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  • three.

  • Good evening from Hawthorne, California.

  • It is December 22nd just after 5:12 p.m. Pacific time.

  • Welcome to the Webcast of the Falcon nine Mission carrying the fourth flight of 10 radium.

  • Next satellites.

  • You're seeing the live view of Falcon nine as we prepare for launch in just over 10 minutes.

  • Sunset just having occurred here on the west coast of the United States.

  • Launch is scheduled for one hour, 27 minutes, 34 seconds.

  • Universal time or 5:27:34 p.m. Pacific Standard time.

  • I'm John is for her Falcon nine, Principal integration engineer and I will be bringing you coverage of the Space six launch for a radium next during today's Webcast.

  • Now, this is our fourth of eight plan watches for radium.

  • It's also our fourth already in flight in 2017.

  • We started in January with the radium one and we're wrapping up 2017 with a radium, for we're t minus 12 minutes 48 seconds.

  • Counting down as you just saw from the video tour we're launching from Historic Space Launch Complex for at Vandenberg Air Force Base, where I worked for several years while I was in the Air Force Slick.

  • For us, it's called is Space X's West Coast launch site.

  • On the launch pad, you can see the two stage Falcon nine vehicle.

  • It stands just over 70 meters tall.

  • That's totally than a 20 story building.

  • It's in the darkness just after sunset.

  • Now the first stage provides the initial force to get out of the majority of the Earth's atmosphere.

  • The first stage in the close ups is the stage that has the space sex logo on it.

  • For that first stage, this will be its second flight, the first having been on the Iridium to mission earlier this summer.

  • Now what you may have noticed in our camera views is the first date does not have landing legs for this flight.

  • Although griffins are installed, Space six does not plan to recover this first stage.

  • A landing sequence out in the Pacific Ocean will be performed, but there is no drone ship in position for recovery.

  • Space X will not be following the first stage during the Webcast, although you may hear call outs on the countdown that while we are following the second stage as it goes into orbit.

  • Also of note, you may notice the Inter stage looks slightly dark city from the last flight and it ISS.

  • There was no need after it was recovered to totally clean and repaint.

  • That inter stage.

  • Now on top of the first stage is the second stage that will take the satellite from the state separation altitude of just over 70 kilometers at the edge of space and accelerated up to the orbital speed of just over 7.5 kilometres per second, or about 17,500 miles per hour, 10 times faster than a bullet.

  • Finally, there in the view, you can see with the iridium next logo at the very top, the 17 foot diameter payload faring inside of which are 10 Iridium satellites.

  • And I'd finally the large white structure next to the racket.

  • It is our transporter Erector as a reminder.

  • Unlike the East Coast here on the West Coast, the transporter Erector.

  • We'll move away, starting at about T minus five minutes to a position 17 77.5 degrees away from the racket just before t zero t minus 10 minutes.

  • We're counting down launch again, planned at 27 minutes 34 seconds after the hour.

  • Currently on the Falcon nine, the good news is the Space X team is working no significant issues.

  • We began loading feel into the first stage on time.

  • A T minus 70 minutes.

  • Feel is now essentially loaded on the first stage.

  • We'll top it off with just a little bit from about T minus seven minutes to t minus six minutes.

  • And that'll finish the first age feel we are loading liquid oxygen onto both stages.

  • Stage one is about 80 some percent complete.

  • Stage two is a little more than half full.

  • That liquid oxygen loading will continue up until the last minutes of the countdown.

  • First stage completing at about T minus three minutes.

  • Second stage locks loading will complete about T minus two minutes.

  • You should hear those Countdown's over the countdown, that is, We listen to the last minutes.

  • Right now, The next major activity plan is in two minutes.

  • A T minus seven.

  • That will be the opening of the pre valves between the first stage propellant tanks and the nine Merlin one D engines at the bottom of the first stage that will allow liquid oxygen to bleed through.

  • The turbo pumps begin showing them down to prepare them for the ignition.

  • That it comes just a couple seconds before t zero on top of the Falcon.

  • Nine shown within again the set the payload.

  • Faring with the Iridium next logo On it are the turn of Iridium satellites.

  • The reading of team working.

  • No issues.

  • They have gone to internal power, and they are ready for launch today.

  • For the range were operating out of Vanderburgh, the head of the Western Range.

  • Everything looks good from the air Force.

  • Support is in place, ready for an on time launch.

  • And then finally, the weather.

  • The good news is we don't have to do anything about the weather.

  • The Air Force weather officer has given us a 0% probability of violating conditions up around two.

  • Jet stream looks like it's in control.

  • Ground level winds, as you can see, are very light.

