Iridium Next Flight 4 (x10) - Falcon 9 - Vandenberg SLC-4E - 23.12.2017, 01:27:34 UTC

[tnt22]

SpaceX Iridium 4 Launch from Alhambra, CA

Doug Ellison

Опубликовано: 22 дек. 2017 г.

(7:18 )

[tnt22]

Iridium-4 satellites deployment

SciNews

Опубликовано: 22 дек. 2017 г.

(4:44)

[tnt22]

Видеоповтор трансляции пуска

Iridium-4 Webcast

SpaceX

Опубликовано: 22 дек. 2017 г.

(1:29:28 )

[tnt22]

tiny baby fingers‏ @kevins_fingers 6 ч. назад

I told you it would be spectacular #SpaceX #Iridium4

[opinion]

Судя по работе двигателей ориентации первой ступени после разделения, Маск решил проверить, что будет, если в СУ ввести крен три тысячи шестьсот градусов  

[tnt22]

Источник - Yowza! Mysterious bright light stuns Californians after SpaceX rocket launch

[А.Фарафонов]

Очень красивые моменты есть, снято на хорошую технику: 

[А.Фарафонов]

Вырезал красивый момент: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt0FINKGdKQ&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt0FINKGdKQ&feature=youtu.be

[che wi]

"... it's like a shooting star in reverse ..."

[Georgea]

А.Фарафонов пишет:
Вырезал красивый момент: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt0FINKGdKQ&feature=youtu.be

Круто!

[tnt22]

http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1052613

      
Dec 22, 2017

Iridium® NEXT Launch Campaign Reaches its Halfway Point with a Fourth Successful Launch

Iridium closes out 2017 with more than half of the Iridium NEXT constellation now in orbit

MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that at 5:27pm PST (1:27 am UTC on Dec. 23), SpaceX successfully launched the fourth set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Today's launch marks the midway point of the Iridium NEXT launch program, and was the first Iridium launch to use a SpaceX flight-proven rocket. The first stage booster for Iridium-4 was previously used for Iridium-2, making Iridium the first company to reuse the same rocket booster.

Спойлер

Each launch strategically delivers new satellites to specific orbital planes, so that the complete Iridium NEXT constellation will be operational as soon as possible after all launches are complete. The Iridium network is comprised of six polar orbiting planes, each containing 11 operational crosslinked satellites, for a total of 66 satellites in the active constellation. Of the 10 Iridium NEXT satellites launched today, nine were delivered to their operational orbital plane, and the tenth is set to drift to an adjacent orbital plane. Once fully deployed, Iridium NEXT will blanket the earth with satellite connectivity, enabling broadband connectivity from even the most remote parts of the planet.

"Today's launch is an incredible milestone — we have officially reached the halfway point," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, Iridium. "It was an amazing sight to see the Iridium-2 booster back in flight today, carrying Iridium-4 into space. We are excited to be taking part in SpaceX's rocket reusability initiative and make history as the first company to reuse the same booster." Desch continued, "With over half of the new constellation now in orbit, momentum around the testing of our new broadband service, Iridium CertusSM, will continue to progress quickly. I know our customers are very excited about our expanding capabilities."

Iridium NEXT is not only delivering faster data speeds and other new capabilities with Iridium Certus, but also enabling revolutionary technologies from the hosted payloads onboard each satellite. Among these are the AireonSM real-time aircraft surveillance payload and the maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) payload, co-operated by Harris Corporation and exactEarth. That payload, known as exactViewTM Real Time (RT) Powered by Harris, provides global real-time ship and vessel tracking across all the earth's oceans. Through the Aireon and exactView RT hosted payloads, both built by Harris Corporation, the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation is the only system capable of providing global, real-time surveillance and tracking of aircraft and ships.

"With each successful Iridium NEXT launch, Harris gets one step closer to bringing our service to market," said Bill Gattle, president, Harris Space and Intelligence Systems. "The Satellite Automatic Identification System is vital for the maritime market, and Harris is excited to help bring services, like exactView RT, global— providing the industry with access to the most accurate vessel information available. For the first time, the entire planet will have real-time AIS coverage from one network, and with the expected growth of maritime shipping and increasing access to polar sea routes, this service is needed more than ever." Gattle continued, "We can't think of a better way to end 2017 than with today's launch, and we are looking forward to what is coming in 2018."

