Mission and payload info

EarthCARE is a planned joint European/Japanese (ESA/JAXA/NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA's Living Planet Programme. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.

• NextSpaceflight mission page
• SpaceX mission webpage
• ESA mission page

Launch info

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-05-28, 22:20 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-05-28, 15:20 (PDT) | | Launch site | SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, California | | Payload | EarthCARE | | Booster | 1081-7 | | Landing site | LZ-4 | | Customer | ESA/JAXA/NICT | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to sun synchronous orbit |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | ESA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9WKok_1Jhg | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQF1Q_MZNWk | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=516ClI1Ylu0 | NASASpaceflight | | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn95LmUNah8 | SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1795577480109322331 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTejJWwA1O8

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 18th launch from SLC-4E this year

☑️ 6 days, 14:20:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 19th landing on LZ-4

☑️ 56th Falcon 9 launch this year, 57th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 270th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 356th SpaceX mission overall (excluding Starship hops)

☑️ 369th SpaceX launch all time (including Starship hops)

☑️ 315th Falcon Family Booster landing, 325th Falcon recovery attempt

Starlink Group 6-60 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2024-05-28 14:24 UTC, or 2024-05-28 14:28 local time (EDT). Booster 1078-10 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHSTu9AE4U
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a3nmTJdQHg (scrub)
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2X_568sxc (scrub)
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJm2tR80MvE
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1795459807278772636
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwxuHOhaXSc

The fourth flight test of Starship could launch as soon as June 5, pending regulatory approval.

The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy. The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship.

To accomplish this, several software and hardware upgrades have been made to increase overall reliability and address lessons learned from Flight 3. The SpaceX team will also implement operational changes, including the jettison of the Super Heavy’s hot-stage following boostback to reduce booster mass for the final phase of flight.

Flight 4 will fly a similar trajectory as the previous flight test, with Starship targeted to splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This flight path does not require a deorbit burn for reentry, maximizing public safety while still providing the opportunity to meet our primary objective of a controlled Starship reentry.

Another day, another Starlink launch...

Starlink Group 6-63 launch out of LC-39A in Florida currently scheduled for 2024-05-24 02:45 UTC, or 2024-05-23 22:45 local time (EDT). Booster 1077-13 to land on Just Read the Instructions.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjrgWPgCpNY
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHB9ZX_CIZY
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOQnbaqOkM8
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTeSkKCb40
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1793834039297880361
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FqeLcDkxgU

Starlink Group 6-62 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2024-05-23 02:35 UTC, or 2024-05-22 22:35 local time (EDT). Booster 1080-8 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkRsdmok1oI
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-x7SJAs2s
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wblxfc6KN4
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tf8D3XJv94
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1793469322888908959
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-XQ8wxKI5g

It's been a few weeks since the last non-Starlink launch!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-05-22, 08:00 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-05-22, 01:00 (PDT) | | Launch site | SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, California | | Payload | NROL-146 | | Booster | 1071-16 | | Landing site | Of Course I Still Love You | | Customer | United States National Reconnaissance Office | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to orbit |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANAimO31tLI | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vj88sXicsY | NASASpaceflight | | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9OARqVhoMc | SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1793187706044080168 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niaovijGKfI

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 17th launch from SLC-4E this year

☑️ 6 days, 13:21:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 91st landing on OCISLY

☑️ 52nd Falcon 9 launch this year, 53rd SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 266th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 352nd SpaceX mission overall (excluding Starship hops)

☑️ 364th SpaceX launch all time (including Starship hops)

☑️ 310th Falcon Family Booster landing, 321st Falcon recovery attempt

Mission and payload info

First batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imaging and other reconnaissance capabilities.

• NextSpaceflight mission page
• SpaceX mission webpage

21 flights! Onward to 40 flights, I suppose. Long live B1062!

Starlink Group 6-59 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2024-05-18 00:32 UTC, or 2024-05-17 20:32 local time (EDT). Booster 1062-21 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.

B1062 will be the first booster to fly for the 21st time.

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbAwHi67ZyM
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigxImsLGVk
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAGhp7jjfdc
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn95LmUNah8
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1791626565861900547
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_d3ZOsZZTo

SpaceX Starship page

Portions of this thread copied from a Starship Dev thread on r/SpaceX.

FAQ

1. When next launch? (IFT-5) Booster catch NET late July, per Elon.
2. When previous launch? (IFT-4)? Booster 11 and Ship 29 launched on 2024-06-06.
3. What was the result? Both booster and ship make it to landing burn and splashdown. Ship flaps took a beating on reentry, but remained in control of the vehicle.

Quick Links

RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

IFT-4 launch thread | Starship Dev 55 | IFT-3 launch thread | Starship Dev 54 | Starship Dev 53 | Starship Dev 52 | Starship Dev 51

Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)

Status

Road Closures - @bocaroad Mastodon bot

Up to date as of 2024-07-11

Vehicle Status

As of 2024-06-29

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Resources

• LabPadre Channel | NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
• NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
• NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
• NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent
• SpaceX: Website Starship page | Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
• FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
• FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
• FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
• NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
• Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
• Raptor 2 Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
• Acronym definitions by Decronym
• Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
• Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine

• Old orbital tank farm map | Source.

Infographic source: rykllan

https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1790817098328924339

B1061 has joined B1062 in the "20 flights" club. B1063 and B1067 catching up at 18 and 19 flights respectively.

B1062 slated to be the first booster to launch for the 21st time.

Source: Starship Gazer: https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/1790832190898753769

#Musk's @spacex is quick to build in #Texas, slow to pay its bills

https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musks-spacex-is-quick-build-texas-slow-pay-its-bills-2024-05-13/?ref=am-quickie.ghost.io

Starlink Group 8-7 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2024-05-14 18:39 UTC, or 2024-04-14 11:39 local time (PDT). Booster 1063-18 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxIvZI0z_kA
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw5SYFZVxmY
• NASASpaceflight:
• The Launch Pad:
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1790450577501233539
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU_ZllW71Bc