  • We're hardly blowing any of the mist away from the rocket, the cold moisture condensing from the chill of liquid oxygen in the stages.

  • So it's seven minutes 54 seconds.

  • Everything is looking good now.

  • Today, Space X is launching 10 radium next satellites toe Leo at short for low earth orbit.

  • Now each of the 10 satellites has a mass of about 600 kilograms and it's got solar rays that are currently folded up alongside each satellite.

  • Once they're in space, the solar is will fully deploy.

  • And the radium next satellite had a wingspan of approximately nine meters in length.

  • No.

  • In order to correctly position the satellites into the right orbital plane, that means we have to launch right on time.

  • Today.

  • Our launch window is one second walk.

  • Now, if you hear the dreaded hold hold.

  • Hold on.

  • Account down.

  • That means we're gonna have to recycle and try again another day.

  • There is a backup opportunity tomorrow.

  • About six minutes later.

  • Finally, when the second stage gets into the final orbit later this evening will be at 625 kilometers altitude from there.

  • Will released the tenant Iridium satellites.

  • They will make the maneuvers to their final orbits.

  • Now, that event sequence will last 15 minutes.

  • We're gonna hope to bring that to you, using a camera on the second stage later on.

  • But for now, we've got Matt dish with some of the unique features of the Iridium system when we were envisioning a radium.

  • Next, a whole constellation of 66 new satellites going around the Earth to replace our network, we realized returning credible real estate.

  • This is this is really, really important real estate to be so close to the Earth, with the network all interconnected in space.

  • What if other sensors could be put on our satellites?

  • What if other things that really wanted to see the Earth as a complete entity could also be on the satellite with us?

  • We decided to put a payload about this big to monitor aircraft, and it operates completely independently of our communication system.

  • It doesn't use the same radio frequencies or anything but what it's doing.

  • Its listening for the transmissions of every aircraft in the world, all of whom are broadcast in a very specific frequency in a very specific language called adsb.

  • Their identity, their location there speed their position, their altitude.

  • And while ground towers typically pick up those receptions, we knew that we were so close to the earth, and with an interconnected satellite system, we could hear those transmissions and relay them in real time to an air traffic controller and that would allow airplanes to fly much more efficiently.

  • Point to point, they'd be ableto climb faster.

  • They'd be able to fly in places where there was no radar coverage today but fly justice safely and as efficiently as they do when they were in radar coverage.

  • Every one of our new satellites has one of these receivers on them.

  • In fact, they're processing billions of messages a day already from airplanes.

  • And when the full network is complete, that is gonna provide a 100% picture of the real time location of every airplane on the planet.

  • And it's exciting because we've created this whole new business that isn't even related to our core communication competency.

  • By using this hosted payload, as it's called, we also had the company that created this payload put a few other things in there, including the ability to monitor all ships in real time, and that's quite exciting.

  • Today we pick up large ships as they're traveling around the world.

  • They can be out of touch and out of reach.

  • And so, for the first time ever, there'll be 100% picture of every ship in the ocean, picking up the unique frequencies transmitted by every ship as its trying to send out its information toe nearby ships.

  • But we'll pick it up as we pass overhead and relay that to the agency's The Coast Guard's.

  • The maritime organizations that really want to know in real time, where every large ship is traveling the world for safety and security.

  • And that's exciting.

  • It's a whole new business that just rides along with our communication payload and really creates a whole new technical innovation, whole new business around her business that expands the power and potential of this unique global constellation.

  • Satellites T minus two minutes 40 seconds, Continuing to count down for a launch, Everything looks good.

  • While we're watching that video, the team has moved that strong back away from the Falcon nine.

  • We've done thrust vector control check.

  • It's on the upper stage engine.

  • We've done alignment of the guidance system.

  • We've completed feel loading on first and second stage, and we have just ended walks loading on stage one, So we're down to loading locks on stage two.

  • Then we'll go into the final countdown sequence, starting a T minus one minute now.

  • One note coming up in about 90 seconds.

  • If you see and hear a large venting off of the strong back that's normal will be draining liquid oxygen out of the structure alongside of the rocket.

  • And sometimes that will condense a lot of the moisture in the air at Vandenberg into a cloud.

  • But for that a radium is go.

  • The range has just announced they're green.

  • The weather is go.

  • So we're gonna listen in to the last minute and 45 of the countdown.

  • A Falcon nine with a radium.

  • Next.

  • Vehicles and self one vehicle gas clothes outside started Yes, is ready for launch.

  • Falcon nine's and started stage two tanks present for flight.

  • No, these go for launch.

  • T minus 30 seconds.

  • 20 stage one tanks present replied.

