Watch live: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral

good morning everyone and Welcome to our live coverage of the latest Mission from Cape canaval space force station and Will Robinson Smith will be providing our commentary for the duration of this coverage we're broadcasting as we always do from the space flight now News Center here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center our space flight now editor Stephen young is running the technical operations of the broadcast our Adam Bernstein is out preparing to track the rocket this morning do some still photography as well Michael Kane has the morning off but maybe popping into the live chat our friends P Carsons with Max CU Productions and Chuck and Jen Briggs with C&J images are also ready to support the tracking of this Mission speaking of Chuck and Jen we have some great footage or vide from them live right now in addition to tracking the rocket once it launches they've also got their eyes on this little beauty over here you can see NASA's Pegasus barge is making its way as we speak towards the turn Bas in here the KSC press site on board some more materials in support of future Artemis Mission launches of course the last time the Pegasus bar Grace the turn Basin it had the massive core stage for the second emis mission on board this time around it features the lvsa or the launch vehicle stage adapter among other items lvsa coming from the Marshall space flight center initially up in Huntsville as we get things going on a Thursday morning want to thank the little more than 500 nearly 600 of you who are with us live as we're kicking things off if you haven't already would certainly appreciate it if you could hit that like button for us allow some more folks to find their way into our live coverage certainly one thank our wonderful moderator chisty Lee for popping in with us this morning you happen to see any of the other mods join us be sure to give them a shout say hello The Bard County Emergency Operations Center has formally activated in support of this launch attempt today SpaceX is targeting a t0 liftoff of this Falcon 9 rocket you see there at the heart of space launch complex 40 otherwise known as slick 40 at 8:35 a.m. eastern it's 12:35 UTC for our friends joining around the world we're also powered by a wonderful Channel member Community here on YouTube so thanks to folks like Donald traml of course c d John Torrance Carl Northeast cppy cross Ray M many others the rocket girl good to see you this morning Channel membership comes with a number of perks including discounts at our online shop that is shop. spaceflightnow.com access to member only videos here on YouTube and of course the ability to watch all of our live launch moments from here at the cape in 4k last but not least if you have a comment or question about this launch today or other happenings on the space beat and your comment or question is appropriate to be right on the show we'd love to bring you into the conversation and you can do so by using the YouTube Super Chat feature and not only will you be giving us some interesting things to talk about but you'll also be supporting what we do here at space flight now and that is as always very much appreciated currently T minus 55 minutes 7 seconds in counting SpaceX now less than 20 minutes away from the point at which the launch director will need to give their go for the start of prop load if they are ready to Target the opening of the window today SpaceX is running its countdown from the hanger site at the Kennedy Space Center here it's the facility where they refurbish Falcon boosters and prepare them for future flights this is the case with the booster that you see here on your screen again with the launch targeting a t0 liftoff currently of 8:35 a.m. eastern 1235 UTC SpaceX does have multiple pack of opportunities within its current launch window this morning lasts until 12:31 p.m. Eastern unlike yesterday though SpaceX has not disclosed an additional 24-hour backup opportunity for this mission on its website so if for whatever reason perhaps the weather SpaceX is unable to launch today we have to wait and see when next they are going to Pivot for the launch of this starlink flight currently one of the Drone ships from SpaceX is still at Pork naal following the unsuccessful Landing attempt of b162 right now the other East Coast drone ship just with the instructions is out in the Atlantic Ocean waiting to receive this particular booster talk about the flight trajectory in just a few minutes well SpaceX hasn't formally announced a pivot plan they could decide to shift their focus to making another run at the Polaris Dawn Mission those four astronauts still waiting for their turn to launch they've been styed from lifting off due to weather on the backside of their fiveish day Journey because it's a free flying Mission they need to keep a close eye on the recovery weather around the State of Florida and so that's a particular watch item and the primary reason why we haven't seen that mission launch as of yet is the recovery weather has not been good enough to support a crew Landing or splash down I should say off the coast of Florida coming into today's launch opportunity speaking of the weather the 45th weather Squadron forecast about a 75% chance favorable conditions at liftoff and that's at the start of the window where they're tracking the anvil cloud rules and the cumulus cloud rule for for picking up where I left off with the weather chat as mention we start the window with 75% favorable conditions however as the day in the window continues on the chance of favorable conditions drops down to 60% for meteorologist with the 45th weather Squadron as of their published forecast yesterday were also tracking recovery conditions in between the low to moderate range a bit of a degradation from what we were seeing yesterday and fortunately yesterday was bad enough that they were unable to launch of course which is why we're back here today we'll see if things clear up enough between now and launch time for them to proceed forward with this Mission worth noting as well as we're continuing to track weather conditions at the paddent in the booster recovery area the national weather service has also put out a formal statement regarding data suggesting there's a water spout the area off of South Patrick's Shores so not too far south of where we are here at the cape currently there is a special Marine warning that expands from the B to bravard county line all the way down to going to get a little hyper local here but the Sebastian Inlet which is for those who don't know uh maybe a little bit broader terms uh south of Coco Beach just to a little bit north of Satellite Beach in the Indian Harbor Beach area around that ballpark they did note that a water spout was observed that Parabola also extends up to the pad area here at the camp and the trend of that weather shows it moving generally toward this direction so going to keep a close eye on things there and any further updates from the national weather service located down in Melbourne currently team minus 45 minutes 58 seconds in counting SpaceX still publicly is stating that they are targeting at 835 liftoff time at the start of the window as you can see in the wide shot here though still quite cloudy this morning as we continue to track the progress of today's Mission though let's go ahead and talk about the countdown timeline and the Milestones that we are anticipating as SpaceX steps on through the count coming up in now less than 10 minutes is the point nominally when the SpaceX launch director will make the call on the start of prop load it's an electronic pull so if SpaceX feels like they're in a good position they can take that pull a little bit early but once that go ahead is given fueling starts at the T-minus 35 minute Mark with two events rp1 is loaded on board the both first and second stages of the Falcon 9 rocket at the same time liquid oxygen is loaded on board the Falcon 99's first stage team minus 30 minutes they start loading cenic helium onto the pressure vessels on the Falcon 99's uh first stage helium is used to pressurize the main propellent tanks during flight same process begins in the second stage about four minutes after that tus 23 minutes second stage rp1 load concludes tus 20 minutes and 50 seconds is the point at which the strong back chill down process begins that visually manifests itself in the so-called big vent that we see at about the 20 minute 20 second Mark they're thermally conditioning the feed lines prior to Second Stage locks load which set to begin at tus 16 minutes that's followed up by the engine chill down sequence at the tus 7 Minute Mark that involves flowing a small amount of liquid oxygen through the plumbing and turbo pumps helps protect the engines for the risk of thermal shock and damage during the startup sequence about 6 minutes out the first stage kerosene tank should be full then a te minus 4 and a half minutes the strong back retract sequence begins that starts with the clamp arms underneath the payload fairings opening up then the transporter erector with a strong back will recline about a degree and a half away from the Falcon 9 rocket stays that position until liftoff that point it pulls back in a much more rapid fashion to clear the way for the vertical climb with the Falcon 9 3 minutes before liftoff the first stage liquid oxygen tank is full about a minute later second stage locks tank finishes loading that point the Falcon 9 is fully fueled with 1 million pounds propellent in the final 60 seconds control of the countdown is handed over from the ground sequencer to the Falcon 9's on board flight computers the propound tanks are produ to flight pressure those two events are summed up in a call out from Mission Control that uh Falcon 9 is in startup tmin 45 seconds the SpaceX launch director will give their go for launch the engine ignition command is issued at tus 3 seconds and if all nine Merlin engines are healthy and ignite flag computer will give the command for