SpaceX: FORMOSASAT5 to launch on Falcon 9, core 1038 - 11:50AM PDT Today

[Paul F.]

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/08/...s-landing/

This is a shiny new Falcon 9 core (the FORMOSASAT5 folks opted for a new one), which will launch from Vandenberg AFB, SLC-4E.

Following successful deployment of the upper stage on trajectory to place the satellite in orbit, the first stage will return, and land on the ASDS "Just Read The Instructions" just off the coast.

This flight could have been accommodated by the new landing pad at SLC-4, but the ground facilities are not QUITE ready yet.

This will be the 9th stage recovery mission this year... gonna need to build a bigger hanger for those soon!

According to the tentative launch manifest, SpaceX will be launching the X-37B on Sept 7, and the IridiumNEXT (flight 3) on September 30, with as many as 9 more payloads before the end of the year.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.p...ic=43418.0

It's a good time in the space biz again!

(Edit: Correction, AM!!! This morning! Not evening!)

[Paul F.]

The live stream will be at;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4u3ZN2g_MI

[NewtonMP2100]

....the Falcon has landed....??

[cbelt3]

So the launch fees are lower with used engines ? LOL !

[Paul F.]

cbelt3 wrote:
So the launch fees are lower with used engines ? LOL !

They prefer the term "Flight Proven"... and yes, Flight-Proven boosters are 20% less expensive than when you order a "brand new, never flown" one. Building a new one costs money, and amortizing the already built ones over multiple flights is cheaper.

SpaceX has already proven the engines for as many as ONE HUNDRED full duration burns... so the engines are not an issue. The Merlin engines are pretty phenomenal.

[gabester]

Paul F. wrote:
This will be the 9th stage recovery mission this year... gonna need to build a bigger hanger for those soon!

To be fair, 2 of those stages were re-used"flight proven"... :-)

And there's a good chance that all 3 first stages will be destroyed in the Falcon Heavy attempt, and at least two of those are supposed to be flight proven to reduce SpaceX cost.

I'm assuming this new core is one of the workhorses built to be quickly re-used, so I wonder how long before we see it in service for its second launch?

Paul F. wrote:
SpaceX has already proven the engines for as many as ONE HUNDRED full duration burns... so the engines are not an issue. The Merlin engines are pretty phenomenal.

One might say they're magical...

[Paul F.]

This core is probably (though SpaceX doesn't bother keeping us space geeks up to date) one of the newer "Block IV" designs, which should be reusable up to "dozens" of times... The eventual goal of the next iteration, the "Block V", is "up to 100 times".

They will definitely TRY for all three core recovery for the Falcon Heavy Demo flight, but if that fails they're not out anything, as those cores paid for themselves fully on their first launch.

And yes, only 7 of this years cores were new... and they've still got 7-8 from last year. So they have quite a number of flight proven cores.

They probably will until customers are a little more comfortable with the idea of a "used" rocket. Once a stage hits 5 re-uses, I think we'll see conservative resistance crumble, IMHO, and customers will be booking "Flight Proven" stages.

Right now, most of the contracts they are launching now were signed 4-5 years ago, well before they started recovering them.

[sekker]

Will be their 12th flight this year. Amazing.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/...s-in-2017/

[Paul F.]

Yup!

Three of those were "burn to completion" with no recovery attempted, so 9 out of 9 landing tries spot-on!

[Paul F.]

Joined in progress...

Good launch, good MECO, second stage away on course...
First stage coming in...