SpaceX Flies Satellites For Iridium, NASA In 10th Launch of 2018 (bloomberg.com)

SpaceX launched a total of seven satellites for Iridium and NASA, reusing part of a previously flown rocket for its 10th mission of 2018. "Five Iridium NEXT satellites were launched as part of the company's campaign to replace the world's largest commercial satellite network," reports Bloomberg. "SpaceX's mission also includes launching twin satellites for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO)," which will "measure the distribution of the Earth's mass" and "monitor changes in ice sheets, glaciers and sea level." From the report: The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's central coast about 12:47 p.m. local time. The GRACE-FO satellites deployed roughly 11 minutes after launch, while the Iridium satellites are due to be released roughly an hour after the launch. SpaceX won't attempt to recover the first stage of the rocket, which flew in January during the Zuma mission, according to a SpaceX press kit. CBS News has some additional details about the GRACE-FO satellites. They were reportedly "designed to fly in tandem 137 miles apart in a 305-mile orbit around Earth's poles," reports CBS News. "Using a microwave tracking system, the distance between the two 1,300-pound satellites can be measured to within the diameter of a red blood cell. By precisely measuring the distance between the satellites, scientists can determine how much mass is below the flight path and then calculate the contribution of water, creating global maps every 30 days."

UPDATE: SpaceX has confirmed that all five Iridium satellites have been successfully deployed.

Comments

Re:Unprecedented

[JoshuaZ]

First, please note, that SpaceX is launching satellites more cheaply than others. Moreover, with the exception of the partially reusable space shuttle, SpaceX is the only one to successfully reuse a first stage, and SpaceX has shown that it is capable of doing so more quickly than the turnaround for the Shuttle. This rocket used a previously flown first stage (from the Zuma mission) and is one of the last of the Block 4 Falcon 9s since they are switching over to the Block 5 which is optimized for rapid and cheap reusability based on lessons from previous blocks. If this has become not newsworthy then the very fact that SpaceX has made it so routine that one doesn't think it is newsworthy is something to note.

Second, even if you find the above completely unconvincing, given that Slashdot has room for around ten stories or so a day, deciding that one of the top ten news-for-nerds/stuff-that-matters is a satellite launch seems pretty reasonable.

Or is this really about you not liking SpaceX for essentially extraneous reasons?

Also, the beginning of the end for Iridium flares

[Zocalo]

Apparently these five art are part the next generation of Iridium satellites and they are not expected to create the same predictable flares as the previous generation did when their solar panels caught the sun at the right angle. As a result, another batch of the older Iridium satellites will be either moved to parking orbits that are not so tightly controlled with less predictable flares where they can act as backups, or possibly even de-orbited outright. Predictable Iridium Flares are currently expected to cease altogether by the end of the year, so last call, I guess...