All Iridium NEXT launches take place out of SpaceX's west coast launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Four additional launches are planned for the first half of 2018, including a unique rideshare that will carry five Iridium NEXT satellites, and the twin satellites for the NASA/German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission.

Iridium NEXT is the company's $3 billion, next-generation, mobile, global satellite network scheduled for completion in 2018. Iridium NEXT will replace the company's existing global constellation in one of the largest technology upgrades ever completed in space. It represents the evolution of critical communications infrastructure that governments and organizations worldwide rely on to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more.

For more information about exactView RT Powered by Harris, please visit https://www.harris.com/solution/maritime-geospatial-solutions

For more information about Aireon, please visit https://Aireon.com/

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit https://www.IridiumNEXT.com/

[свернуть]

[Телевизор-60]

К сообщению #127. Одна створка обтекателя начиная с 4:14 маневрирует похоже.

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/23/spacex-launch-dazzles-delivering-10-more-satellites-for-iridium/

SpaceX launch dazzles, delivering 10 more satellites for Iridium
December 23, 2017 Stephen Clark


Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

Putting on a holiday light show for Southern California and much of the desert southwest, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired into a twilight sky from the Pacific coastline Friday night to add 10 new satellites to Iridium's upgraded communications network.

The two-stage, kerosene-fueled rocket climbed into the rarefied upper atmosphere a few minutes following liftoff shortly after sunset at 5:27:34 p.m. PST (8:27:34 p.m. EST; 0127:34 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles.

Спойлер

The Falcon 9 left a brilliant white plume of exhaust in its wake, catching rays of sunshine as it soared above the stratosphere. The ever-expanding plume left a teardrop-shaped mark in the sky, prompting countless social media posts from rush hour drivers and others who happened to catch an unexpected glimpse of the rocket's trip to space.

A few celebrities mused about the sky show.

Hip hop artist will.i.am tweeted two videos of the rocket streaking to the west of Los Angeles, and actor Don Cheadle asked his Twitter followers what he was seeing in the sky.

Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and CEO, joked about the social media speculation about the cause of the spectacle. He tweeted a video of the launch as viewed from Southern California, and added: "Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea."

Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk

Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea

5:50 AM - Dec 23, 2017

But seasoned skywatchers knew what they were seeing.

A rocket launch just before sunrise or after sunset can produce a spectacular twilight effect as it passes into sunlight, while observers on the ground are in darkness.

The Falcon 9 turned south from Vandenberg on 1.7 million pounds of thrust from its nine Merlin 1D engines, and surpassed the speed of sound about one minute after liftoff.

The first stage's nine engines switched off, and the booster separated from the Falcon 9's second stage about two-and-a-half minutes into the mission.

The upper stage's single Merlin engine ignited right on time to drive the rocket's 10 Iridium satellite passengers into orbit, and the first stage began a controlled propulsive descent back to Earth.

SpaceX did not plan to recover the Falcon 9's first stage booster intact after Friday night's launch. The company did not dispatch its landing platform into the Pacific Ocean, and the stage flew without the four landing legs required for touchdown.

But the rocket still accomplished its customary descent maneuvers, and it carried four aerodynamic grid fins employed to help steer and stabilize the booster on descent.

SpaceX officials did not cite a reason for their decision to forego a landing Friday.

It is rare that the company does not try to land one of its rockets for refurbishment and reuse. The Falcon 9's first stage was disposed on three missions earlier this year, but those carried heavy satellites bound for geostationary orbit, a perch more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above the planet.

Launch profiles to such lofty orbits need more speed, and more fuel.

But the three earlier launches for Iridium included first stage landings on SpaceX's mobile platform in the Pacific Ocean.

"These are case by case decisions and are based on mission requirements and the needs of our manifest," a SpaceX spokesperson said.

The first stage that launched on Friday night's mission was a reused booster that first flew June 25 on a previous mission for Iridium, making the Virginia-based telecom company the first customer to use the same Falcon 9 booster twice.

It was the first time Iridium has agreed to launch its satellites on a reused Falcon 9 booster, joining SES, BulgariaSat and NASA as customers who have placed payloads on SpaceX's re-flown rockets.


The 10 Iridium Next satellites were encapsulated inside the Falcon 9's payload fairing earlier this month. Credit: Iridium

Matt Desch, Iridium's CEO, said in October that Iridium chose to go with previously-flown boosters on its next two launches — the flight Friday and one in early 2018 — to keep pace with plans to complete the deployment of 75 new-generation satellites by the middle of next year.