the hold down clamps to release the Falcon 9 rocket for t0 liftoff coming up at 8:35 a.m. eastern 12:35 UTC or weather permitting tus 42 minutes and 7 Seconds for we are currently T minus 40 minutes 58 seconds in counting turning from the weather to for forgive the uh bit of technical issue there we had just wanted to to pop back in and give you another view of the Pegasus barge as it's cruising on down here to the turn Basin getting ready to deliver some Artemis articles for future Missions at the same time as we continue to track the weather we are currently in a phase one lightning watch that impacts the pads over at the cape cell which is obviously where the Falcon 9 that we're watching this morning is hoping to lift off from a watch while certainly a watch item is not necessarily an impediment to liftoff that would be more Troublesome if it becomes a phase to lightning warning we'll let you know if and when that does change but just to put a pin in that for now continue to keep an eye on that we are coming up on T minus 38 minutes and about 40 seconds that's the decision point for which SpaceX needs to make a call on whether it feels like it's going to be in a good position from a launch vehicle standpoint as well as from a weather standpoint to proceed with uh launching on time at the beginning of the window getting things from a weather standpoint our forkast to degrade as the window goes on so their best chance from a weather standpoint may be now or if they've got a slightly later time towards the beginning of the window if they feel like they can thread that needle and as I speak we do have a new t0 time of 11:33 11:33 a.m. eastern we are updating our countdown clock momentarily stand by for for for for again as you can see with our countdown clock we are now with the new launch time of 11:33 a.m. eastern currently T-minus 3 hours 33 minutes and 3 seconds As We are continuing to track the hopefully uh weather opportunity for a falcon 9 launch today we'll also be keeping our eyes on the Pegasus barge as it makes its way down to the turn Basin here at the KSC press site this delivery for the Artemis program of course not the only bit of Artemis Hardware that is made its way to the cape in recent days the Europeans space agency also just this week dropped off the European service module that will support the Artemis 3 mission of course that will be the first landing on the moon since the end of the Apollo era do see for currently T minus 3 hours 30 minutes 46 seconds in counting we're currently tracking a phase 2 Lightning watch in the South part of the cape so far that is not impacting the pad that we are currently watching space launch complex 40 however we are of course keeping a close eye on any developing weather that will impact the launch opportunity directly currently Pat 40 is in a phase one lightning watch not a phase 2 Lightning warning for currently T minus 3 Hours 27 minutes 50 seconds in counting I mentioned the launch vehicle stage adapter or the lvsa for the Artemis 2 mission is on board the Pegasus barge that you see there live in the big box courtesy of Chuck and Jen Briggs couple of other items that are also nestled into the barge are the boat tail for the Artemis 3 mission as well as the core stage engine section for Artemis 4 so number of items for the first few Artemis missions coming up all on board this barge getting ready to be offloaded once it arrives here at the turn Basin as a previously mentioned last time that this barge docked here it offloaded the 212t Long Core stage which is currently sitting in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly build because the entire VAB doesn't have a air conditioning system that would be up to Snuff for that type of fight Hardware in its current condition there are local environmental controls around the rs25 engine section of the core stage to help protect it from the Florida humidity currently the mobile launcher one is still out at launch complex 39b where it's been for last several months undergoing various tests checkouts of the crew access arm of the emergency egress system of the sound suppression water system that'll need to roll back into the VAB before they really get into the meat and potatoes of stacking the space launch system rocket preparation for the emis 2 mission currently on the schedule for NASA coming up in September of 2025 that is the stated Target date most recently from NASA however as the analysis of the Orion heat shield continues to chug along the stacking timeline may be adjusted depending on what the recommendation is to do with the heat shield on the Artemis 2 mission whether to fly it as is or if there's some redesign work that's needed that'll obviously also play a huge role in the timeline for the emis 2 flight the fly as is scenario would more than likely preserve a launch opportunity in September of next year just a year from now actually a redesign could significantly shake that up so we'll see what Nas decides and when they make that decision e for it's for for for e e e for e for for for e for for for currently T minus 3 hours 14 minutes 9 seconds in counting got a lovely bit of uh Duality here with the Pegasus barge carrying components for the Artemis 2 three and four missions now entering the frame alongside the Falcon 9 rocket standing at space launch complex 40 in hopes of launching in about 3 hours and 13 minutes SpaceX hasn't stated the explicit reason for the delay but it is more than likely a safe assumption that it is weather related as it was with yesterday's launch attempt currently pad 40 remains in a phase one lightning watch the southern part of the cape seeing a face to lightning warning when it is able to launch the Falcon 9 rocket will add another 21 starlink satellites to spacex's Mega constellation of well an excess of 6,000 Starling satellites in low earth orbit this mission is set to be the the 61st dedicated starlink launch so far this year and the 124th time that SpaceX has launched its starlink V2 mini satellites among the 21 are 13 that feature a direct cell capability as SpaceX is continuing to build out that part of its constellation and preparation for some beta customer testing to begin believe the plan is still later this year through its US Cellular partner T-Mobile this Mission will bring the total number of direct to cell starlink satellites launched so far up to 194 e e for for currently t- minus 3 hours 8 minutes 34 seconds in counting Pegasus barge continuing to make good progress as it approaches the drawbridge a little bit off in the Horizon there which as it makes its way over we should be able to see uh some traffic halting and the bridge going up to support the Pegasus barge safely passing through as it continues to make its way towards the turn Basin here at the Press site for for for for currently T minus 3 hours 5 minutes 28 seconds in counting as Stephen was reminding me off mic the bridge that it's approach approaching is the Roy D Bridges Junior Bridge named for the former astronaut Roy Bridges also former KSC Center Director you can see the Roy D bridge junor bridge is now coming up so traffic on either side obviously halted as the Pegasus barge continues to cruise on down making some good way uh good Headway as it cruises from Port Canaveral over to the turn Basin here at the KSC press site eventually of course we'll lose visibility on one side and pick it up as it comes down the Waterway here see we have a few people that have just joined us here for our launch our live launch coverage of the starlink 8-11 mission if you're just popping in I'm Will Robinson Smith reporter with space flight now and while you may have had it on your phone alarm that the launch was scheduled for 8:35 a.m. eastern 12:35 UTC as you can tell by our countdown clock that is unfortunately changed as weather conditions are such that SpaceX is now targeting a liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 your keep canaval space force station at 11:33 a.m. eastern 11:33 a.m. eastern that is 1533 UTC for our friends joining around the world weather here at the cape as well as in the recovery area has been less than optimal this morning coming into this launch opportunity per their forecast published yesterday the 45th weather Squadron forecast just a 75% chance of favorable weather at liftoff citing the cumulus cloud Rule and the anvil cloud rules as watch items the booster recovery area meteorologist say was charting between the low to moderate levels on on a scale of low moderate and high Wednesday's launch opportunity of course was scuttled due to weather in the recovery area not being suitable for a booster Landing SpaceX hopes to launch and land the booster tail number b1077 with this Mission this will be its 15th flight 15 Landing of course if successful the SpaceX drone ship a shortfall or excuse me just read the instructions is out in the Atlantic waiting for this booster to land a shortfall of Gravitas meanwhile is here at Pork Naval following the unsuccessful Landing attempt of B 1062 after its record setting 23rd launch and 23rd Landing attack attempt [Music] for for [Music] currently team minus 2 hours 59 minutes 30 seconds in counting want to welcome our newest Channel member Debbie Lane joining us at the pad leader level welcome aboard Debbie we're glad to have you with us as a reminder Channel membership comes with a number of perks including discounts at our online shop that is shop. spaceflightnow.com access to member only videos and of course the ability to watch all of our live liftoff moments here at the cape in 4k if you're perusing our shop you'll notice the crew n embroidered Mission patches which are still available to purchase and you can still find them in the original crew n variant it's a variant now because if you've not been uh keeping up with the comings and goings of the commercial crew program NASA pulled two of the crew n members off of that mission Commander Zena Cardman and Mission specialist Stephanie Wilson will now no longer fly aboard the crew9 flight up to the ISS alongside NASA