1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite jointly owned by SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. of Japan and Kacific Broadband Satellites of Singapore. Built by Boeing, the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite will provide mobile and broadband services across the Asia-Pacific region."


JCSat-18 getting ready to be shipped to SpaceX from Boeing (Credit: Kacific)


JCSat 18 / Kacific 1 [Boeing].  (Website source)

This will be the 13th SpaceX launch this year.

2) Launch window: 7:10-8:38 PM EST on Monday, 16 December 2019

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

4) Webcast/TV viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 20 minutes before liftoff)

b.


c. Spaceflight Now coverage with launch video

5) Launch preparations:

a. Static fire....13 December 2019.  See photos towards bottom of page 6

b.  Preparation prior to encapsulation:


The JCSAT-18/Kacific-1 satellite is pictured during processing ahead of final encapsulation at SpaceX’s processing facility in Cape Canaveral, FL. (Kacific)  Picture found in this Teslarati.com website

c.  Payload encapsulated in fairing:


The JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 broadband satellite has been encapsulated inside the payload shroud of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: Kacific


6) First stage return/disposal: SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) located 651km downrange (Coordinates: N28 19 22 W73 55 47) (Source)

7)  Fairing recovery:  Yes, Go Ms. Chief and Go Ms. Tree are ready to support this mission.   (Source).  Fairing recovery around 45 minutes after launch.

8) Mission press kit: Download here

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:

Minutes:Seconds after lift-off

2:32  First stage MECO (main engine cutoff)
2:42  Second stage starts
2:47  1st stage boostback burn begins
3:35  Fairing separation
6:14  1st stage entry burn begins
8:38  1st stage landing
27:21  Second stage starts
33:10  Satellite deployment

Source



Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief have just caught up with OCISLY. The duo has traveled ~500km in under 24 hours. It took 72 hours for the droneship to travel the same distance.

Note:  The picture for Hawk looks like OCISLY

SpaceX recovery ships head to sea for first 'whole-fairing' catch attempt

"After a brisk day-long cruise into the Atlantic Ocean, SpaceX’s twin Falcon fairing recovery ships have reached the general landing area to prepare for their first true ‘whole-fairing’ catch attempt.

Formerly known as Mr. Steven, GO Ms. Tree and new sister ship GO Ms. Chief departed Port Canaveral on December 14th and arrived at their designated recovery roughly 36 hours later. Now stationed just shy of 800 km (500 mi) downrange of SpaceX’s LC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) launch site, the ships are in position and can begin to prepare for Falcon 9’s Kacific-1/JCSAT-18 launch.

The fact that SpaceX consecutively caught two fairing halves a little over two months apart after five failed catch attempts suggests that the company has effectively solved the majority of the fairing recovery challenge, becoming the first company (or space agency) in the world to do so. Unfortunately, a three-month launch lull after the second successful catch precluded any rapid-fire follow-up attempts and when that lull came to an end on November 11th, Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief were both ready but were forced to abort the attempt by rough seas.

Given that their first simultaneous (i.e. ‘whole-fairing’) catch attempt was aborted before it could start, it’s safe to say that December 16th’s hopeful attempt will be Ms. Tree’s and Ms. Chief’s first side-by-side recovery mission. Both ships have successfully reached the recovery zone, a step further than they managed to get on their November attempt. Coincidentally, that November launch happened to mark both SpaceX’s and the world’s first launch of a flight-proven payload fairing, both halves of which were recovered from the ocean and represented a more or less worst-case scenario for reuse.

And nevertheless, that reuse was a flawless success, marred only by the fact that Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief were unable to attempt to recover the world’s first twice-flown payload fairing. In short, all the conditions are right for what could be the world’s first successful recovery of both halves of an orbital-class payload fairing. If successful, SpaceX will have effectively closed the book on Falcon 9 and Heavy reusability development, having proven that both boosters and fairings can be reliably and routinely recovered and reused."

Falcon 9 and JCSAT-18/Kacific1 are vertical on Pad 40 in Florida. Weather is 90% favorable for tonight’s launch.  SpaceX Twitter

The webcast is about to start

getting close to launch time.

T minus 5 minutes.  just tuned in

Kate Tice is back.

https://www.instagram.com/kate.tice/

30sec

go

Sky is so clear, I can still see the second stage

Now let's land a booster and catch some fairings!

BULLSEYE.

MERICA

Must be nice.  Could you see the first stage entry burn?

Every single time is amazing

SpaceX is showing how it's done.