  • 15 10 nine, eight, seven, 65 four, three, two, one.

  • Lift off, Triano.

  • People s a minute.

  • 10 in the flight.

  • We've just gone through throttle down and throttle.

  • Back up on the fact of nine first stage engines.

  • We've gone through Max Q on the first stage.

  • First stage continues to look good on the engines headed downrange away from Vandenberg Air Force base.

  • We're chilling in the EM back engine two minutes into flight, getting it ready for ignition.

  • Next major event, coming up in 30 seconds, is shut down of the nine first age engines, followed by stage separation and ignition of the second stage engine.

  • Shortly after that, we hope to get a view of Palin faring separation from the second stage.

  • If you go, we've had successful separation and ignition of the upper stage engine.

  • First words from propulsion.

  • Things look good on the upper stage engine and the second stage.

  • Next up, we should seafaring separation.

  • You hear the applause from the team gathered around Mission Control Center here in Hawthorne.

  • It's 5 30 in the evening.

  • Second shift is in there, watching the flight faring.

  • Separation looked very good, exposing the 10 Iridium next satellites to the vacuum of outer space.

  • We're 3.5 minutes plus in the flight.

  • Second stage performance continues to look excellent.

  • T plus four minutes into flight.

  • Falcon nine second stage continues to perform.

  • Nominally power on the engine looks good.

  • Avionics looks good.

  • Guidance lips were on track headed south away from California, eventually overflowing the south polar camp on her way off of Eastern Africa, where we'll eventually deploy Later in the Webcast, the 10 radium next satellites plus five minutes into flight.

  • You can see the camera views looking back on the nozzle of the em back D Merlin vacuum engine, Red hot, which is just what we expected.

  • This stage of flight, the engine is at full power.

  • Continuing to perform normally is, I like to say, and meanwhile, the second stage is on trajectory headed for its initial low earth parking orbit.

  • We'll talk a little bit more about that later on, but for now everything continues to look good.

  • T plus six minutes into flight.

  • Falcon nine, second stage carrying 10 A routine next satellites is currently west and south of the tip of Baja California.

  • I hope that everybody in Southern California had a great view of the launch this evening.

  • We've had clear skies, the rocket launching about half an hour after sunset.

  • Now, currently we're in burn one.

  • This takes us into the low earth parking orbit.

  • That's ah, temporary orbit that will be in for about half an orbit around the Earth before we relight the upper stage engine and that will move us with its second burn into the final orbit.

  • We'll be bringing you that second burn later on in the Webcast stage one entry started.

  • That's one integral entry.

  • Sit down, stage 1 7.5 minutes in the flight.

  • Falcon nine second stage two continues to perform.

  • Well, we're continuing on the desire trajectory headed south from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California heading into a an approximate polar orbit with the Iridium next satellites.

  • Now, as I mentioned, we're going to have to Burns were in the first burn right now.

  • This is the long burn.

  • Just over six men expected were beginning to throttle down power on the upper stage.

  • Engine prop aerating, preparing for shut down about a minute from now.

  • Meanwhile, will then go into a coast period of 42 minutes between the end of the burn that we're on now and then the relight that will come over the Eastern Hemisphere.

  • So during that coast phase, we're going to pause.

  • Live commentary will have a map so that you could see our path is we go over the southern polar regions and route to going east of Africa.

  • We've heard the call out.

  • Stage two flight termination system has safety in preparation for going into orbit.

  • Once we go into orbit, will wait to hear call from the guidance.

  • Navin Control engineer called GNC on the quality of that orbit.

  • And we've had good shutdown of the second stage engine.

  • Now we're waiting to hear and take a look at the orbit nominal ordinance, and we've heard the call out a good nominal orbit insertion.

  • So currently, the first stage mission has completed.

  • We separated the second stage.

  • It took over.

  • Did it burn?

  • Lasting Just over six minutes.

  • We've had shut down on that first burn of the second stage engine.

  • We're in a good orbit.

  • We're going to go into a coast phase now, followed by a relight of the upper stage engine.

  • So we're going to stop light of commentary right now.

  • I'll get ready for coming back on at T plus 51 minutes about 41 minutes from now.

  • So if that will leave you with a map of the progress of Falcon nine still with the 10 of radium next satellites made it to the payload dispenser and we'll be back to watch the second burn and then the eventual release of the ton satellites.

  • Okay, it was expected.

  • Uh huh.

  • You okay?

  • From acquisition.

  • Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay.

  • Okay, wait.

  • Okay, Okay, okay.

  • Our position.

  • Welcome back to the commentary for today's Falcon nine Flight of the Iridium for mission on the screen.

