Starlink Mission 4-8

YouTube ^ | February 21, 2022 | SpaceX

[SunkenCiv]

SpaceX is targeting Monday, February 21 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 9:44 a.m. EST, or 14:44 UTC.

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, Transporter-3, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

[SunkenCiv]

Starlink Mission | Scheduled for February 21, 2022 | SpaceX

[SunkenCiv]

SpaceX is targeting Monday, February 21 for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 9:44 a.m. EST. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. We will go live ~15 prior to launch.

SpaceX Starlink 4-8 Record-Tying Mission | LIVE
Scheduled for February 21, 2022 | spaceXcentric

[POWG]

I hope they check the space weather forecast this time.

[SunkenCiv]

Apropos of nothing:

Showing the views from a FlipHD and a GoPro side by side you get a first hand view of what it is like to fly to 121,000 feet. These cameras flew on September 30, 2011 at 11:08am on Derek Deville's Qu8k (pronounced "Quake") launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada before returning safely to earth.

A plastic cover that was protecting the protruding portion of the GoPro began to melt due to aerodynamic heating and can be seen as streaks passing by the lens. A small bit of this molten plastic re-solidifies over a portion of the lens.

Being above 99% of the atmosphere, the sky turns black in the middle of the day and the curvature of the earth is clearly visible. The rocket motor produced 4,000 lbs of thrust for 8 seconds accelerating the vehicle to over Mach 3.

Amateur Rocket Launch to 121,000' at Mach 3 On-board Video
Qu8k - Near Space Launch
October 11, 2011 | d3deville [22.9 miles]

[SunkenCiv]

(the amateur record is now more than three times this high, and used staging)

[House Atreides]

“I hope they check the space weather forecast this time.”
*******************************************************

Or don’t launch them to be temporarily initially residing in such low orbit. That was showing that Elon Musk was a more responsible (by minimizing junk in orbit) space faring entity than all the space faring nations. But it turned out to be financially painful for him.

[Blennos]

They are doing just what you suggested. They are launching the Starlink satellites (rather than the previous 49) into a higher initial orbit.

https://news100.org/2022/02/20/next-spacex-launch-to-deploy-fewer-starlink-satellites-into-higher-orbit-spaceflight-now/

“A Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Monday will deploy the SpaceX’s next batch of Starlink internet satellites into a higher, more circular orbit than the last few flights, reducing the potential risk to the satellites from a solar storm like the one that destroyed at least 38 Starlink spacecraft earlier this month.”

[Blennos]

46 Starlink satellites

[BBB333]

Nice.

Always fun to watch!

Thanks.

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure. Time index set to last bit of countdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiKOMCRymsw&t=1180

and the booster landing on the button:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiKOMCRymsw&t=1670

I wish they’d spend some money on hardened circuitry for the landing camera vids, unless the EMP is just messing up the broadcast signal, rather than the hardware.