DocM Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) NROL-76 (NROL = National Reconnaissance Office Launch) Launch Date: NET April 16 Launch Time: TBA Destination Orbit: classified (see below) Stage Recovery: LZ-1 NROL-76 is a spy satellite, and therefore its purpose is unknown. Given the stage landing is at LZ-1 we are able to exclude a heavy geostationary launch, but a lightweight bird could end up there. More likely destinations would be low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO) or a highly elliptical Molniya orbit, the latter having a long loiter time over a selected region at apogee. Could be a Quasar (data relay), Nemesis (SIGINT), NOSS-3 (Naval Ocean Surveillance System) or something else. Coverage wise, this means SpaceX is not going to webcast the full S2 burn to SECO and payload separation for security reasons. Instead, the webcast will likely cut away after stage separation and ignition, then cover the first stage landing and that'll be it. They also may not supply the usual tracking indicators. ------ Quote SpaceX Opens Media Accreditation for NROL-76 Mission Media Contact: John Taylor media@spacex.com 310.363.6703 HAWTHORNE, Calif. - March 27, 2017. Media accreditation is now open for SpaceX's NROL-76 mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch is targeted for no earlier than April. Members of the media who are U.S. citizens or Permanent Resident Aliens (green card holders) and are interested in covering the launch must fill out this media accreditation form by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 28. Requesting accreditation is not required of media who hold current annual press credentials issued by Kennedy Space Center, but it is appreciated for planning purposes. For launches from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center decides which media are credentialed to cover launches, not SpaceX. Please keep in mind, simply making the request in a timely fashion does not guarantee the request will be granted. Please be sure to provide all the information included on the SpaceX form. More details on pre-launch media activities will be made available at a later date closer to launch. Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Cool. The first of their NRO Missions. High Security Rules & Regs apply, folks. Don't spill it if you know it. Keep the chatter to a minimum, etc. Most of us should know the drill. Let's do it by the numbers and have a great flight. EOB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Oh yeah. Many of us have signed those papers - be it for handling info, working with nasty things, or both. Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggendrop Veteran Posted March 29, 2017 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2017 Do the "Men in Black" put that "light thingy" in your eyes, to forget what happened..... Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 2 minutes ago, DocM said: Oh yeah. Many of us have signed those papers - be it for handling info, working with nasty things, or both. Signed the same ones. 1 minute ago, Draggendrop said: Do the "Men in Black" put that "light thingy" in your eyes, to forget what happened..... What light? DocM and Draggendrop 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggendrop Veteran Posted March 29, 2017 Veteran Share Posted March 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, Unobscured Vision said: Signed the same ones. What light? yah...must of been dreaming....carry on.... meanwhile.... Unobscured Vision and DocM 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 1, 2017 Author Share Posted April 1, 2017 Launch site: LC-39A Static fire: NET April 12 Launch date: NET April 16 Launch window: 0700 - ~0900 EDT Jim K and Unobscured Vision 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Global Moderator Posted April 1, 2017 Global Moderator Share Posted April 1, 2017 Sunday morning launch (well if it launches on the NET date). Me like! Unobscured Vision and DocM 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 Moving right because the troubled Atlas V/Cygnus launch is nearly ready to go. Guess it took a while to clean all that hydraulic fluid out of its guts and replace the lines. Static Fire: April 26 Launch: April 30 0700 - ~0900 EDT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 (edited) Part giving Atlas V room for another issue slip and the unusual pre-launch processing for many NRO birds. Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Yep, a lot of stuff in-work for 2H 2017/2018. Gonna be a busy 18 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) Static Fire moves left to Tuesday, April 25. Tomorrow. National security launch and a Sunday so, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 F9 vertical for the static fire. The window opened at 1200 Eastern, with no venting yet. Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 NRO patch SpaceX patch Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 How big is the F9 fairing? About this big.... Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingskippy Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Is vertical integration needed on this one? It's RTLS, so it can't be too heavy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beittil Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 No, they couldn't do that anyway. They don't have the facilities for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Agh that's so weird seeing it hauled by the Luggage Carrier. I know it's pretty light, but still. Thanks @DocM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 12 hours ago, Beittil said: No, they couldn't do that anyway. They don't have the facilities for it. No vertical integration....yet. They'll need it for ITS and future DoD launches. Maybe for something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 (edited) F9 is vertical Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 Unobscured Vision 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share Posted April 30, 2017 T-0 moved to 0715 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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