  • You can see the EM back D engine showing in right now.

  • Getting ready for ignition.

  • Coming up in less than a minute from now.

  • Now, this is gonna be a short relight of the upper stage engine.

  • It's gonna last about four seconds.

  • That'll be just enough to raise us into a circular 625 kilometer orbit.

  • Now, Currently, we're using cold nitrogen gas out of a couple of settling thrusters at the bottom of the second stage to make sure that we have got the second stage pushed up against the field so that we have liquid in the inlets to the turbo pumps so that when they start the immediately start pulling propellant.

  • So we're gonna listen in right now for ignition of the upper stage engine over in about four seconds.

  • Then hopefully we'll hear.

  • The GNC engineer confirmed a good orbit.

  • We had ignition on time of the upper stage engine and a good chef down.

  • And there it is, in the background avionics.

  • GNC reports a nominal orbit insertion.

  • So that takes us through the second of the two plan firings of the upper stage engine.

  • Now, there's about a five minute wait right now before we begin the deploy sequence of the first of the 10 already, um, satellites.

  • Now we'll bring you that deployment.

  • That'll take about 15 minutes to go from start to finish.

  • So right now, we're gonna pause commentary while we wait for the five minutes to elapse, But then we'll come back and talk your way through the deployment of the tenant.

  • Radium next satellites.

  • Now is one reminder coming up.

  • We are contacted with the Mauritius ground station right now.

  • That's where telemetry is coming from.

  • Over east of Africa.

  • As you can see on the map, right here will be proceeding northward towards the Arabian Peninsula.

  • And as we go along to the north, we will be handing off between several ground stations.

  • And if you've watched us before, sometimes one of the already of satellites gets deployed right when We don't have telemetry when we're doing what we call a handoff from one ground station to the next ground station.

  • So if that happens, we may be a little late confirming a satellite separation, but we're hoping to bring you possibly nine, maybe even all 10 of the deployments coming up.

  • But for now, we'll be back in about 4.5 minutes to start the deployment sequence.

  • You okay?

  • One welcome back.

  • And we have separation of the first iridium settling.

  • You can see it in the bottom left of the screen drifting away on on time separation.

  • Now, every 100 seconds will begin sequence where Satellite 234 continuing on will deploy.

  • So one down, nine to go.

  • And we'll be back in time for the next deployment.

  • 58 minutes, 43 seconds.

  • P.

  • K.

  • In the flight.

  • We're getting ready for the second deployment.

  • This 1 may be visible from the very top of the screen way.

  • Have deployment.

  • Second of the turn of radium satellites successfully deployed, drifting away from the fact of nine second stage.

  • Now, just for your information, we have 10 radium next satellites that we launched with they're stacked in two layers of five.

  • So the 1st 5 satellites were deploying are coming off of the top stack.

  • We can see a couple others.

  • They're going to be hidden by other satellites or out of view of the camera.

  • Then when we go to satellite six through 10 those will be coming off of the lower stack.

  • And so we'll get a couple of close up views of the camp of the satellites of the closest to the camera.

  • Meanwhile, we're switching back and forth on orbit between the cameras looking at the nozzle on the upper stage, the map that we've got showing you where the Falcon nine and the Iridium satellites are.

  • And then the view is right now the payload camera looking forward at the Iridium satellites.

  • So currently, we're about 40 seconds away from the deployment of the third satellite.

  • Now, this satellite will not be in view, so will only hear confirmation via telemetry coming up.

  • We're about 10 seconds to deployment.

  • Now it looks like we may have lost telemetry coverage as we expected for the deployment of the third satellite expected.

  • We've heard the call out loss of signal from the Mauritius ground station, as expected.

  • So we'll just stay here for a minute while we wait for the Falcon nine telemetry to be acquired by the next ground station, which I believe is Dubai.

  • And then we'll get indication on whether or not the third satellite has deployed Dubai acquisition of signal to separation.

  • We have re acquired telemetry from the fact that nine over the Dubai ground station and as you just heard, they said spacecraft to separation confirmed.

  • That's actually the third satellite in some of the numbering schemes.

  • We count from 0 to 9.

  • So in this case satellite, the 3rd 1 plan to deploy did go at the correct time.

  • We now have confirmation through telemetry, the next separation coming up right now.

  • A nice view coming off of the side of the payload dispenser that's mounted on top of the Falcon nine second stage five T plus one hour, three minutes and 12 seconds into flight.

  • We're about 40 seconds away, a little less than that from the deployment of the fifth satellite.

  • Now, looking at the notes, this one will not be in view of the camera, so we should just get telemetry confirmation from the avionics engineering team monitoring it from the control center.

