Falcon Heavy launch date set! Feb. 6th at 1:30 PM EST

Elon Musk announced yesterday that the Falcon Heavy could launch as soon as February 6th.  A tentative three hour launch window was set for 1:30 PM EST.

I've been waiting years for this - and I know I'm not alone!

Mark you calendars and tune in to the live launch at the SpaceX Webcast page.

Check out this this spaceflightnow.com post for more details.

SpaceX to cap busiest year with CRS-13 launch tomorrow [UPDATE: Launch delayed until 12/13]

Update: Today's scheduled launch has been delayed until tomorrow, December 13th, in order to perform additional ground system checks.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch the latest International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission tomorrow, carrying nearly two and a half tons of cargo the ISS.  This launch will be the 17th this year (if I haven't lost track), and is remarkable in that it will be reusing both the Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket.  The capsule previously visited the ISS in April 2015, while the Falcon 9 is a newer model launched in June of this year.

The launch also marks the return of operations to SLC-40, which has been out of commission since September 2015, when an accident during a static fire test knocked it out of commission.  This will in turn free up LC-39A allowing preparations to continue for the first Falcon Heavy launch, which the company hopes to launch next month.

The launch is schedule for December 12th at 11:46 EST, with a backup window on December 13th at the same time.

Fall 2017 - a busy and exciting time for SpaceX

Sprinkled into the SpaceX launch manifest for this fall, and the first quarter of 2018, are two big milestones: the Falcon Heavy and Crew Dragon demos.

Also this month, SpaceX will once again have two back to back missing with the
SES 11/EchoStar 105 mission launching from Kennedy Space Center on the 7th, and the Iridium Next 21-30 mission launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the 9th.

Falcon 9 -SES 11/EchoStar 105
October 7, 2017 at 6:53 PM. EDT (2 hour window)
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Falcon 9 - Iridium Next 21-30
October 9th, 2017 at 8:37 AM EDT (5:37 AM PDT)
SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

SpaceX has 58 missions listed on its launch manifest. Of these 58, the following - which include 3 Falcon Heavy flights and the Crew Dragon Demo - have been announced:
Falcon 9 - Koreasat 5A
October 30, 2017 at 3:34 PM. EDT (window extends to 5:58 PM)
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon 9 - Hispasat 30W-6
4th Quarter 2017
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon Heavy Demo Flight
November 2017
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Falcon 9 - Iridium Next 31-40
Late November 2017
SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Falcon 9 - SpaceX CRS 13
November 28 (launch time TBD)
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon 9 - Bangabandhu 1
December 2017
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon 9 - SES 16/GovSat 1
Late December 2017
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon 9 - Iridium Next 41-50
January 2018
SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Falcon 9 - SpaceX CRS 14
February 9 (launch time TBD)
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Falcon Heavy - Arabsat 6A
Early 2018
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Falcon 9 - TESS
Sometime after March 20, 2018
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

Falcon 9 - Crew Dragon Demo 1
April, 2018
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Falcon Heavy - STP-2
Sometime after April 30, 2018
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

SpaceX attempts its first launch of a reused Falcon 9 tomorrow, March 30

SpaceX is scheduled to take the next step towards its rocket reusability goal this Thursday.

The launch of the SES-10 satellite is scheduled for launch at 6:27 p.m. EDT (22:27 GMT) p.m. EDT from the historic Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX performed a static fire of the previously-flown rocket's nine main engines while on the pad Monday.  The Falcon 9 rocket was first launched April 2016 during the CRS-8 mission, where it successfully landed on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS), Of Course I Still Love You, in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX - EchoStar XXIII rescheduled to early tomorrow (March 16th) [Update - initial launch scrubbed due to high winds]

If you're on the East coast, you'll have to stay up a little while, but on the West coast the launch will be at 10:35 pm.

SpaceX is targeting the March 16th for the launch of the EchoStar XXIII mission which will place a EchoStar Corp. commercial communications satellite into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The launch will be the second from the historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  The launch window opens at 1:35 am ET (10:35 pm PT, 5:35 am UTC).

