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posted by takyon on Wednesday October 11 2017, @10:00PM   Printer-friendly

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1937

SpaceX will attempt the launch of EchoStar 105/SES-11 at 6:53 PM EDT (10:53 PM UTC). This is SpaceX's second launch attempt in 3 days, following the successful launch of 10 satellites for Iridium on Monday:

It's the third time SpaceX has used one of its landed boosters for a second flight — and if it sticks the landing again, it'll also be the third to have come safely back to Earth for a second time. The first reused Falcon 9 flew in March, with the second one following close behind in June. It's possible we'll see more used rockets fly before the year is out: earlier this year, Musk said the company could fly as many as six used boosters in 2017. Eventually, SpaceX hopes to refly its Falcon 9s much more frequently, by making a landed booster ready to fly again in just 24 hours.

Going up on this flight is a hybrid satellite that will be used by two companies, SES and EchoStar. Called EchoStar 105/SES-11, the satellite will sit in a high orbit 22,000 miles above Earth, providing high-definition broadcasts to the US and other parts of North America. While this is the first time EchoStar is flying a payload on a used Falcon 9, this is familiar territory for SES. The company's SES-10 satellite went up on the first "re-flight" in March. And SES has made it very clear that it is eager to fly its satellites on previously flown boosters.

SpaceX Webcast.

Update: Liftoff was successful and the first stage landed successfully on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Update 2: EchoStar 105/SES-11 successfully deployed.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:02PM (7 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:02PM (#580837) Journal

    Stage 1 landed successfully. 18th successful landing of the Falcon 9 first stage.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:28PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:28PM (#580846)

    Congratulations to SpaceX!

    It's neat how this is essentially normal now.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:12AM (1 child)

      by bob_super (1357) on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:12AM (#580864)

      Something wasn't quite right, though.
      There were sparkish things on the way down, just before they cut off the booster cam, and after landing, there was an unusual glow for a long time at the bottom.
      I'd guess something caught on fire in/near one of the engines during the supersonic re-entry (the thing is shaped like a cylinder, not aerodynamic at all).
      Yet, they still stuck the landing. Again.

      • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Thursday October 12 2017, @09:28AM

        by isostatic (365) on Thursday October 12 2017, @09:28AM (#581046) Journal

        Yet, they still stuck the landing. Again.

        Yes, it's like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet, wearing a blindfold. On a horse. Amazing stuff.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:16AM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:16AM (#580869) Journal

      I hope that Falcon 9 launches decline dramatically in price due to partial reuse, allowing universities and smaller companies to launch stuff.

      If not, there's this [theverge.com].

      Falcon 9's full thrust mode is fully expendable, allowing more mass to be launched but without enough fuel for landing the booster(s).

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:29PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:29PM (#580847) Journal

    EchoStar 105/SES-11 successfully deployed.

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    • (Score: 2) by rylyeh on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:36PM (1 child)

      by rylyeh (6726) <{kadath} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:36PM (#580849)

      Yay! I missed the web cast though :(

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      • (Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Thursday October 12 2017, @03:09AM

        by martyb (76) Subscriber Badge on Thursday October 12 2017, @03:09AM (#580943) Journal

        I missed the web cast though :(

        Typically, SpaceX uploads a video of the livestream after the actual launch. This launch was no exception. You can see it on YouTube [youtube.com].

        NB: The first 10 minutes of the video contains the SpaceX logo and a starfield effect reminiscent of an old screen saver.

        Enjoy!

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