2023 September General Discussion and Starlink Launch Thread

September launches:

Completed:

2023-09-02: Transport & Tracking Layer (Tranche 0, Flight 2)
2023-09-04: Starlink Group 6-12
2023-09-09: Starlink Group 6-14
2023-09-13: Starlink Group 7-2
2023-09-16: Starlink Group 6-16
2023-09-20: Starlink Group 6-17
2023-09-24: Starlink Group 6-17
2023-09-25: Starlink Group 7-3
2023-09-30: Starlink Group 6-19

Scheduled:

October:

2023-05-05: Psyche (Falcon Heavy)
SARah 2 & 3
WorldView Legion 1 & 2
Starship Flight Test 2

Previous thread (August) | Next thread (October)

19 comments

Starship Flight Test 2
Yay!
- "This month maybe, next month definitely." We'll see if it holds.

I don't know whether to post these here or off the main page.
Jerry Pike Photo has some nice pictures on Instagram of booster return at Cape Canaveral. The rusty ASDS really gives an interesting "gritty space" feel to it. These are links to each image, but you can just click on the first and use the ">" arrow on the image to go to each in turn.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
- Yeah, I really like the aesthetic of the well-used boosters and drone ships!

Just wanted to point out a glamor video of Starlink deployment.

Crew-6 undocking currently scheduled for 2023-09-03 11:05 UTC.
SpaceX livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz6qdzVCN9g
Edit:
Undocking confirmed by SpaceX: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1698291169325908068
Mission Control Audio was here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9KNK3nXKos
Mission Control Audio webcast set to private. I definitely did not download it while it was live. Do not PM me if you want a copy. :)

NASA is live for Crew-6 splashdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8n5OA1m5o8
Only 720p :(
Edit: SpaceX was also live on the platform formerly known as twitter, but viewing experience was terrible.

Starlink Group 6-14 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2023-09-09 03:12 UTC, or 2023-09-08 23:12 local time (EDT).
NSF webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWL0BvwlD6Q
SpaceX webcast: https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1700345337322537111
Edit: NSF are live.
All SpaceX systems are go, weather looking good: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1700336022222164474
All systems are looking good for tonight’s launch of 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida. Weather is >90% favorable for liftoff.
Edit2: SpaceX is live.
Edit3: Liftoff! Norminal mission so far.
Edit4: Stage-1 landing and SECO-1 confirmed.
Edit5: Starlink deploy confirmed: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1700363061989867778

https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1701325498981482745
Targeting tonight, September 11, for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from California → spacex.com/launches
Starlink Group 7-2 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2023-09-13 06:57 UTC, or 2023-09-12 23:57 local time (PDT). Booster to land on Of Course I Still Love You.
NSF webcast: none
SpaceX webcast: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1701488948139422072
Space Devs rehost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DugxmrIvUE
Edit: Norminal mission. B1071 has landed for the 11th time.
https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1701506196010914102#m
Deployment of 21 @Starlink satellites confirmed

https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1702880920032669706
All systems are looking good and weather is trending favorably for tonight’s Falcon 9’s launch of 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida. Propellant load is underway → spacex.com/launches
Starlink Group 6-16 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2023-09-16 03:38 UTC, or 2023-09-15 23:38 local time (EDT). Booster to land on Just Read the Instructions.
Spaceflight Now webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwZb5Eu3c6s
NSF webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZtcZ924kOQ
The Launch Pad webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWARbQUUbs
SpaceX webcast: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1702888419691524380
Edit: Norminal launch. B1078 has landed for the 5th time.

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters	More Letters
ASDS	Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform)
MECO	Main Engine Cut-Off
~	MainEngineCutOff podcast
NSF	NasaSpaceFlight forum
~	National Science Foundation
SECO	Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
SLC-40	Space Launch Complex 40, Canaveral (SpaceX F9)
SLC-4E	Space Launch Complex 4-East, Vandenberg (SpaceX F9)

Jargon	Definition
Starlink	SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation

7 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 9 acronyms.

[Thread #9 for this sub, first seen 17th Sep 2023, 07:50] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

Splashdown! Welcome home, Crew-6!

