This morning Mabel and I rode over to Titusville to watch the Falcon 9 launch. It launched right on schedule at 9:06 AM EST. I did take a few photos; but I have elected to use a photo from the SpaceX website and a video. SpaceX has posted on YouTube. It was a sunny morning and and a beautiful launch. The roar from the engines was awesome. I never get tired of viewing these launches.
The video below will take you through the launch. It is a long video; but has a lot of good information. It shows the launch, stage separation and the recovery of the first stage. If you are pressed for time, skip ahead to T - 1:00 on the countdown clock. Watch until about T + 4:00. At T + 40:00 you can see the recovery of one of the two protective panels that protected the stacks of satellites during the launch.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=167&v=1KmBDCiL7MU&feature=emb_logo
The mission:
Starlink 3
Second operational Starlink payload of 2020 and third overall. The Falcon 9 launch vehicle will carry a batch of 60 Starlink satellites that will be inserted in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 290 km (180 mi) and an inclination of 53°. They will then split into three orbital planes and raise their orbits to reach an operational altitude of 550 km (342 mi). The Starlink LEO constellation aims to provide worldwide affordable satellite internet access. 182 satellites (120 operational) have been deployed so far, the goal scheduled for the mid-2020s being 12,000 satellites in orbit, with a possible later extension to 42,000. The booster for this launch will be B1051, a Block 5 generation core which previously flew on SpaceX's Demonstration Mission 1 (first Crew Dragon test flight) and launched the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT Constellation.
The video below will take you through the launch. It is a long video; but has a lot of good information. It shows the launch, stage separation and the recovery of the first stage. If you are pressed for time, skip ahead to T - 1:00 on the countdown clock. Watch until about T + 4:00. At T + 40:00 you can see the recovery of one of the two protective panels that protected the stacks of satellites during the launch.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=167&v=1KmBDCiL7MU&feature=emb_logo
The mission:
Starlink 3
Second operational Starlink payload of 2020 and third overall. The Falcon 9 launch vehicle will carry a batch of 60 Starlink satellites that will be inserted in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 290 km (180 mi) and an inclination of 53°. They will then split into three orbital planes and raise their orbits to reach an operational altitude of 550 km (342 mi). The Starlink LEO constellation aims to provide worldwide affordable satellite internet access. 182 satellites (120 operational) have been deployed so far, the goal scheduled for the mid-2020s being 12,000 satellites in orbit, with a possible later extension to 42,000. The booster for this launch will be B1051, a Block 5 generation core which previously flew on SpaceX's Demonstration Mission 1 (first Crew Dragon test flight) and launched the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT Constellation.
love it!