astronut Nick hag and Rose Cosmos cosn Alexander gorinov those two will fly without their companions in order to leave room for commercial or excuse me uh Starliner crew flight test commander and pilot which Wilmore and sunny Williams respectively NASA made the decision to return the Starliner spacecraft in an uncrewed configuration with an dock planned for Friday late evening and a touchdown at White Sands in New Mexico just after midnight on Saturday morning assuming the weather cooperates that means that Butch and sunny will return on the crew Dragon spacecraft in the February time frame along with Nick and Alex you can see the Roy Bridges bridge is now lowering once again now that the Pegasus barge has safely made its way through continuing on its Journey NASA has not announced a new assignment for Zena and Stephanie presumably they will be reassigned to Future Dragon missions as those become available though NASA's already announced the crew for the crew uh 10 Mission so the earliest potentially they they would be flying would be crew 11 which would launch around the August time frame 2025 looking at the clock it's like 8 36 a.m. eastern here in Florida around the original timeline we'd be a minute into flight with this falcon9 rocket though you can see it's still firmly on the ground over at space launch complex 40 as SpaceX punted from the opening of the window to pretty deep into it they did not stay a reason for the shift however weather has been less than optimal for a launch opportunity today and unfortunately for SpaceX things don't improve per the forecast of the 45th weather Squadron later in the window so that forecast was put out yesterday we'll see how much if at all it has shifted from then to now for e for for for for for e for for for for for [Music] [Music] e [Music] e [Music] for e for for for for for currently T minus 2 hours 42 minutes in counting regarding the starlink 8-11 mission as we await the launch here and continue to watch the weather offshore as we mentioned a little bit ago the Polaris Dawn Mission also looking to find some good enough weather that it can both launch and land the dragon resilience captain that Falcon 9 still waiting over at launch complex 39a in the meantime though the players team has been keeping busy if you've been following them on social media you'll know that they've been doing a series of exercises and drills to keep their mind and Spirits sharp for example Scott kid potit who is the mission pilot also an avid Sportsman and an Iron Man athlete mentioned that uh he completed a 20.24% pad 39a in honor of this being the Year of the Dragon a little bit of a fun fact from him notes that one lap around the pad is about 1.7 miles and that when the PlayOn Mission launches that their Dragon capsule will cover that same distance in about 4 seconds as a team the players Dawn crew have also been doing some Aviation drill and their Ghost Squadron Alpha Jets you can see some photos that were published from a pad flyby captured by John Krauss see in the bottom right hand corner of this image here falcon9 rocket supporting the Polaris Dawn Mission standing as it still is in the launch configuration out at launch complex 39a they shot a great image of uh Patrick space Force Base down there below in that air strip you can see a little bit further up in the frame a little bit of or actually pretty much all of Satellite Beach down to Indian Harbor Beach a good shot of the Indian River Lagoon off to the right there very important Waterway for not only Bard County but the State of Florida as well a lot of biodiversity in this neck of the woods important not only for juvenile sea turtles but also for the manate population a lot of important uh water Health Restoration work has been done over the last several years to improve the water Clarity in the Indian River Lagoon to allow for seagrass to begin to naturally regrow in order to support the manate population and some of the other marine life that exists within the Lagoon you got this final photo here of course flying back around again pad 39a these photos captured by John Krauss on Tuesday morning so tip of the hat to John and the Polaris team for capturing these images sharing them with us as we all await for the hopefully soon launch of the Polaris team again that is weather dependent naturally partly on the launch conditions but also very importantly on the splash down conditions for the end of the roughly 5day flight of this free flying dragon mission currently T-minus 2 hours 37 minutes 5 seconds in counting still in a phase one lightning watch for pad 40 right now phase two lightning warning remains in effect for the lower or southern part of the cape e As We are continuing to track the progress of this launch opportunity today I'll Echo the sentiment of our wonderful moderator chisty Lee in the live chat you wouldn't mind hitting that like button it allows more folks to find their way to this live coverage both now and in the future and that would be greatly appreciated in the realm of space flight not here but elsewhere where last night also marked the final launch of a Vega rocket down in K in French Guana that launch vehicle sending up a sentinel 2C Earth observing satellite on behalf of the European commission this was the final flight of a rocket that began launching back in 2012 paves the way now for for the turnover to the Vega sea rocket which has flown twice encountered an upper stage issue during its second flight and it's still on the path for a return tolight Mission coming up in the not too distant future successful liftoff at 10:50 local time down in French Guana about 950 here on the East Coast it was about 12 minutes after liftoff that the folks on the ground were able to acquire signal from The Sentinel 2C spacecraft so a successful Mission bile Accounts at this point and now the spacecraft will enter into a roughly 3month commissioning period where they will do some checkouts before it starts to gather its uh full scope of data Sentinel program operates in a two Satellite configuration and so Sentinel c will eventually take over the duties of Sentinel 2A in the future a sentinel 2D spacecraft will launch to take over for Sentinel 2B and so on currently T minus 2 hours 33 minutes 22 seconds and counting to the planned launch of starlink 8-1 mission assuming weather eventually decides to cooperate e e taking a look at the live chat here want to note rocket profit marking 20 months as a space fly now channel member appreciate you sticking with us rocket profit and giving a shout out to the live stream moderating team saying y'all Rock and I will second that our moderation team headline today by clist Lee it's how would argue second to none e e currently T minus 2 hours 29 minutes 30 seconds in counting thank you to kistia for drawing my attention to the fact that Stephanie B was here earlier as well so thanks as always to Stephanie for helping out with moderator duties as well for e for for for e e e e e for currently T minus 2 hours 23 minutes in counting bit of positive news on the weather front The Phase 2 Lightning warning has been dropped for all areas of KSC in the cape mentioned that there was that phase two down in the southern part of Cape canaval space force station that has now been allowed to lapse so perhaps a sign that things are trending in a good direction here for this launch opportunity of the starlink 8-11 mission 21 starlink s lights on board for taking a look at our super or our live chat here want to thank R Raj mgv for a 20 rupee Super Chat appreciate that support rrj as we are approaching about quarter after the hour here on the East Coast just a bit of housekeeping to let you all know about as tends to be the case this these days there's never just one thing happening on the space beat there's always a few different intersecting items of course we are continuing to watch the waterways for the arrival of the Pegasus barge with equipment for the Artemis 2 3 and four missions also unrelated to that though because the launch is now slipping later into the window I will unfortunately have to step off the mic in about 15 or so minutes as I'm needed for a reporting assignment a little bit later this morning which be sure to keep your eyes on our social channels for updates on that when I do have to step away I will leave you on the more than capable hands of our space fly now editor Steph young who will take over commentary duties for the duration of this live coverage so rest assured this live stream will not be going away as long as SpaceX continues to Target a launch this morning of the starlink 8-11 mission you will just be hearing a different voice during the countdown liftoff and lead up to that currently T minus 2 hours 19 minutes and counting to a launch Lift off of 11:33 a.m. eastern 1533 UTC with for those joining around the world SpaceX does have launch opportunities in this window that last until 12:31 p.m. Eastern for 1631 UTC as you can see in this wide shot here though while the phase 2 Lightning warning has been allowed to expire for the southern part of the cape you can see the clouds that have been hanging around here are still very much in the neighborhood something at of course SpaceX in the 45th weather Squadron as well as we here at space flight now are continuing to track and keep an eye on if for whatever reason BX is unable to launch today with this Mission though you might still be in luck as far as catching a launch this Thursday SpaceX also has another mission on the dock that is the launch of the third batch of the national reconnaissance offices so-called proliferated architecture on a mission dubbed nrol 113 that's set to lift off from space launch complex 4 Easter slick 4 e over at vanderberg space force base in California launch window for that operation opens up at 8:20 p.m. Pacific if needed there are backup opportunities on Friday starting at 7:58 p.m. Pacific tonight though that window opens up again 8:20 p.m. Pacific that is 11:20 p.m. Eastern or 0320 UTC the booer supporting that mission set to launch for a 20th