Es’hail 2 (AMSAT P4A) – Falcon 9 – Kennedy LC-39A – 15.11.2018

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 3 мин.
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Not best angle, but good as we'll get today. Higher res later. BUT... 1 FSS cladding panel appears to be on #SpaceX tower at 39A! North side (far side of image) on lowest lowest level. Hard to see. Also, rain birds now covered in black thermal coating. ⁦@NASASpaceflight⁩

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/11/15/falcon-9-eshail-2-mission-status-center/

Live coverage: SpaceX set to launch communications satellite for Qatar
November 15, 2018 | Stephen Clark

11/15/2018 16:01 Stephen Clark

Good morning fr om launch pad 39A, wh ere a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — sporting the marks of a past mission into space — is standing vertical in preparation for liftoff at 3:46 p.m. EST (2046 GMT).



A line of rain showers passed over the spaceport less than an hour ago, and skies are clearing as SpaceX counts down to the first daytime launch from Florida's Space Coast since May 11.

Today's mission will be SpaceX's 18th mission this year, and the 63rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since the launcher's first version debuted in June 2010.

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11/15/2018 16:18 Stephen Clark

Low clouds continue moving over pad 39A this morning.

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SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 7 мин. назад

Falcon 9 and Es'hail-2 are vertical on Pad 39A in Florida. Today's launch window opens at 3:46 p.m. EST, 20:46 UTC. Falcon 9's first stage for this mission previously supported the Telstar 19 VANTAGE launch in July 2018.

http://spacex.com/webcast 

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/11/15/photos-previously-flown-falcon-9-booster-ready-for-another-launch/

Photos: Previously-flown Falcon 9 booster ready for another launch
November 15, 2018 | Stephen Clark

A Falcon 9 rocket powered by a first stage booster recovered after a launch in July is being readied for another flight Thursday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is standing at pad 39A, the starting point for numerous space shuttle launches and Saturn 5 moonshots, in preparation for liftoff Thursday during a launch window opening at 3:46 p.m. EST (2046 GMT).

Inside the Falcon 9's nose shroud: Es'hail 2, Japanese-built, Qatari-owned communications satellite to link users across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Спойлер

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shows the soot markings of a previous launch and re-entry July 22, when it lifted off from nearby pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the Telstar 19 VANTAGE communications satellite.

On that flight, the booster detached from the Falcon 9's upper stage and descended back through the atmosphere, using grid fins and rocket thrust to land on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred miles east of Cape Canaveral.

The first stage will try the same maneuvers after Thursday's launch, again aiming for a landing at sea before potentially another mission.

Thursday's launch will be the 15th SpaceX mission to launch off pad 39A, and SpaceX's 18th launch overall this year, including flights from KSC, neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

It will be the 63rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since the first variant of SpaceX's workhorse first launched in June 2010, and the 17th time SpaceX has reused a booster on an orbital mission.


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/11/15/falcon-9-launch-timeline-with-eshail-2/

Falcon 9 launch timeline with Es'hail 2
November 15, 2018 | Stephen Clark

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Es'hail 2 communications satellite into orbit around 32 minutes later.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:46 p.m. EST Thursday (2046 GMT) at the opening of a 103-minute launch window.

Спойлер

Perched atop the rocket is the Es'hail 2 communications satellite, a spacecraft manufactured in Japan by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for Es'hailSat, Qatar's national satellite communications company.

The satellite carries Ku-band and Ka-band transponders to beam broadband connections, television and other data relay services across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

After deployment from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket in an elliptical transfer orbit, Es'hail 2 will use its on-board hydrazine-fueled engine and electric thrusters to boost itself into a circular geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator at 26 degrees east longitude.

Es'hail 2, based on Melco's DS2000 satellite bus, is designed for a 15-year mission.

The Falcon 9 rocket launching Es'hail 2 will fly in the upgraded "Block 5" configuration, with a new second stage and a first stage previously flown on the Telstar 19 VANTAGE launch in July.

The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with Es'hail 2

Data source: SpaceX

T-0:00:00: Liftoff


After the rocket's nine Merlin engines pass an automated health check, hold-down clamps will release the Falcon 9 booster for liftoff from pad 39A.

T+0:00:59: Mach 1


The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound, as the nine Merlin 1D engines provide more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust.

