SLC-36

Falcon 9, Booster B1077, Astranis 'From One To Many,' September 20, 2024

Despite no rockets heading to space this weekend from the Eastern Range, it was still quite a busy weekend for both SpaceX and Blue Origin at Cape Canaveral.

Friday Evening / Saturday Morning

Falcon 9 / Astranis ‘From One To Many’ standing at the launch pad early Friday evening at Space Launch Complex 40.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

First up on deck was SpaceX and Falcon 9 out at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the Astranis “From One To Many” mission. After a couple of short pushes to later in the evening, T-0 was set for midnight on Saturday morning.

The countdown seemed smooth and without incident, but when Falcon 9 ignited its engines, there was an immediate shutdown and a launch abort. Due to the nature of Falcon 9’s propellants, a scrub for the evening was called immediately.

Falcon 9, Booster B1077, Astranis 'From One To Many,' September 20, 2024
Falcon 9, Booster B1077, Astranis ‘From One To Many,’ September 20, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX has not disclosed what caused the shutdown to happen, but as of Sunday morning, Falcon 9 is horizontal on the launch mount at SLC-40. Both rocket and payload are safe, and SpaceX’s team is working to remediate the issue(s) that caused the shutdown. They have not announced a new launch day/time for the next attempt for this mission.

Falcon 9, horizontal at SLC-40 on Sunday, December 22, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Blue Origin Continues Wet Dress Testing of New Glenn

Over at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Blue Origin continued testing New Glenn as it prepares for the first launch of the company’s first orbital rocket.

New Glenn standing tall at LC-36 in Cape Canaveral on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The rocket was venting vapors and the burnoff towers were aflame most of the day.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Throughout the day and early to the evening, Blue’s team conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal for New Glenn, and at times a Static Fire of the first stage seemed imminent: the venting would stop, flame from burn-off stacks would diminish, while ice was falling off of the rocket. But, alas, it was not meant to be.

The status and outcomes of the Wet Dress Rehearsals have not been released by Blue Origin. Given that New Glenn remains upright and that no statement of any potential delays have been announced, optimistically, things seem to be going well.

As seen from the pier at Jetty Park, Blue Origin’s New Glenn on its launch mount on September 21, 2024. To the right, the Cape Canaveral lighthouse.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk o Titusville

No timelines for any potential static-fire or launch attempts have been given. Aside from successfully completing prelaunch operations and a static fire of New Glenn, Blue Origin still needs a launch license from the FAA before it can send New Glenn on its debut flight. Given that Blue Origin has said that they are planning to launch this year, it will need to come soon — and the Christmas holiday looms next week.

New Glenn venting on December 21, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Both Blue Origin and SpaceX Are Staying Busy At Port Canaveral

A quick look at Port Canaveral saw no SpaceX automdated drone ships in port, but both of their support ships, Bob and Doug, were moored at the SpaceX docks.

Booster B1090 is on the dock awaiting transportation to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, and by all appearances, that move will be made quite soon.

Only a few yards to the northwest, Blue Origin’s booster landing ship Jacklyn and its support ship, ‘Harvey Stone’ were also in port.

Booster B1090 on SpaceX's dock at Port Canaveral Saturday morning.
Booster B1090 on SpaceX’s dock at Port Canaveral Saturday morning.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin's Jacklyn and Harvey Stone look ship-shape and ready to head out to see when the word is given. After a successful static fire, when this pair heads out things will be getting real for the first flight of New Glenn.
Blue Origin’s Jacklyn and Harvey Stone look ship-shape and ready to head out to see when the word is given. After a successful static fire, when this pair heads out things will be getting real for the first flight of New Glenn.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX's 'Doug' moored in Port Canaveral on December 21, 2024
SpaceX’s ‘Doug’ moored in Port Canaveral on December 21, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Good Neighbors: from left to right: Blue Origin’s ‘Jacklyn’, Blue’s ‘Harvey Stone’, SpaceX’s berth and Booster B1090.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Next Launch

SpaceX is on deck for Starlink 12-2.

  • Date: NET December 23, 2024
  • Organization: SpaceX
  • Mission: Starlink 12-2
  • Rocket: Falcon 9
  • Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
  • Launch Window: 12:35 AM – 3:21 AM EST
  • Payload: Telecommunications satellites
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Blue Origin's New Glenn First Stage arriving at Launch Complex 36. Photo: Blue Origin
A Blue Origin BE-4 engine being test fired.
Photo: Blue Origin
Water Deluge Permit Needed For New Glenn Sound Suppression System at LC-36

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has granted Blue Orgin’s application for a water deluge system at Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. It now appears that Blue Origin now has no remaining regulatory hurdles prior to the planned static fire of New Glenn’s first stage and its eventual launch at some point in the near future.

Blue Origin implemented the water deluge system to suppress sound and manage the intense acoustic energy generated during New Glenn launches. When engine exhaust gases surpass the speed of sound, they collide with the surrounding air, creating shockwaves and noise levels reaching nearly 200 decibels. This powerful energy can reflect off the launch platform and pad surfaces, potentially damaging the rocket or its payload. A water deluge system works to absorb or deflect that energy, helping to protect critical components during liftoff. It is used by all major launch service providers and NASA itself for SLS.

At the Eastern Range (KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection handles environmental permitting for a water deluge system. Without the FDEP permit, Blue Origin could not legally use the new LC-36 water deluge system, and as such, they could not conduct a full New Glenn S1 test firing.

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New Glenn second stage during static firing on September 23, 2024 in Cape Canaveral.
Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, provided this view of yesterday’s second-stage static fire.
Photo: Blue Origin / Dave Limp via X.com

Blue Origin has achieved another milestone yesterday in their ramp-up to the maiden launch of their first orbital rocket when they static-fired the second stage of New Glenn for around fifteen seconds at SLC-36 at Cape Canaveral on September 23rd.

Note: Blue Origin refers to the second-stage of the vehicle as GS2.

According to Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, “GS2 is one of the largest and most capable upper stages ever developed with a propellant load comparable to a Delta IV booster. The two BE-3Us have a maximum thrust of up to 346,000 lbf (173,000 lbf per engine), which is the equivalent thrust of a dozen F-16 jets.”

That’s a lot of power, but it is only the launch vehicle’s second stage. The first stage of New Glenn produces 3,850,000 lbf of thrust, roughly half of a Saturn V. Whether there will be a full static fire of the booster has not been announced.

According to Blue Origin, New Glenn is slated to fly in November from Cape Canaveral.

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