Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Scheduled for 1:18 AM EDT (10:18 PM PDT, 5:18 AM UTC)

See the livestream here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjfQNBYv2IY

This is the second flight of the first Block 5 Falcon 9 launched in May. The booster was designed for rapid turn-around without having to be disassembled between flights to check wear.... but... to make sure that they had achieved that goal... they had to disassemble and inspect that first one. Apparently they didn't find any problems, since here it is flying again three months later. (They are shooting for turn around times measured in days.)

The payload on this flight is an Indonesian communications satellite destined for geosynchronous orbit. The satellite was built by SSL (Space Systems Loral) in Palo Alto California for Telecom Indonesia, to provide communications coverage for all of their extensive archipelago.

The booster is to be recovered on SpaceX's robot drone-ship out in the Atlantic.

https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/file...esskit.pdf

Since it is a night launch and landing, visuals might not be up to SpaceX's normal standard.

Launch went great, second stage and satellite are now in a parking orbit, awaiting another second stage burn that will put the satellite in geosynchronous orbit.

Onboard cameras on the booster were intermittent and didn't show all of the descent, but the booster is safely back on the landing barge.

Edit: Second orbital insertion burn was good, satellite deploy coming up.

Edit 2: Payload separation confirmed.

That's it, everything looks successful.

At least it was possible for non-insomniacs on the West Coast to stay up to see it live.