SpaceX Falcon 9: Spaceflight SSO-A (Sun Synch Express) to launch Nov 19 2018

[GrahamW]

Perhaps the launch of a Falcon 9 on Friday caused resources to be thin on the ground?
Friday's launch was with a previously used rocket and the booster(s) was(were) successfully landed again.

SpaceX always does a static fire of the rocket a few days before the launch to test that all systems are working. Something in the telemetry must have alerted them that something was not right after the test fire.

[SlowApproach]

Thanks for the wishes guys. Much appreciated. Frustrating but also incredibly exciting stuff coming, which I will elaborate on later. Although probably not as exciting as THAT look I got from the missus when she found out about the delay, like it's my fault. (I'm sure many of you know the "silent assassin with a thousand daggers..." look from a woman )

[SlowApproach]

Ok, folks, I promised to elaborate on some of my involvement, so here it is. After all, you deserve some explanation - However, out of respect for Avcom’s T&Cs regarding commercial solicitations and whatnot, I’m not mentioning any names nor will I divulge any specifics:

Imagine you had Internet access (among other things) to a system that can detect, analyse, geolocate and map a wide range of RF (Radio Frequency) emissions coming from anywhere on earth.

(So how does this differ from, say, things like conventional satellite based tracking? Well, for one, trackers have to actively signal to function but they can be switched off, either deliberately, accidentally or through damage. The system I’m talking about can passively listen, identify and triangulate normally hard-to-pinpoint signals from, for example, push-to-talk radios, marine radar, and even some satellite phones)

It has many other uses (and more to come in time as the database of RF emissions recognition and analyses grows), but one of the first application rollouts is to identify, track and map "dark ships", i.e. those who turn off their mandatory AIS to avoid detection. There are also those who “spoof” their identity to provide a fake location. However, sooner or later they have to use radar or some other kind of radio transmission and that’s when their true location is revealed. Even if they try to keep “dark” while on the move, once detected a few times, AI-based analytics can be used to predict where they are headed (or have come from).

(AIS (Automatic Identification System) is basically the maritime equivalent of aviation’s ADS-B. It broadcasts a vessel's GPS location to avoid collisions, but turning it off or spoofing are common tricks crookeds use if they're fishing illegally or trafficking illegal drugs, wares, or people. Although AIS is now mandatory for commercial vessels 65 feet (20 m) and larger, this constraint obviously presents an additional problem when non-commercial or smaller vessels are used for “funny business”. However, the system under discussion could also detect them if they had to make some other kind of radio transmission)

Some of the other uses of the system:
- for emergency response, and search and rescue efforts
- for communications interference detection
- for spectrum mapping and monitoring

So where do I fit into the picture? No doubt that African countries could also benefit from the use of the system. I’m part of an operation that will market and distribute the system’s products in Africa, along with providing other-systems mapping integration and other value-added support.

[Spoke Eagle]

So when is the launch now?

[SlowApproach]

New launch date not yet set.

[GrahamW]

New launch date not yet set.

Just in case you are interested, there is an app - SpaceXnow - which gives up to date launch schedule and updates as they come out.

[HAAN]

A0705/18 -
DUE TO A FRENCH GUIANA SPACE CENTER LAUNCH, VEGA VV13, NEW YORK OCEANIC WILL NOT ACCEPT IFR FLIGHT WITHIN THAT SPLASHDOWN AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY: 2030N 5409W, 2030N 5400W, 1850N 5352W 1849N 5401W TO START POINT. THE FOLLOWING INTERNATIONAL AIRWAY WILL BE AFFECTED: L375. ALL AIRCRAFT CERTIFIED FOR RNP4/10 SHALL FILE ROUTES THAT AVOID THE ABOVE HAZARD AREAS BY A MINIMUM OF 25NM. SFC - FL999, DLY 0042-0213, 21 NOV 00:42 2018 UNTIL 01 DEC 02:13 2018. CREATED: 19 NOV 19:36 2018

[HAAN]

Regions:NE,SE,Central,SW,NW,NAT
Summary:
Rocket Launch - Cayenne (SOOO) - Vega Rocket - Overfly PAZA FIR - 21 November 0142z
Details: Launch time: 0142 GMT on 21st
Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

[vanjast]

Launch site: ZLV, Kourou, French Guiana

Kourou..Interesting, are they planning a 'low inclination'/equatorial orbit.. possibly geostationary
This cannot be a Sun-Sync as it's plenty degrees out on inclination.. otherwise they have to reduce payload

[apollo11]

Most interesting to read about your involvement SA, and rather fascinating, is this a live sort of environment or could it store data on historical transmissions (I'm think of aircraft that could go missing without an apparent trace in the future once this system is in place)

[SlowApproach]

Vanjast, that launch was the ride for the government of Morocco's "high-resolution land observation" Mohammed VI-B satellite, a quite hefty bugger weighing in at over a ton. It is indeed set for sunsynchronous orbit at 620 Km.

[SlowApproach]

Apollo, both facets are catered for, absolutely. All raw and processed data is permanently stored for use in/with "big data" analytics. So yes, It may indeed become very valuable and useful for that kind of SAR.

[SlowApproach]

Incidentally, for those who like things like FlightRadar24, here's a handy something similar - but for satellites:
https://www.n2yo.com

(the n2yo.com system powers ESA's, Space.com's and many others' satellite tracking web pages)

[Artfly]

Give Elon,a Bells !

[GrahamW]

New launch date set for Net 27 November