Due to the mission parameters - primarily the payload weight and the GTO insertion - SpaceX will not attempt a recovery of the Falcon 9 rocket.

Live coverage is available on the SpaceX webcast page or on the SpaceX YouTube channel.  Coverage starts 20 minutes before the launch.
Press Kit available on the SpaceX site here.

SpaceX to launch from the historic Kennedy Space Center site LC-39A [Update 2/18]

[Update 2/18] The launch was scrubbed at T-0:13 "out of an abundance of caution"  because of an upper stage thrust vector control issue.  Per Elon Musk on Twitter "the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd" according to Elon Musk.  He added "If this is the only issue, flight would be fine, but need to make sure that it isn't symptomatic of a more significant upstream root cause".  Better to error on the side of caution.  The next window is tomorrow, Sunday the 19th, at 9:38 AM EST.

[Update] Elon Musk said on Twitter that there is a (very small) leak in the upper stage.  They are investigating and if it checks out they will attempt to launch tomorrow.  The rocket is on the pad and ready to go otherwise.

Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is steeped in history.  It is comprised of two launch complexes: LC-39A and LC-39B.  These sites, built to support the Apollo program, launched the most powerful rockets built - the Saturn V.  They were later adapted for the Space Shuttle program.  So they've witnessed many historic launches (with some really big rockets).  LC-39A was used for most of the manned Apollo launches, including the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon, and was watched by millions on TV.

SpaceX secured a lease for LC-39A and has been adapting it for it's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. This site will be used by SpaceX for the first time this Saturday with the launch the CRX-10 mission to resupply the ISS.  With this mission being a LEO mission, there will be ample fuel to make a landing at the SpaceX Landing Complex 1 at Cape Canaveral .  Coming off of a string of successful landings at sea, this will attempt to be the third landing at Landing Complex 1 (with the first being the second OG2 mission landing, which was the first successful landing for SpaceX anywhere).

This will be the first launch from LC-39A since the Space Shuttle program ended.  The launch is scheduled for 10:01 AM EST (15:01 GMT) tomorrow (Saturday February 18th) - weather permitting of course, which is questionable at this time.

The Falcon 9 has been lifted onto the pad (watch this nice time-lapse video of the process) in preparation for launch.  Unlike the Saturn V that was assembled vertically in the vertical assembly facility and wheeled to the pad standing up, the Falcon 9 rocket is prepared while laying horizontally, and is then stood up at the launch pad.

The NASA page for the mission is here, and the live webcast of the launch can be found on the SpaceX Webcast page or at the SpaceX YouTube site (choose the hosted version unless you're a seasoned launch watcher).

SpaceX has a very busy launch schedule - 8 possible launches before year end

SpaceX appears fully recovered from it's single mission failure last year. They have managed several landings - first at it's new landing site at Cape Canaveral and then at sea - a much more difficult task, but an important one as not all missions are able to send the rocket all the way back to the cape. Landing the Falcon 9 rocket has always been a secondary mission objective - but a very important one in support of SpaceX's reusable rocket goal.

Rocket reusability is not only important for its cost savings, but also for the ability to shorting the time between launches. Even now the company is turning out missions faster than has ever been done before. And with the current schedule it will be launching multiple rockets in a single month. Here is the current launch schedule (with a lot of the exact launch dates still TBD):

Sept. 3	Amos 6
Sept. 19	Iridium Next 1-10
October	SES 10
October	EchoStar 23
October	Fermosat 5 and Sherpa
November	SES 11 (EchoStar 105)
November	Falcon Heavy Demo Flight
Nov. 11	CRS 10 (SPX 10)

Even with the their track record of quick turn arounds, this schedule would not be possible if all of the launches were from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral. But with some flights out of Vandenberg AFB, and Falcon Heavy launching from the reconfigured SLC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, it could just happen.

