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

Автор tnt22, 17.10.2017 00:18:50

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tnt22

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/spacex-zuma-iridium-4-aims-vandenberg-landing/
ЦитироватьSpaceX adds mystery "Zuma" mission, Iridium-4 aims for Vandenberg landing
October 16, 2017 by Chris Gebhardt

In what has already been a busy year for SpaceX, the commercial launch provider is adding one more mission to its jammed-packed end-of-year schedule. A mysterious mission codenamed "Zuma" will launch No Earlier Than 10 November 2017 from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile, CRS-13 is slipping at least one week per the Station's schedule, and the Iridium NEXT-4 mission from Vandenberg has received permission to debut RTLS landing of the Falcon 9 booster back at SLC-4W.
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SpaceX end-of-year manifest realignment:

...
...the Iridium NEXT-4 mission will follow from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

This mission is – as of writing – NET late-November; however, Iridium CEO Matt Desch was clear to all on-site press at the Iridium NEXT-3 launch last week that Iridium NEXT-4 will likely be NET early December 2017.



This is – in part – to deconflict the launch (specifically the final elements of launch processing for the Iridium team) with the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. and to also work on a few remaining points with SpaceX.

Intriguingly, there are some indications that Iridium NEXT-4 could make use of a flight-proven Falcon 9 – reusing the booster (B1036) that launched the Iridium-2 mission in June of this year.

While not confirmed as of writing, if Iridium NEXT-4 does reuse the Iridium-2 booster, the mission would be the first flight-proven Falcon 9 from Vandenberg and the 5th flight-proven mission of the year (if CRS-13 does, indeed, use a flight-proven core).



But perhaps most excitingly for Vandenberg is that Iridium NEXT-4, according to sources, will be the first mission to debut RTLS landing of the Falcon 9 at Vandenberg.

For a Vandenberg RTLS landing, the Falcon 9 will launch from SLC-4E and return to SLC-4W, which is just 1,425 ft (434.3 m) away – measured from center of launch mount to center of landing pad.

The commencement of Vandenberg RTLS landings has been a long time coming, with environmental studies finally clearing the way last year on 7 October 2016.

Since then, SpaceX has been hard at work building the landing pad and assembling/testing all of the systems needed to safely track and communicate with a returning Falcon 9 booster to SLC-4W and all the equipment needed to safe, process, and house RTLS boosters post-landing.



All of these endeavours are now either complete or on track to be completed in time for Iridium NEXT-4.

An early December launch of Iridium NEXT-4 would result in a launch at approximately 18:00 PST – about 1hr after local sunset and 20mins before complete darkness at the launch site.

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Apollo13

Похоже очередной обман НАСА близок к раскрытию  :)  

Согласно сайту НАСА ПН Falcon-9 RTLS на орбиту Иридиума составляет 8380 кг. А 10 Иридиумов + диспенсер весят 9600 кг...

https://elvperf.ksc.nasa.gov/Pages/Query.aspx


Apollo13

Облом.

ЦитироватьMatt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss  9h9 hours ago

Replying to @SpaceY_UK

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we're not going to be the first RTLS for our launch 4. Wish it were true, but alas...

Apollo13

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/iridium-4-flight-proven-falcon-9-rtls-vandenberg-delayed/

ЦитироватьIridium Communications – in the midst of launching their next generation communications constellation – has formally signed an agreement with SpaceX to utilize flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters on their upcoming Iridium NEXT-4 and -5 missions.  Iridium NEXT-4, scheduled to launch NET 22 December 2017 from SLC-4E, will be the first flight-proven Falcon 9 mission from Vandenberg.  The change in boosters now negates the possibility of a Return To Launch Site landing of the Falcon 9 for the mission.
ЦитироватьWhile the exact booster is not yet known, there is significant potential that Iridium NEXT-4 will use the Iridium NEXT-2 booster, which would make Iridium the first company to reuse the same booster for two of its missions.
Iridium NEXT-2 launched on 25 June 2017.  Its first stage, core B1036, then successfully executed a landing on the ASDS (Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship) Just Read The Instructions.

