Jared Isaacman hints at which booster will be used for Polaris Dawn:

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1788265574872543337

SpaceX Falcon 9 B1083 is set to launch the Starlink 6-56 mission from 39A

https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1788274038608994711

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1788280580175712460

https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1788280887429247092

Welcome back 1083

Isaacman seems interested in this booster.

Polaris Dawn mission unlikely to require expendable booster, despite high orbit:

https://twitter.com/airlinesRadrian/status/1788283278526480590

@rookisaacman with the orbit that is planned for Polaris will the booster have to be expended?

https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1788348034960503160

Commercial space really only exists because of reusability.

And a humorous quip from everyone's favourite war criminal:

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1788283266165858555

I'd be a bit concerned. This booster only has three flights of experience. Might want something more seasoned ...

Starlink Group 8-2 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2024-05-10 04:30 UTC, or 2024-04-09 21:30 local time (PDT). Booster 1082-4 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOR7QFns_n0
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_wWuuXffKw
• NASASpaceflight:
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9OARqVhoMc
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1788787012889362689
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r-bXhKQh_M

SpaceX will hit 83 orbital launches from its KSC pad. That’s one more than the 82 shuttle launches that took place over the 30-year history of that program.

How cool!!

Starlink Group 6-56 launch out of LC-39A in Florida currently scheduled for ~~2024-05-08 15:00 UTC, or 2024-05-08 11:00 local time (EDT)~~. Booster 1083-3 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Launch pushed to 2024-05-08 18:42 UTC, or 2024-05-08 14:42 local time (EDT)

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQjV_KSAVfs
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI_rSuoJlQk
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y05_dzjFHyU
• The Launch Pad:
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1788276893785211171
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqIzeCKpqJY

Although government astronauts have conducted hundreds of spacewalks over the last 60 years, no private citizen has ever undertaken one.

"This is important because we are going to get to the Moon and Mars one day, and we're going to have to get out of our vehicles, and out of the safety of the habitat to explore and build and repair things," Isaacman said. SpaceX has already said it is working on a second generation of the suit for operations on the Moon and Mars.

Starlink Group 6-57 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for ~~2024-05-06 16:36 UTC, or 2024-05-05 12:36 local time (EDT)~~. Booster 1069-15 to land on Just Read the Instructions.

Launch pushed to 2024-05-06 18:14 UTC, or 2024-05-05 14:14 local time (EDT).

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMiiodhovD8
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO-4bdWojcc
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7YaUP51q90
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn95LmUNah8
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1787545224627245368
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEhK1flwFfQ

https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/1787120537887453631

Sleek new commercial spacewalking suit @SpaceX.

• what pressure is inside the suit?
• how supple is range of motion when pressurized?
• where does the umbilical attach?
• can you see/access the umbilical to tend it?
• how to attach to structure to free up hands for work?
• spark sources in 100% oxygen?
• diaper?

https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1787157603224547747

Hi Chris ~5.1

• always the challenge but mobility and dexterity a big focus throughout dev
• standard suit and dragon umbilical attachment points with additional tether and secondary O2 and avionics ports.
• yes
• objective is primarily a suit test matrix and there is a hands free demo using foot mobility aid
• part of qualification testing
• 2hr op but if you gotta go, you gotta go

No units given for suit pressure, but presumably psi.

https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/1787159451998343569

Thanks Jared - if I can be of any help, please just ask. I’m excited for you and your crew and a useful new EVA suit. You’ll learn so many unanticipated things: have margin, keep everyone safe. And purposefully take time to notice just what a cool new human experience spacewalking is.

In February 2022, Jared Isaacman and SpaceX announced the Polaris Program, an effort designed to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities, while also supporting important causes here on Earth.

Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew will perform SpaceX’s first-ever Extravehicular Activity (more commonly known as an EVA or spacewalk) from Dragon, which will also be the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk. This historic milestone will also be the first time four astronauts will be exposed to the vacuum of space at the same time.

Supporting the crew throughout the spacewalk will be SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA suit, an evolution of the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit crews currently wear aboard Dragon human spaceflight missions. Developed with mobility in mind, SpaceX teams incorporated new materials, fabrication processes, and novel joint designs to provide greater flexibility to astronauts in pressurized scenarios while retaining comfort for unpressurized scenarios. The 3D-printed helmet incorporates a new visor to reduce glare during the EVA in addition to the new Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera that provide information on the suit’s pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. The suit also incorporates enhancements for reliability and redundancy during a spacewalk, adding seals and pressure valves to help ensure the suit remains pressurized and the crew remains safe.

All of these enhancements to the EVA suit are part of a scalable design, allowing teams to produce and scale to different body types as SpaceX seeks to create greater accessibility to space for all of humanity.

While Polaris Dawn will be the first time the SpaceX EVA suit is used in low-Earth orbit, the suit’s ultimate destiny lies much farther from our home planet. Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require the development of a scalable design for the millions of spacesuits required to help make life multiplanetary.

Starlink Group 6-55 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for ~~2024-05-03 01:49 UTC, or 2024-05-02 21:49 local time (EDT)~~. Booster 1067-19 to land on A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Launch pushed to 2024-05-03 02:27 UTC, or 2024-05-02 22:37 local time (EDT).