time e e e for for e currently T minus 2 hours 13 minutes in counting as I was just mentioning a few minutes ago that the phase 2 light lightning warnings had lapsed perhaps I spoke a moment too soon as Phase 2 Lightning warnings now back at one part of the southern part of Cape canaval as well as down in Port canaval so conditions have not uh fully improved here and there's some evidence that they're still lingering for as we are tracking this Mission as well as the outlook for player Dawn which relies on a good uh 5day weather outlook for the splash down around the coast of Florida want to bring in this image from the National Hurricane Center shows their 7day as you can see at the top of this graphic 7-Day graphical tropical weather outlook we got quite a bit of activity happening in the tropics right now The Blob with the X and the arrow pointing to the blob in the center of your screen just north of the islands there that is described as disturbance 5 which according to the National Hurricane Center as of 8: a.m. this morning has a 10% chance of forming into a cyclone within the next seven days National Hurricane Center says and I'll quote them here strong upper level winds are expected to limit development of the system during the next few days while it moves West northwestward at 10 to 15 miles hour by early next week environmental conditions could be more conducive for some slow development while the system moves West Northwest over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean so so still a ways out still early in the development phase taking the camera here you can see the Pegasus barge from our cameras here at the Press site passing in front of pad 40 as it continues its Journey over here to the turn Basin at the KSC press site so we should be able to see a little bit more of it in our wide camera coming up in the next several minutes continue to keep our eyes out for that as it makes its way on down a little bit closer to here e e e e e e taking a look at our live chat here now T minus 2 hours 5 minutes 28 seconds and counting want to thank SG for a $3 super chat good to see you again this morning SG I hope you're doing well and thanks to moderator chisty Lee for gifting five space flight now memberships appreciate that generosity and to our newest five channel members welcome aboard we're glad to have you with us you Haven already be sure to thank clisa in the live chat and we hope you enjoy your time here as a channel member e e e e we are currently T-minus 2 hours 2 minutes 45 seconds in counting as I mentioned about 15 or so minutes ago unfortunately I'm going to have to step away from the mic at this point but I leave you in the more than capable hands of my colleague in space flight now editor Stephen young who will be picking up commentary duties from here through the duration of this live launch coverage again just as a point in time marker it is the bottom of the hour SpaceX currently still targeting at tu0 liftoff at 11:33 a.m. eastern 1533 UTC a phase 2 Lightning warning still in effect for part of the southern part of the cape as well as por Canaveral a phase one lightning watch remains in effect for pad 4 40 over at the cape as you can see in this wide shot here the clouds still hanging around but we are seeing a bit more sun peeking through in the last several minutes so hopefully things will Trend in a positive direction as we get closer to SpaceX actually making a decision on whether they are ready to move forward with this launch opportunity or not again just because I'm stepping away from the mic does it mean our live coverage is ending again Stephen young will be picking up commentary duties and I'll be back with you again later on tonight for the launch attempt of the nrol 113 Mission set to launch from vber space force base no earlier than 8:20 p.m. Pacific 11:20 p.m. Eastern 0320 UTC till then appreciate all of you who are joining with us live be sure to hit that like button as we continue our live commentary and coverage and before you know it the Pegasus barge is going to be cruising on into the turn Basin and we'll be sure to bring you those live pictures as well as you can see it's matter of fact there's the Pegasus barge tears must have been burning so at this point I will bid you all Ado and leave you with a uh Truman Show quote of good morning and if I don't see you later good afternoon good evening and good night I turn the mic over now Stephen young the rest of our commentary duties thank you will and I know you're sorry to be uh leaving us at this point in the broadcast but uh you do have an exciting assignment ahead of you that we've been uh working on for many many months uh so uh will will no doubt be uh posting things on social media so keep an eye on that to get an idea of uh what he's up to this morning and uh if you're um member of our YouTube channel you can go to our Discord and uh we'll have some behind the scenes photos there later today so you can see exactly what will is doing while he's away from the uh commentary desk so with the countdown now less than two hours to launch again we'll continue to track the progress of the Pegasus barge as it nears the turn Basin here at the Kennedy Space Center press site bringing hardware for the autus program to the Spaceport left off of the starlink 8-11 mission remains scheduled for now at 11:33 a.m. eastern time e e e for if you're just joining us on the left of your screen in the big box is the view of the Pegasus barge as it approaches the Kennedy Space Center turn Basin near the uh Vehicle Assembly Building at the Press site where we are located and on the right side of the screen you're looking at a live view of space launch complex 40 at Cape canaval space force station that's where space six is counting down to the launch of a falcon 9 on the starlink 8-11 mission that launch was originally scheduled for yesterday but delayed due to weather in the recovery zone this morning SpaceX push back the launch from 8:35 a.m. to 11:33 a.m. we believe due to weather there was uh some uh stormy conditions offshore to the south of the space port and uh that weather uh included a a water spout that was uh reported by the National Weather Service earlier there were also cumulous clouds in the area that is one of the watch items that the 45th weather Squadron pays close attention to one of the the roles that relate to the possibility of a lightning strike triggered by the rocket itself potentially during launch most of the weather rolls are concerned with the risk of lightning the the uh Pegasus barge which is uh barely visible now behind the tree line as it heads North up the Indian River Lagoon the Banana River is carrying hardware for the aamus program NASA's Moon landing effort and it will be arriving here at the turn Basin shortly we'll bring you views of that as we continue to wait for the launch of the starlink 8-11 mission we're currently at T-minus 1 hour 52 minutes and 33 seconds for e as you can see in our wide view of the Launchpad uh conditions have brightened here however still a lot of cloud in the area and some stormy conditions to the south of the pad you can see some of that weather here in the feed from uh the range weather Squadron the southern areas of the cape have been under lightning warnings so far those warnings have not extended uh as far north North as pad 40 but uh that uh if there is lightning in the area that would be a potential constraint to launch So currently uh the pad is in a phase one lightning uh advisory um a watch that indicates there's the possibility of lightning but none is currently forecast e for as we continue to track the progress of the Pegasus barge you could just see it moving behind those line of trees out on the horizon just moving into the left side of the frame e for e the barge is carrying hardware for the upcoming Artemis 2 mission it's carrying the launch vehicle stage adapter it's a cone shaped structure that uh sits on top of the cor stage it's also got hardware for aotus 3 and Artemis 4 it's got the the core stage boat tail for Artemis 3 and the core stage engine section for emus 4 assembly of the space launch system rocket for those missions will be transferred to here at the Kennedy Space Center the manufacturing of the components will continue to be performed at the mhu facility in Louisiana the uh press site flag now visible in our camera view here the Pegasus barge uh approaching the turn basin e e e e can now see the barge making its way down the canal that leads to the turn Basin the turn Basin was part of the original Space Center infrastructure back in the Apollo program where Apollo satin 5 Hardware was barged here to the Space Center was uh later used in the shuttle program for receiving the external fuel tanks for the space shuttle we're continuing to track the countdown for the launch of the starlink 8-11 mission currently scheduled for 11:33 a.m. eastern time there is some weather in the area off uh right on the uh Coast the southern part of the Space Center uh it does appear to gradually be moving to the north there's an hour and 40 minutes uh until the planned liftoff so hopefully that weather will have cleared in time for SpaceX to start propellant load for this launch they do also have some additional launch opportunities uh before the window closes today there are backup opportunities uh just a few few minutes after the current t0 at 1135 and 11:45 11:47 and then the final opportunity of the day as we currently understand it is at 12:3 1 Eastern Time for looks like the uh Pegasus barge has a security escort you can see the flashing lights of the security patrol Boat Moving ahead of it once again that barge is uh bringing hardware for emis program e e for for e e if you're joining us for the launch of the starlink 8-11 mission uh we're bringing you uh split screen coverage here on the left side of your screen in the big box is the arrival of the Pegasus barge bringing Hardware from NASA's Marshall space flight center and uh the Mishu assembly facility and on the right hand side of your screen you're