ЦитироватьWhile it was also confirmed a Block 4 could have RTLS-ed, the switch to a flight-proven Block 3 will now delay the first Vandenberg RTLS into 2018.
RTLS не будет из за того что будет использована б/у ступень Блок 3.

tnt22

http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1044522
Цитировать

Oct 19, 2017

Iridium Announces Date for Fourth Iridium® NEXT Launch

Agreement Signed with SpaceX to Use Flight-Proven First Stage of Falcon 9 Rocket

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that the fourth Iridium NEXT launch has been targeted by SpaceX for December 22, 2017 at 5:26 p.m. PT [1:26 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23], from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This launch signifies the mid-way point of the Iridium NEXT launch program and will deliver another 10 satellites to orbit, bringing the total number deployed to 40. Targeted for just over two months after the third Iridium NEXT launch, this December date enables Iridium to maintain its planned cadence of completing all launches by mid-2018, even with SpaceX's busy launch manifest.
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To date, 30 Iridium NEXT satellites have been deployed, many of which are already providing service to customers. The new satellites are also now undergoing on-orbit testing for Iridium CertusSM, a major milestone on the path to introducing the company's next generation broadband service. Iridium Certus will feature small form factor, cost-effective terminals and antennas, and ultimately offer the fastest L-band broadband solution available, supported by the world's only truly global network.

In addition to the fourth launch date, Iridium also announced it has reached agreement with SpaceX to utilize flight-proven first stages for the next two Iridium launches. Iridium conducted extensive due diligence work and is fully confident in the SpaceX booster refurbishment program.

"I believe that reusability is the future for satellite launches, and I think SpaceX has intelligently built their Falcon 9 program around this strategy," said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. "With three successful flight-proven Falcon 9 launches already this year, we're excited to show leadership towards the sustainable access to space, while also making sure we maintain our cadence to complete the five remaining Iridium NEXT launches by the middle of next year."

Iridium confirmed with its insurers that there is no increase in premium for the launch program as a result of the use of flight-proven Falcon 9 rockets, further supporting Iridium's conclusion that the risk profile is unchanged.

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 upon to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more. Iridium NEXT will enable and introduce new services like the company's next-generation communications platform, Iridium Certus, and the AireonSM space-based ADS-B aircraft surveillance and flight tracking network.

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.com.
...
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tnt22

http://spaceflight101.com/iridium-selects-flight-proven-falcon-9-rockets-for-upcoming-constellation-launches/
ЦитироватьIridium Selects Flight-Proven Falcon 9 Rockets for Upcoming Constellation Launches
October 19, 2017

Iridium Communications announced on Thursday the company reached an agreement with SpaceX for the use of flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters on the next two launches supporting the Iridium-NEXT constellation in order to keep up the pace of their fleet replacement, planned to be complete by mid-2018.

Iridium-4, the first launch from Vandenberg of a previously flown Falcon 9, has received an updated launch date of December 22 and will mark the mid-point of the Iridium replacement effort, lifting satellites 31-40 and capping a busy year of four Iridium launches.
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Falcon 9 lifts off on Iridium-3 Mission – Photo: SpaceX

Iridium signed its original launch contract with SpaceX in June 2010 for a total of $492 million, covering the launch of 70 Iridium-NEXT satellites on seven Falcon 9 rockets. An eighth launch was added to the manifest in January 2017 that will carry five instead of ten satellites and share a ride with a pair of gravity-sensing satellites flying under the GRACE Follow-On Program, a joint U.S.-German mission. These launches will place a total of 75 Iridium-NEXT communications satellites into orbit, 66 of which will enter active service within the constellation while the others act as spares to go into service on short notice.

Iridium had previously emphasized their contracts are for factory-new Falcon 9 rockets and that extensive reviews of SpaceX's re-use capabilities as well as financial incentives or schedule advances would be needed to convince them to switch to what SpaceX markets as 'flight-proven' first stages.


