[](/# MC // section intro)

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Starlink-26 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Its u/CAM-Gerlach again, and I'm your host for this launch.

Liftoff at	May 15 22:56 UTC (6:56 PM EDT)
Backup date	Time gets earlier ~20-26 minutes every day
Static fire	No static fire
Weather	70% GO, Booster recovery risk Moderate
Payload	52 Starlink version 1 satellites; Capella SAR and Tyvak-0130 as rideshare payloads
Payload mass	>13 632 kg (Starlink 260 kg x 52 + Capella SAR 112 kg + ??? Tyvak-0130
Deployment orbit	Low Earth Orbit, ≈569 x 581 km 53°
Vehicle	Falcon 9 v1.2 FT Block 5
Core	1058.8
Past flights of this core	7
Past flights of this fairing	1 each half
Launch site	LC-39A, Florida
Landing	Droneship OCISLY (≈632 km downrange)

[](/# MC // section events)

Timeline

Time	Update
[](/# MC // row 0) T+1h 39m	And that's a wrap for this launch! Hope to see you all at the next one. Cheers!<br>
[](/# MC // row 1) T+1h 38m	Starlink deploy confirmed<br>
[](/# MC // row 2) T+1h 1m	Next, the Falcon 9 will enter another coast phase until T+1:37, when the 52 Starlink satellites will deploy<br>
[](/# MC // row 3) T+1h 0m	Deployment of Tyvak-0130 Capella SAR confirmed<br>
[](/# MC // row 4) T+58:23	Next up is deployment of Tyvak-0130 Capella SAR at the T+1 hour mark<br>
[](/# MC // row 5) T+57:19	Deployment of Capella SAR Tyvak-0130 confirmed<br>
[](/# MC // row 6) T+56:17	First deployment will be Capella SAR Tyvak-0130 in 2 minutes<br>
[](/# MC // row 7) T+55:22	Nominal orbit insertion<br>
[](/# MC // row 8) T+55:11	SECO-2
[](/# MC // row 9) T+55:05	SES-2<br>
[](/# MC // row 10) T+9:57	Beginning a coast phase until the webcast comes back at approx T+50 minutes for SES-2<br>
[](/# MC // row 11) T+9:12	Nominal orbital insertion<br>
[](/# MC // row 12) T+8:56	SECO
[](/# MC // row 13) T+8:46	Landing successful!
[](/# MC // row 14) T+8:07	Landing burn startup<br>
[](/# MC // row 15) T+6:51	Entry burn shutdown<br>
[](/# MC // row 16) T+6:29	Entry burn ignition<br>
[](/# MC // row 17) T+3:35	Fairing deployment<br>
[](/# MC // row 18) T+3:00	MVac ignition<br>
[](/# MC // row 19) T+2:50	Stage seperation<br>
[](/# MC // row 20) T+2:43	MECO
[](/# MC // row 21) T+1:11	Passed through maximum dynamic pressure (Max-Q)<br>
[](/# MC // row 22) T-0	LIFTOFF!
[](/# MC // row 23) T-35	LD GO for launch<br>
[](/# MC // row 24) T-1:00	F9 in startup<br>
[](/# MC // row 25) T-1:21	All propellants fully loaded and TE retracted for flight<br>
[](/# MC // row 26) T-1:40	Stage 2 LOX load complete<br>
[](/# MC // row 27) T-2:10	Stage 1 LOX load is complete<br>
[](/# MC // row 28) T-5:35	Stage 1 RP-1 load is complete<br>
[](/# MC // row 29) T-5:45	Both liftoff and recovery weather are GO at this time<br>
[](/# MC // row 30) T-7:09	Both halves of the fairing have been re-used on one previous mission<br>
[](/# MC // row 31) T-9:28	Some modest scattered cumulus can be seen in the shot, but skies are otherwise clear for launch<br>
[](/# MC // row 32) T-12:46	Webcast is live!<br>
[](/# MC // row 33) T-15:27	SpaceX FM/Webcast audio live<br>
[](/# MC // row 34) T-19:52	Stage 2 RP-1 load is complete<br>
[](/# MC // row 35) T-28:37	Some small cumulus clouds passing near the pad and winds are still a little borderline, which were the two major liftoff weather concerns going into today, but otherwise everything continues to look green for launch<br>
[](/# MC // row 36) T-35:00	And we are GO for propellant loading! Subchilled RP-1 and LOX are currently being loaded aboard Falcon 9 in preparation for liftoff<br>
[](/# MC // row 37) T-45:00	Launch time was mysteriously adjusted to be 22:56 UTC (6:56 pm EDT), 2 minutes later than previously announced<br>
[](/# MC // row 38) T-1h 17m	Except for a lingering concern over winds, which should hopefully subside over the next hour, everything is green at the moment for for liftoff weather. However, still no word on weather downrange conditions will be acceptable for booster and fairing recovery.<br>
[](/# MC // row 39) T-1h 45m	Unofficial weather update: Conditions appear to look acceptable for launch as of now. A few small cumulus are in the general vicinity, but things are looking relatively clear so far within 10 km of the pad, and while winds are breezy, with sustained winds up to 12 knots and gusts up to 17 knots at the 2-3 m level, this still appears to be below the 30 knot sustained limit for flight at pad level (somewhat higher than at the surface). However, recovery conditions may be another story; I'll keep you posted.<br>
[](/# MC // row 40) T-2h 0m	No news is good news (?) as we pass the T-2 hour mark in the countdown<br>
[](/# MC // row 41) T-8h 0m	Falcon 9 being raised vertical<br>
[](/# MC // row 42) T-9h 20m	L-0 weather forecast is out; still 70% GO at liftoff and MODERATE recovery risk <br>
[](/# MC // row 43) T-1d 1h	SpaceX stream link live <br>
[](/# MC // row 44) T-1d 1h	Checking the 45th WS page, weather is 70% GO but booster recovery risk is moderate <br>
[](/# MC // row 45) T-1d 1h	SpaceX confirms launch and rideshare payloads; keeping an eye on recovery weather <br>
[](/# MC // row 46) T-1d 2h	Thread goes live

