Launch News SpaceX Iridium NEXT Flight 4 05:27:23 pm PST, Dec 22 (01:27:23 GMT)

Nicholas Kang

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NOTE: The instantaneous launch window for this mission is just 1 minute and 1 after the beginning of launch window for JAXA's GCOM-C/SLATS - H-IIA F37 launch. If both launches take place, it will be a new record.

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This is SpaceX's fourth of eight launches in a half-a-billion-dollar contract with Iridium. The third one launched in October of this year, and most notably, this is the first Iridium NEXT flight to use a flight-proven first stage! It will use the same first stage that launched Iridium-2 in June, and Iridium-5 will also use a flight-proven booster.

Flight Overview:

Liftoff currently scheduled for|December 22nd 2017, 17:27:23 PST (December 23rd 2017, 01:27:23 UTC
Static fire complete|December 17th 2017, 14:00 PST / 21:00 UTC
Payload|Iridium NEXT Satellites 116 / 130 / 131 / 134 / 135 / 137 / 138 / 141 / 151 / 153
Payload mass|10x 860kg sats + 1000kg dispenser = 9600kg
Destination orbit|Low Earth Orbit (625 x 625 km, 86.4°)
Vehicle|Falcon 9 v1.2 (47th launch of F9, 27th of F9 v1.2)
Core|B1036.2
Flights of this core|1 [Iridium-2]
Launch site|SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Landing|No
Landing Site|N/A

Static Fire Info:

[ame="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/942542372629463040"]SpaceX on Twitter: "Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting December 22 launch of Iridium-4 from Vandenberg AFB in California."[/ame]

"Unofficial" Mission Patches:

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Source: SpaceX Reddit
 
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Nicholas Kang

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IRIDIUM-4 MISSION

Official Mission Patch:

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SpaceX is targeting launch of Iridium-4 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 5:27 p.m. PST on Friday, December 22, or 1:27 UTC on Saturday, December 23. A backup launch opportunity is at 5:21 p.m. PST on Saturday, December 23, or 1:21 UTC on Sunday, December 24. This is the fourth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT.

Falcon 9’s first stage for the Iridium-4 mission previously supported the Iridium-2 mission from SLC-4E in June 2017. SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.

Mission Press Kit:

http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/iridium4presskit.pdf

Live Webcast:


L-1 Weather Forecast:

100% GO!

T-0 Forecast: High pressure continues to build into the western CONUS in the wake of yesterday’s cold frontal passage. The impact will be relatively dry northwesterly flow aloft, light surface winds with the loose pressure gradient and no marine layer clouds. Surface winds will be out of the northwest through north from 320-350 at 8-12 knots for T-0. Temperatures will range from 55-60F at T-0. Upper-level winds will be out of the northwest from 330 at 80 knots between 38,000 to 41,000 feet. And finally, the space weather indices for proton and x-ray flux are currently reading at background levels. The overall POV will be 0% with no areas of concern.
 

Thunder Chicken

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Webcast is up, trippy space music playing. :hotcool:

---------- Post added at 08:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------

Webcast show is up!
 

llarian

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Oh MAN!! You can't beat that vista of sunset over the Pacific!
 

Urwumpe

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Some sightings of the beautiful noctural cloud of the rocket launch in LA, one by German TV celebrity Thomas Gottschalk on Twitter.

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Notice that SpaceX is using a Hohmann transfer while JAXA is doing a direct ascent. Shikasi has already separated while we wait 45 min for the Dragon 2nd stage to reach apogee.
 

Thunder Chicken

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Notice that SpaceX is using a Hohmann transfer while JAXA is doing a direct ascent. Shikasi has already separated while we wait 45 min for the Dragon 2nd stage to reach apogee.

Shikasi is something like 2-3 tons vs nearly 11 tons for Iridium 4.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 PM ----------

Pretty sweet drone footage of the launch:



---------- Post added 12-23-17 at 08:56 PM ---------- Previous post was 12-22-17 at 09:36 PM ----------

Seriously sweet timelapse of launch:

https://i.imgur.com/zapLLjw.gifv
 
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