Image: Iridium Communications

"Iridium has reached agreement with SpaceX to utilize flight-proven first stages for the next two Iridium launches," the company said in a statement issued on Thursday. "Iridium conducted extensive due diligence work and is fully confident in the SpaceX booster refurbishment program."

The agreement signed with SpaceX covers only the next two Iridium-NEXT missions, Iridium-4 on December 22 with satellites 31-40 and Iridium-5, working toward launch in early 2018, with Iridium-NEXT satellites 41-50.

"I believe that reusability is the future for satellite launches, and I think SpaceX has intelligently built their Falcon 9 program around this strategy," Iridium CEO Matt Desch said in Thursday's announcement. "With three successful flight-proven Falcon 9 launches already this year, we're excited to show leadership towards the sustainable access to space while also making sure we maintain our cadence to complete the five remaining Iridium NEXT launches by the middle of next year."


Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX successfully flew three re-use missions this year and demonstrated to potential customers as well as insurers that the company's flight-proven rockets can reliably launch satellites into orbit. An important part of Thursday's announcement was that the switch to used boosters will come at no additional insurance cost for Iridium, a major requirement for SpaceX's vision of reducing launch costs through re-use.

"Iridium confirmed with its insurers that there is no increase in premium for the launch program as a result of the use of flight-proven Falcon 9 rockets, further supporting Iridium's conclusion that the risk profile is unchanged," the company's statement said.

For its initial re-use flights earlier this year on the SES 10, BulgariaSat-1 and SES 11 missions, SpaceX worked extensively with customers and insurers to share data from the company's re-use testing, the first batch of recovered boosters and lifetime analysis for the various components of Falcon 9's first stage. This allowed the first re-use mission in March to lau nch with only a marginally higher insurance premium incurred by satellite operator SES.


A Falcon 9 Booster standing atop SpaceX's West Coast Drone Ship – Photo: SpaceX

The success of the first Falcon 9 re-use missions also prompted NASA to begin reviews into possibly using flight-proven rockets for SpaceX's Commercial Resupply Services missions to the International Space Station. Per the latest, NASA finished the technical review process and management was expected to make a firm decision by November. This decision may or may not be in time for the Dragon SpX-13 mission, currently targeting a NET December 4 liftoff from Florida.

Beginning to gain traction in the commercial and government sectors, SpaceX's re-use business is already helping the company deal with its packed manifest as each re-use mission aids in the major manufacturing bottleneck which has been the production of new first stage boosters. SpaceX hopes to make rapid and cost-effective re-flight a reality with the inauguration of the Falcon 9 Block 5 vehicle that will represent the final iteration of the workhorse launcher, optimized for performance and re-use.

With the continued migration of multiple operators to flight-proven first stages, SpaceX needed less than a year to make re-use a substantial part of its business with up to 25% of the company's 2017 manifest flying re-used hardware – provided SpX-13 launches on a previously flown booster.

SpaceX and Iridium did not disclose potential discounts for the swap to flown boosters, but the decision was likely in part due to Iridium's desire to keep to its planned deployment schedule which may not have been possible with the bottleneck of first stage production.


Iridium 3 Payload Stack – Photo: Iridium Communications

Which of SpaceX's recovered first stages will be assigned to the Iridium-4 mission has not been disclosed yet. With the mission moving from a late November target to its new NET of December 22, the flight is looking at a post-sunset blastoff from Vandenberg's SLC-4E at 5:26 p.m. Pacific Time, 1:26 UTC on December 23rd.

Per Iridium's revised deployment plan, the Iridium-4 mission will be targeting Plane 2 of the six-plane constellation with eight satellites expected to go into service and two drifting over into Plane 1. Iridium-5, the second to fly with a used first stage, will target Plane 1. Whether future Iridium missions will also use flight-proven hardware was left open, but will largely depend on the success of the upcoming launches.