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6AncFU0pU
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhi2igLQIl8
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ag4dKkL-pM
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLzz7rywTdE
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1786221964346216568
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEQDF83IsoQ

Welcome to the WorldView Legion 1 & 2 (Maxar 1) Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-05-02, 18:36 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-05-02, 11:36 (PDT) | | Launch site | SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, California | | Payload | WorldView Legion 1 & 2 (Maxar 1) | | Booster | 1061-20 | | Landing site | LZ-4 | | Customer | DigitalGlobe | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payloads to Sun-Synchronous Orbit |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5hf7QpVB_w | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BghEK_4U2A | NASASpaceflight |
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpY5vSgwMKI | SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1786099817187532954 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trt0dh_EC7I

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 14th launch from SLC-4E this year

☑️ 21 days, 4:11:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 18th landing on LZ-4

☑️ 44th Falcon 9 launch this year, 45th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 258th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 344th SpaceX mission overall (excluding Starship hops)

☑️ 356th SpaceX launch all time (including Starship hops)

☑️ 302nd Falcon Family Booster landing, 313th Falcon recovery attempt

Mission and payload info

Currently being built by SSL, WorldView-Legion is DigitalGlobe's next generation of earth observation satellites.

WorldView Legion is a constellation of Earth observation satellites built and operated by Maxar. Constellation is planned to consist of 6 satellites in both polar and mid-inclination orbits, providing 30 cm-class resolution.

• NextSpaceflight mission page
• SpaceX mission website

Infographic source: rykllan

https://twitter.com/_rykllan/status/1785565631535788189

B1060 has joined B1062 in the "20 flights" club, but B1060 was also expended on its final mission.

With reuse numbers so high, it seems like booster production has slowed considerably.

Starlink Group 6-54 launch out of SLC-40 in Florida currently scheduled for 2024-04-28 22:08 UTC, or 2024-04-28 18:08 local time (EDT). Booster 1076-13 to land on Just Read the Instructions.

NextSpaceflight page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOaEurnrB3I
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MWypS5dTCw
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggCdqMJOY5Y
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUaAV860nsw
• SpaceX: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1784704842726019189
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwqiEMO_qrg

Speaking to the NASA Advisory Council’s Human Exploration and Operations Committee April 26, Amit Kshatriya, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program, said SpaceX achieved one step towards refueling of Starship with a demonstration on the latest Starship test flight March 14.

During that flight, SpaceX performed an in-flight propellant transfer demonstration under a NASA Tipping Point contract awarded in 2020. SpaceX planned to transfer at least 10 metric tons of liquid oxygen from a header tank to the main tank within the Starship upper stage while in space.

I don't think I had wrapped my mind around just how big even the header tanks are.

While SpaceX said the day of the flight that it performed the demonstration, neither the company nor NASA provided any updates since then. At the advisory committee meeting, though, Kshatriya said the test appeared to go well.

“On Flight 3, they did an intertank transfer of cryogens, which was successful by all accounts,” he said, adding that analysis of the test is ongoing.

The next major milestone is a demonstration planned for 2025 where two Starships will dock in orbit, with one transferring propellants to the other.

In that mission, a “target” Starship will launch first and go into orbit, followed three to four weeks later by a “chaser” Starship. The two vehicles will dock with the chaser transferring propellants to the target. After the demonstration, the two Starships will undock and deorbit.

I assume this will require a second operational launch pad. I wonder, will be the one at KSC or the second one they're building at Starbase?

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1784382036096242138

We’re working toward qualifying our fleet of Falcon boosters and fairings to support 40 missions each. Increasing Falcon's flight count provides valuable information on repeated reuse, a critical element for making life multiplanetary with Starship

20 might have been B1060's limit, but it sounds like we'll see boosters with more flights in the near future!

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1784381829388333385

Due to the additional performance required to deliver the payload to medium Earth orbit, this mission marks the 20th and final launch for this Falcon 9 first stage booster

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1784381903954698245

The last time a first stage was expended during a Falcon 9 mission was 146 flights ago in November 2022. On most Falcon 9 missions, enough propellant remains in the first stage after stage separation to enable landing, recovery, and ultimately reuse on future missions

This Falcon 9 first stage has launched ~200 spacecraft as part of our Rideshare program, supported 13 @Starlink missions to help connect people all around the world with high-speed, low-latency internet, sent a lunar lander to the Moon, and more. In total, this Falcon delivered 228+ metric tons to Earth orbit and beyond

Short highlights reel of all missions launched by B1060.

Salute from mission control: https://twitter.com/joebarnard/status/1784390949646541247

Post image source: Max Evans

Welcome to the Galileo FOC FM25 & FM27 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

This launch will mark the final flight of B1060, as it will be expended on this mission.

| Scheduled for (UTC) | NET April 2024-04-28, 00:34 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | NET April 2024-04-27, 20:34 (EDT) | | Launch site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida | | Booster | 1060-20 | | Landing site | None (booster expended) | | Payload | Galileo FOC FM25 & FM27 | | Customer | GSA | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payloads to Medium Earth Orbit |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA6znO7TrvQ | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPA7iz6gQpw | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb8eVJhIp_U | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bb02O2KDJ8 | SpaceX | https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1784378155299692794 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmHoy3ZHSQE

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 10th launch from LC-39A this year

☑️ 10 days, 3:08:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 42nd Falcon 9 launch this year, 43rd SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 256th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 342nd SpaceX mission overall (excluding Starship flights)

☑️ 354th SpaceX launch all time (including Starship flights)

Mission and payload info

Pair of satellites for Europe's MEO Galileo constellation. Originally planned to launch on Soyuz ST, but scrapped due to geopolitical factors. Then moved to Ariane 6, which was also scrapped due to delays. Europe contracted SpaceX to launch the two pairs aboard Falcon 9 for approximately €180 million ($192 million).

• NextSpaceflight mission page
• SpaceX mission webpage