Falcon 9 rocket set for launch Monday from Cape Canaveral

Spaceflight Now.com ^ | 24NOV2013 | Author Unknown

[Jack Hydrazine]

Technicians are in the final stages of readying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch Monday on its first mission to geostationary transfer orbit with a commercial communications satellite for television broadcasters in India and Southeast Asia.

Rocket: Falcon 9 v1.1

Payload: SES 8

Launch date: November 25, 2013

Launch time: 5:37 p.m. EST/2:37 p.m. PST (2237 GMT)

Launch window: 66 minutes

Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida

[Jack Hydrazine]

Mission Status Center (launch can be viewed here)
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/status.html

Launch can also be followed here.
http://www.spacex.com/webcast/
http://new.livestream.com/spacex/SES8
http://mykalvi.com/spacex-launch-live-streaming-watch-online-ustream-nasa-tv-space-x-falcon-9-rocket-launch-video/

Falcon 9 Countdown Timeline
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/countdowntimeline.html

Falcon 9 Launch Timeline
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/launchtimeline.html

SES 8 satellite pics
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/payload/

Mission press kit
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/ses8_presskit.pdf

SES 8 satellite press kit
http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publications/SES-8_Fact.pdf

Falcon 9 v1.1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9_v1.1
http://www.spacex.com/falcon9

SES 8 wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SES-8

[JRandomFreeper]

Thanks for the ping. Godspeed to it.

/johnny

[HangnJudge]

Have they fixed their problems with the Merlin 1D vacuum engine?

[Jack Hydrazine]

Falcon 9 engine restart glitch blamed on thermal conditions
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/007/131122engine/#.UpKcjuKPwSo

SpaceX says frozen fluid lines prevented the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage engine from re-igniting on a Sept. 29 test flight, but engineers are confident extra insulation will resolve the thermal problem on the Falcon 9’s next mission set for liftoff Monday on the company’s first launch to geostationary transfer orbit.

The aborted engine restart on the Falcon 9 test flight was caused when fluid lines for the second stage Merlin engine’s igniter fluid froze after long exposure to cold oxygen, according to Emily Shanklin, a SpaceX spokesperson.

“This never happened on the ground, because ambient air kept the lines warm,” Shanklin said in a statement. “We’ve added insulation and made sure that cold oxygen can’t impinge on the lines.

[Jack Hydrazine]

[HangnJudge]

Ok

[RedMDer]

Four days until
Thanksgiving
Lets get'er done!
Woo hoo!! Less than $6.9k to go!!

[NonValueAdded]

Brevard County, Florida LAUNCH ALERT ping.

Let me know if you want on or off this ping list.
(not associated with the county government)

[wastedyears]

Anyone know how much SpaceX pays NASA for the use of Cape Canaveral?

[Jack Hydrazine]

I have no idea.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Jack Hydrazine.

[dragnet2]

A California designed and produced launch vehicle!

Go Falcon 9 !!

[Jack Hydrazine]

Tour of the launch site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FlhbMraqxA

[hattend]

Is this the big heavy lift booster? The possible moon rocket?

[Jack Hydrazine]

When they add the strap-on boosters to the Falcon 9 it will be called the Falcon Heavy.

http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy

Falcon Heavy is the world’s most powerful rocket, a launch vehicle of scale and capability unequaled by any other currently flying. With the ability to lift into orbit over 53 metric tons (117,000 lb)—a mass equivalent to a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel—Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost. Falcon Heavy draws upon the proven heritage and

reliability of Falcon 9. Its first stage is composed of three Falcon 9 nine engine cores whose 27 Merlin engines together generate nearly 4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit. Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the Moon or Mars.

[bigbob]

Wish I had a falcon rocket...

[larryjohnson]

That is Cape Canaveral AFS. Why is Air Force left off these civilian pages?

[Ken522]

Thanks, Jack Hydrazine. The rocket would require an awful lot of fuel to go up 18000 miles to geostationary orbit ... the physics courses I took so long ago ...

[Jack Hydrazine]

Be more specific.