Featured Image: SpaceX
Lift Off Time
(Subject to change)
November 03, 2022 – 03:24 UTC
November 02, 2022 – 23:24 EDT
Mission Name
Hotbird 13G
Launch Provider
(What rocket company is launching it?)
SpaceX
Customer
(Who’s paying for this?)
Airbus Defense and Space, Eutelsat
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Launch Location
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA
Payload mass
4,500 kg (9,900 lb)
Where is the satellite going?
Geostationary transfer orbit
Will they be attempting to recover the first stage?
Yes
Where will the first stage land?
Autonomous Spaceport Droneship (ASDS) Just Read The Instructions
Will they be attempting to recover the fairings?
Yes
Are these fairings new?
Yes
How’s the weather looking?
TBD
This will be the:
– 185th Falcon 9 mission
– 150th booster landing
– 73rd consecutive landing
– 51st launch for SpaceX in 2022 (a record)
– 100th SpaceX launch from SLC-40
– 151st orbital launch attempt of 2022
Where to watch
What’s All This Mean?
SpaceX will be launching the Hotbird 13G satellite on their 51st mission of the year. The 4,500 kg (99,000 lb) satellite will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA. Hotbird 13F was built by Airbus Defense and Space for joint operation by the European Space Agency and Eutelsat.
What Is The Eutelsat Hotbird 13G satellite?
In short, the Eutelsat Hotbird 13G satellite is a telecommunications satellite. Hotbird 13G is one of two identical satellites developed to replace three older communications satellites. The other satellite holds the title of Hotbird 13F and was launched by a Falcon 9 Block 5 in mid-October 2022. The pair will provide services to Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
The satellite has an estimated lifetime of 15 years and will be replacing the Hotbird 8, 9, 10 (later renamed to Hotbird 13 B, C, and D respectively) which lasted about 14 years. The increased Ku band capacity on the newly update Hotbird 13F and 13G satellites now only requires two satellites to be at Eutelsat’s East position in geostationary orbit instead of the prior three.
Two solar panels generate 22 kW of power to enable efficient use of 80 Ku band transponders. That totals 160 Ku band transponders between both satellites in the same position.
What Is Falcon 9 Block 5?
The Falcon 9 Block 5 is SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle. The vehicle consists of a reusable first stage, an expendable second stage, and, when in payload configuration, a pair of reusable fairing halves.
First Stage
The Falcon 9 first stage contains 9 Merlin 1D+ sea level engines. Each engine uses an open gas generator cycle and runs on RP-1 and liquid oxygen (LOx). Each engine produces 845 kN of thrust at sea level, with a specific impulse (ISP) of 285 seconds, and 934 kN in a vacuum with an ISP of 313 seconds. Due to the powerful nature of the engine, and the large amount of them, the Falcon 9 first stage is able to lose an engine right off the pad, or up to two later in flight, and be able to successfully place the payload into orbit.
The Merlin engines are ignited by triethylaluminum and triethylborane (TEA-TEB), which instantaneously burst into flames when mixed in the presence of oxygen. During static fire and launch the TEA-TEB is provided by the ground service equipment. However, as the Falcon 9 first stage is able to propulsively land, three of the Merlin engines (E1, E5, and E9) contain TEA-TEB canisters to relight for the boost back, reentry, and landing burns.
Second Stage
The Falcon 9 second stage is the only expendable part of the Falcon 9. It contains a singular MVacD engine that produces 992 kN of thrust and an ISP of 348 seconds. The second stage is capable of doing several burns, allowing the Falcon 9 to put payloads in several different orbits.
For missions with many burns and/or long coasts between burns, the second stage is able to be equipped with a mission extension package. When the second stage has this package it has a grey strip, which helps keep the RP-1 warm, an increased number of composite-overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) for pressurization control, and additional TEA-TEB.
Falcon 9 Booster
There is currently no booster assigned to the Hotbird 13G mission. Once more information becomes available, you can find it here.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 will conduct two burns. These burns aim to softly touch down the booster on SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship Just Read The Instructions.
Falcon 9 Fairings
The Falcon 9’s fairing consists of two dissimilar reusable halves. The first half (the half that faces away from the transport erector) is called the active half, and houses the pneumatics for the separation system. The other fairing half is called the passive half. As the name implies, this half plays a purely passive role in the fairing separation process, as it relies on the pneumatics from the active half.
Both fairing halves are equipped with cold gas thrusters and a parafoil which are used to softly touch down the fairing half in the ocean. SpaceX used to attempt to catch the fairing halves, however, at the end of 2020 this program was canceled due to safety risks and a low success rate. On Galaxy 33 & 34, SpaceX will attempt to recover the fairing halves from the water with their recovery vessel Bob.
In 2021, SpaceX started flying a new version of the Falcon 9 fairing. The new “upgraded” version has vents only at the top of each fairing half, by the gap between the halves, whereas the old version had vents placed spread equidistantly around the base of the fairing. Moving the vents decreases the chance of water getting into the fairing, making the chance of a successful scoop significantly higher.
Hotbird 13G Countdown
All times approximate
HR/MIN/SECEVENT00:38:00SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load00:35:00RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins00:35:001st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins00:16:002nd stage LOX loading begins00:07:00Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch00:01:00Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks00:01:00Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins00:00:45SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch00:00:03Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start00:00:00Falcon 9 liftoff
LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DEPLOYMENT
All times are approximate
HR/MIN/SECEVENT00:01:12Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)00:02:321st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)00:02:351st and 2nd stages separate00:02:422nd stage engine starts (SES-1)00:03:22Fairing deployment00:06:291st stage entry burn begins00:06:571st stage entry burn completes00:08:072nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)00:08:221st stage landing burn begins00:08:451st stage landing00:29:122nd stage engine restarts (SES-2)00:30:102nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)00:36:11Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G deploys
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