The Iridium replacement comes with a price tag of nearly $3 billion and calls for the replacement of the entire 66-satellite Iridium constellation, much of which had been in place since the late 1990s. With Iridium-NEXT satellites going into service, the company has begun to move old Iridium satellites, either deboosting satellites that are at the end of their lives to accelerate their orbital decay or relocating spacecraft that remain in good condition into storage orbits to remain available as spares until the replacement is completed next year.

Weighing in at 860 Kilograms, each Iridium satellite covers a 4,700-Kilometer wide footprint – connecting to user terminals through a large L-Band antenna and routing data via space-to-space links with neighboring satellites to ship customer data packets to their respective destination. Typical services offered by Iridium-NEXT are voice and data communications with mobile terminals at up to 1.5Mbit/s while a high-speed Ka-Band service is available for larger fixed and transportable terminals at data rates up to 8Mbit/s.
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Apollo13

ЦитироватьMatt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss  19h19 hours ago

Replying to @vjerkov

Comfort that risk <= than new and more schedule certainty to complete 5 more launches over next 8 months. Cost is better, but not driver.


tnt22

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/20/iridium-swaps-two-new-falcon-9-rockets-for-flight-proven-boosters/
ЦитироватьIridium swaps two new Falcon 9 rockets for "flight-proven" boosters
October 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

Citing schedule concerns over price benefits, Iridium announced Thursday it will launch its next 20 satellites on a pair of previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, beginning with a Dec. 22 mission.

Iridium previously planned to launch all its satellites on newly-manufactured rockets under a $492 million contract with SpaceX signed in 2010, but the company kept open the option to switch to previously-flown boosters if the change met certain schedule, risk and cost metrics.
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A Falcon 9 first stage lands on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean in June following a liftoff with Iridium satellites. Credit: SpaceX

Matt Desch, Iridium's CEO, told Spaceflight Now in an interview Thursday that the agreement will help ensure the deployment of the company's next-generation voice and data relay network, comprising up to 81 satellites, remains on schedule for completion by mid-2018.

"In terms of schedule, I certainly felt comfortable that it was going to keep or improve the overall schedule," Desch said. "We have a very aggressive plan to have five more launches over the next eight months, and I realize that working with previously-flown, flight-proven boosters was going to help SpaceX and ourselves keep on track to that launch schedule."

Iridium said the fourth flight of the company's eight-launch campaign with SpaceX is set for no earlier than Dec. 22 from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, a facility on the Pacific coast northwest of Los Angeles. Launch time is set for 5:26 p.m. PST (8:26 p.m. EST; 0126 GMT on Dec. 23).

SpaceX will launch 10 more satellites for the Iridium Next constellation into orbit 388 miles (625 kilometers) above Earth, moving the fleet to the halfway point in deployments.

Iridium has contracted with Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK to build 81 satellites to replace the company's aging spacecraft, providing uninterrupted global messaging and telephone service, and introducing new higher-bandwidth applications, such as video.

Seventy-five of the satellites are booked for launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets — one of the missions will only carry five Iridium payloads in a shared ride with two U.S.-German research satellites — and thirty of the Iridium Next platforms are already in orbit from three successful Falcon 9 flights in January, June and on Oct. 9.

Iridium hoped to have the Iridium Next constellation fully operational by the end of 2017, but delays in satellite production, followed by a four-month interruption in SpaceX's launch manifest last year after a rocket failure, pushed back the schedule.

"With the new services we have available with the Next satellites, we really want to take advantage of those and ensure that we complete the network in mid-2018 as planned," Desch said, adding that Iridium's agreement was not aimed at moving forward launch dates for the next two missions, but "about improving my whole launch cadence."


File photo of 10 Iridium Next satellites before encapsulation inside the Falcon 9 rocket's payload fairing. Each tier of the two-part dispenser holds five satellites. Credit: Iridium

In a statement announcing the decision, Iridium said it "conducted extensive due diligence work and is fully confident in the SpaceX booster refurbishment program."