I hope they're not being too ambitious with that schedule next year though

From the backyard 60miles away

Attached File


Attached File

I am tracking Ms. Tree. The ship last reported position at T - 10 minutes. I'll let you know when/if I get another before the catch occurs at T + 45.

SpaceXFleet Updates  (@SpaceXFleet) December 17, 2019

Eventual goal is hundred into thousands of flights per year. This is just the beginning.

If you quit following the second stage and know where to look you can.
With the right conditions you can follow tumbling solid boosters when they're still glowing too.
I'm only about a mile inland and 30 miles north of the pads.

We are in St. Augustine. Just watched it over the trees across the street from us. Pointed out to the kids that it is a space ship!

GTO burn success

Payload deploy

First stage landing on drone ship

Satellite deployment

Not live.  It should have happened by now.

"Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief narrowly missed catching the fairing halves—team is working to recover them for potential use on a future flight."  Source:  SpaceX twitter.

It looks like they need more time to make fairing recoveries as second nature as the first stages.

Watched it go up from the west coast of Florida, Fing AWESOME!  

SpaceX reports the two fairing recovery vessels in the Atlantic narrowly missed catching the two halves of the Falcon 9’s payload shroud tonight. Teams will try to recover the fairing from the water for potential use on a future flight, SpaceX says. https://t.co/KIMK0B0eqc

Spaceflight Now  (@SpaceflightNow) December 17, 2019

.
looks like she is or hangs out with furries.

Telemetry indicates soft touchdown on the water, so fairing might still be reusable

Elon Musk  (@elonmusk) December 17, 2019

I do believe SpaceX just broke their own record of time taken from droneship docked to booster horizontal by about 3 hours.

SpaceXFleet Updates  (@SpaceXFleet) December 20, 2019

Hearing that the Starlink launch originally scheduled for January 3rd is being postponed a few days. #SpaceX

Michael Baylor  (@nextspaceflight) December 31, 2019

Looking like it slipped to 1/7

Launch hazard area and weather forecast issued by @45thSpaceWing for #SpaceX Starlink mission on Jan. 6. Weather is 90%+ go. Window runs from 2109 to 2129 ET (0209 to 0229 UTC +1). pic.twitter.com/UoUGXx1FSD

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) January 2, 2020

1) Background info: Source

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the third batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 2."

This will be the 1st SpaceX launch of 2020.

2) Launch window:   9:09 to 9:29 PM EST on 6 January 2020  (02:09 - 02:29 UT on 7 January 2020)

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

4) Webcast/TV viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about 20 minutes before liftoff)

b. YouTube:



5) Launch preparations:

a. Static fire....Completed on 4 January 2020.  This will be the second first stage to perform four flights if successful.

b.  Ready to go



6) First stage return/disposal: Drone ship recovery (OCISLY)

7) Payload fairing recovery:  One ship is expected to try to recover one fairing half.  Other ships are nearby to recover fairing halves that land in the ocean.

8) Mission press kit:  Download here

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:

Minutes:Seconds after lift-off

2:33 First stage MECO (main engine cutoff)
2:43 Second stage starts
3:24 Fairing jettison
6:41 1st stage entry burn ends
8:24 1st stage landing
45:10  Second stage engine ignition
61:03  Payload deployment

SpaceX has drawn up plans for a vertical rocket enclosure some 30 stories tall at launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The gantry will allow US spy satellites to be vertically mounted atop Falcon 9 & Falcon Heavy rockets. FULL STORY: https://t.co/amsPQGlyWr pic.twitter.com/eWUs7xJAiJ

Spaceflight Now  (@SpaceflightNow) January 4, 2020

Another nail in ULA's coffin.  This should allow them to bid on every US Govt launch now.

Eh, ULA & parents still have SpaceX beat on the capacity to employ air force generals nearing retirement...

The new NSSL competition is structured so that ULA will still get most of the money even if they don't get most of the launches... It's block buy 2.0 with a thin veneer of competition on the outside.

It does seem time-consuming to do the test fire with no payload, lower and return to a building to mate the payload then tractor back to the launch pad and re-erect to launch.

Holy fuck. I just got that.

Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting Monday, January 6 at 9:19 p.m. EST for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Pad 40 in Florida

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) January 4, 2020

Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched a Starlink mission, the Iridium-8 mission, and the Telstar 18 VANTAGE mission pic.twitter.com/QdailzdG4o

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) January 4, 2020

Better to have a test done without the payload at risk. It is like an engine run on a fighter jet. You gotta make sure it works.