Speaking of Falcon Heavy, with several rockets having been successfully landed now, it is what I'm looking forward to next (and I'm sure I'm not alone). Falcon Heavy has been anticipated for some time now. And had the big rocket just made a successful flight and ended up as the foundation of a new reef in the Atlantic, I would have been thrilled. But with the current landing success rate - and the presence of the landing complex - the possibility of the three Falcon 9 rockets separating and each landing itself autonomously is a real possibility. Would that be a sight to see!

Then what? We still have the manned Dragon 2 as well as the new Raptor engine (with greater power and re-useablity) to look forward to. And with these the company truly will be on course toward its big, red goal.

Falcon Heavy

[Update: postponed, will try again tomorrow. SpaceX Thaicom launch scheduled to today

SpaceX is scheduled to launch  a Thaicom communications satellite shortly.  Window opens at 5:40 PM ET, (9:40 PM UTC).  

Due to the nature of this launch another attempt at a landing at sea will be attempted. As always, these attempts are secondary to the main mission.  The landings at sea are much more challenging, but the company has completed two in a row now.   Despite this success the company is trying to keep expectations low. 

Speaking of these landings, I didn't manage to post about the last mission. That mission provided SpaceX its second sea landing in a row. And it was a spectacular one. The live feed started with a pitch black view from the deck, followed by a blaze of light so bright in contrast that my first thought was that it ended in a fire ball. But the engines cut off and the smoke cleared and there was the Falcon standing perfectly.  It was quite a thrill, and as you can imagine the SpaceX facility erupted in cheers. 

SpaceX is back to turning around launches at a rapid pace - catching up on their backlog - and showing that they are "back in the game". 

UPDATED: Space Station supply mission today as SpaceX resumes its CRS schedule.

UPDATE: SpaceX has stuck the landing!  This is first successful Falcon 9 landing at sea, and was shown in real time on the live broadcast.  Congratulations!

SpaceX is sending Dragon to the ISS as it resumes its schedule of resupply missions.  The CRS-8 mission will launch shortly - 4:43 PM EDT (Apr 8, 2016).  As usual for CRS missions, the launch will be from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Once again, the Falcon 9 will attempt to land on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” (in the Atlantic Ocean).  These landings are always experimental and secondary to the main mission, but still highly anticipated.  A landing has yet to be made to a droneship, but a successful landing to the Cape Canaveral landing site was accomplished (and was fantastic to watch!), so a success at sea is not at all out of the realm of possibility.  SpaceX has been getting closer and closer.

As a reminder to those familiar with the Dragon resupply missions (or for those of you that haven't previously followed these missions), SpaceX is the only space station resupply vendor that is able to return relatively large amounts of cargo back from the ISS.  Other CRS missions send cargo to the ISS, but since the retirement of the space shuttle there has been a void in the capability to return significant amounts of cargo.

Live feed (and replay) at http://www.spacex.com/webcast
Press kit is at http://www.spacex.com/press/2016/04/07/press-kit-crs-8-dragon-mission

SpaceX mission to launch the NOAA Jason-3 satellite scheduled to launch January 17th from Vandenberg

SpaceX has scheduled the NOAA Jason-3 satellite launch for January 17th at 10:42:18 a.m. PST from   SLC-4E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.  Initially scheduled for March 31, 2015 the mission also missed a tentative launch date of July 22nd, and NOAA had then hoped it would make it into space on August 8.  Failure of the CRS-7 rocket scrubbed that target date, as well as a December fall back date.

The Jason-3 satellite will help NOAA monitor ocean levels, and provide data to help with hurricane intensity forecasting, surface wave forecasting for offshore operators, forecasting tides and currents for commercial shipping and ship routing, coastal forecasting for response to environmental problems like oil spills and harmful algal blooms, coastal modeling crucial for marine mammal and coral reef research, and El Niño and La Niña forecasting.

This will be the last Falcon 9.1 configuration flight, with all future missions (as well as the ORBCOMM OG2 mission this scheduled for this Sunday) using the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, which  seems to only be called the "full thrust" Falcon 9 for now.   I would imagine a new designation, 9.2 or 9.1a or something completely different, will be announced in the near future.