Category: Fun & Curios

Another flawless mission in the unusually bright, clear sky of ol’ Vindanfog

Hey, you can see my ol’ crew room building and blockhouse from here!
…but I wish somebody had explained a launch to me like this, back in the day

Textbook Night Launch
The awesome is now routine
We’ll look back on these as the Falcon9’s glory days

First Falcon9 launch since yesterday

It’s like they know what they’re doing

For satellite deployment, skip ahead to ~T+1h29m

Awww maaaan!
Super-nifty vid of the twin side-boosters’ boost-back burns (~T+2m50s)
(full-screen mandatory for full-awe mode)

Sped-up version
Short enough to watch multiple times, full-screen,
paying attention to different things each time

Onboard view from Falcon 9’s flight to space and back during smallsat rideshare mission pic.twitter.com/V5PyKxTlWD

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 5, 2023

This view is from near the top of Stg-1 looking aft.
Notice how the engine plume gets wider as it gets higher due to the drop in the surrounding air pressure. The plume’s colors also change.
If the cold-gas attitude-control thrusters don’t seem to synch-up with the pitch/yaw motion, remember that the more obvious of the thrusters are high on the body, above the center of gravity.
Also notice that after the re-entry burn, when the atmosphere gets dense enough, the trusters go quiet; and the grid fins take the helm. Gimballing engines do the steering when they’re firing.
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• Previously

Here’s a good, detailed description of what’s goin’ on