[Falcon Heavy] GOES-U Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

Welcome to the GOES-U Launch Discussion and Updates Thread! First Falcon Heavy launch of the year!

Scheduled for (UTC) 2024-06-25 21:26
Scheduled for (local) 2024-06-25 17:26 (EDT)
Launch site LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Launch vehicle Falcon Heavy
Center 1087-1 (expended)
Booster 1072-1 (RTLS, LZ1)
Booster 1086-1 (RTLS, LZ2)
Customer NASA / NOAA
Payload GOES-U
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of payload into Geostationary Transfer Orbit

Livestreams

Stream Link
NASA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HH_fL7QVk
Space Affairs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRo1H73O9g
Spaceflight Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SBxb5-S8HM
NASASpaceflight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kMlfbo1lts
The Launch Pad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTDhfuRxo7U
Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=227WGGFeDoc
SpaceX
The Space Devs

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 1st Falcon Heavy launch this year, 10th overall

☑️ 13th launch from LC-39A this year

☑️ 32 days, 18:31:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 65th SpaceX launch this year, 365th overall (excluding Starship tests)

☑️ 67th SpaceX launch this year, 378th overall (including Starship tests)

☑️ 280th consecutive successful Falcon 9 / FH launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

☑️ 325th & 326th Falcon Family Booster landings, 334th and 335th Falcon recovery attempt

Payload info: GOES-U

NextSpaceflight:

GOES-U will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, as well as real-time mapping of total lightning activity and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.

Resources and articles:

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re still a relatively small sub, so feedback from the community is very valuable!"

21 points · 22 comments · view on lemmy.world

22 Comments

feast@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 2y (2 replies)

After not watching Falcon 9 launches for a while and only paying attention to Starship development, it's weird to look at this livecast and think that Falcon Heavy looks kind of small

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Haha, yeah. Just the Super Heavy booster is about the same height as an entire Falcon full stack. The wide shot of 39-A with both the Falcon and Starship towers in view really puts the scale in perspective.

Morphit@feddit.uk · 5 pts · 2y

Starship is about 80% the width of Falcon Heavy - but all the way around and practically all the way up!

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 2y

SES-2, SECO-2, and norminal transfer orbit.

SES-3 scheduled for T+04:21:18.

Interesting that they are doing a third burn of Stage 2. They mentioned that Falcon Heavy had some additional performance which would extend the lifetime of the satellite. Is this a partial GEO circularization burn?

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Side booster landings confirmed!

Morphit@feddit.uk · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

RIP B1087.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 2y

o7

RIP center core. You did your job well.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2y

Launch weather is go. Booster fuel load complete, LOX load continues.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2y

NASA webcast is live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4HH_fL7QVk

T-0 pushed by 10 minutes to 2024-06-25 21:26 UTC.

Weather has improved from 30% favourable to 60% favourable 60% favourable to 70% favourable.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2y

Liftoff!

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2y

BECO and side booster separation!

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Mission Control Audio: "Max-Q."

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 1, PY, NY, LOX load has started."

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

SpaceX and NASA have polled go for propellant load.

Mission Control Audio: "Falcon Heavy tanks are venting for the start of prop load."

Mission Control Audio: "Launch auto sequence has started."

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Nominal boostback burn of the side boosters, center core MECO, stage 2 separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation!

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 1 LOX load complete."

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Mission Control Audio: "Stage 2 LOX load complete."

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

SECO, nominal orbital insertion.

SES-2 scheduled for T+26:19.

Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyz · 2 pts · 2y

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
BECO Booster Engine Cut-Off
GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit (35786km)
LOX Liquid Oxygen
MECO Main Engine Cut-Off
~ MainEngineCutOff podcast
RP-1 Rocket Propellant 1 (enhanced kerosene)
SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
SES Formerly Société Européenne des Satellites, comsat operator
~ Second-stage Engine Start

[Thread #46 for this sub, first seen 25th Jun 2024, 21:30] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Stage 2 RP-1 load has started.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2y

NASA webcast is back for the final burn and deployment.

Edit: SES-3.

Edit2: SECO-3 and norminal orbit insertion.

Edit3: GOES-U separation confirmed!

Edit4: NASA webcast concluded.

threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 2y

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1805329579755946315

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. Teams are keeping an eye on weather, which is 30% favorable for liftoff

::: spoiler Images

:::

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1805490612831142168

Falcon Heavy is vertical at pad 39A in Florida ahead of Tuesday’s launch of the GOES-U weather satellite

::: spoiler Images

:::