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Prelaunch
view of SpaceX Falcon Heavy being raised erect at pad39A carrying the Arabsat-6A communications satellite to Earth orbit for launch on April 10, 2019 at 6:35 PM ET from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, FL. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
Ken Kremer — SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM – 9/10
April 2019
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/CAPE CANAVERAL, FL
– Only the second ever Falcon Heavy is
poised for a thrilling early evening liftoff, April 10 at 635 p.m. EST from
Florida’s Space Coast to deliver a powerful communications satellite to orbit –
and if all goes well stage a science fictionesque double landing back at the
Cape!
Beyond that the SpaceX Falcon Heavy is the
most powerful rocket in the world – by a factor of two and roughly 2/3 the
thrust of NASA’s now retired space shuttle orbiters.
Thos launch also marks the debut of the all
block 5 version of Falcon Heavy compared to all block 4 Falcon 9’s for the
maiden liftoff 14 months ago in Feb. 2018.
Blastoff of the 2nd triple stick Falcon
Heavy is set for dinnertime Wednesday, April 10, from Launch Complex 39A at
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Thus it will put on a spectacular sky show for
everyone !! both the locals as well as the hordes of tourists flocking into the
Kennedy Space Center area for this ‘space special event.’
Enjoy our Space UpClose gallery of imagery of
the Falcon Heavy taken Wednesday morning during our media remote cameras setup.
Check back as the gallery grows.
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Prelaunch
view of SpaceX Falcon Heavy raised erect at pad39A carrying the Arabsat-6A communications satellite to Earth orbit for launch on April 10, 2019 at 6:35 PM ET from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, FL. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
runs for two hours until 8:32 p.m. ET.
day is Thursday with the same launch window.
stories tall.
You can watch the launch on a SpaceX dedicated
webcast that starts about 20 minutes prior to the opening of the nominal
launch window:
www.spacex.com/webcast
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Prelaunch
view of SpaceX Falcon Heavy raised erect at pad39A carrying the Arabsat-6A communications satellite to Earth orbit for launch on April 10, 2019 at 6:35 PM ET from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, FL. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
Currently the weather outlook for Thursday
evening is rather favorable – currently forecast as 80% GO !!
In case of a delay for any reason, a backup
launch opportunity exists on Thursday, April 11.
The weather odds remain high at 90% GO.
The primary concerns are for the Cumulus Cloud
Rule.
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Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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cores by propulsive soft landings -the twin side boosters on land back at the Cape
at Landing Zone-1 and Landing Zone-2 These will create perhaps a dozen or more
sonic booms screaming across the region.
core at sea on the “Of Course I Still Love You” (OCISLY) drone ship stationed several hundred miles off shore
in the Atlantic Ocean.
The side cores will each touch down
approximately 8 minutes after liftoff and the center core nearly 10 minutes
after liftoff.
The two stage Falcon Heavy rocket stands 229.5
feet (70 meters) tall. The first stage is powered by a trio of Falcon 9 rockets
lashed together and a combined total of 27 Merlin 1-D engines fueled with
liquid oxygen and RP-1 kerosene and generate 1.7 million pounds of liftoff thrust
each at ignition.
Propellant loading begins approximately 50 minutes prior to liftoff.
The overall sea level thrust for Falcon Heavy is
5.1 million pound of thrust at sea level.
This rises to 5.5 million pounds of thrust in a
vacuum.
This 2nd Falcon Heavy features roughly
10 percent more liftoff thrust at 5.1 million pounds vs 4.7 million pounds.
The Arabsat-6A telecom satellite payload is
built for Saudi Arabia by prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
Arabsat-6A is a high-capacity telecommunications satellite that will deliver television, radio, Internet, and mobile communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
The satellite will be deployed approximately
34 minutes after liftoff.
It has a wet, fueled mass of 6450 Kg, 14,000
pounds.
The pair of solar arrays have a massive wing
span of 140 feet and generate 20 kw.
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Prelaunch view of SpaceX Falcon Heavy horizontal at pad39A carrying
the Arabsat-6A communications satellite to Earth orbit for launch on April 10, 2019 at 6:35 PM ET from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, FL. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
Falcon Heavy launch. Watch at CBS local Ch. 6 WKMG Orlando with correspondent James
Sparvero at the 4, 5 and 6 PM ET shows.
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Dr. Ken Kremer/Space UpClose interview with CBS Orlando Ch.
6 WKMG Correspondent James Sparvero discussing SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch at the KSC press site. Credit: James Sparvero/CBS |
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.
Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer
– email: ken at kenkremer.com
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
to ISS, NASA missions, ULA Atlas &
Delta launches, SpySats and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center, Titusville,
FL, evenings:
9/12: “SpaceX Falcon 9 Demo-1
and Nusantara
Satu launch, Dragon CRS-16 resupply
launch to ISS, SpaceX Falcon GPS 3-01, SpaceX Falcon Heavy & Falcon 9
launches, upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 USAF GP3 3-01, NRO & USAF Spysats, SLS,
Orion, Boeing and SpaceX Commercial crew capsules, OSIRIS-Rex, Juno at Jupiter,
InSight Mars lander, Curiosity and Opportunity explore Mars, NH at Pluto, Kuiper
Belt and more,” Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings. Photos for sale
