 141st formation of a reused Falcon 9 booster
• 69th Falcon 9 motorboat chiefly dedicated to Starlink network
• 5th Falcon 9 motorboat of 2023
• 6th motorboat by SpaceX successful 2023
• 5th orbital motorboat effort based retired of Cape Canaveral successful 2023