this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
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[Falcon Heavy] GOES-U Launch Discussion and Updates Thread! (self.spacex)
submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by threelonmusketeers to c/spacex
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Welcome to the GOES-U Launch Discussion and Updates Thread! First Falcon Heavy launch of the year!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-06-25 21:26 | |

|

| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-06-25 17:26 (EDT) | | Launch site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. | | Launch vehicle | Falcon Heavy | | Center | 1087-1 (expended) | | Booster | 1072-1 (RTLS, LZ1) | | Booster | 1086-1 (RTLS, LZ2) | | Customer | NASA / NOAA | | Payload | GOES-U | | Mission success criteria | Successful deployment of payload into Geostationary Transfer Orbit |

Livestreams

| Stream | Link | |

|

| | NASA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HH_fL7QVk | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRo1H73O9g | | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SBxb5-S8HM | | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kMlfbo1lts | | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTDhfuRxo7U | | Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=227WGGFeDoc | | SpaceX | | | The Space Devs | |

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 1st Falcon Heavy launch this year, 10th overall

☑️ 13th launch from LC-39A this year

☑️ 32 days, 18:31:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 65th SpaceX launch this year, 365th overall (excluding Starship tests)

☑️ 67th SpaceX launch this year, 378th overall (including Starship tests)

☑️ 280th consecutive successful Falcon 9 / FH launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 325th & 326th Falcon Family Booster landings, 334th and 335th Falcon recovery attempt

Payload info: GOES-U

NextSpaceflight:

GOES-U will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, as well as real-time mapping of total lightning activity and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.

Resources and articles:

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re still a relatively small sub, so feedback from the community is very valuable!"

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[–] feast 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

After not watching Falcon 9 launches for a while and only paying attention to Starship development, it's weird to look at this livecast and think that Falcon Heavy looks kind of small

[–] threelonmusketeers 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Haha, yeah. Just the Super Heavy booster is about the same height as an entire Falcon full stack. The wide shot of 39-A with both the Falcon and Starship towers in view really puts the scale in perspective.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

Starship is about 80% the width of Falcon Heavy - but all the way around and practically all the way up!

[–] threelonmusketeers 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Side booster landings confirmed!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

RIP B1087.

[–] threelonmusketeers 5 points 6 months ago

o7

RIP center core. You did your job well.

[–] threelonmusketeers 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

SES-2, SECO-2, and norminal transfer orbit.

SES-3 scheduled for T+04:21:18.

Interesting that they are doing a third burn of Stage 2. They mentioned that Falcon Heavy had some additional performance which would extend the lifetime of the satellite. Is this a partial GEO circularization burn?

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 6 months ago

Liftoff!

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 6 months ago

Launch weather is go. Booster fuel load complete, LOX load continues.

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

NASA webcast is live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HH_fL7QVk

T-0 pushed by 10 minutes to 2024-06-25 21:26 UTC.

Weather has improved from ~~30% favourable to 60% favourable~~ 60% favourable to 70% favourable.

[–] threelonmusketeers 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

BECO and side booster separation!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
BECO Booster Engine Cut-Off
GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit (35786km)
LOX Liquid Oxygen
MECO Main Engine Cut-Off
~ MainEngineCutOff podcast
RP-1 Rocket Propellant 1 (enhanced kerosene)
SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
SES Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator
~ Second-stage Engine Start

[Thread #46 for this sub, first seen 25th Jun 2024, 21:30] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

SpaceX and NASA have polled go for propellant load.

Mission Control Audio: "Falcon Heavy tanks are venting for the start of prop load."

Mission Control Audio: "Launch auto sequence has started."

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 1, PY, NY, LOX load has started."

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Stage 2 RP-1 load has started.

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 2 LOX load complete."

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Mission Control Audio: "Max-Q."

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Nominal boostback burn of the side boosters, center core MECO, stage 2 separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation!

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

SECO, nominal orbital insertion.

SES-2 scheduled for T+26:19.

[–] threelonmusketeers 2 points 6 months ago

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 1 LOX load complete."

[–] threelonmusketeers 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

NASA webcast is back for the final burn and deployment.

Edit: SES-3.

Edit2: SECO-3 and norminal orbit insertion.

Edit3: GOES-U separation confirmed!

Edit4: NASA webcast concluded.

[–] threelonmusketeers 0 points 6 months ago

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1805329579755946315

Teams completed the launch readiness review, and we are targeting Tuesday, June 25 for Falcon Heavy’s launch of @NASA's GOES-U mission from pad 39A in Florida. Teams are keeping an eye on weather, which is 30% favorable for liftoff

Images

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1805490612831142168

Falcon Heavy is vertical at pad 39A in Florida ahead of Tuesday’s launch of the GOES-U weather satellite

Images