For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM
SPACE VIEW PARK, TITUSVILLE, FL – At last the third time was the charm for SpaceX for a stunning sunset and moonrise launch of a fleet leading Falcon 9 booster that delivered dual TV telecomsats for Intelsat to a geosynchronous transfer orbit Saturday evening. Oct. 8 from Florida’s Spaceport after a pair of technical scrubs the prior two nights.
The veteran Falcon 9 booster B1060.14 launched for the 14th time right at sunset with a rising nearly full moon that was 98.9% illuminated at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT), Oct. 5, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at the opening of a 70- minute launch window for the Intelsat Galaxy G-333/G-34 missions.
The sooty Falcon 9 B1060 1st stage finally took flight on Saturday evening following back-to-back scrubs for a small helium leak on Thursday and Friday evenings, said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The SpaceX Intelsat launch completed a very busy launch triad this week following a ULA Atlas V SES comsat mission and NASA SpaceX Crew 5 astronaut mission to the ISS on Oct. 4 and 5 respectively.
The 229-foot-tall (69-meter) Falcon 9 lifted off flawlessly with ignition of all 9 Merlin 1D engines performing perfectly and generating 1.7 million pounds of liftoff thrust soaring aloft on an easterly trajectory over the equator.
Stages separated two and a half minutes later and the payload continued to orbit on the upper stage firing.
Eight and a half minutes after its 14th liftoff B1060 mailed another perfect landing, its 14th, on the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ (ASOG) droneship that had been prepositioned some 400 mi (640 km) downrange.
Here is a stunning video of the ASOG droneship landing from SpaceX that also shows formation of a space jellyfish.
View from the droneship of Falcon 9’s launch and landing pic.twitter.com/5yYvT9bNcL
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 12, 2022
On Thursday evening, Oct .5 the countdown reached T Minus 30 seconds when computers called an auto abort because of the helium leak.
We did see LOX venting from the 2nd stage from our vantage point on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station until moments before the scrub was announced.
On Friday evening, SpaceX finally called off the launch attempt less 90 minutes before the targeted liftoff saying they needed more time to resolve the vehicle issues.
Weather was absolutely gorgeous for all three days including Saturday when the Falcon 9 soared aloft to cheering crowds ringing the Space Coast.
Enjoy our photos by the Space UpClose team of Ken Kremer and Jean Wright of the launch as we watched this mission off site from nearby the Max Brewer Bridge at Space View Park in Titusville, about 12 miles away.
The Intelsat Galaxy G-33/G-34 satellites will provide TV services for millions of customers in North America
The Galaxy G-33/G-34 satellites were built by Northrop Grumman and have a combined mass of 7350 kg
Galaxy 33 is being targeted to 133 degrees West and will cover C-band and Ku and Ka bands.
Galaxy 34 is targeted to 129 degrees West and will cover C-band
The Falcon 9 first stage B1060 booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and 10 Starlink missions.
SpaceX video shows Intelsat Galaxy G-33/G34 satellites deployment as planned 38 minutes after liftoff:
Deployment of @Intelsat Galaxy 34 confirmed pic.twitter.com/mKXMS7kbsy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 8, 2022
Watch Ken’s commentary about Crew-5 and more
Oct 5: Two Fox 35 interviews –
Live prelaunch interview on Fox 35 Orlando about NASA Crew-5 launch: ‘Whats’ the purpose of the Crew-5 mission”
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1126638
Post-launch interview with Fox 35 Orlando about successful Crew-5 blastoff to ISS on Oct 5
Oct 3: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando previewing the Crew-5 mission
Watch Ken’s continuing reports about Artemis, SpaceX missions, SLS, Orion and NASA missions, SpaceX Crew and Cargo Dragons, SpaceX Axiom-1, JWST, IXPE, DART, Lucy Asteroid mission, GOES, SpaceX Starlink, Commercial Crew and Starliner and Crew Dragon, Blue Origin and Space Tourism, and onsite for live reporting of upcoming and recent SpaceX and ULA launches including Crew 1 & 2 & 3 & 4, ISS, Solar Orbiter, Mars 2020 Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, NRO spysats and national security missions and more at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Please consider supporting Ken’s work by purchasing his photos and/or donating at Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/kenkremer
Upcoming and recent space events and talks by Ken Kremer & Jean Wright
Oct 5, 14 from 7 to 9 PM Quality Inn, Titusville, FL: Join Ken and Jean for Artemis 1 and space mission and rocket launch triple header outreach. Ask us anything. plus display our photos and space apparel items for sale
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