looking at a live view of space launch complex 40 where SpaceX is attempting to launch 21 starlink satellites including 13 with direct to sell capabilities that launch uh was scheduled for yesterday but was delayed due to weather in the recovery zone out in the Atlantic uh off the shore of uh the Carolinas and today uh liftoff was originally scheduled for 8:35 but SpaceX uh slipped that time to 11:33 We Believe due to the weather which uh was quite Dynamic earlier today with a a weather SP a water spout being uh reported off the shores of uh Satellite Beach and uh which is uh just to the the uh south of the point of the cape weather conditions uh to the West most of the Space Center are looking fairly good most of the weather of concern is Right offshore on the tip of the cape and to the South offshore earlier today the uh there were clear violations of the cumulus cloud rule e yesterday as I said the U main concern was the weather in the recovery area offshore where the Drone ship is stationed in a forecast issued Yesterday by the 45th weather Squadron they uh continued to list uh recovery weather as a possible problem they gave it a uh low to moderate risk we've not uh heard anything specific from SpaceX on weather conditions uh at that Landing Zone currently much of the space port is in a phase one lightning warning uh that that's really a lightning watch it's uh that lightning is uh forecast the uh the next step up uh the phase 2 Lightning warning uh is uh more of a concern that lightning is IM imminent and uh requires workers at the Space Center to take cover and not be in an exposed outdoor area we're now less than 90 minutes from the planned launch of the Falcon 9 as you can see the Pegasus barge is uh making good progress as it works its way down the canal of the turn Basin it uh arrived at Port Canaveral a few days ago e for for for for e for the Pegasus barge uh entering the turn Basin with the Polaris dor Falcon 9 and dragon on the pad at launch complex 39a in the background we're hoping to uh hear more about the launch date for the Polaris Dawn Mission much of that does uh relate to the weather to they're looking at the recovery weather 5 days out with the Polaris Dawn mission in uh a free orbit not docked to the space station they have to be sure when they launch that the weather conditions will be acceptable for a splash down at the end of the mission because they don't have the option of uh extending uh like space station Crews do they can just remain aboard the station until weather conditions improve but the Dragon for Polaris has a limited number of uh consumables on board and they have to be confident that the weather conditions will be acceptable for a landing at the end of the mission So currently that launch is probably scheduled for no earlier than the eighth however another factor is the uh drone ships that uh SpaceX uses to recover the Falcon 9 first stage boosters one of their two drone ships based here at Port Canaveral uh suffered some damage uh in a uh Crash Landing of boosted 1062 lost week and uh they're working to get that drone ship operational again it remains important so with only only uh one drone ship available if uh today's starlink Mission launches there's another constraint to the Polaris Dawn mission in that they will have to get that drone ship back from the recovery zone and uh turn it around and get it back out there uh about 250 miles uh off the uh South Carolina coast from Charleston South Carolina and uh have it ready and in position for the polares dawn booster to land fortunately those two Landing zones for the starlink and the Polaris Dawn Mission are fairly close to each other so should uh the Starling not launch they also have the possibility of moving uh just read the instructions uh to the Polaris Dawn landing position so uh a lot of factors being juggled by SpaceX as uh Mother Nature throws a number of uh challenges their way now less than 1 hour 19 minutes to the next launch opportunity for the Falcon 9 and the starlink 8-11 mission you can see the uh full length of the Pegasus barge was originally used to transport space shuttle external fuel tanks and was uh modified to carry hardware for NASA's emus program most recently it delivered the core stage of the space launch systems rocket for uh the aamus 2 mission which uh at present is scheduled for September of next year e once in the turn basin uh they actually um use it for uh the purpose it was named after by turning the barge the uh doors of the barge are located on the right hand side there where the the fabric cover is uh clo closing off that opening to the inside of the barge so they will rotate the barge and the turn Basin and get it into position to bring it to the dock that is located here at the uh press s side not far from the Vehicle Assembly Building and the launch control center and uh in our view of uh space launch complex Mass a photographer capturing some images there of the barge as it pulls into dock here looks like he's quite close to the rocket but he's still about four miles away of less than an hour and 15 minutes to the planned liftoff of the Falcon 9 on the starlink 8-11 mission SpaceX is continuing to keep a close watch on the weather some of the activity that was offshore of the cape appears to be dissipating a little in the radar images may also be be moving uh a little further away from the Spaceport some weather is starting to pop up to the west but that's currently uh in the Orlando area at the present time for for taking another look at the Pegasus barge with the Press sight countdown clock and flag in view starting to uh make its way towards the dock here also give you a quick view of the Skies here at uh Cape Canaveral looking in the direction of the Falcon 9 on space launch complex 40 still uh some cloud in the area but uh you can see that the Press site itself in the turn Basin is uh bathed in sunlight so much better weather conditions uh as you move to the West getting a view here a closeup view from uh Adam Bernstein's camera the tugs maneuvering the barge into position the delicate operation with uh such a large vessel there are two tugs uh at work here e if you're just joining us for the starlink 8-11 launch we're currently uh awaiting a uh weather update uh to see if uh SpaceX will proceed with the planned 11:33 a.m. liftoff meanwhile in the turn Basin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center the Pegasus barge has arrived carrying hardware for the Artemus Moon program it's carrying gear that will be used for the emus 2 3 and four missions picked up that Hardware from uh NASA's Marshall space flight center in Alabama and uh it's Michu assembly facility in uh Louisiana near New Orleans for for in the background uh from this view from our camera which is located just outside our news Bureau here at the Press site you can see launch complex 39b where uh the otus missions will launch from the uh crew access on f is extended on that Tower currently they've been running tests uh for some time now on all the different uh systems of that launch platform and uh its launch umbilical Tower they've also been checking out the emergency escape slide wire basket system that uh astronauts would use to escape in the event of an emergency [Music] Tuck's now uh slowing the barge as it nears the dock we're at T-minus 1 Hour 4 minutes and 55 seconds before the next launch opportunity for the Falcon 9 at pad 40 we'll uh keep close tabs on spacex's countdown and bring you any updates as we get them meanwhile uh while we wait for that launch getting some uh great views of the Pegasus barge as it arrives with its delivery of uh hardware for the Artemis mission for as you can see from our wide shot uh weather conditions uh continue to improve looking uh much brighter uh in the direction of pad 40 so uh we'll uh remain hopeful that uh weather conditions will be acceptable for launch it continues to be some activity offshore uh that bears uh close attention but uh things are appear to be trending in the right direction SpaceX does have additional launch opportunities this morning if uh conditions do not not look ideal for 1133 you can see the tugs are now approaching the dock where uh Kennedy Space Center employees are awaiting to assist in the arrival of the uh barge and its cargo e for e we are now 1 hour from the launch of the Falcon 9 on the starlink 8-11 Mission can now take uh a look at the rocket from uh across the river you can see uh things have brightened up significantly this view coming from our friends Chuck and Jen bricks LIF off uh remains targeted for 11:33 a.m. this morning the 45th weather Squadron based at Cape Canaveral space force station is keeping a close watch on weather just offshore but in general from uh our Layman's view of the sky here at the Press site things do seem to be trending in the right direction if necessary space a does have some additional launch opportunities uh if it decides to wait just a little bit longer for conditions to be Optimum for today's Mission the final launch tempt of the day would come at 12:31 if they choose to push back the launch a little further meanwhile at the Kennedy Space Center we're seeing the arrival of the Pegasus barge bringing hardware for na NASA's Artemis Moon program it's bringing hardware for the space launch system SLS rocket that will carry the emus 2 artmus 3 and Artemus 4 missions if you were expecting to hear the doul set tones of Will Robinson Smith he unfortunately had to step away a little while ago to uh go to a another interview opportunity that uh has been long planned so he's away on that reporting Simon and uh I'm Stephen young and I will be providing comment Tre in Will's place SpaceX should have just received a weather briefing and the launch director will be preparing to go into the poll of the launch Team that poll is conducted electronically uh so there's no verbal poll like we used to he on many launches but for now as far as we know liftoff remains scheduled for 11:33 a.m. 56 minutes from now e [Music] for [Music] for e e e as we approach the go