Starlink Group 6-12 launch currently scheduled for 2023-09-04 02:47 UTC.
No webcast on YouTube yet. Might be exclusive to the website formerly known as Twitter.
https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1698519733367157178
Propellant load has started. Live webcast will begin here on X about five minutes prior to liftoff

Starlink Group 6-12 webcast: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1698526823012004000
NSF is also live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg4WWYl9E8
No mission control audio :(

https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1705388026971771261
Targeting Saturday, September 23 and Monday, September 25 for Falcon 9 launches of @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida and California → spacex.com/launches
Starlink Group 6-18 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for ~~2023-09-24 01:07 UTC, or 2023-09-23 21:07 local time (EDT).~~ Booster 1060.17 to land on Just Read the Instructions.
Following this mission, B1060 will be tied with B1058, each having completed 17 flights.
Webcasts:
Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQyPwkiMEWA
NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah_VDCd6SDw
The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGptYzYoL2I
SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1705787270610252165
The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLLnDo_5Wq0
Edit: Launch pushed to 2023-09-24 03:38 UTC, or 2023-09-23 23:38 local time (EDT).
Edit2: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1705780046634566135
Starting propellant load for tonight’s launch of 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida. All systems and weather are currently go
Edit3: Liftoff!
Edit4: MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.
Edit5: B1060 has performed its 17th landing, tying B1058 for a record 17 landings.
Edit6: M-vac shutdown and end of official webcast.
Edit7: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1705805958348460207
Deployment of 22 @Starlink satellites confirmed

Starlink Group 7-3 launch out of SLC-4E in Vandenberg, California currently scheduled for 2023-09-25 08:48 UTC, or 2023-09-25 01:48 local time (PDT). Booster B1075.6 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.
Webcasts:
Spaceflight Now: none
NASASpaceflight: none
The Launch Pad: none
SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1706227960519483805
The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYygl-yiUT0
Edit: Norminal mission. First stage landing and Starlink deploy confirmed.
https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1706231510632951924
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship
https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1706245123288567969
Deployment of 21 @Starlink satellites confirmed

https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1707428083538841902#m
Now targeting Friday, September 29 for Falcon 9's launch of @Starlink satellites → spacex.com/launches
Starlink Group 6-19 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for ~~2023-09-29 22:49 UTC, or 2023-09-29 18:49 local time (EDT)~~. Booster B1069.10 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.
Webcasts:
Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GDS6KoQ4uk
NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8mKreIf6Fk
The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQKIb7x3_a8
SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1707937115265519985
The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYAbCI8SFno
Edit: Due to inclement weather, launch pushed to 2023-09-30 02:00 UTC, or 2023-09-23 22:00 local time (EDT).
Edit2: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1707931360504230287
Less than 30 minutes until tonight’s launch of 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida. Teams are keeping an eye on weather conditions at the launch site → spacex.com/launches
Edit3: Liftoff!
Edit4: MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.
Edit5: Stage 1 landing confirmed!
Edit6: SECO, nominal orbital insertion.

https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1703933837271765427
Targeting Tuesday, September 19 for Falcon 9's launch of 22 @Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida → spacex.com/launches
Starlink Group 6-17 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2023-09-20 03:38 UTC, or 2023-09-19 23:38 local time (EDT). Booster ~~1060~~ 1058 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.
This will be a "life leader" mission, as it marks the first time a Falcon 9 booster will fly for it's 17th flight.
Webcasts:
The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlVWTstTbA
Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcVemtPOebg
NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvyX60qk7VE
The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1E6LsG3R0
SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1704337938551554380
Edit1: Delayed to 2023-09-20 03:38 UTC, or 2023-09-19 23:38 local time (EDT).
Edit2: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1704330509453820366
All systems are looking good for tonight’s launch of 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida. Weather is 90% favorable for liftoff
Edit3: Liftoff!
Edit4: MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.
Edit5: ~~B1060~~ B1058 has performed its 17th landing! New high score!
Edit6: M-vac shutdown and end of official webcast.
Edit7: It turns out that this was B1058, not B1060. Still the 17th flight though!
Edit8: Deployment confirmed: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1704355789232861666
Deployment of 22 @Starlink satellites confirmed
- Was this the first time we had a live audio feed from the droneship? I don't remember hearing that before.

19 comments