I'll keep it short this year. Just a few little things, too small even for a Small Story Roundup.
This morning's early SpaceX mission went without a hitch, marking the 134th mission of the year and surpassing last year's record by 38 missions. Of the 134, 89 were Starlink missions, including this morning's. That's almost exactly 2/3 of the total.
SpaceX's first launch of 2025 will be New Year's night (on the eastern time zone) at midnight also known as Thursday morning at 12:00 AM. This will be a communications satellite called Thuraya 4-NGS for the UAE based Yahsat. The Falcon 9 will lift the satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
It will be a relatively busy first week "just up the road" on the Space Force Station.
Note the announced date for the (dare I say "long-awaited"?) Maiden Flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn. This one is going to be a "must see."
There are no launch dates assigned to Vandenberg so far, and the fifth scheduled
launch of the year is Starship's IFT-7 from Boca Chica Starbase in
Texas.
On last year's post I made a couple of predictions for '24. "I'm fairly
confident Vulcan Centaur will fly - maybe even both Certification
missions. I'm rather less confident that Boeing's Starliner will fly,
and about the same level of confidence New Glenn will fly." Vulcan
Centaur flew both certification missions in a roundabout way, and its first National Security flight is looking to be in
spring of this year. Starliner flew, but it's hard to consider it a
proper mission since the two astronauts are still up there and Starliner came
back to Earth empty. Half a flight? New Glenn, as just mentioned, didn't fly and is currently
scheduled for its first flight on Sunday the 5th. Thankfully, I think my predictions pretty much were right on.
I've never been much of a fan for celebrating New Years, so let me leave it there, along with a wish for a very Happy New Year to everyone who stops to read here. May it be happy, healthy and fun for all.
Good wishes back at ya, SiG. May the upcoming year be a great improvement on the last.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the space news. Your site is a daily must read for me.
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, SiG!
ReplyDeleteI was on the Launch Team for Thuraya-3 some years ago.
I await tomorrow's
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
Not to poop in everybody's Corn Flakes, but...
ReplyDeleteSSDD
Same back to you and your loved ones SG. Happy Fruitful NewYear.
ReplyDeleteRead a brief mention late last week BO was shooting for the 9th as a launch date. Right off the first thought was the intent was for launching before SuperHeavy flight 7, most likely to make max publicity. Pretty hard to compete with a booster/tower catch spectacle. Even if they do a safe ship landing, it be kind of ho hum after congradulations for getting it right first try. But then nothing about any exact date.
BO seems to keep their cards close. Got to figure everything for them is first time with that rocket. Its like they don't know themselves where it is learn as you go.
Though SpaceX was like totally open doing all their early testing. Didn't they invite public observation, but no closer than a specific distance? Hopper's first test flight was like crazy insane at that time. They used that excellent drone camera work, so you had that being there experience, must have watched it 25 times, loved the exhaust plume with one engine, looked so advanced and very aligned mechanically, and steady, thats what impressed me the most, how it hovered then moved laterally, not a bobble to be seen.
I was always appreciative of them for doing this, very exciting, and watching their operations grow improve and expand, has been outstanding. Thats my personal observation that is.