no go poll that SpaceX will conduct uh in its launch control center at Hangar Rex uh just like to remind you uh if you would please hit the like button and click subscribe so you get notifications when we post new videos that will really help support our coverage you might also want to consider making a donation through YouTube Super Chat feature or by becoming a member of our YouTube channel we can't do these launch broadcasts without the support of our members and viewers we would like to thank everyone who's made a contribution to help fund our coverage this is the uh second time that NASA that SpaceX has attempted to launch its Falcon 9 rocket on the Starling 8-11 Mission yesterday uh launched attempt was scrubbed in the final minutes of the countdown due to poor weather at the Landing recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean off the shore of the Carolinas the 45th weather Squadron did list the recovery weather as a possible concern for today's Mission as well uh but it appeared that uh today's delays uh were caused by weather in the local area although we have not received any updates from SpaceX on the weather in the recovery zones e for so as we are now within 50 minutes of the planned launch attempt today let's take a look at the countdown timeline for this morning's Mission at the T-minus 38 minute Mark the SpaceX launch director should verify the go for propellent load that's followed by the start of that operation at the T-minus 35 minute Mark with the loading of kerosene aboard the first and second stages and liquid oxygen into the first stage at the T minus 30 minute Mark the loading of cryogenic helium begins on the first stage that's followed a few minutes later by the loading of helium on the second stage that helium is important because it provides the the pressurization for the propellants in the Falcon 99's tanks and forces those propellants to move downwards towards the plumbing that leads to the Rockets engines 23 minutes the loading of kerosene on the second stage is concluded that's uh also known as rp1 a rocket grade kerosene at the T-minus 20 minute 52 Mark the chill down of the strong back lines begins that becomes clearly evident at about uh 20 minutes and 20 seconds and some change when we see the so-called big vent from the Launchpad strung back structure that process uh chills down the feed lines that run up that strong back that is alongside the rocket at the Launchpad and provides umbilical connections to the second stage and the payload fairing that sets the stage for the start of liquid oxygen load at the T minus 6 16-minute Mark a T-minus 7 Minutes the Falcon 9 Begins the engine chill sequence that involves flowing a small amount of liquid oxygen through the plumbing and turbo pumps of the nine Merlin engines on the first stage this will protect those engines from the risk of thermal shock and damage during the startup sequence at T minus 6 minutes the loading of kerosene on the first stage will wrap up and the retraction of the strong back structure begins at about 4 and 1 half minutes to launch that strong back structure reclines to an angle of about 1 and a half deg it leans back ever so slightly from the Falcon 9 and it will remain in that position until liftoff when it pulls away in a more rapid fashion to clear the way for the climb of the Falcon 9 at 3 minutes the loading of liquid oxygen aboard the first stage will be complete and that will be followed a minute later by the wrapping up of the second stage liquid oxygen load at this point the Falcon 9 will be fully loaded with 1 million pounds of propellant in the final 60 seconds of the countdown control will be handed over from the ground sequencer to the Falcon 99's onboard flight computers the propellant tanks will be brought up to flight pressure if everything is looking good at that stage the SpaceX launch director will give their final go for launch and at T-minus 3 minutes the engine ignition sequence starts if all nine Merlin 1D engines ignite on our healthy the Falcon 9 will lift off at t0 at 11:33 a.m. e just a reminder that at this point in the countdown the launch director should be conducting their go no go poll we uh uh do not receive countdown audio from SpaceX any longer and uh as of a few moments ago there have been no updates provided by SpaceX on social media but as far as we know the countdown is proceeding towards the 1133 launch attempt so that go no go poll should be underway electronically inside the launch control center which is housed inside the hangar X facility which is located about 6 miles west of the Launchpad that facility is also where Falcon 9 boosters are refurbished and prepared for flight the SpaceX launch team will also be supported by their colleagues at SpaceX headquarters in haong California company is also preparing for a West Coast launch later today from Vandenburg space force base in California it's been a busy morning here at the Kennedy Space Center and cap Canaveral space force station the uh Pegasus barge has arrived here at the turn basin at the Kennedy Space Center press site it's carrying hardware for the emus 23 and four missions all components of the space launch system rocket it picked those up at the Marshall space flight center in Alabama and NASA's Mushu assembly facility in Louisiana and uh traveled through the gulf and around the Florida Keys to uh continue northwards up the coast the east coast of Florida and through Port Canaveral into the Indian River Lagoon the Banana River and made its way here to the Kennedy Space Center turn Basin in the shadow of the Vehicle Assembly Building we're hoping to see the offload of that equipment a stage adapter for the Artemis 2 mission it's also carrying the uh core stage engine section for Artemis 4 and the core stage boat tail for Artemis 3 we're now less than 40 minutes from the planned launch time for this Falcon 9 rocket the weather that was developing offshore of Cape Canaveral literally right on the tip of the Cape is gradually moving to the South which appears to be a good sign for this morning's launch there continues to be a lot of cloud in the area but conditions have definitely improved from the original original launch time which was scheduled at uh 8:35 a.m. this morning at this point if everything is uh on track the SpaceX launch director should be making a decision on whether to proceed with propellent load that process will begin in about 3 minutes if everything is on track e e we're at T minus 36 minutes and Counting we should be a minute away from the start of propellant load on the Falcon 9 that process will start with the loading of liquid oxygen on the first stage and rp1 Rocket gr kerosene on the both the first and second stages we're still awaiting word from SpaceX on if the LA launch is proceeding we'll U bring you that word as soon as we get it so we've reached the point in the countdown where if they are proceeding they should be starting to load propellants aboard the Falcon 9 if you're joining us expecting to hear from Will Robinson Smith he was here providing commentary earlier but uh he is on another assignment a particularly interesting one that uh I'm sure he'll be uh posting on our Discord Channel very soon some behind the scenes images of where he is and what he is doing it's uh been a long planned assignment and not one that we could uh move so I have uh stepped in as uh uh his backup for this morning's launch commentary and uh I'd appreciate it if you bear with me because not only am I providing commentary but I'm also doing all the video switching and Technical work behind the scenes to get all the camera feeds hooked up and connected also joined this morning by Adam Bernstein who is working hard out in the field with the cameras and he'll be tracking the launch and if you haven't done so already please uh don't forget to hit that like button it really helps us out and brings in a bigger audience for our coverage another sign that uh oh and we have just heard that propellant load has started SpaceX says it's targeting a break in the weather for today's launch so we have confirmation that propellent load started on the first and second stages with kerosene and on the first stage with liquid oxygen that operation began uh a little under 3 minutes ago so SpaceX is now locked in to the 11:33 a.m. launch time another sign that weather has improved here is that the phase one lightning watch that was in place for many areas of the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral space force station that that watch has now been lifted so the threat of lightning is greatly diminished uh we can just about make out in our view here from the Press site through the heat waves some of the vapor that is building on the first stage of the Falcon 9 as that super cold liquid oxygen is pumped board it uh cools down the fuselage of the Falcon 9 first stage and when the moist Florida Air comes into contact with that cold metal it uh creates condensation and Vapor that uh can just about make out through the waving heat that uh we're dealing with this morning we should hopefully get a better view soon in Chuck briggs' camera the uh heat waves are not quite so bad in his at from his location we should start to see some of that Vapor trailing away from the base of the rocket very soon e if you're just joining us we're now less than 30 minutes away from the planned liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 starlink satellites for spacex's internet service about five minutes ago SpaceX began loading the super chilled liquid oxygen aboard the first stage of the Falcon 9 and you can start to see some of that Vapor uh that is uh being generated from the cold tank of the Falcon 9 rocket in Chuck briggs' view here also becoming uh much more visible in our press site camera at this point in the countdown SpaceX has also begun the loading of progenic helium into the first stage of the Falcon 9 that helium is used to pressurize the propellant tanks left off is scheduled for 11:33 a.m. this morning SpaceX push back the planned liftoff from 