Desch told Spaceflight Now that three successful re-flights of Falcon 9 first stage boosters this year gave Iridium, and the insurance community, confidence in the rocket's ability to fly more than once.

"Our technical teams really dug into it, it was clear that SpaceX has been designing for reusability all along," Desch said. "They have a lot of engineering data and work, that by the time we got through all that due diligence, we felt that the risks were no higher, and maybe lower, in using a flight-proven booster.

"The most important thing there is we went out to our insurance carriers, and they agreed," he said. "They said there would be no changes to our premium as a result of this."

SpaceX has flown three reused first stages on Falcon 9 flights this year, beginning March 30 with the SES 10 communications satellite. Another previously-flown booster launched the BulgariaSat 1 broadcast satellite toward orbit June 23, and another communications payload for SES and EchoStar rode a reused first stage to space Oct. 11.

Desch said Iridium has not confirmed which boosters in SpaceX's inventory of recovered rockets will fly Dec. 22, or on the following Iridium Next mission in the first quarter of 2018.

"There was a cost reduction," Desch said. "But I think we got the fairly standard cost reduction they're offering, and that was acceptable to me because the value was (the same) or better, overall."

He declined to identify the exact discount SpaceX offered.

"Regardless, (cost) was my lowest driver," Desch said. "That, to me, meant nothing if the other two weren't met."

In the long run, SpaceX aims for more significant cost reductions as the company cuts the time it needs to recover and refurbish a Falcon 9 first stage for a re-flight. The second stage remains expendable.

"Anybody who says they need a significant cost reduction, or is starting to throw out numbers, I believe that means that they don't believe that the risk profile is the same," Desch said. "The value is getting your payload successfully into the orbit that you need, and to me, I don't know that it's a requirement to get a discount at all for that. I think, long-term, there isn't going to be a discount for it."


File photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolling out to Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX

But schedule concerns, and potentially a lower risk profile, could draw customers to SpaceX's stable of reused rockets, even without a major cost reduction from SpaceX's current prices, which undercut competitors, Desch said, echoing several other satellite industry officials who have sought or booked launches on previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters.

"I say it's been tested," he said. "Our analysis believes it is proven technology, and what reduction we're getting is because that's what's being offered right now. I'm really getting all the value I contracted for before. I don't get to keep the rocket after it's over. I get no memento from having paid for it, so I'm just paying for the service, and as long as I get my service, I'm pretty happy with what the price should be.

"I thought I had a pretty good deal to begin with, and maybe some people are still thinking about it compared to other rockets they use, but I believe that the Falcon 9 is a good value right now, and a flight-proven (vehicle) maybe is a little bit better, but (cost) is not really what drives us."

The $492 million contract signed by SpaceX and Iridium in 2010 covered seven launches, plus the design and construction of special dispensers to deploy the satellites once in orbit. Iridium since added another launch, a rideshare flight with five Iridium payloads and two U.S.-German GRACE-Follow On gravity measurement satellites.

Desch said Iridium will consider flying on reused boosters on missions next year, but likely not the rideshare mission with the GRACE satellites, which is expected to be the sixth flight in Iridium's launch sequence in the spring of 2018, using SpaceX's new Block 5 vehicle, an upgraded Falcon 9 configuration.

The current version of the Falcon 9 rocket must land its first stage on SpaceX's ocean-going drone ships after launching with heavy payloads — such as 10 Iridium satellites in one go — or missions bound for high-altitude orbits. Among other benefits, the Block 5 will allow more Falcon 9 boosters to return to land on a concrete pad near launch sites in Florida and California.

SpaceX has not conducted a rocket landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base following a West Coast launch, but is expected to debut that capability early next year after the completion of environmental reviews. Unlike SpaceX's landing target at Cape Canaveral, which is several miles from Falcon 9 launch pads, the company's landing site at Vandenberg is adjacent to the liftoff point at a former Titan 2 launch pad.

Desch said the first Falcon 9 landing at the California base is not expected to be on an Iridium flight.

