This Weekend: SpaceX Doubleheader

in space •  7 years ago  (edited)

This weekend, if the weather cooperates, SpaceX is going to make history again.
...Tomorrow should look something like this:

Then again two days later...
Another rocket on the other side of the United States...
Will land on another boat!

This is special because the previous fastest turnaround time between their launches was two weeks. It's even more special when you take into account tomorrow is the second time they'll be launching this first stage:

31579784413_d853331601_z.jpg

Image from SpaceX Flickr account, also easily one of my favorite photos in existence

First up: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A | June 23, 2017 18:10-20:10 UTC

The stage in the photo above will launch BulgariaSat-1, the first-ever Bulgarian-owned geostationary communications satellite into GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit). This energetic trajectory means that there won't be enough fuel to return to land, but fortunately the payload mass at 5300 kg leaves plenty of margin to recover the stage again via SpaceX's east coast drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You". This will be a two hour launch window, so if any issues arise with weather, pad, range, or vehicle... there should still be time for a second attempt. The weather is currently 90% go, so * fingers crossed * hopefully this won't scrub!

Below is a link to the hosted live stream link for tomorrow's launch, edit live now! There was a bit of a delay so this is now scheduled to launch at 3:10 EDT (19:10 UTC).

Hope you've found this informative, feel free to drop any questions into the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them. This is my second post on this site, so any suggestions or feedback is also appreciated!

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Cool, I just posted about a trip to Nasa I took a week ago. Didn't get to see Space X but I did get to see the launch pad. You should check it out. Upvoted and followed.

Checking it out now!

Great informative post! I love what Elon has going on here. I recently wrote about Tesla is turning into a energy company, check it out if interested. Following, hope to see more similar topics

Thanks! I'll check it out. A lot of investors were concerned Tesla was just bailing out Solar City with that move, but I think it makes a lot of sense. He's more or less further integrating energy production and transportation, making it more attractive for Tesla owners to produce their own "fuel". Additionally, as Tesla was already producing Powerwall it provides a storage option for existing Solarcity customers. There still seems to be a lot of people concerned about the merger but I think it makes sense in the long run.

Great post. I have posted a couple times about it and hour or two before it happens and invite people to watch h it in rabbit.it chat with me. But no one ever does haha! So I'm glad to find another fan of what space is doing! Welcome to steemit

Thanks! I'll never understand how EVERYONE isn't already excited about what SpaceX is doing (except maybe their competitors). Glad to see other fans here regardless though. Have you made it to see any launches/landings up close yet?

No, someday. I want to see the falcon heavy

I'm really hoping my work schedule cooperates enough so I can make it to the first launch of that. It's about a three hour drive and I've made the trip several times now to see launches... but that launch should really be something else.