8:35 due to the poor weather in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral a lot of Stormy conditions offshore and in fact the National Weather Service reported a water spout down near Patrick space fall space south of Cape Canaveral SpaceX has also been keeping close watch on conditions in the Atlantic Ocean where the Drone ship just read the instruction is stationed the Falcon 9 first stage booster is scheduled to land there yesterday conditions were not ideal and SpaceX had to scrub the launch because of that recovery weather e T minus 26 minutes and Counting at this point the loading of helium the second stage should be getting underway let's take a look at the trajectory for this Mission the Falcon 9 will lift off from launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral space force station it will fly in a northeasterly trajectory heading offshore along the up the east coast of the United States following stage separation the first stage will land on one of spacex's three drone ships the one on Deck this morning is called just read the instructions the Drone ship is stationed about 385 mies downrange in the Atlantic Ocean about 250 miles east of Charleston South Carolina the upper stage will continue on with the starlink satellites the fairing harves will land a little bit downrange from the booster Landing Zone SpaceX will use one of its East Coast Recovery ships to scoop up those fairing harves you can see here this uh image from SpaceX showing the one half of the payload fairing the clamshell-like fairing that encloses the starlink satellites during launch they descend to a soft landing on the ocean under a parachute or Paras they're then uh picked up by one of the recovery vessels and and return to Cape Canaveral for refurbishment SpaceX estimates it saves about $7 million by picking these payload fairings up and reusing them R T-minus 23 minutes and Counting liftoff of the Falcon 9 with 21 Starling satellites remain scheduled for 11:33 with propellant load underway SpaceX is now locked into that time it doesn't have the capability of holding or recycling the countown because of the nature of the super densified propellant that it used uses aboard the Falcon 9 by chilling those propellants much colder than the liquid oxygen used by other Rockets it enables SpaceX to pack in more propellent and uh get more performance out of the same siiz fuel tank it does however mean that the countdown has to be perfectly Ed timed to ensure that propellant remains at the optimum temperature so if uh we do encounter any problems in the countdown SpaceX will have to scrub today's launch and try again another day but for now everything remains on track we're we be shortly coming up on the start of the operation to chill down the propellant lines on the strong back that will be shortly used to load liquid oxygen aboard the rocket second stage that frost line on the Falcon 9 gradually creeping up the first stage you can see the ex expanding swirl of vapor uh looking through the heat waves here from our vantage point at the Kennedy Space Center press site serves as a useful fuel gauge giving you an indication of just how much propellant is in the tanks of the rocket we'll gradually see that Vapor wrapping the vehicle creep its way up as the tanks fill and there we see the first visible sign that that chill down operation is underway on the strong back structure the start of the so-called big vent this view is the perfect angle to see that coming to us from our friends Chuck and Jen bricks located uh to the south and west of the Launchpad this morning this chill down operation is ahead of the plan start of liquid oxygen loading aboard the second stage of the Falcon 9 e e e e e and as you can see the big vent has now now wrapped up and uh the start of second stage liquid oxygen loading should now be underway the loading of uh kerosene aboard the second stage should have wrapped up uh a little little under 10 minutes ago the loading of liquid oxygen and kerosene continues on the first stage of the rocket you can see the frost line and Vapor it's gradually creeping its way up that's our fuel gauge to determine just how things are going with that load those Vapors created by the moist Florida air coming into contact with the cold tanks of the Falcon 99's first stage we'll soon start to see some Vapors around the second stage as that operation to load liquid oxygen gets underway e this will be the 15th flight of this particular booster which has the tail number b1077 its first launch was a crude Mission just over a year ago uh two years ago on October 5th 2022 it was the crew five mission to the International Space Station aboard the dragon named endurance that mission was also the first time a Russian cosmina flew to the station the next launch for this booster came on January 18th 2023 with the launch of the GPS space vehicle six satellites launch number three was a month later it carried the mosat 6 F2 satellite Communications vehicle that spacecraft uh did suffer an anomaly uh after launch the fourth launch of b1077 was on March 29th when it launched 56 satellites on the starlink 5-10 mission its fifth flight was June 5th when it was on its way to the International Space Station again gang carrying cargo on the CRS 28 Mission it brought up uh a pair of rollout solar arrays in the dragon's trunk its sixth launch was the Galaxy 37 satellite for Intel sat the 7th eight and Ninth launches were all starlink missions it then moved on to earlier this year to fly northr grumman's sickness spacecraft on a mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station it was then back on starlink duty launching starlink 6- 43 6-51 6- 63 and 10-4 that most recent launch occurring on July 28th for e we're now uh coming up on the 9 Minute Mark in the countdown let's take a closer look at the Falcon 999 vehicle it stands 70 M or 229 ft tall has a diameter of 3.66 M or 12 ft the first stage the first stage of the Falcon 9 comprises the bottom 2/3 of the rocket this first stage booster has flown 14 times before it's uh designated 1077 in the SpaceX Fleet at the base of the first day are the nine Merlin engines which burn rocket great kerosene and liquid oxygen to produce 1.7 million pounds of thrust around that engine compartment are the black carbon fiber Landing legs that will be used to touchdown on the Drone ship just read the instructions above the first stage is the interstage this is a composite structure consisting of an aluminum honeycomb core surrounded by carbon fiber in the inset image you can see the Deployable Hypersonic grid fins these titanium winglets provide stability and steering for the Falcon 9 as it falls back through the atmosphere tail first like a dart at the top of the inter stage are three mechanical latches that attach to the second stage at first stage main engine cut off high-press helium is used to release those latches and for four pneumatic pushes ensure there's a clean separation the second stage engine nozzle is housed inside the interstage adapter until separation the upper stage the upper stage is powered by a single modified Merlin vacuum engine or mvac it's equipped with a large engine nozzle optimized for Burns in the vacuum of space the mvac engine burns the same propellant mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen as the first stage at the very top of the rocket is the payload fairing containing the 21 starlink satellites the two harves of the payload firing will be recovered a little further down range from the Drone ship for [Music] apologies as I work behind the scenes as I mentioned earlier I'm doing double duty here today we're now getting audio from SpaceX now coming up on the retraction of the strong back structure out at the launch pad retract has started there we hear confirmation from the SpaceX launch control center that retraction of theung back has begun uh the view in the big box is coming to us cesy of SpaceX you can see the clamp arms have opened up on the strong back struct we'll soon see that strong back retract to an angle of about 1 and a half de you'll notice there's a slight discrepancy between the countdown clocks that's because the SpaceX feed comes to us on a slight delay coming up on the completion of propellent load we should be hearing a couple of calls shortly on that stage one locks look complete we have confirmation that the loading of liquid oxygen on the first stage has been completed for T minus 2 minutes did not stage two locks load complete as's the call of loading of liquid oxygen on the second stage is complete hoping that weather conditions remain favorable for launch this morning ground gas close outs you can see the venting as the ground gas Closeouts are underway this purges uh all the propellant lines of the Launchpad to uh ensure it liftoff there's no issues coming up on the one minute Mark in the switch to the Falcon 99's onboard computers Falcon 9 isn't startup and there's confirmation that the Falcon 9 is in startup 45 seconds LD go for launch and we've just had the final go for launch from the launch director 20 seconds 5 4 3 2 1 ignition and liftoff liftoff of the Falcon 9 on the starlink 8-11 mission and the Falcon 9 has cleared the tower Now 1 and a half minutes into flight the Falcon 9 has reached Max Q the period of Maximum Dynamic pressure on the vehicle our tracking team had to deal with some clouds in the area but we were able to uh follow it thanks to our team of Adam Pete and Chuck and Jen this view coming from Pete Carson looking through Some Cloud conditions uh not ideal for observing a launch today going to switch to the SpaceX onboard cameras which are give you an idea of the cloud cover the Falcon 9 is leaving behind as it climbs away from Florida's Space Coast on this starlink 8-11 mission coming up on separation of the first and second stage shutdown of the first stage stage separation confirmed and imp back ignition now we see the the separation of the Falcon 9 first stage and the ignition of the second stage the first stage falling away the onboard C CA view from