Fair winds and following seas.

Following rough conditions in the Atlantic after the Starlink 6-32 mission, Falcon 9 first stage B1058.20 became unstable and tipped over on drone ship, Just Read The Instructions.

�� - @NASASpaceflight

�� - https://t.co/AFdPuCYKLR pic.twitter.com/clEGaxpeeR

— Max Evans (@_mgde_) December 26, 2023

“We are planning to salvage the engines and do life leader inspections on the remaining hardware,” said SpaceX’s Jon Edwards, vice president for Falcon Launch Vehicles. “There is still quite a bit of value in this booster. We will not let it go to waste.”
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SpaceX is targeting Thursday, December 28 at 8:07 p.m. ET for Falcon Heavy’s launch of the USSF-52 mission to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A backup launch opportunity is available at 8:06 p.m. ET on Friday, December 29.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about fifteen minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.

This will be the fifth launch and landing of these Falcon Heavy side boosters, which previously supported USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission. Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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T-35:00

https://www.spacex.com/launches/miss...sionId=ussf-52
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FALCON HEAVY TRANSITS THE MOON: Tonight’s launch of the USSF-52 mission with seventh mission of the Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane. pic.twitter.com/gvOZSQDVR7

— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) December 29, 2023

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Very cool shot!
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Damn. I'm always amazed at how precisely these guys can plan shots like that .
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I was at the Pop-Tarts bowl tonight and we were treated to a view of the Space-X launch from the stadium. It was pretty awesome.
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In their 96th and final orbital launch of 2023, SpaceX achieved a new turnaround record of two hours, fifty-four minutes, and 40 seconds — a record not seen at Cape Canaveral since the Gemini era of the 1960s.

A Falcon 9 lifted off from SLC-40 with 23 Starlink satellites at… pic.twitter.com/UQg0nLy9KK

— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) December 29, 2023

A busy night for SpaceX at the Cape in Florida, followed by an active day of testing down here in South Texas at Starbase. 🚀

OK! So it's all going on! Booster 10 and Ship 28 look like they are set to be tested today, while Ship 29 rolls, Booster 12 is at Masseys and a tower segment sails into Brownsville. Phew!

Live commentary: https://t.co/CnGlFbundle of sticks4L pic.twitter.com/PvukuQYMzx

— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 29, 2023

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There are pictures posted on social media of the launch over on this side of the state.
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The Falcon Heavy transits the Moon 🌙 🌚 ✨️ 🔥🚀🔥🚀🌗🌔🌖
📹 @HlavsaDennis with @SpaceXFP pic.twitter.com/gNYj9ogICv

— SpaceX FrontPage (@SpaceXFP) December 29, 2023

Orlando’s got it all tonight…

-full moon
-Falcon Heavy launch
-a bowl mascot will be eaten pic.twitter.com/4LtA7TPgd2

— Eric DeSalvo (@EricDeSalvo) December 29, 2023

Falcon Heavy 5th launch of 2023.
Photo from Aventhealth Orlando Parking Lot. pic.twitter.com/1DEuFEc9eP

— Ed Cordero (@ERCPhotos) December 29, 2023

Coolest Falcon Heavy launch we’ve seen from our front porch. Amazing to see flaring as boosters burned back to orbit. pic.twitter.com/CKAM5PXrXb

— Brooks Garner (@BrooksWeather) December 29, 2023

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TWO Static Fire tests this morning at Starbase. 🚀

Single engine Static Fire Test of Ship 28 likely using header tanks!

Audio from @LabPadre Rover2 cam.

✂️: @DeffGeff pic.twitter.com/mBdTdzWkhs

— Zack Golden (@CSI_Starbase) December 29, 2023

WOW!

Long duration Static Fire test for Booster 10 lasting roughly 10 seconds.

If this was 33 engines for the full duration then this is by far the longest 33 engine test we have seen!

🎥: @LabPadre
✂️: @DeffGeff pic.twitter.com/Yw4SHS7fyw

— Zack Golden (@CSI_Starbase) December 29, 2023

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Flight 3 feels soon, and the hype is building. Starbase hopping with activity today—even the vehicles for flights 4 and 5 were on the move.

Ignition of a single Raptor engine on Flight 3 Starship demonstrating a flight-like startup for an in-space burn pic.twitter.com/BCv6iIUnag

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 29, 2023

Static fire of Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines ahead of Flight 3 pic.twitter.com/rJqNToMCnU

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 29, 2023

Just completed static fire test of Flight 3 Super Heavy Booster pic.twitter.com/m0n8RooOlA

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2023

Starship will help enable humanity’s return to the Moon and ultimately send people to Mars and beyond pic.twitter.com/xNb6qTPTp5

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 29, 2023

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Sure was a pretty rocket 🚀

Looking forward to the next flight of ULA’s #Vulcan!#CLPS @NASA @astrobotic @celestisflights

📸 me for @considercosmos pic.twitter.com/8TCVkeNafv

— John Pisani (@johnpisaniphoto) January 9, 2024

After SRB burnout and separation, Vulcan's two BE-4 engines shined a beautiful off-white blue as the methane flare stack at SLC-41 glowed below.

Stunning view from the roof of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. Feeling fortunate to capture and share these moments. #ShotoniPhone pic.twitter.com/6dX9kgCWJk

— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) January 8, 2024

MISSION SUCCESS! ULA's #VulcanRocket successfully performed its #Cert1 flight test today! Thank you to the engineers, technicians and teammates across the nation who designed, built and launched this versatile new rocket. ULA success #159.https://t.co/JRNjxSQtlZ pic.twitter.com/KQbKg04nLY

— ULA (@ulalaunch) January 8, 2024

Correction: Launch*

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Update #5 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/94wy2J0GyA

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

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"So, Flight 2 actually almost made it to orbit," Musk said in a recent company update, which SpaceX posted on X on Jan. 12. The explosion was caused by a venting of liquid oxygen, he added — and there was liquid oxygen left to vent only because Starship wasn't hauling any satellites that day.

"We normally wouldn't have that liquid oxygen if we had a payload," Musk said in the update, which he gave at Starbase to a crowd of SpaceX employees. "So, ironically, if it had had a payload, it would have reached orbit."
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Highlights of the @SpaceX company talk https://t.co/RRuPZpeK5Z

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 13, 2024

Integrated Flight Test 3 shaping up for around Valentine's Day.
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