r/SpaceX Starlink-17 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread
[](/# MC // section intro)
Welcome to the r/SpaceX Starlink-17 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Hello, I'm u/hitura-nobad taking over for the really high number attempt of this Starlink launch!
SpaceX Fleet Updates & Discussion Thread
Note: this launch is Starlink-17 despite the fact that Starlink-18 and -19 already launched, both in February. Delays for this mission pushed it past those two, but the original numbering is preserved.
The 19th operational batch of Starlink satellites (20th overall) will lift off from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, on a Falcon 9 rocket. In the weeks following deployment the Starlink satellites will use onboard ion thrusters to reach their operational altitude of 550 km. Falcon 9's first stage will attempt to land on a droneship approximately 633 km downrange.
This will be the 8th flight for the Falcon 9 booster B1049, which last flew in November 2020 for the Starlink-15 mission. This will be the 6th Starlink launch for B1049; it also flew the Iridium 8 mission and the Telstar 18V mission.
Mission Details
| Liftoff time | 08:24 UTC (3:24 AM EST) |
|---|---|
| Backup date | For a given plane, launch time gets 20-25 minutes earlier each day |
| Static fire | Completed 2021-02-02 |
| L-1 weather | ??? |
| Payload | 60 Starlink V1.0 |
| Payload mass | ≈15,600 kg (Starlink ~260 kg each) |
| Deployment orbit | Low Earth Orbit, ~ 261km x 278km 53° |
| Operational orbit | Low Earth Orbit, 550 km x 53° |
| Vehicle | Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 |
| Core | B1049.8 |
| Past flights of this core | 7 |
| Past flights of the fairings | 2 flights for one half, 3 for the other. All Starlink flights. |
| Fairing catch attempt | No direct catch; GO Navigator and GO Searcher deployed downrange |
| Launch site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Landing | OCISLY (~633 km downrange) |
| Mission success criteria | Successful separation & deployment of the Starlink Satellites |
[](/# MC // section events) [](/# MC // row 26 | T-1:24 | Abort |) [](/# MC // row 27 | T-4:01 | Strongback retract |) [](/# MC // row 28 | T-6:42 | Engine chill has begun |) [](/# MC // row 29 | T-10:12 | No first stage views during this flight |) [](/# MC // row 30 | T-12:05 | SpaceX hosted stream is starting |) [](/# MC // row 31 | T-17:22 | SpaceX FM (stream is up) |) [](/# MC // row 32 | T-20:00 | T-20 minute vent; launch appears to be on track so far |) [](/# MC // row 33 | T-59:40 | T-1 hour for today's launch attempt |)
Timeline
| Time | Update |
|---|---|
| [](/# MC // row 0) T+1h 5m | Payload deployed |
| [](/# MC // row 1) T+46:11 | SECO2 |
| [](/# MC // row 2) T+46:09 | Second stage relight |
| [](/# MC // row 3) T+9:13 | SECO |
| [](/# MC // row 4) T+8:56 | Landing success |
| [](/# MC // row 5) T+8:07 | Landing burn startup |
| [](/# MC // row 6) T+6:51 | Reentry shutdown |
| [](/# MC // row 7) T+6:30 | Reentry Startup |
| [](/# MC // row 8) T+4:29 | S1 Apogee |
| [](/# MC // row 9) T+3:15 | Fairing deploy |
| [](/# MC // row 10) T+2:53 | S2 ignition |
| [](/# MC // row 11) T+2:50 | Stage sep |
| [](/# MC // row 12) T+2:45 | MECO |
| [](/# MC // row 13) T+1:28 | # Where Rocket?, they took no views from S2 to literally |
| [](/# MC // row 14) T+1:16 | Max Q |
| [](/# MC // row 15) T-0 | Liftoff |
| [](/# MC // row 16) T-30 | GO for Launch |
| [](/# MC // row 17) T-1:00 | F9 in Startup (Nearest we have yet to come on launch) |
| [](/# MC // row 18) T-4:23 | Strongback retract |
| [](/# MC // row 19) T-7:00 | Engine chill |
| [](/# MC // row 20) T-9:13 | Again, no live video from S1 |
| [](/# MC // row 21) T-15:07 | S2 lox load started |
| [](/# MC // row 22) T-19:00 | Stage 2 RP-1 load completed & T-20 Minute vent |
| [](/# MC // row 23) T-28:40 | Fueling underway |
| [](/# MC // row 24) | Launch reported delayed to 08:24 UTC (3:24 AM EST) or 10:42 UTC (5:42 AM EST), suggesting a plane change for the delivered satellites. <br> |
| [](/# MC // row 25) | Scrub has been extended to 48 hours; next opportunity is 00:53 UTC on March 3 (7:53PM EST on March 2)<br> |
| [](/# MC // row 34) T-2d 7h | u/thatnerdguy1 now taking over as host of this thread in preparation for the March 1 launch attempt |
| [](/# MC // row 35) T-2d 13h | Targeting 05:55 UTC 17th February |
| [](/# MC // row 36) T-33h 41m | Launch delayed indefinitely. |
| [](/# MC // row 37) T-2d 11h | Now targeting 2021-02-07 09:31:00 UTC |
| [](/# MC // row 38) T-1d 0h | Now targeting 2021-02-05 10:14:00 UTC |
| [](/# MC // row 39) T-1d 1h | Now targeting 2021-02-04 10:26:00 UTC. |
| [](/# MC // row 40) T-16h 59m | Launch delayed, NET February 3rd 10:57 UTC (05:57 EST) |
| [](/# MC // row 41) T-32h 46m | Static fire complete, targeting February 2nd 11:19 UTC (06:19 EST). |
| [](/# MC // row 42) T-1d 18h | Launch delayed to 02-02-2021 |
| [](/# MC // row 43) T-1d 18h | Thread is live. |
[](/# MC // section viewing)
Watch the launch live
| Stream | Courtesy |
|---|---|
| SpaceX Webcast | SpaceX |
[](/# MC // section stats)
Stats
☑️ 107th 109th Falcon 9 launch
☑️ 8th flight of B1049
☑️ 2nd 4th Starlink launch this year
☑️ 2nd booster to fly eight times
[](/# MC // section mission)
[](/# MC // section landing)
[](/# MC // section resources)
Resources
🛰️ Starlink Tracking & Viewing Resources 🛰️
They might need a few hours to get the Starlink TLEs
Mission Details 🚀
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| SpaceX mission website | SpaceX |
| Launch weather forecast |
Social media 🐦
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Reddit launch campaign thread | r/SpaceX |
| Subreddit Twitter | r/SpaceX |
| SpaceX Twitter | SpaceX |
| SpaceX Flickr | SpaceX |
| Elon Twitter | Elon |
| Reddit stream | u/njr123 |
Media & music 🎵
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| TSS Spotify | u/testshotstarfish |
| SpaceX FM | u/lru |
Community content 🌐
[](/# MC // section participate)
Participate in the discussion!
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[](/# MC // section END)
[](/# MC // let time = 1614846300000) [](/# MC // let launch = Starlink-17) [](/# MC // let video = d5DzoKuhdNk)
Posted Jan 30, 2021, 5:34 PM UTC · edited