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SpaceX conducted
a short Static Fire Test of the Falcon Heavy rockets 1st 27 first
stage engines with a payload fairing attached and standing vertical at Launch
Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:32 p.m. EDT June 19, 2019. Launch
of the STP-2 mission for the U.S. Air Force is slated for June 24, 2019 at
11:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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TITUSVILLE/MERRITT ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, FL – SpaceX engineers successfully completely a critical hold down nighttime test firing of the worlds most powerful rocket, the mammoth Falcon Heavy, shortly before midnight Wednesday, June 19 – thereby paving the path for the first ever nighttime blastoff of the beast generating 5 million pounds of thrust on what is certain to be an absolutely magnificent spectacle on Florida’s Space Coast Monday evening June 24.
This 3rd launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy marks the 1st ever mission of the triple stick rocket for the US Air Force. The mission is being conducted in joint partnership with NASA and NOAA and will deliver two dozen military and science satellites to different orbits.
The vehicle has now passed a major milestone towards
liftoff after engineers prepared the gigantic rocket for the requisite static
fire test to confirm its readiness for launch.
Liftoff of the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission paid for by the Department of Defense (DoD) and managed by the U.S Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is now targeted for launch on June 24, 2019 at 11:30 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida – following the good outcome of the hold down static fire test.
Enjoy our Space UpClose photos of the static fire test of the triple core Falcon Heavy rocket captured late Wednesday night, June 19, just before midnight after the test delaying awful weather subsided.
Check back as the gallery grows.
The Air Force is paying for this Falcon Heavy mission launch and using it to certify the rocket for future launches of US National Security missions, including use of reused booster hardware.
Liftoff of the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission paid for by the Department of Defense (DoD) and managed by the U.S Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) is now targeted for launch on June 24, 2019 at 11:30 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida – following the good outcome of the hold down static fire test.
Enjoy our Space UpClose photos of the static fire test of the triple core Falcon Heavy rocket captured late Wednesday night, June 19, just before midnight after the test delaying awful weather subsided.
Check back as the gallery grows.
The Air Force is paying for this Falcon Heavy mission launch and using it to certify the rocket for future launches of US National Security missions, including use of reused booster hardware.
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SpaceX conducted
a short Static Fire Test of the Falcon Heavy rockets 1st 27 first
stage engines with a payload fairing attached and standing vertical at Launch
Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:32 p.m. EDT June 19, 2019. Launch
of the STP-2 mission for the U.S. Air Force is slated for June 24, 2019 at
11:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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The two side boosters will land back at the Cape 8 minutes after launch and the center core will touchdown at sea on the OCISLY droneship.
The brief test firing finally took place at days end after being delayed multiple times throughout the day, unsurprisingly, as the team worked through significant pad operations and after awful stormy weather dashed plans to carry it out mid afternoon.
Torrential downpours, strong gusty winds and rainstorms battered and inundated the Cape Canaveral region throughout the afternoon and early evening.
The static fire test of the 27 Merlin 1D first stage engines was completed late Wednesday evening at about 11:32 p.m. EDT in darkness and difficult to see - as I watched first hand from across the Banana River some 12 miles away.
This spot was much further away than the National Wildlife Refuge which would have taken place in broad daylight and been easily visible - from where I was stationed in the afternoon.
The National park closes at 8 p.m.
Nevertheless I had a good view to see first the pretest venting, which was extensive lasting more than 20 minutes, and then the short duration engine test.
I observed a vast vapor plume erupting from the rockets base at last at 11:32 p.m.
SpaceX confirmed a good test over an hour later by tweet:
“Static fire of Falcon Heavy complete—targeting June 24 launch of STP-2 from Launch Complex 39A in Florida.”
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SpaceX conducted
a short Static Fire Test of the Falcon Heavy rockets 1st 27 first
stage engines with a payload fairing attached and standing vertical at Launch
Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:32 p.m. EDT June 19, 2019. Launch
of the STP-2 mission for the U.S. Air Force is slated for June 24, 2019 at
11:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
|
For the engine test all 27 Merlin 1D first stage engines were briefly ignited for several
seconds generating
some 5 million pounds of thrust - with the rocket erected at pad 39A while the
two stage rocket was restrained on the pad – including with a payload fairing
attached that likely was only a test fairing minus the actual satellites.
During Wednesday night’s hold down static fire test, the rocket’s first and second stages are fueled with liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants just like an actual launch, and a simulated countdown was carried out to the point of a brief engine ignition – usually in the range of about 3 to 12 seconds or so.
Under the dark nighttime pad conditions it was difficult to determine the test duration.
However it seemed to be on the longer side closer to 6 to 10 seconds or more based on the very long extent of the horizontal exhaust plume that took longer than normal to dissipate.
I did not hear the rockets engines ruble several seconds later as the vapor cloud dissipated.
The pad team rolled the 23-story tall rocket out from the hangar and up the ramp to the top of Launch Complex 39A. They raised the rocket at dawn in the 6 a.m. hour on Wednesday. The erection took about 30 minutes.
The 3700 kg payload of 24 satellites and the payload fairing apparently were not actually attached to the rocket for the hold down test - rather it was a “non-flight” unit used for acoustic testing at the request of the Air Force – says Spaceflight Now.
The launch window opens at 11:30 p.m. EDT and extends four hours to 3:30 a.m. June 25.
The weather is currently 70% GO.
In case of any delay the next launch opportunity is Tuesday, June 25 with the same launch window.
