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| A SpaceX Falcon 9 is poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL with the Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat for Spain shortly after midnight on March 6, 2018. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com |
Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 5 Mar 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION,
FL – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised for a thrilling overnight blastoff
tonight just moments after midnight on a mission to deliver the Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat
for Spain to geosynchronous orbit on Tuesday March 6. IT will transmit HDTV,
DTV and highspeed internet to Spanish and Portuguese language countries in
Europe and South America.
If all goes well it should prove
to be a sky watching and space enthusiasts delight because the weather prognosis
is currently excellent and marks the 50th
Falcon 9 to be launched.
The single SpaceX Falcon 9 has
been raised erect to launch position today, Monday, March 5.
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SpaceX Falcon 9 is poised for liftoff from Space Launch
Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL with the Hispasat 30W-6
telecomsat for Spain shortly after
midnight on March 6, 2018. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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The Falcon 9 is now poised for
liftoff at 12:33 a.m. EST
(533 GMT, 633 Spanish time) from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station.
The Hispasat 30W-6 telecommunications
satellite is encapsulated inside the payload fairing.
And it’s a whooper sized satellite.
“Falcon 9 flight 50
launches tonight, carrying Hispasat for Spain,” tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
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Up close view of the nose cone
encapsulating Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat with Hispasat logo launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 on
March 6, 2018 just after midnight.
Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com Credit: Ken
Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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“At 6 metric tons and
almost the size of a city bus, it will be the largest geostationary satellite
we’ve ever flown.
The launch was delayed about a
week from late February when a last minute issue arose with the fairing
pressurization mechanism, which has now been resolved.
“The Hispasat
30W-6 satellite will be put into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, after the fairing’s pressurization
system incident was solved,” HISPASAT said in a statement released today.
The two stage 229-foot-tall
(70-meter-tall) SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver HispaSat 30W-6 to a
geosynchronous transfer orbit for HISPASAT – which is
“comprised of companies that have a presence in Spain as well as
in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate HISPAMAR is based.”
HISPASAT is a world leader
in the distribution and broadcasting of Spanish and Portuguese content, and its
satellite fleet is used by important direct-to-home television (DTH) and
high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms, according to a company
description.
After reaching its initial orbit it will be moved to its final orbital position, 30ยบ West, where it will replace and broaden the capacity of Hispasat 30W-4.
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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching Hispasat30W6 is raised erect
at Space Launch Complex 40 on on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL on
March 5, 2018 ahead of midnight launch on March 6 in this distant view from Titusville, FL. Liftoff set
for just past midnight at 12:33 am ET. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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The Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat
launching Tuesday “was manufactured by Space Systems Loral in Palo Alto
(California) and involved the significant participation of the Spanish
aerospace industry.”
The bus sized satellite weighs 6 metric tons.
The bus sized satellite weighs 6 metric tons.
You can watch the launch live on a SpaceX dedicated webcast
starting about 15 minutes prior to the 12:33 a.m. EST (533
GMT) liftoff time.
The launch will also be streamed live on the HISPASAT and HISPAMAR webpages.
The Hispasat 30W-6 launch window at pad 40 extends for two full
hours. The window opens at 1233 a.m. EST
(533 GMT)
and extends until closing at 2:33 a.m.
EST, or 733 GMT.
The backup
launch day is Wednesday, March 7, in case of any delay for weather or technical
reasons, but the weather outlook deteriorates significantly.
The official
AF weather forecast on Tuesday is extremely favorable with a 90% chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. The
primary concern is for the Thick Cloud Layers rule.
But on
Wednesday the chances plummet to only a 40% chance of acceptable conditions at
launch time due to rains.
This SpaceX Falcon 9 launch will conclude a back to back
double header of launches in the span of just over 4 days!
This past Thursday, March 1, ULA opened the month with the
stunning dinnertime liftoff of the 20 story tall Atlas V rocket carrying the 5.5
ton GOES-S next generation weather observatory to geosynchronous orbit for NOAA
and NASA. Read out stories.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX,
ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission
reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing
Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com –
twitter @ken_kremer - ken
at kenkremer.com
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