  • In the Ford looking view of the payload camera, you can see the foot fourth satellite drifting away.

  • Still, that white image just to the left.

  • And we're about ready because three break.

  • And we have confirmed the fifth of the tenant radium.

  • Next satellites has deployed.

  • However, this one was not in the field of view.

  • We've got a view looking forward again, Said, like six preparing for deploy.

  • This should be from the bottom of the screen, See?

  • And might see a little bit of motion as it moves away.

  • And there it goes into the sunlight of the Eastern Hemisphere is we're passing over the Arabian Peninsula.

  • Six satellites down.

  • Therefore, still to go in this 15 minute deployment sequence.

  • No, no of you again.

  • Looking forward a minute.

  • Actually, about 30 seconds away from separation of the next Iridium satellite.

  • The view of the em back D engine.

  • Right now, you see that white fluffy, uh, item in the foreground?

  • That's actually is we point out before solid oxygen, a little bit of the liquid oxygen pumped discharge goes overboard and freezes.

  • So that's the oxygen you breathe, except it's actually frozen solid, although it's actually very light and fluffy, so it doesn't do any harm.

  • When it eventually gets jostled off of the tube about 15 seconds out.

  • We now switch back forward to the view to look at, so operation of Satellite seven, which I believe we will see coming from the top of the screen Spacecraft.

  • Nine.

  • Separation confirmed.

  • So the seventh satellite deployed.

  • Also, you may have heard it called Spacecraft nine.

  • That's a numbering scheme that doesn't indicate that was the ninth of 10 we're through seven with three more to go.

  • Camera views have now switched forward again for satellite number eight.

  • This one's on the backside of the dispenser, so we won't see it coming free from the Falcon nine seven operation.

  • There's the confirmation.

  • The eighth of turn satellites has successfully separated from Falcon nine.

  • There, two more to go.

  • The next one up will be the satellite that you see currently on the payload camera, so we'll get a good close up of that one separating the 10th satellite, then is on the back side of the dispenser and will only hear from telemetry that it's separated, but we won't see that one camera again has now switched.

  • According to the timeline, we're looking at satellite number nine preparing for deploy coming up in less than 10 seconds.

  • Separation confirmed on a great view from the payload camera watching the ninth of 10 satellites deploy, you can see in the background as we saw on the last flight several bright darts.

  • Those air earlier already of satellites that were deployed minutes ago, forming that long chain of satellites coming off of the Falcon nine.

  • So we're down to one to go.

  • That'll be coming up in just under a minute and 1/2 or so from now, at about one hour, 12 minutes and 18 seconds will come back and watch that last one separate and then wrap up the Webcast.

  • Well, it looks like a bear dispenser, but there's actually one more radium satellite left on the backside of the dispenser.

  • We're waiting for deploy confirmation.

  • They have a separation confirmed final space have to play outstanding.

  • 40 in orbit.

  • 2018.

  • We heard the call out 40 in orbit in 2017 so we're 10 for 10.

  • All 10 Iridium satellites have deployed right on time into the desired orbit.

  • Falcon nine look good all the way through that sequence, so that's gonna bring an end to our Webcast, it says.

  • Sun Rays events.

  • It wasn't outstanding set of events this evening.

  • We were followed along here to live.

  • Cast in Hawthorne first stage counted down a magnificent launch right on time.

  • In that one second window flew out.

  • We had state separation on time.

  • For those who view who lived in Southern California, maybe as far as Arizona, Twitter has just exploded with a lot of pictures of people who saw what they call the twilight effect.

  • The constant the contrail of the first and second stages, forming beautiful images in the sky lit by the moon as well as the exhausted the Falcon engines.

  • So a lot for the people out here in Southern California to see is the Falcon nine headed south out over the Pacific Ocean.

  • Second stage went into a great orbit.

  • We coasted halfway around the earth, relit the engine, got into the desired final circular orbit and then, as you just saw over 15 minutes, deployed all 10 of the iridium next satellites so that completes 2017 for space six, including four flights for a radium customer.

  • All the flights this year outstanding, only looking for even more in 2018.

  • We want to thank my radium next customer, of course, as well as the government agencies that supported us.

  • The U.

  • S Air Force for Range Support out of Annenberg and our licensing agency, the Federal Aviation Administration.

  • We invite you to follow us on social media on both their Twitter feeds our Instagram pages, as well as their Web page at space x dot com.

  • And I'd like to thank you for letting all of us here share the mission of Falcon nine with you and in closing to all of you on the Good Earth.

  • Good night, Good luck, Happy holidays and a Happy New Year.

three.

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