Tuesday afternoon, we'll get the first Falcon Heavy mission of 2024. The launch window opens Tuesday evening at 5:16 PM EDT from Launch Complex 39A on the Kennedy Space Center, with a window open to 7:31 PM and a backup window at the same times Wednesday.
The gotcha here is that it's summer thunderstorm season here on the coast and there's only a 30% chance of acceptable weather for both the 25th and 26th. SpaceX just posted to X (at 3:58 PM EDT), "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."
I took advantage of the NASA Spaceflight 24/7 camera on the KSC to grab this shot of the vehicle having just rolled over to the launch pad to be readied for flight. The right end of the rocket is the cargo fairing and the satellite is in there, fueled and ready to go.
GOES-U is a weather satellite, intended to provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, as well as real-time mapping of total lightning activity, improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.
This mission will the first flights for all three sections of the Falcon Heavy. The core, booster 1087 will be expended, however the side boosters, B1086 and B1072 will return to the launch site Landing Zones 1 and 2.
The launch trajectory appears to be almost due east, so not particularly good for anyone along the coast. Better for us south of the KSC than if it was headed NE; not as good as if it was headed SE or south. Vice versa for those living north of the Cape.
Any guess how long before NASA has to ask Musk or the Russians to "rescue" the stranded Boeing Employees?
ReplyDeleteNot a clue. Considering how they've talked about this so far, I wouldn't be surprised if they just said Starliner is fine as is and told them to ride it home.
DeleteWith the leaks, the 'must leave' date is getting shorter and shorter while NASA is sitting on its collective hands.
DeleteMusk needs to step up and take charge. He (and SpaceX) seem to be the only adults in the room.
I will be watching, unless clouds are in the way. I love it when the boosters come back here.
ReplyDeleteOur forecast is still calling for 40 to 50% chance of rain with 60% cloud cover. Also known as summer thunderstorm season. All we can do is watch and hope. When conditions are right, and I don't quite know what makes them right, we can hear the sonic booms from the boosters, but the actual landing is below the horizon and behind too many trees anyway.
DeleteThe clouds cooperated and visibility was good. I could see booster sep, and boost back. Just caught the re-entry burn. I'm always surprised how fast they come back before the landing burn.
DeleteWe were clouded out. Saw about 30 seconds around Max Q, then into another cloud bank.
DeleteAir currents. Currents of air caused by differing temp and humidity. Even a 0.1°F change is sufficient to bounce harmonics.
DeleteI first learnt of this while navigating a boat in a marked channel in a fog at night.
The sound of a bell perceived as over there while it be here is confusing.
Clear air is not fog. But it's about density. Relative warm or cool air produces the same. The more warm, or more humid, the more pronounced the effect.
I've pretty much experienced that on a small scale, like across an inlet at night. I'm about 35 miles south of the landing zone and don't quite know what to look for in terms of their weather versus mine.
DeleteWe got good sonic booms last night. Shook the back porch doors and made a good level of noise.