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

[SlowApproach]

What a relief! Launch and deployment all successful. Will still take some time for the various sats (including those of particular interest) to tootle off to their respective positions, but getting this far is major.

To think that launches such as these are all due to a *South African* visionary! Elon, if you ever decide to come and visit us, we would be more than willing to even share a toke with you. Your detractors are just jealous. Massively jealous.

[Ugly Duckling]

Great news
Now to convince Mama to release the contents of the coinage jars to buy yourself a decent celebratory beverage & maybe a pedi for Mama

[SlowApproach]

Thanks UD. But she's getting it all anyway. However, you've given me an idea. I just have to practise this look for maximum effect

that look.jpg

[richard C]

He can probably buy a small sedan.

[SlowApproach]

[Spoke Eagle]

Any news today SA? When do you expect ops. normal?

[SlowApproach]

SE, the sats are all in position and orbiting as they should; ground contact with the sats is sharp-sharp and initial status is good. Currently undergoing a detailed system checkout before they start their work

Incidentally, the tracking, monitoring and communications (downlinks and uplinks) is provided by Norway’s Kongsberg Satellite Service (KSAT), through their "KSATLite" ground station network and sites across the globe (rather interesting subject by itself . More about them at: https://www.ksat.no)

[GL]

Did the rocket miss its landing pad and fall in the sea?

[heisan]

Did the rocket miss its landing pad and fall in the sea?

Stage 1 landed safely on the drone ship, and will fly again. The payload fairing missed the capture ship, but was recovered and will fly again (1st time for a payload fairing recovery).

[SlowApproach]

GL, the "SSO-A" mission Falcon 9 rocket's recovery was a resounding success. It did a perfect, pinpoint controlled-descent landing on the drone ship, which is pictured below (just for illustration). A subsequent launch and retrieval of a Falcon 9 to replenish supplies on the ISS however, was a bit of a bummer as it failed the approach due to a hydraulic pump issue and made a water landing, but appears to be undamaged.

drone ship.jpg

(Not the SSO-A's as that was dead-center, This pic's from Wikipedia just for illustration)

As for the fairings (the payload's protective nose cone) of SSO-A, these missed the net of the recovery vessel (called "Mr Steven") and had a bit of a water dunking but nevertheless also fit for re-use.

This is what "Mr Steven" for the fairings' recovery looks like:

mr steven recovery vessel.jpg

Pity that SpaceX has yet to put the SSO-A's recorded launch on YT as it also shows the magnificent landing of the first stage. (I still made a remark to my son watching with me that it is incredible how they made that "pencil" land so nicely ) I however have a recording of the launch. Just have to put it somewhere as Avcom obviously won't allow mp4s to be uploaded & attached. Unless of course SpaceX beats me to it

[SlowApproach]

Incidentally, my satellites of interest up there, doing their formation "flying":
(many more will be launched in time)

hawk satellite cluster formation.jpg

[GL]

Did the rocket miss its landing pad and fall in the sea?

Stage 1 landed safely on the drone ship, and will fly again. The payload fairing missed the capture ship, but was recovered and will fly again (1st time for a payload fairing recovery).

Pray tell more - how did the fairing come down - with a parachute? - no wonder it missed the net.
And how do they get the upright rocket off that barge? where is the barge?

[edit] did a bit of goggling -

SpaceX didn't manage to catch the rocket nose cone that fell back to Earth during Monday's epic launch, but the company plans to reuse the $6 million piece of equipment anyway.

Both halves of the protective payload fairing surrounding the 64 small satellites that were lofted Monday (Dec. 3) by a twice-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket evaded the company's speedy, net-equipped boat, Mr. Steven. The parts instead splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

But that's not a deal-breaker for reuse, according to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. [Launch Photos: SpaceX Falcon 9 Lofts 64 Satellites (and Lands) on Historic 3rd Flight]

"Falcon fairing halves missed the net but touched down softly in the water. Mr. Steven is picking them up. Plan is to dry them out & launch again. Nothing wrong with a little swim," Musk said via Twitter, about 90 minutes after the Falcon 9 lifted off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on the "SSO-A: Smallsat Express" mission.

Falcon 9 fairing halves are equipped with parachutes and small thrusters, which help nose cones make soft ocean landings. SpaceX has tried to snatch fairings out of the air with Mr. Steven on multiple occasions to keep the gear clear of corrosive seawater, but the boat has missed the catch each time.

Some of these have been very near misses, with Mr. Steven just a few hundred feet from the splashdown site. So, it's unclear at the moment what's different about this recovery — why SpaceX plans to reuse this fairing but passed on doing so with others. (Musk hadn't explained that at the time of this writing.)

Reusability is a key priority for SpaceX, which aims to re-fly its space vehicles frequently and repeatedly. Doing so will slash the cost of spaceflight, potentially making bold feats such as the colonization of Mars economically feasible, Musk has said.

Monday's launch was a milestone in this push, marking the first time that a Falcon 9 first stage had launched on three orbital missions. (SpaceX has never re-flown the upper stage of the two-stage rocket and doesn't plan to do so in the future, Musk said recently.)

The first stage may fly yet again; it aced its landing Monday as well, coming down softly on the deck of the drone ship "Just Read The Instructions," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

SSO-A was also notable for the number of satellites it delivered; 64 is the most ever lofted from U.S. soil during a single launch. The overall record is 104, set in February 2017 by an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

[GrahamW]

Did the rocket miss its landing pad and fall in the sea?

Stage 1 landed safely on the drone ship, and will fly again. The payload fairing missed the capture ship, but was recovered and will fly again (1st time for a payload fairing recovery).

Pray tell more - how did the fairing come down - with a parachute? - no wonder it missed the net.
And how do they get the upright rocket off that barge? where is the barge?

[cage]

These the hawkeye satellites?

[GL]

Thanks for the video - I had imagined they offloaded it onto a ship while at sea.
I must admit the idea of Mr Stevens makes me laugh - this ship with its net dashing about trying to get under the falling fairing - like a cartoon fireman charging around with a net to catch a jumper.
Musk also thinks its kinda funny -

As Musk once rather hilariously noted, payload fairings are akin to a pallet of $5M plummeting through the air, a pallet that SpaceX would certainly like to recover. Perhaps, rather than catching that pallet of cash in a net, SpaceX can instead waterproof the bills and pick them up.