First one up is doubtful, due to weather, however...

SpaceX is targeting Monday, January 9 for a Falcon 9 launch of 51 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The instantaneous launch window is at 8:15 p.m. PT and a backup opportunity is available on Tuesday, January 10 at 8:02 p.m. PT.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff HERE

Less than an hour later, SpaceX is targeting Monday, January 9 for a Falcon 9 launch of the OneWeb Launch 16 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 11:50 p.m. ET.

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched CRS-26. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff at this LINK

I waited until now to post this, to see if they postponed the California one, but no word as I type this.

In other space news, Virgin Orbit drop-launched their small rocket from a 747 aircraft this evening in the first launch based in England, but the second stage apparently failed and the two satellites aboard fell to the ocean.

And SpaceX undocked their latest Dragon cargo capsule from the Space Station prior to returning it to a splashdown set for Wednesday. The unmanned capsule carries science experiments and other gear to be studied after their time in orbit.

Just drove back in from town, great sunset, just a few scattered clouds.

I might be able to see the liftoff at the Cape tonight from here.

SpaceX's pace is really impressive.

60+ launches in 2022 and their goal is 100 in 2023. So far no one can come close.

China actually launches more than SpaceX, but only if you count all of them as under the one government's control. There are several semi-private Chinese companies doing launches, but they're all under the thumb of the CCP to some extent.

Not sure, but I know San Luis Obispo got hit hard this morning and today. Evacuating parts of town and Cal-Poly there. Some reservoir above the school dairy and Ag sections is getting ready to breach.

As expected, they scrubbed the California launch due to weather. Next attempt tonight at 8:02 Pacific.

The Florida launch of two OneWeb broadband satellites went as planned. Video available at spacex.com

No go again today. Next opportunity is Wednesday at 7:02 pm Pacific.

Gee....that's too bad.

Failed launch yesterday in Alaska.




KODIAK, Alaska (KTUU) - A rocket launch at the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska on Kodiak Island suffered a critical failure on Tuesday afternoon and crashed shortly after launch.

Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the area where the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska is located, and captured video of the event showing thick, dark smoke rising from the complex’s grounds.



According to a representative of aerospace company ABL Space Systems, an RS1 rocket manufactured by their company was involved in today’s crash, but no on-the-ground personnel at the facility were injured.

“We can confirm that all personnel are safe,” ABL Space Systems representative Emily Perkins-Rock said. “The mission update we have right now is that after liftoff, RS1 suffered an anomaly. The team is working through our anomaly response procedures in coordination with PSCA and the FAA. This is not the outcome we were hoping for today, but one that we prepared for. We’ll revert with additional information when it becomes available.”

The RS1 rocket, according to the ABL Space Systems website, is designed to use less infrastructure than other rocket launching methods and is powered by RP-1 or Jet-A fuels. According to ABL, the company has an agreement with Alaska Aerospace Corporation for the launch of RS1 rockets from the Kodiak facility.

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