SpaceX T- Two Hours - 6-13-24

[rockytopva]

 

[rockytopva]

Looks like weather will be the challenge of the day...

SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch as central and southern Florida is hammered by rounds of thunderstorms and heavy tropical downpours expected to last several days. The mission marks the 61st Falcon 9 flight for the company in 2024, which will tie the total number of orbital launches it achieved in all of 2022.

Liftoff of the Starlink 10-2 mission is set for 8:14 p.m. EDT (0014 UTC) Thursday. The Falcon 9 rocket will carry 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit on the 44th dedicated Starlink mission of the year- Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

 

[AlexB23]

Thank you brother, I am excited for this launch. This thread will get filled up with rocket info by the space man with a Cowboy Bebop avatar. 25% chance of favorable launch, as heavy clouds and electrical storms may happen nearby.

T-1h:25min

 

[AlexB23]

Guys, there is a slight tropical disturbance near the place where the booster would be recovered, according to NOAA.

 

[rockytopva]

Thank you brother, I am excited for this launch. This thread will get filled up with rocket info by the space man with a Cowboy Bebop avatar. 25% chance of favorable launch, as heavy clouds and electrical storms may happen nearby.

T-1h:25min

Keeping our eye on the weather! A thunderstorm would hamper the efforts to recover the booster.

 

[AlexB23]

Keeping our eye on the weather! A thunderstorm would hamper the efforts to recover the booster.

Yep, as the guy on SpaceFlightNow put up the NOAA graphic. Hopefully the booster will be recovered safely. Probably millions of bucks on the line here.

 

[rockytopva]

Wind is also a factor. I can remember very young launching Estes rockets and the last I saw of them was the wind taking them over the hill. I used to take the money I made on the paper route and buy model rockets. Some multi-staged. It is amazing to me to see booster returns after I lost so many! All of this makes me want to buy some model rockets.

And they also offer a SpaceX Falcon 9

 

[AlexB23]

Europa Clipper, a NASA mission to Jupiter's moon, Europa, may have a launch window that will open up in Fall 2024 according to SpaceFlightNow.


Probe Schematics: File:EUROPA-Clipper-diagram-sept-2018.png - Wikimedia Commons

 

[AlexB23]

Wind is also a factor. I can remember very young launching Estes rockets and the last I saw of them was the wind taking them over the hill. I used to take the money I made on the paper route and buy model rockets. Some multi-staged. It is amazing to me to see booster returns after I lost so many! All of this makes me want to buy some model rockets.

And they also offer a SpaceX Falcon 9

Bro, you just took me back to the turn of last decade, when I was at a community class to launch rockets, and then again in 2018 for a highschool Team America Rocketry Club (TARC). We as a club made it to nationals, and got 16th place out of 102 finalists in May 2018, out of 800 total schools. I launched some Estes rockets as well.

 

[rockytopva]

T- One Hour and still good to go. 2,300 watching the live stream. I am excited!

 

[AlexB23]

T-59 minutes guys.

 

[AlexB23]

T- One Hour and still good to go. 2,300 watching the live stream. I am excited!

Same here. Hopefully, this launch is not scrubbed.

 

[AlexB23]

Here is the countdown schedule, my friends. 10 minutes to go for propellant load verification.

 

[rockytopva]

3,500 watching as we prepare to load propellant...

 

[AlexB23]

3,500 watching as we prepare to load propellant...

Woo, yeah. T-42 minutes now.

 

[rockytopva]

Delay.... Weather could push things back even more.

 

[rockytopva]

Weather at launch site.... Weather at altitude... Weather at recovery zone. Could definitely be a scrub.

 

[AlexB23]

Weather at launch site.... Weather at altitude... Weather at recovery zone. Could definitely be a scrub.

Dang, a delay, and bad weather. I like seeing these launches.

 

[AlexB23]

Cheering mode activated: "Please don't scrub, please don't scrub, please don't scrub!"
Cheering mode deactivated.

 

[AlexB23]

Ooh, I hear the sounds of cicadas in the video. Reminds me of summer in the 2000s in rural Minnesota. Also T-38min. Statement from SpaceX: "All systems are good, 40% favorable chance (< a coin toss), propellant load starting".

Weather update at T-35min: