Category: Fun & Curios

US Launches this week:
As of: 31OCT/1400 (times Eastern)

• WED Falcon9, Starlink CA
• WED Falcon9, Starlink FL

100 LAUNCHES SO-FAR THIS YEAR FOR SPACEX!
That’s a rate of like, what, 2-brace-per-fortnight (old British units)
US launches this week
As of: 26OCT/1745

• SUN Falcon9, OneWeb CA (RTLS: return to launch site* landing)
Satellite deployment begins at 1h15m
• WED Falcon9, Starlink FL (awesome daylight video)
• THU Falcon9, NRO CA
• THU Crew Dragon splashdown
• SAT Falcon9, Starlink FL

Next week?
• Electron NZ
• Falcon9s FL & CA
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* History Note: LS4 was SLC-4W, back in the day, where I spent
my first USAF posting launching TitanIIIB/Agena NRO satellites

Two vids of Falcon9 fairing separation from inside each fairing
(click on vid for full awesomness)

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• See: post below

As of: 18OCT/2200
(all times Eastern)

• Starhip controlled landing in ocean:

Starship flip maneuver and landing burn on its fifth flight test. Vehicle improvements ensured flaps were protected from high heating, resulting in a controlled entry and high accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/nLIQLLVMv1

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2024

Launch & catch of SpaceX Super Heavy booster:

Booster capture sequences:

Best footage of the Super Heavy booster landing from today’s mission. pic.twitter.com/q2RhgFcCU2

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 13, 2024

Starship reentry and landing, Indian Ocean:

• MON Falcon Heavy, Europa Clipper:
Off to the Jovian moon, Europa

For you mission-ops fans, here’s the waiting for AOS (acquisition of signal)

TUE morning twofer:
(for four in less than 48hrs)

• Falcon9, Starlink FL
• Falcon9, Starlink CA

• FRI Falcon9, Starlink FL

Politics:
• FAA seems to have been visited by NASA enforcers
• CA wants to limit SpaceX launches due to Musk’s politics
(I expect them to be visited by USSF and NRO enforcers)

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• Cultural ref