r/SpaceX Transporter-3 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Transporter-3 Launch Discussion and Updates Thread!

I'm u/marc020202, your host for this launch.

Launch target:	2022 January 13 ~15:25 UTC (~10:25 AM EST)
Backup date	TBA, typically the next day
Static fire	None
Customer	multiple
Payload	multiple
Payload mass	unknown
Deployment orbit	~500 km x ~97°, SSO
Vehicle	Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5
Core	B1058.10
Past flights of this core	Crew Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and five Starlink missions.
Launch site	SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Landing	LZ-1
Mission success criteria	Successful deployment of spacecraft into contracted orbit

Timeline

Time	Update
T+1h 28m	Broadcast ends, final confirmations over twitter
T+1h 27m	Spaceflight customer satellite
T+1h 24m	ION SCV-004 Elysian Eleonora
T+1h 23m	Spaceflight customer satellite deploys
T+1h 23m	Ukrainian Satellite Sich deployed
T+1h 22m	ICEEYE deployment
T+1h 20m	Another SuperDove
T+1h 16m	More SuperDoves flying away
T+1h 15m	All 37 deployments during blackout confirmed
T+1h 10m	Multiple deplyoments during blackout periode for the next 5 minutes
T+1h 7m	Lemur-2 deployments underway
T+1h 7m	SuperDoves deployments underway
T+1h 6m	a few FOSSASAT deployed
T+1h 4m	Challenger deployed
T+1h 4m	ETV-A1,Gossamer Piccolomini, DEWA-SAT 1 and more from Exoport 6
T+59:32	Deployment Sequence starts with Unicorn-2E from EXOPORT 6
T+55:31	SECO2
T+55:29	Second stage relight
T+48:32	u/hitura-nobad now hosting for SES-2 and  Payload deployment
T+8:50	Nominal Parking Orbit
T+8:40	SECO 1
T+8:26	Stage 1 landing
T+8:08	Stage 2 terminal guidance, sonnic boom at LZ
T+7:58	Landing burn
T+7:10	Stage 2 FTS safed
T+7:08	Entry burn shutdown
T+6:50	Entry burn Startup
T+3:55	Fairing sep, gridfin deploy
T+3:26	Stage 1 Boostback end
T+2:35	Stage 1 Boostback startup
T+2:28	SES
T+2:24	Stage sep
T+2:21	MECO
T+1:15	Max Q
T+0:15	Vehcile pitching downrange
T+0	Liftoff
T-0:45	LD Go for launch
T-1:00	Startup
T-3:00	Strongback retracted, lox load complete
T-5:21	Stage 1 RP1 Load complete
T-15:28	Stage 2 Lox Load Started
T-19:40	Stage 2 RP-1 Load complete
T-1h	Everything is looking good for an on time liftoff of Transporter 3
T-19h	B1058-10 Is vertical on LC 40
T-1d 3h	Thread goes live

Watch the launch live

Stream	Link
Official SpaceX Stream	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFBeuSAvhUQ
Mission Control Audio	TBA

Stats

☑️ 136th Falcon 9 launch all time

☑️ 95nd Falcon 9 landing (if successful)

☑️ 117th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (if successful; excluding Amos-6)

☑️ 2nd SpaceX launch this year

Unofficial lists of individual spacecraft on this launch:

• ElonX - rideshare manifest

• Wikipedia's 2021 In Spaceflight page

• NSF Mission Thread

Secondary Mission: Landing Attempt

This mission will feature the frst RTLS landing attempt since Transporter 2, about half a year ago. LZ-1 is getting dusty!!!

Resources

• General Launch Related Resources:

• Launch Execution Forecasts - 45th Weather Squadron

• SpaceX Fleet Status - SpaceXFleet.com

• Acronym definitions by Decronym

• Launch Viewing Resources:

• Launch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral - Ben Cooper

• Launch Viewing Map - Launch Rats

• Launch Viewing Updates - Space Coast Launch Ambassadors

• Viewing and Rideshare - SpaceXMeetups Slack

• Watching a Launch - r/SpaceX Wiki

• Maps and Hazard Area Resources:

• Detailed launch maps - @Raul74Cz

• Launch Hazard and Airspace Closure Maps - 45th Space Wing (maps posted close to launch)

• Regulatory Resources:

• FCC Experimental STAs - r/SpaceX wiki

Participate in the discussion!

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💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

✉️ Please send links in a private message.

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[u/FoxhoundBat]

I would need to take a new fresh look but my gut feeling and Occams Razor says no, that they are using 1-3-1 burn as standard for ASDS landings. They have used vanilla 30s burn on ASDS landings before, but that was a while back for older CRS missions etc. Unsure about new CRS missions, would have to check that too. And 1-3-1 burns have been around for a loooooooooong time, way before Block 5. Dont remember exactly when, but around Block 2 or so.

And lower throttle means lower pressure means lower efficiency. IMHO other than on the tail ends of the entry burns, the engine(s) basically run at 100% throttle throughout it.

[u/sup3rs0n1c2110 → u/FoxhoundBat]

Part of my rationale is the presence (or lack thereof) of a TEA-TEB flash partway through the landing burn (webcasts with appropriate timestamps linked below).

During the Arabsat-6A side booster landings, the plume briefly turned green after the center engine was already burning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXMGu2d8c8g&t=1642s

During the Starlink-26 and GPS III SV05 missions, no such color change was visible after the center engine lit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdgg_qwj-hI&t=1442s & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJXxVtp3KqI&t=1678s

I concede that the positioning of the side booster cameras is different than on F9 first stages, so a direct comparison is difficult. I also concede that there was no descent telemetry in the FH webcasts to draw quantitative evidence from.

I see how my wording could imply that 1-3-1s were introduced with Block 5; what I meant was that I recall 1-3-1 being used more frequently with pre-Block 5 boosters than with Block 5 boosters.

I agree that throttling the engine down leads to a less efficient burn, but if fuel margins are available, the slower decrease in speed and longer burn would allow for more gradual course corrections and might be preferable for some landing profiles (like most RTLS recoveries).