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[Jezbollah]

SpaceX's Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch at in a window between 00:27 and 02:57 EST (05:27 and 07:57 UTC) on Tuesday. This is the third launch of Falcon 9 in 2017, and the 31st launch of Falcon 9.

What is the mission?

Falcon 9 v1.2 will launch from Kennedy Space Center pad LC-39A to send Echostar 23 into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) for Echostar Corporation, a premier global provider of satellite and video delivery solutions.

Is there going to be an attempted first stage landing?

No, not this time. Echostar 23 is a heavy satellite, with a payload mass of 5500kg. This, in combination with the GTO requirement means there won’t be sufficient fuel left for any landing. This means SpaceX will be using an expendable version of Falcon 9 v1.2.

Expendable? This seem so strange!

It does, doesn’t it? You won’t see any landing legs or grid fins on this first stage. There should only be a couple of more "expendable" launches as the next version of Falcon 9, “Block 4”, should have enough efficiencies to land such a mission in the future. It seems such a waste, which is really quite something given the progress SpaceX has made into making reusability a thing.

Where can I watch the launch?

As usual, you can watch SpaceX's coverage on Youtube with the Hosted Webcast or the Technical Webcast.

 

[HellBlazer]

Oh, no landing this time? That's too bad, I gotta say that makes things a lot less interesting, heh. Probably won't make myself stay up to watch it then, unless they launch at the very start of the window. Still, good luck SpaceX!

 

[Jezbollah]

Launch scrubbed today due to unfavorable winds. Next window looks to be March 16th.

 

[HellBlazer]

Launch scrubbed today due to unfavorable winds. Next window looks to be March 16th.

Ah, same time?

 

[dskillzhtown]

I have to set myself a reminder to watch it on the 16th.

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

All systems go for launch. Livestream up, should be launching in half an hour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZmqbL-hz7U

 

[DBT85]

I always find these more interesting when there's a landing too

Glad it all went ok though.

 

[HellBlazer]

Not a lot of activity around here when there's no landing, heh. Still, congrats to SpaceX on another successful launch.

Now, the next mission, SES-10, should be very interesting. That's supposed to be the first time they'll launch with a re-used rocket. Very cool. It's scheduled for March 27th for now. Hopefully it will be at a time when I can watch it.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I always find these more interesting when there's a landing too

Glad it all went ok though.

Ditto.