Iridium has purchased eight Falcon 9 rocket flights from SpaceX, and four more will remain after Friday's mission.

SpaceX was expected to try and retrieve part of the Falcon 9's payload shroud downrange from Vandenberg after Friday's launch. A fast boat linked to experimental fairing recovery attempts, named Mr. Steven, was relocated from Florida to California in recent weeks, and it sailed south from the Port of Los Angeles on a heading toward the Falcon 9's projected flight path.

Engineers aim to eventually recover fairings, which come off the rocket in two halves, for inspections and re-flights. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said earlier this year the fairing costs around $5 million to produce for each launch, and reusing the parts would help the company achieve its objective of reducing the cost of spaceflight.

The fairing detached around three minutes into Friday's mission, and the second stage engine completed its first burn at about T+plus 9 minutes. After coasting over Antarctica, the second stage reignited its Merlin engine for a few seconds at T+plus 52 minutes to place the 10 Iridium satellites an orbit targeted for 388 miles (625 kilometers) high.

The satellites released from a specially-designed dispenser on the upper stage one-by-one until the separation sequence wrapped up at 6:39 p.m. PST (9:39 p.m. EST; 0239 GMT).

"We're 10-for-10," said John Insprucker, a Falcon 9 lead engineer at SpaceX. "All 10 Iridium satellites have deployed right on time into the desired orbit. Falcon 9 looked good all the way through that sequence."

SpaceX confirmed all 10 of the Iridium Next satellites, each about the size of a compact car and weighing about 1,896 pounds (860 kilograms), radioed ground controllers after arriving in orbit.

"Today's launch is an incredible milestone — we have officially reached the halfway point," Desch said in a press release.

"It was an amazing sight to see the Iridium-2 booster back in flight today, carrying Iridium-4 into space," he said, referring to the re-flown stage launched Friday that originally flew on the second Iridium Next mission in June. "We are excited to be taking part in SpaceX's rocket reusability initiative and make history as the first company to reuse the same booster.

"With over half of the new constellation now in orbit, momentum around the testing of our new broadband service, Iridium Certus, will continue to progress quickly. I know our customers are very excited about our expanding capabilities," he said.


Artist's illustration of the Iridium network. Credit: Thales Alenia Space

The 10 satellites launched Friday join 30 others launched by three Falcon 9 missions earlier this year, pushing Iridium's voice and data relay network over the halfway point in deploying a next-generation fleet of 66 spacecraft, plus spares, to replace an aging constellation dating back to the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Iridium has invested $3 billion in the next-generation network, ensuring the company's more than 900,000 subscribers have uninterrupted service, and debuting new communications capabilities — such as video and Internet — alongside the current telephone, messaging and tracking applications

The Iridium Certus offering will permit customers to transmit and receive higher-bandwidth messages, including high-definition video and Internet services. Designed for ships, airplanes and other users on-the-go, Iridium Certus will provide Iridium customers with up to 1.4 megabits per second of L-band connectivity, up from 128 kilobits per second available with the existing satellites.

Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK are under contract to build 81 Iridium Next satellites, and 75 have been assigned to eight SpaceX launches.

Each spacecraft carries inter-satellite radio links to hand off data and voice traffic without transmitting to the ground.

The Iridium Next satellites also host radio receivers for Aireon, an affiliate of Iridium established in partnership with air traffic control authorities in Canada, Ireland, Italy and Denmark. The Aireon instrumentation will track air traffic worldwide, including planes traveling outside the range of conventional radars.

"This is a huge achievement. With 40 payloads in orbit, we're officially approaching two-thirds of the way to being operational," said Don Thoma, CEO of Aireon. "As we continue to deploy our space-based system, we witness greater and greater performance from our service. We couldn't be more thrilled to go into 2018 celebrating this milestone."

All 10 satellites delivered to orbit Friday night carry ship tracking antennas for Harris Corp. and exactEarth, a Canadian company.

The launch Friday was timed to place the Iridium Next payloads into Plane 2 in the Iridium fleet, which is spread among six orbital planes, each with 11 operational satellites to ensure global communications coverage.

Nine of the newest satellites will enter service in Plane 2 next year, swapping out with the spacecraft that currently occupy that plane. Another will drift to another plane to begin its lifetime as a spare.


