I did see the Starlink 5-3 train last night at 6:51 PM MST.  I needed binoculars for the sighting at five degrees elevation.  It is possible that with no full moon up they may have been visible naked eye.

Mission:  Falcon 9, Amazonas Nexus

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Amazonas Nexus communications satellite for the Spanish company Hispasat. Amazonas Nexus will provide broadband connectivity to airplanes, ships, and other mobile users across the Americas, Greenland, and travel corridors across the Atlantic Ocean. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space, and is based on the Spacebus NEO platform. "

2) Launch window:    8:32 PM EST (6 February 2023).  Possible four hour launch window.

3) Launch Site:   SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

4) Launch direction:  East

5) Webcast viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 15 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    None.

7) Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.    Departure! Just Read the Instructions droneship is heading downrange for the Amazonas Nexus mission, NET Feb 5th. Tug Crosby Skipper is towing.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.   With the Starlink 5-3 recovery mission complete, support Ship Bob has repositioned approx 320 km north to support the Amazonas Nexus mission on Sunday.    All being well with both launches, Bob may return with four fairing halves on board next week.

b.   Satellite:




An artist’s renter of the Amazonas Nexus satellite. (Credit: TAS)

c.   Ready for launch:


Jenny Hautmann@JennyHPhoto.    Amazonas Nexus is scheduled to launch this afternoon at 5:32 PM ET from SLC-40. Weather permitting.


SpaceX@SpaceX.    Team completed vehicle checkouts, and we are now targeting 8:32 p.m. ET for tonight's launch of the @Hispasat
Amazonas Nexus mission from SLC-40 in Florida; rocket, payload, and weather are looking good for liftoff

d.  Navigation warning:


Raul@Raul74Cz.   Launch Hazard Areas for #Hispasat Amazonas Nexus mission from CCSFS SLC-40, valid for NET 05 Feb 22:32 UTC, altern. 06 to 11 Feb based on issued NOTAM/NOTMAR. B1073.6 landing 621km downrange. Estimated fairing recovery position approx. 777km downrange.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Recover on drone ship JRTI

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:    

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:02:30   1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:33   1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:41   2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:03:29   Fairing deploy
00:06:06   1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:36   1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:03   1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:06   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:08:30   1st stage landing
00:26:41   2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:27:43   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:35:44   Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus deploys

10)  Orbit destination:     Supersynchronous transfer orbit.

Amazonas launch bumped to 7:32 P.M. EST.

It's been raining all day but should be cleared out by then.

Scrubbed.

Launch today 5:32 EST.

Weather looks perfect, should see some jellyfish visuals too.

Website just switched to 8:32 pm EST.

Bastages !

Still on??

Livestream is still counting down to an 8:30 EST start…

Launch countdown, apparently.

Stream just started

It's going.

Wow. Looked bright all the way down in Broward. It must have been amazing closer to the launch.

Is there a stream without the commentary?  I'm to the point where I think I could recite their script.  Hearing just mission control would be nice.

Still amazing

https://www.youtube.com/live/Zl3hUlsK1y8?feature=share

nailed it

Bullseye

170 recoveries. Amazing

Looks routine now

5 years ago today was the first Falcon Heavy launch and the core stage missed.

I guess I'm a really old fart.  I remember when Echo was the cutting edge orbital technology.  A 100 foot diameter mylar bag of gas they bounced a microwave signal from.

Attached File


So many changes.

Why did it miss?  It appeared to be coming in hot.  I did not see landing legs but could have missed it.

We watched it just north of Ocala, I think about 130 miles NW of the Cape. . Good clear sky but the moon was a little bright

Attached File


Me and my kids walked down to the beach and watched it through night vision. The iPhone really does lose a lot of resolution. It was really cool to watch.

Thanks!

I like seeing payload deployments.

Yesterday (6 February 2023) was the five year anniversary of the first Falcon Heavy launch.




Cosmic Perspective@considercosmos.     Five years ago today, Falcon Heavy launched for the first time! This was the view inside 1/8000th of a second

Nice to be reminded that North Carolina areas (mostly near coastal?) can see these launches.

I’m down near Wilmington. Typically they launch at sunset and the light show and contrail plume is amazing. They had a delay last night and launched at 8:30. It would have been very difficult to see it without night vision.

Click here to see the video

Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.   Count em up! A new record of four Falcon 9 fairing halves delivered back to Port Canaveral on a SpaceX recovery ship at one time.   Bob delivered the haul after supporting both Starlink 5-3 and the Amazonas Nexus mission.

Mission:  Falcon 9, Starlink 5-4

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. This will be the fourth launch into a new orbital shell for SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink constellation, called Starlink Gen2. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean."  

2) Launch window:    12:10 AM EST (12 February 2023) (Just after midnight)

If needed, there are additional launch opportunities the same day at 1:51 a.m. ET (06:51 UTC), and 3:32 a.m. ET (08:32 UTC), with backup opportunities also available on Sunday, February 12 at 11:55 p.m. ET (04:55 UTC on February 13) and on Monday, February 13 at 1:39 a.m. ET (06:39 UTC), and 3:07 a.m. ET (08:07 UTC).

3) Launch Site:   SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

4) Launch direction:  Southeast

5) Webcast viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 5 minutes before liftoff)

b.  YouTube:



6)  Observation comments:    None.

7) Launch preparations:

a.  Boats heading out.


Gav Cornwell@SpaceOffshore.    A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship departed Port Canaveral earlier, with Doug towing, in support of the upcoming Starlink 5-4 mission.

b.  Satellites:  Not found

c.  Ready for launch:


Thomas Burghardt@TGMetsFan98.   If a 20% chance of acceptable weather materializes tonight, SpaceX will break its pad turnaround record with the first of two Starlink launches this week.

d.  Navigation warning:


I believe this was the previous launch.  Do not use for avoiding hazardous zones.

8) First stage return/ocean recovery/disposal:    Recover on drone ship ASOG.

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:    

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off.  Times approximate.  

00:02:28   1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:31   1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:38   2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:45   Fairing deployment
00:06:17   1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:35   1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:12   1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:32   1st stage landing
00:08:39   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:12   2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:14   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:03:15   Starlink satellites deploy

10)  Orbit destination:    530 km circular low-Earth orbit (LEO) at 43° inclination; initial 298 km x 339 km orbit at 43° inclination.

What's the trajectory on this launch?

only 20% of favorable weather tonight, but here is the trajectory.

See Line 4 in my detailed description (see post above yours).

Stream live

Go for launch

Fairing

And another one

Bullseye.

Beautifully done, again!

Caught a starlink train on my Tesla's dashcam this evening

If you were westbound that may have been the Starlink 5-4 objects.  I saw it around 710 PM MST near Colorado Springs last night.

Roughly where were you and what time?

I assume that the bright object to the left was Venus.

Urbana, IL westbound on I74 roughly around 645ishpm central time

It made the local news

That was Starlink 5-4.  It would have been the same elevation as Venus around 6:37 PM CST.

It was a much longer sunlit pass than I had on the next orbit.

https://www.heavens-above.com has predictions for it now.

I was guessing it was that one since they were so close together

I saw them again tonight. A bit further spaced out, and a little bit later. First time I have seen them on 2 nights in a row.

As long as it was a NE launch trajectory with clear weather, you will have line of sight.  Best time would be dawn/dusk followed by a night launch.

You may be able to see easterly and maybe southeasterly launches.  Scroll back over the last two pages where someone mentioned seeing a launch from one of the Carolinas.  Then check the launch direction for that launch in my write-up.