"I checked around and found out that it is not us, and SpaceX has never talked to us about that," he said.

SpaceX has several launches from Vandenberg for customers other than Iridium next year, beginning with a mission targeted for liftoff no earlier than Jan. 30 with the Spanish Paz Earth observation satellite.

The next two Falcon 9 missions from Florida's Space Coast, set for Oct. 30 and mid-November, will utilize factory-fresh boosters. A NASA spokesperson told Spaceflight Now last week he could not confirm if the booster for SpaceX's next space station supply launch in early December will be new or previously-flown.
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tnt22

Цитировать Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss 7 нояб.

First 2 sats for Launch #4 on their way from AZ factory to VAFB! Only a little more than 6 weeks away - 12/22! (Tracked via Iridium IoT)

tnt22

Цитировать Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss 30 мин. назад

Launch 4 activities on track for a Dec 22nd launch. Second two of 10 Iridium NEXT sats just left for VAFB - all there by Thanksgiving weekend. First stage and dispenser onsite. 2018 schedule firming up too... Halfway home!

Salo

Цитировать  Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight  13 мин.13 минут назад
SpaceX confirms the Falcon 9 Iridium-4 mission from SLC-4E at Vandenberg is on track for NET December 22, via the opening of media accreditation. NSF's Philip Sloss photo from Iridium-3:
 
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

tnt22

Цитировать Eric Ralph‏ @13ericralph31 10 ч. назад

Iridium-4 still on-schedule, apparently! Hopefully its fairing predates the present investigation's source(s).
Цитировать Uwe Häntsch‏ @uwelinchen1 26 нояб.

@IridiumBoss Good afternoon, Mr. Desch. Is the date on December 22nd for the next Iridium flight still up to date? SpaceX has problems with payload fairing. Thanks for the information.

Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss 19 ч назад

Yes, Dec 22nd is still our date.

tnt22


tnt22

Цитировать James Dean‏Подлинная учетная запись @flatoday_jdean 19 мин. назад

Iridium-4 mission will re-fly the SpaceX Falcon booster that launched Iridium-2, making @IridiumComm first satellite co. to launch 2x on same rocket: http://bit.ly/2AiOOpO .
http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1044522
Цитировать

Nov 28, 2017

Iridium Nears Launch Campaign Midway Point as All 10 Satellites Arrive at Vandenberg Air Force Base

Iridium-4 to create historic moment, making Iridium the first company to re-use the same rocket booster

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that all 10 Iridium® NEXT satellites for its fourth launch are now in processing at SpaceX's west coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This launch will mark the midway point of Iridium's launch campaign with SpaceX, and is the first of two Iridium NEXT launches utilizing "flight-proven" SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Iridium-4 is currently scheduled for December 22, 2017 at 5:32 pm PST, with a backup date of December 23rd.
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Noteworthy for the fourth launch, the same Falcon 9 rocket first stage that carried 10 Iridium NEXT satellites for the company's second launch in June of 2017, will also carry this payload of 10 satellites. This will make Iridium the first company in history to reuse the same rocket. Upon arrival at the launch site, each Iridium NEXT satellite began a number of pre-launch processing steps, including mating to the dispenser, fueling and encapsulation within the fairing.  The satellites were shipped two at a time, in specially-designed motion and temperature-controlled containers designed to maintain optimal environmental conditions.

"We're approaching our halfway point on this journey, and with each launch, we gain more momentum," said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. "This launch will bring us to 40 Iridium NEXT satellites in space, which is more than half the number required for a full Iridium NEXT operational constellation.  It has been remarkable to witness the increased speed, capacity and throughput of our network as we continue to replace our original satellites with new Iridium NEXT satellites."