the first stage on the left hand side of your screen and on the right hand side the Merlin vacuum engine flowing red hot standing by for payload fairing separation fairing separation confirmed you can see those 13 starlink satellites that are equipped for direct to sell capabilities they uh stand out because they appear to have white dots on their sides looks like they were was stacked on top about 3 and a half minutes into flight the Falcon 9 second stage is at an altitude of 116 kilm the first stage is still climbing it's not quite reached the highest point it's uh forward momentum still carrying it higher now at 115 116 kilm start to see the speed of the first stage is uh declining a little and uh we'll see that altitude start to drop as the Falcon 9 reaches the high point or apy of its path as it heads on a trajectory that will take it to the Drone ship which is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the south of South Carolina about 250 miles to the east of Charleston and it looks like the uh the Falcon 9 has started to descend now you'll see the speed gradually start to pick up the next major milestone for the first stage will be the entry burn you'll see that speed picking up and that entry burn is vital to slow down the first stage as it re-enters the denser layers of the atmosphere if it did not slow down it would burn up so that burn is particularly important and that's uh coming up in uh a short while here second stage continues to build speed approaching 13 and a half th000 km per hour as it races to orbit with the 21 starlink satellites about less than 20 seconds to the entry burn can see still a lot of cloud cover beneath the Falcon 9 first stage see that speed gradually building but the Falcon 9 is about to slam on the brakes stage one entry burn start up and there we see the ignition of some of the Merlin engines on the the first stage you'll see that speed is dramatically reduced Falcon 9 now under 50 km in altitude but the burn is slowing it down and stage one entry burn shut down there we see completion of that burn about a 23 the nominal trajectory the Falcon 9 is heading to the Drone ship just read the instruction it's about 385 miles down range from uh the launch site looks like the Falcon 9 is uh going to pass through some Cloud on its way down to the landing ship stage one transonic now traveling less than the speed of sound an altitude of coming up on 6 kilm still traveling at just over a th000 kmet an hour it's passed through that upper layer of cloud and conditions now look good conditions in the recovery area were an issue yesterday and prevented the launch stage two is in terminal Guidance the barge coming into view here ignition Landing burn stage one Landing leg deploy touchdown boost to 1077 on the de confirm of just read the instructions in the Atlantic Ocean meanwhile the second stage continues we'll see if we hear the call out for second stage engine cut off hopefully we'll see it too and back shut down nominal orbit insertion there we have it confirmation of the confirmation of the successful parking orbit that will enable the second stage to Coast for just under an hour before a a very short burn of the second stage one more burn planned that burn comes up um at about uh 54 minutes and 48 seconds after launch it's just a 2cond burn to circularize the orbit of the second stage with its starlink satellites aboard the separation of those starlink satellites should occur at uh the 1 Hour 3 minutes and 42 second Point there's 21 satellites aboard for this mission for while we've been covering the countdown to the launch of this Falcon 9 NASA has taken delivery of some hardware for the Artemis program that uh delivery came aboard the Pegasus barge which is now docked here at the turn Basin at the Kennedy Space Center press site which is just a short distance from the Vehicle Assembly Building just behind the barge you may be able to see the Tower of the launch complex 39b Launchpad and the three lightning rods that are sticking up there above the roof of the barge that barge is bringing pieces of Hardware that will be used for the Artemus 2 three and four missions on the space launch systems rocket that rocket will launch from the pad in the distance there that you can just see the emis 2 mission which will carry the first astronauts on a voyage around the moon since the Apollo era is currently scheduled for launch in September of next year but that's very much a no earlier than date e so as we get ready to wrap up our coverage of the Starling 8-11 Mission let's take a look at the uh some of the stats for this Mission it was the 15th flight of Falcon 9 booster 1077 and the 370th Falcon 9 launch today it's also the 85th Falcon 9 launch of this year it was the 313th Falcon booster reflight the 88th SpaceX launch of 2024 including Starship and uh Falcon heavy 20th SpaceX orbital launch in the last 365 days that's a useful metric to track how SpaceX is doing it's hoping to reach 144 launches uh this year but uh probably will fall short uh with the problems it's had with the second stage uh failure a couple of months ago and uh most recently the crash landing of a booster on the Drone ship a shortfall of Gravitas which is sideline that booster it was the 204th SpaceX orbital launch from pad 40 and the 259th overall orbital launch from pad 40 so this isn't the only Falcon 9 launch that SpaceX has planned for us today we'll um be covering the n l 113 Mission from Vandenberg space for space in California that mission is scheduled to uh launch uh has a window that opens at 8:20 p.m. Pacific time it's uh on a classified mission for the national reconnaissance office so uh we'll be covering that later will will be back for that to cover that launch we'll be uh continuing to bring you views of the activities here at the Kennedy Space Center press site as uh SpaceX offloads sorry as NASA offloads the Pegasus barge with its uh cargo for the Artemis program and although uh will was not here to do commentary he did catch a glimpse of today's launch and um hoping to bring you that very shortly for so if you were wondering where will was today um I've got a little spoiler that will give the game away he um did manage to catch a glimpse of the launch and has shared a photo with us that I am trying to bring in right now as I said I am performing double duties today to to provide commentary and uh handle all the behind the scenes technical matters and video switching but uh this might give you an idea where will was earlier today where he had to uh leave us uh off to the uh launch delay earlier this morning and as you can see uh he uh he did Capt a glimpse of the Contra of the Falcon 9 above launch complex 39b so looking forward to uh finding out what Will's been up to so if you haven't done so already make sure you hit the Subscribe button and uh I'm sure we'll be seeing some content on this channel very soon from that visit will is making so it's uh it's been a little bit of a struggle to keep up uh with the chat chat this morning with uh having to perform commentary and uh manage the uh the video this morning but uh I just wanted to dip into that and give a big thank you to everyone who's made a contribution we had a $3 Super Chat from SG one of our regular viewers uh Kalisa Lee who's been doing a wonderful job moderating uh gifted uh five space flight now memberships if you were one of the lucky viewers who received that uh please make sure you send kistia your thanks we also had a membership gifted by psychonaut 69 thank you again for your support Jim Edgar is helping out with a $20 Super Chat uh will probably will pronounce this a lot better than I will but uh Jim Edgar and Lisa Bean watching a again from snow qual me Washington hope I got that right he says go SpaceX Kalisa Lee contributed uh uh $20 in addition to the uh me gifts of membership so thank you again kistia you're uh really like one of our our uh our best moderators and uh best uh best contributors to the channel so we really appreciate all that help also a big thanks to Lloyd Green for a $2 Super Chat so uh with that uh we can see the strong back is uh already being raised back into the upright position at uh Launchpad 40 the next launch from Florida could be the Polaris Dawn mission that is very dependent on the the recovery weather and the downrange weather in the asent corridor in the event of an abort you can see the Falon canine has been sitting there on the pad for over a week now awaiting the right moment they have to be sure that they have excellent weather for the eventual splash down of the crew dragon with the Polaris daor crew about 5 days after lifting off and those forecasts have not been good for the past week and uh we're waiting to see what the weather brings but it looks like uh that launch is probably no sooner than the eighth or 9th it will also depend on when SpaceX can get a drone ship out to the recovery area so that the first stage booster can make a landing on that ship so with that uh just want to thank Adam Bernstein for setting up all our cameras he was out here before Dawn getting all of that in place so that we could track the launch and bring you uh these views of the pad and of the arrival of the Pegasus barge with the Artemis Hardware aboard also a big thank you to Pete car who battled the clouds to bring us some tracking views and Chuck and Jen Briggs who camped out all morning brought us views of the Pegasus barge coming up the Banana River towards uh the turn Basin and then provided uh excellent views of the Falcon 9 at the Launchpad and the Falcon n's liftoff between our team here we we were able to fight the clouds and bring you some excellent views so uh big thank you to them for all their efforts so with that I'll uh wish you a good day and look forward to seeing you all again later tonight for the launch of the national reconnaissance office Mission from the west coast and stay tuned for updates on Polaris Dawn and the eventual launch date for that mission so for space flight now I'm Steph young reporting from NASA's Kennedy Space Center for