[](/# MC // section viewing)

Watch the launch live

Stream	Link
Official SpaceX Stream	https://youtu.be/tdgg_qwj-hI

[](/# MC // section stats)

Stats

☑️ 118th Falcon 9 launch all time.

☑️ 15th SpaceX launch this year.

☑️ 12th Starlink launch this year.

☑️ 8th journey to space of the Falcon 9 first stage B1058

[](/# MC // section mission)

[](/# MC // section landing)

[](/# MC // section resources)

Resources

🛰️ Starlink Tracking & Viewing Resources 🛰️

Link	Source
Celestrak.com	u/TJKoury
Flight Club Pass Planner	u/theVehicleDestroyer
Heavens Above
n2yo.com
findstarlink - Pass Predictor and sat tracking	u/cmdr2
SatFlare
See A Satellite Tonight - Starlink	u/modeless
Starlink orbit raising daily updates	u/hitura-nobad
TLEs	Celestrak

They might need a few hours to get the Starlink TLEs

Mission Details 🚀

Link	Source
SpaceX mission website	SpaceX

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 🌐

Link	Source
Flight Club	u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Discord SpaceX lobby	u/SwGustav
Rocket Watch	u/MarcysVonEylau
SpaceX Now	u/bradleyjh
SpaceX time machine	u/DUKE546
SpaceXMeetups Slack	u/CAM-Gerlach
Starlink Deployment Updates	u/hitura-nobad
SpaceXLaunches app	u/linuxfreak23
SpaceX Patch List

[](/# MC // section participate)

Participate in the discussion!

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💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

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[](/# MC // section END)

[](/# MC // let time = 1620542600000) [](/# MC // let launch = Starlink-24) [](/# MC // let video = xpl_JnG7rcg)