T+0:01:06: Max Q


The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.

T+0:02:35: MECO


The Falcon 9's nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.

T+0:02:39: Stage 1 Separation


The Falcon 9's first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.

T+0:02:46: First Ignition of Second Stage


The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a six-minute burn to put the rocket and Es'hail 2 into a preliminary parking orbit.

T+0:03:47: Fairing Jettison


The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons once the Falcon 9 rocket ascends through the dense lower atmosphere. The 43-foot-tall fairing is made of two clamshell-like halves composed of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb core.

T+0:06:22: Stage 1 Entry Burn


A subset of the first stage's Merlin 1D engines ignite for an entry burn to slow down for landing on SpaceX's drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. A final landing burn will occur just before touchdown.

T+0:08:07: SECO 1


The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and Es'hail 2 begin a coast phase scheduled to last more than 18 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.

T+0:08:16: Stage 1 Landing


The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage booster touches down on SpaceX's drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

T+0:26:34: Second Ignition of Second Stage


The Falcon 9's second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the Es'hail 2 communications satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit.

T+0:27:29: SECO 2


The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the Es'hail 2 satellite in the proper elliptical orbit for deployment.

T+0:32:29: Es'hail 2 Separation


The Es'hail 2 satellite separates from the Falcon 9 rocket into an elliptical transfer orbit, on the way to a perch in geostationary orbit.

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11/15/2018 21:46 Stephen Clark

T-minus 2 hours. It's a mostly cloudy afternoon here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where a Falcon 9 rocket is standing at pad 39A for liftoff with the commercial Es'hail 2 communications satellite.

The launch team is watching the weather as clouds stream overhead, as well as monitoring winds aloft to ensure they are acceptable for flight.

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 2 мин. назад

The clocks here at @NASAKennedy are counting down to today's #SpaceX #Falcon9 launch. We're at T-1hr 40mins and COUNTING, indicting all is proceeding to the opening of the launch window at 15:46:00 EST (2046:00 UTC). #EsHail2

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11/15/2018 22:14 Stephen Clark

Final countdown preparations are underway at the Kennedy Space Center as teams prepare a Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff at 3:46 p.m. EST (2046 GMT).

Fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to begin at 3:11 p.m. EST (2011 GMT), three minutes after a planned readiness check by SpaceX's launch conductor to verify the launch vehicle, payload and weather are "go" for liftoff.

Спойлер

Super-chilled, densified kerosene and liquid oxygen will be simultaneously pumped into the Falcon 9's first stage beginning at T-minus 35 minutes. Liquid oxygen will begin flowing into the second stage at T-minus 16 minutes.

In the final 10 minutes of the countdown, an automatic sequencer will command the Falcon 9's first stage engines to be chilled in preparation for ignition, the rocket's navigation computer will be configured for flight, its upper stage engine will run through a steering profile, and the launch pad's strongback will be retracted around 1.5 degrees away from the rocket.

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11/15/2018 22:56 Stephen Clark

T-minus 50 minutes. Here are some statistics on today's launch:

[/li]
• 63rd launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010
• 69th launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006
• 2nd launch of Falcon 9 Booster No. 47
• 51st Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral
• 109th launch from pad 39A
• 14th Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A
• 15th SpaceX launch from pad 39A
• 1st SpaceX launch for Es'hailSat
• 1st Mitsubishi Electric-built satellite launched by SpaceX
• 17th Falcon 9 launch of 2018
• 18th launch by SpaceX in 2018
• 18th launch overall from Cape Canaveral in 2018
• 7th flight of a Falcon 9 Block 5 first stage
• 10th flight of a Falcon 9 Block 5 second stage
• 40th attempt to land a Falcon booster
  

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 12:02 - 15 нояб. 2018 г.

Right now, weather is GREEN is no constraints. #SpaceX #Falcon9 #EsHail2

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 12:08 - 15 нояб. 2018 г.

GO for propellant load! #SpaceX #Falcon9 #EsHail2

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11/15/2018 23:12 Stephen Clark

T-minus 35 minutes and counting. "Launch auto has started."

The beginning of the launch autosequence kicks off the first steps to begin pumping propellants into the 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 at pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen are now being pumped into the Falcon 9 rocket. The liquid oxygen is chilled to near minus 340 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 206 degrees Celsius).

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