Artist's concept of an Iridium Next satellite. Credit: Thales Alenia Space

Friday night's mission was the 18th and final Falcon 9 launch of the year, a record number of orbital rocket flights for a commercial space company, and more than doubling the pace of SpaceX's second-busiest year.

SpaceX's next launch is scheduled for early January from Cape Canaveral, when a Falcon 9 rocket is set to begin the company's 2018 launch campaign with the mysterious Zuma payload for the U.S. government.

Zuma's launch was postponed from mid-November for SpaceX to investigate engineering concerns with the Falcon 9's payload fairing.

Friday night's Falcon 9 launch took off 72 seconds after a Japanese H-2A rocket launched with two research satellites from southern Japan.

The back-to-back liftoffs marked the shortest time between two orbital launch attempts since the dawn of the Space Age, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity.

The previous record for the shortest duration between two orbital launch attempts was set in December 1970, when a Soviet Kosmos 3M booster and a French Diamant-B rocket lifted off from Russia and French Guiana 4 minutes, 44 seconds, apart, McDowell said.

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[tnt22]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch, Boostback, Landing Burn - Iridium-4 - 2017-12-22

Justin Foley

Опубликовано: 22 дек. 2017 г.

Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on December 22th, 2017. It carried 10 Iridium satellites. INCREDIBLE!! You can see the 1st stage shut down, stage separation, 2nd stage engine start, THE FAIRING PIECES! and their RCS thrusters, the first stage boostback burn start, AND the first stage landing burn!!

(8:49)

[tnt22]

http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1403970/falcon-9-iridium-4-successfully-launched/

Falcon 9 Iridium-4 Successfully Launched
30th Space Wing Public Affairs / Published December 22, 2017


VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --

Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of the fourth Iridium mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4 here Friday, Dec. 22, at 5:27 p.m. PST.

Col. Michael S. Hough, 30th Space Wing commander, was the space launch commander.

"What a way to end the year with the fifth Falcon 9 launch carrying the fourth set of Iridium satellites. This mission proves that Team V provides assured access to space and we do it safely and securely," said Hough. "It goes without saying that we can't accomplish this without great mission partners like SpaceX."

[tnt22]

Видео от 30-го космокрыла (авиабаза Ванденберг)

[tnt22]

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4837601 + http://tass.ru/kosmos/4837679

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4837601

Ракета Falcon 9 с десятью спутниками связи стартовала с базы в Калифорнии

Космос | 23 декабря, 4:36 дата обновления: 23 декабря, 6:44 UTC+3

Компания SpaceX сообщила об успешном выходе всех спутников на орбиту


НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 23 декабря. /ТАСС/. Компания SpaceX запустила в пятницу ракету-носитель Falcon 9 с десятью телекоммуникационными спутниками Iridium NEXT. Старт был осуществлен с базы ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния), его трансляцию SpaceX вела на своем сайте.

"Iridium получила штатные сигналы со всех 10 спутников", - заявили в SpaceX.

В другом сообщении говорится, что "разведывание спутников на низкой околоземной орбите прошло успешно".

Первая ступень ракеты уже использовась при запуске в июне 2017 года и была возвращена на Землю. На этот раз осуществлять ее управляемый спуск не планируется. Ожидается, что спутники окажутся на заданной орбите в течение часа.

Новейшие телекоммуникационные спутники Iridium NEXT принадлежат компании Iridium Communications. Этот международный оператор мобильной телефонной связи, базирующийся недалеко от Вашингтона в штате Вирджиния, в партнерстве с франко-итальянской Thales Alenia Space поставил задачу собрать и испытать 81 спутник Iridium NEXT.

Запуск по меньшей мере 75 таких аппаратов поручен SpaceX. Как ожидается, все эти аппараты будут находиться на орбите к середине 2018 года.

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4837679

SpaceX успешно вывела на орбиту 10 спутников связи

Космос | 23 декабря, 9:08 UTC+3

В сообщении компании говорится, что "разведывание спутников на низкой околоземной орбите прошло успешно"


 © EPA-EFE/ANDREW GOMBERT

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 23 декабря. /ТАСС/. Американская компания SpaceX осуществила в пятницу запуск ракеты-носителя Falcon 9 с десятью телекоммуникационными спутниками Iridium NEXT, все аппараты были успешно выведены на орбиту. Старт был осуществлен с базы ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния), его трансляцию SpaceX вела на своем сайте.