The operational Iridium constellation is comprised of 66 satellites divided into six polar orbiting planes with 11 satellites in each plane. Destined for Iridium orbital plane two, nine of the 10 Iridium NEXT satellites deployed during this launch will immediately go into service following rigorous testing and validation. The remaining satellite will undertake a nearly year-long journey to orbital plane one, where it will serve as a spare satellite.  To date, three Iridium NEXT launches carrying 10 satellites each have been completed. The fourth launch will bump the total number of new Iridium NEXT satellites in orbit to 40. Iridium has contracted with SpaceX to deliver 75 Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit, 66 operational and nine on-orbit spares, through a series of eight launches.

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 upon to drive business, enable connectivity, empower disaster relief efforts and more. Iridium NEXT will enable and introduce new services like the Company's next-generation communications platform, Iridium CertusSM, and the AireonSM space-based ADS-B aircraft surveillance and flight tracking network.
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tnt22

Цитировать Iridium Corporate‏Подлинная учетная запись @IridiumComm 18 ч. назад

We're less than a month from Iridium-4 and all 10 #IridiumNEXT SVs are onsite at Vandenberg Air Force Base and in pre-launch processing! Launch is scheduled for December 22 at 5:32 pm PST. http://bit.ly/2AeuEjl  #CountdownBegins

tnt22


tnt22

Цитировать Matt Desch‏ @IridiumBoss 1 ч. назад

T minus 10 days to Iridium-4! All systems go at this point - encapsulating payloads now and rocket processing on track. Keeping an eye on CA fires, but so far not looking like a problem (but wishing them to end for Californians).

tnt22


tnt22

Цитировать SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 4 ч. назад

Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting December 22 launch of Iridium-4 from Vandenberg AFB in California.

tnt22

http://spaceflight101.com/spacex-falcon-9-completes-static-fire-test-for-year-closing-launch/
ЦитироватьSpaceX Falcon 9 Completes Static Fire Test for Year-Closing Launch
December 18, 2017


Falcon 9 B1036 (Re-Flying on Iridium-4) at Vandenberg – Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX on Sunday conducted the Static Fire Test of the final Falcon 9 rocket set for liftoff in 2017, targeting launch fr om California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on December 23 (UTC) to lift the next ten satellites for the Iridium-NEXT system into orbit to cross the halfway mark for the constellation upgrade.
Спойлер
The Iridium-4 mission is SpaceX's 18th and final planned Falcon 9 launch of the year, shattering the company's previous record of eight launches in a calendar year. With 17 launches already performed, Falcon 9 is currently the most-flown orbital launch system this year – outperforming the Russian Soyuz workhorse that held the rank for most years in recent memory but only flew 15 times in 2017. Depending on China's launch activity over the next two weeks, Falcon has a good chance of maintaining its position as the most-flown orbital launch family this year since the Long March series currently stands at 14 launches


Image: Iridium

SpaceX's year-closing mission will be the company's fourth in support of Iridium-NEXT, building on three successful ten-satellite deliveries performed in January, June and October. The rapid-fire launches of Iridium-NEXT satellites are part of the most extensive satellite constellation upgrade ever performed – replacing the entire heritage Iridium constellation deployed in the late 90s and early 2000s with much-improved Iridium-NEXT satellites in a period of under two years.

SpaceX is on contract to deliver a total of 75 Iridium-NEXT satellites into orbit via seven Falcon 9 launches with ten satellites and one shared ride in March with five Iridium satellites and two GRACE-FO gravity-sensing satellites flown under a partnership of the German Space Center and NASA. Lifting satellites 31-40, the upcoming mission will cross the halfway point for Iridium's constellation replacement with all 75 satellites set to reach orbit by the end of August 2018.

The Iridium constellation began deployment in May 1997 and, at operational strength, consists of 66 active satellites in six orbital planes at an altitude of 780 Kilometers plus operational spares to replace satellites in case of problems.


Iridium Payload Stack (Iridium-1) – Photo: Iridium/SpaceX

Carefully spaced in their orbital planes, the Iridium satellites communicate with user terminals on the ground and route communications packages to their destinations through satellite-to-satellite links between members of each plane and satellites in neighboring planes as well as an extensive ground network. Given its Low Earth Orbit and high inclination, Iridium is the only constellation currently in operation that can offer truly global coverage.

