#echostar23

EchoStar 23 launches to orbit. Following a flawless early morning countdown at Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A, SpaceX launched the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into Geostationary Transfer Orbit. Liftoff occurred at 2am EDT. Stage separation occurred at two minutes and 55 seconds into the flight, with payload fairing jettison 50 seconds later. Visible in launch footage for the first time, the fairing’s Reaction Control Trusters could be seen firing. Each half of the fairing have a spring-loaded push mechanism to separate the stages and RCS thrusters to clear the top from the rocket. In order to successfully deliver the satellite to GTO, Falcon 9 had to use all of its first stage propellant, not leaving enough to complete the three burns necessary for a safe recovery. This will be Falcon 9′s final mission in ‘expendable’ configuration. The 12,100 pound satellite was deployed from the rocket’s second stage at T+34 minutes completing today’s launch. EchoStar 23 will be positioned over Brazil to provide Ku-band communications services to all South America.

P/C: SpaceX.

Liftoff of EchoStar 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket is now set for 2:00 am EDT from LC-39A in Florida.

Watch SpaceX’s webcast of the launch by clicking here or streaming below.

EchoStar 23 prepares for second launch attempt.

Following a scrubbed launch attempt march 14 due to unfavorable weather, SpaceX is now targeting 1:35am EDT March 16 for the launch of EchoStar 23. This mission is SpaceX’s first commercial flight from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A, which was first used by the company February 19 for CRS-10. Falcon 9 will be flying in its expendable configuration with no landing hardware installed. As seen in the photograph above, the rocket is missing its four grid fin control surfaces near the top of the first stage as well as ts four landing legs. EchoStar 23, weighing in at more than 12,100 pounds, will require all of the rocket’s propellant in order to achieve Geostationary Transfer Orbit, leaving none available for the boostback, reentry, and landing burns necessary to land downrange on the ASDS. Watch SpaceX’s webcast of the launch beginning at around 1:20 am EDT by clicking here or streaming below.

Falcon 9 set to launch on expendable EchoStar 23 mission.

SpaceX’s final expendable Falcon 9 mission is slated for an early morning liftoff March 14 carrying the EchoStar 23 communications satellite. Built by Space Systems Loral, the 12,100 pound satellite will provide television and data services to millions of residents in Brazil and across all South America.  EchoStar 23′s massive weight is near the upper limit of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust’s lifting capability, and the rocket will need to utilize all its fuel to deliver the satellite into Geostationary Transfer Orbit. As such, there will not be any landing attempt on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship following stage separation. Future Falcon 9 missions to GTO with satellites of a similar size will use the Block 5 version of the rocket or the Falcon Heavy, both of which are slated to enter service later this year and will have an increased payload ability to GTO. Liftoff from LC-39A is slated for 1:34am EDT at the beginning of a 2.5 hour launch window. Weather forecasters at the 45th Space Wing have given a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. If EchoStar 23 does not launch on the 14th, a 2.5 hour window is available on March 16th beginning 1:35am EDT. To prepare for the mission, SpaceX technicians erected the Falcon 9 at LC-39A March 9 for the static fire test of the vehicle's engines. The rocket was then returned to the Horizontal Integration Facility where the satellite and payload fairing were attached.

SpaceX will have a mission webcast beginning around L-20 minutes, which can be viewed here or below.

T-6 days (March 9, 2017) -  Echostar 23 static fire completed. With the company’s successful Florida Return To Flight mission last month, SpaceX now begins to catch up their launch manifest, which has had a growing backlog of missions since mid-2016. The next flight is Echostar 23 slated for launch at 1:37 pm EDT March 14. Echostar 23 will provide television services to millions of people in Brazil. The Falcon 9 for the mission arrived at LC-39A yesterday ahead of the static fire test, but unknown issues delayed it to today. Nine Merlin 1D engines fired for over six seconds at 6 pm, validating the engine’s and rocket’s systems before Tuesday’s flight.

EchoStar 23′s Falcon 9 going vertical at LC39A ahead of today’s static fire test. The rocket’s payload fairing and satellite were not attached to the two-stage vehicle during the test. P/C: Spaceflight Now. Unlike recent SpaceX missions, the Echostar 23 Falcon 9 first stage will not be performing any post-launch recovery. It is the company’s final expendable Falcon 9 rocket and no landing hardware will be installed on the booster. All Falcon 9 launches following the TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSat mission in April 2015, have had landing tests or attempts occur.

With SLC-40 undergoing still undergoing extensive repairs following the Amos-6 explosion, SpaceX will continue using their second Florida launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A. SLC-40 is expected to be online again in November 2017 after repairs are complete and upgraded hardware is installed. The complex will get a new Transporter/Erector similar in design but smaller than LC-39A’s and improved umbilical systems.