"Iridium получила штатные сигналы со всех 10 спутников", - отметили в Twitter SpaceX. В другом сообщении говорится, что "разведывание спутников на низкой околоземной орбите прошло успешно".
 

Successful deployment of 10 @IridiumComm NEXT satellites to low-Earth orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/CTtvPYNgMA
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) 23 December 2017

Первая ступень Falcon 9 уже была использована при запуске в июне 2017 года и тогда была возвращена на Землю. Такой подход позволяет компании повторно использовать элемент носителя для дальнейших полетов и существенно экономить на производстве новых ракет и подготовке к пуску. На этот раз осуществлять управляемый спуск первой ступени не планировалось.

Новейшие телекоммуникационные спутники Iridium NEXT принадлежат компании Iridium Communications. Этот международный оператор мобильной телефонной связи, базирующийся недалеко от Вашингтона в штате Вирджиния, в партнерстве с франко-итальянской Thales Alenia Space поставил задачу собрать и испытать 81 спутник Iridium NEXT.

Запуск по меньшей мере 75 таких аппаратов поручен SpaceX. Как ожидается, все эти аппараты будут находиться на орбите к середине 2018 года.

Газета The Los Angeles Times сообщила, что в течение некоторого времени после запуска Falcon 9 была хорошо видна с Земли, особенно в южной части Калифорнии. Многие жители штата сфотографировали или запечатлели этот момент на видео. Службе пожарной охраны пришлось опубликовать в Twitter сообщение, в котором говорилось, что "загадочное свечение в небе" является результатом старта ракеты.

[Зловредный]

tnt22 пишет: 

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch, Boostback, Landing Burn - Iridium-4 - 2017-12-22 

 

Incredible, amazing!

[tnt22]

SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 3 ч. назад

More photos from last night's Falcon 9 launch → http://flickr.com/spacex 

Спойлер

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/successful-4th-launch-10-iridiumr-next-satellites

Successful 4th launch of 10 Iridium® NEXT satellites!

| 23.12.2017 | Iridium NEXT

The Iridium NEXT Constellation now has 40 communications satellites in orbit.

Cannes, December 23rd, 2017 - The fourth batch of Iridium NEXT satellites, built by Thales Alenia Space, has been successfully launched by Space X from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellites were launched on a previously flown rocket, which was used during the second Iridium NEXT launch, which took place on the 25th June.  This launch marks a significant new phase in the fantastic adventure of Iridium NEXT.

Спойлер

Thales Alenia Space is the system prime contractor for the Iridium NEXT program, in charge of engineering, integration, operations and in-orbit and overall system validation for the 81 satellites being built, 75 of which are currently planned for orbit., The satellites are integrated by Thales Alenia Space's subcontractor, Orbital ATK, at its Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Arizona under the supervision of a dedicated, local Thales Alenia Space team. Launch and Early Operations (LEOP) and In Orbit Tests are performed by Thales Alenia Space from the Iridium Satellite Network Operations Center (SNOC) in Leesburg, Va. The success of this fourth launch further consolidates the company's reputation for unparalleled expertise as prime contractor of sophisticated satcom systems.

"More than half of our new Iridium NEXT satellites are now in orbit. Performances are exceeding expectations. We have started integration of the 64th satellite and the next satellites to be launched are already available in anticipation of the 5th and 6th launches. Everything is on track to meet our objective, namely to launch all 75 Iridium NEXT low earth orbit satellites in 2018," declared Denis Allard, Iridium NEXT Vice President for Thales Alenia Space.

 
The Iridium NEXT constellation will offer global connectivity thanks to 66 crosslinked satellites at an altitude of 780 km, along with nine spares in parking orbits and six more spare satellites on the ground. This global network provides unrivaled capabilities for communications on the move (individuals, land vehicles, aircraft, ships), and ensures full global coverage, including over the oceans and the poles. Thanks to its global coverage and independent operation, not requiring any local ground infrastructure, Iridium's network provides vital assistance under very challenging conditions, such as in remote areas, during natural disasters or conflicts, etc. Its independence from local ground infrastructure enables secure and reliable communications when needed most.

Copyrights:
Artistic view: ©Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes
Photo: ©SpaceX

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