The Iridium replacement comes with a price tag of nearly $3 billion, covering the production of the satellites, Falcon 9 launch services and ground system upgrades needed to support the new satellites. Built by Thales Alenia and integrated by Orbital ATK, each Iridium-NEXT satellite weighs 860 Kilograms and covers a 4,700-Kilometer wide footprint – connecting to user terminals through a large L-Band antenna. Typical services offered by Iridium-NEXT are voice and data communications with mobile terminals at up to 1.5Mbit/s while a high-speed Ka-Band service is available for larger fixed and transportable terminals at data rates up to 8Mbit/s.

>> Iridium-NEXT Satellite & Constellation Overview


First Launch of Falcon 9 B1036 – Photo: SpaceX

A steady launch cadence, a failure-free year and beginning initial re-flight missions were the major goals at SpaceX for 2017 as the company begins to recuperate funds spent on development of its re-usable rocket technology. All three goals were achieved as Falcon 9 took the leading position in the world of space launchers and four of SpaceX's 2017 missions performed to date have used previously flown first stages with Iridium-4 set to become the fifth.

Originally, Iridium's contract with SpaceX specified only new boosters to be used for Iridium-NEXT missions, much the same as NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract for Dragon missions to the International Space Station. Given SpaceX's success in recovering first stage boosters and demonstrating safe re-flights on multiple occasions in 2017, both NASA and Iridium changed their positions through extensive reviews of data from returned boosters that convinced them that flying on a previously used booster adds no to minimal risk to overall mission success.

For Iridium, the financial discount provided for flying on a used first stage – which is minimal – was not the deciding factor for placing two missions on flight-proven boosters. The advantage of opting for flown boosters was in the schedule assurance gained through the use of already existing hardware since first stage production had been the major bottleneck for SpaceX in bringing up its launch rate.

Tasked with the Iridium-4 mission is Falcon 9 first stage B1036 that made its first flight to the edge of space on June 25 with Iridium-NEXT satellites 11-20, returning via a successful landing on SpaceX's drone ship " Just Read The Instructions". The Block 3 booster debuted SpaceX's next-generation grid fins on the June 2017 missions, set to become a standard feature of the F9 Block 5 set for its debut in early 2018.


Photo: SpaceX

After its successful return to land via the Port of Los Angeles, Booster 1036 will have gone through detailed post-flight inspections focused on the vehicle's engines as well as the airframe as welds and structural connections are put through extensive tests using different methods including ultrasound. Once given a clean bill of health, the booster was ready for its return to Vandenberg wh ere it was paired up with a brand new second stage.

Sunday's Static Fire Test, performed without any media attention before the fact, was expected to fire the flight-proven core stage for seven seconds to collect performance data from the nine previously flown Merlin 1D engines. SpaceX confirmed the Static Test via Twitter, indicating the firing met its planned duration and all required data was obtained, feeding into more thorough reviews over the coming days leading up toward the Launch Readiness Review.

Returning to the pad-side hangar, Falcon 9 will receive its payload over the coming days. The ten Iridium-NEXT satellites were delivered to Vandenberg from Orbital ATK's Gilbert, Arizona facility in pairs through the end of November to enter final checkouts, propellant loading and integration around their two-tier launch adapter.


Iridium Constellation – Image: Iridium
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Aiming for Plane 2 of the six-plane constellation, Iridium-4 is targeting liftoff at precisely 1:27:23 UTC on December 23, 5:27:23 p.m. local time on December 22. Launch is planned just 61 seconds after the launch window opens for a Japanese H-IIA rocket lifting off from Tanegashima Island with the GCOM-C climate-monitoring satellite.

Heading into 2018, SpaceX will aim to further step up its launch pace with around 30 missions on the manifest. With the debut of Falcon Heavy, Falcon 9 Block 5 and the crewed Dragon spacecraft, the new year will hold plenty more milestones to be unlocked by SpaceX and thrill an ever-growing fan base.