This Falcon Heavy blastoff is sure to be spectacular being the first nighttime launch of the triple stick rocket.
It will also feature the first double nighttime landing of the two side boosters back at the Cape at Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1).
Massive crowds of spectators are expected and already arriving from around the world.
During Wednesday night’s hold down static fire test, the rocket’s first and second stages are fueled with liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants just like an actual launch, and a simulated countdown was carried out to the point of a brief engine ignition – usually in the range of about 3 to 12 seconds or so.
Under the dark nighttime pad conditions it was difficult to determine the test duration.
However it seemed to be on the longer side closer to 6 to 10 seconds or more based on the very long extent of the horizontal exhaust plume that took longer than normal to dissipate.
I did not hear the rockets engines ruble several seconds later as the vapor cloud dissipated.
The pad team rolled the 23-story tall rocket out from the hangar and up the ramp to the top of Launch Complex 39A. They raised the rocket at dawn in the 6 a.m. hour on Wednesday. The erection took about 30 minutes.
The 3700 kg payload of 24 satellites and the payload fairing apparently were not actually attached to the rocket for the hold down test - rather it was a “non-flight” unit used for acoustic testing at the request of the Air Force – says Spaceflight Now.
The launch window opens at 11:30 p.m. EDT and extends four hours to 3:30 a.m. June 25.
The weather is currently 70% GO.
In case of any delay the next launch opportunity is Tuesday, June 25 with the same launch window.
This Falcon Heavy blastoff is sure to be spectacular being the first nighttime launch of the triple stick rocket.
It will also feature the first double nighttime landing of the two side boosters back at the Cape at Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1).
Massive crowds of spectators are expected and already arriving from around the world.
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SpaceX conducted
a short Static Fire Test of the Falcon Heavy rockets 1st 27 first
stage engines with a payload fairing attached and standing vertical at Launch
Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:32 p.m. EDT June 19, 2019. Launch
of the STP-2 mission for the U.S. Air Force is slated for June 24, 2019 at
11:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
|
The Falcon Heavy will deliver 24 science and military satellites
to space on the first ever mission for the DOD that also includes four
satellites for NASA and more for NOAA, a number of Universities, Industry and one for the Planetary Society.
The 24 satellites will be delivered to 3 separate orbits and
inclinations as the second stage is fired for a record 4 separate times in
another test of its capabilities.
Included on the manifest are four NASA payloads
investigating technologies that will help improve future spacecraft design and
performance in space.
The NASA payloads aboard the
Space Test Program-2 flight include:
-the Deep Space Atomic Clock for vastly improved
interplanetary navigation that could change how we
navigate on the Moon, to Mars and beyond,
-the Space Environment Testbeds (SET) involving four experiments to help will reveal the ways local space
weather affects spacecraft hardware,
- the Green Propellant Infusion Mission to a test cleaner and new much less toxic green propulsion system could take the small satellite revolution
beyond what it is today, and
- the Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment involving six satellites
to study irregularities in Earth’s upper atmosphere that interfere with GPS and
communications signals.
NOAA along with NASA, the USAF and others are
sponsoring the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere &
Climate-2, or COSMIC-2 system – a constellation of 6 satellites.
Watch for follow-up stories.
The STP-2 mission will be among the most challenging launches in SpaceX history with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits, a final propulsive passivation maneuver and a total mission duration of over six hours,” SpaceX says.
The STP-2 mission will be among the most challenging launches in SpaceX history with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits, a final propulsive passivation maneuver and a total mission duration of over six hours,” SpaceX says.
“In
addition, the U.S. Air Force plans to reuse side boosters from the Arabsat-6A
Falcon Heavy launch, recovered after a return to launch site landing, making it
the first reused Falcon Heavy ever flown for the U.S. Air Force.”
The Falcon Heavy first stage is comprised of
three Falcon 9 cores. The center core is new and plumbed differently from the twin
pair of side cores – which are recycled from the Arabsat 6A launch in mid-
April.
The Falcon Heavy measures 229.6 feet (70 m)
tall and 39.9 feet (12.6 m) wide with a mass of 3,125,735 lb
(1,420,788 kg).
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The full SpaceX Falcon Heavy with a payload fairing
attached stands vertical at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in
this wide angle view at 9 a.m. EDT June 19, 2019 after horizontal rollout at 1
a.m. and raising at about 6 a.m. Launch on the STP-2 mission for the U.S. Air
Force is slated for June 24, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. EDT. See 2 sooty side
boosters recycled from Arabsat 6A launch in April 2019. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Watch my commentary about the Falcon Heavy
launch at News 6 Orlando here:
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Dr. Ken
Kremer/Space UpClose interviewed by CBS 6 Orlando TV News WKMG on June 19, 2019
about the Falcon Heavy STP-2 launch targeted for June 24. Credit: CBS 6
WKMG/Ken Kremer screenshot
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Ken will be onsite at the Kennedy Space Center
for live coverage of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy STP-2 launch.
Watch for Ken’s continuing
onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman
and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
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.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Ken’s upcoming outreach events:
Ken’s upcoming outreach events:
Jun 22-24: Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, evenings. Learn more about the upcoming/recent Falcon Heavy, NASA 2024 Moon landing goal, SpaceX Starlink-1, SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-17 launch to ISS, SpaceX Demo-1 launch/test failure, SpaceX Beresheet launch, NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta launches, Northrop Grumman Antares, SpySats and more
Ken’s will display his photos for sale
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