#lc39a

[paraparaparadigm]

[callerate]

Starlink 10 by SpaceX by Michael Seeley Via Flickr: How to launch and land a rocket five times; a master class by Elon Musk and #SpaceX. This was the epic view of the #Starlink #Falcon9 launch from Titusville, Florida and the A. Max Brewer Bridge. Liftoff was at 1:12am on Friday, August 7, 2020. (Pic: me/ @WeReportSpace)

[trip-my-life]

Pas de tir LC 39 A c’est le principal de la base, c’est d’ici qu’à décoller la mission Apollo 11 en 1969 et bien d’autre encore.

Complexe de lancement 39 — Wikipédia

Complexe de lancement 39 — Wikipédia

[for-all-mankind]

Apollo-era Launch Complex 39 captured from orbit on eve of Apollo 11 golden anniversary (July 10, 2019).

Maxar Technologies' WorldView-3 satellite captured these views of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39 Monday, July 8. Both Apollo-era launch pads are now home to different launch vehicles. SpaceX launches their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets from LC-39A as well as their Crew Dragon spacecraft. The company hung a giant American flag from their Crew Access Arm in commemoration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which departed for the moon from that very pad. The transporter/erector strongback that the rockets are assembled and transported to the pad on can be seen in the horizontal position adjacent to the service tower. NASA will utilize LC-39B for their Space Launch System, which WorldView-3 captured with the SLS Mobile Launch atop it. The ML was moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad last week for a final series of validation checks before hosting the first SLS flight in early 2021.

WorldView-3 was roughly 380 miles above the earth when it captured these images. P/c: Maxar Technologies.

[startalkradio]

A little #tbt to this incredible moment. #Repost @gate2adventures ・・・ #FalconHeavy #maidenflight #inaugural #flight #launch #KSC #SpaceX #space #Tesla #Roadster #teslaroadster #history #rocket #merlin #engines #CapeCanaveral #Florida #USA #Spacetravel #liftoff #LC39A @spacex @teslamotors @kennedyspacecenter #starman

[for-all-mankind]

Falcon Heavy soars on maiden voyage, launches Starman and Tesla into deep space. (Feburary 6, 2018) SpaceX made history February 6 with the long-awaited flight of their Falcon Heavy rocket. Seven years after it was first announced, the three-core booster rose above LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center with over 5.1 million pounds of thrust. The rocket’s maiden voyage tested both the vehicle’s flight profile which offered significant complexities compared to a single-core Falcon 9. Interactions between the three cores during both ascent, max Q, and booster separation could only be determined in flight. Additionally, three cores landing in near-unison on both ground based landing pads and the droneship had never been attempted before.

Falcon Heavy launches from LC-39A as seen from the NASA Causeway four miles south of the pad. P/c: For All Mankind Lifting off at 3:45pm EST after over two hours of wind-based delays, Falcon Heavy performed as expected as the rocket pierced the Florida sky. Both side boosters jettisoned two and a half minutes into flight and performed a flawless, jaw-dropping double landing in unison at LZ-1 and LZ-2. Six sonic booms – three per booster – heralded the return of the boosters just eight miles south of where they began their flight. Once the second stage separated and began firing its engine, the core stage began its descent onto the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ nearly 300 miles downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the booster ran out of TEA/TEB igniter propellant to relight its engines and did not successfully land. Instead, it impacted the water at around 500 kilometers per hour less than 100 yards away from the droneship. While the cores were performing their landing maneuvers, the second stage was propelling its payload into an initial parking orbit around the Earth. Since Falcon Heavy is a test flight and could not fly a customer’s satellite, SpaceX instead lofted Elon Musk’s own Tesla Roadster into orbit. Riding in the driver’s seat was a mannequin clad in the qualification article for the company’s spacesuit. 

Falcon Heavy’s upper stage camera rig captured this final image of Starman and Tesla as it departed the Earth system bound for deep space. Batteries on he upper stage only lasted for 12 hours. P/c: SpaceX. Together, the Tesla and its ‘Starman’ passenger- as SpaceX calls him – were pushed into a heliocentric orbit with the high point – or apogee just beyond the orbit of Mars and a low point – or perigee – right at Earth’s. Computer simulations based on these orbital parameters show the combined Tesla/Starman/Falcon upper stage to fly in deep space for nearly a million years before the gravitational effects of other planets perturb the orbit. Such a feat demonstrates the Heavy’s ability to launch payloads into interplanetary space for a fraction of the cost of other launch vehicles on the market. This is good news for planetary science or human exploration missions.

Falcon Heavy also successfully demonstrated the ability of SpaceX to operate a heavy-lift launch vehicle that is both reusable and cost efficient. CEO Elon Musk said that the cost of a Heavy launch would be $90 million with full recovery, $95 with side booster recovery, and $150 million for full expendability. By comparison, America’s only other heavy-lift launch vehicle, ULA’s Delta IV Heavy, can put about half the payload to the same orbit for around $350 million. Such a reduction in cost allows the Heavy to fit into the market for direct-insertion geostationary and national security missions, both of which require heavy-lift capability and extended maneuvering of the vehicle’s upper stage. Musk stated in a post-launch news conference that multiple customers are lined up to use the Heavy and will eventually have the vehicle certified for national security missions. “We’ll be doing several Falcon Heavy launches per year. If there’s a big national security satellite due for launch in three or four years we’ll probably have a dozen or more launches done by then. Click here to see Falcon Heavy’s long road to the launch pad in our archive.

Check out the SpaceX launch webcast of the Falcon Heavy mission below.

P/c: For All Mankind/Joey Vars

[for-all-mankind]

Falcon Heavy comes to life during initial static fire. Falcon Heavy came to life for the first time Wednesday morning, January 24, as SpaceX performed the vehicle’s first static fire test. Validating both ground equipment interfaces and the rocket’s systems, all 27 of the vehicle’s Merlin 1D engines fired for 12 seconds at various thrust levels while remaining firmly bolted to LC-39A. The procedure is performed prior to every Falcon 9 mission to date. Once SpaceX reviews the data from the static fire the company will set a launch date for the Heavy’s inaugural flight - a demonstration mission launching one of Elon Musk’s own Tesla’s to the vicinity of Mars. P/c: SpaceX.

[for-all-mankind]

Official SpaceX images of the Falcon Heavy during last week′s series of fit checks atop LC-39A. The rocket is expected to return to the pad in mid-January for a static fire of all 27 Merlin 1D engines.

P/c: SpaceX