#GPS III-7 (RRT-1) | Falcon 9

263 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

tepid chasm
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https://x.com/dwisecinema/status/1866684669401391208
If this is really the "NASA" "RRT-1" launch payload (see here for the name's origins https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=61922.msg2647550#msg2647550), which most thinks it's a GPS III satellite (Falcon 9 has the contract for SV10 while Vulcan has SV07-09, at least nominally), the lack of logo would be a departure from previous GPS III launches. And unlike previous ones neither USSF nor Lockheed Martin have publicized this launch so far.
e.g. SV06: https://twitter.com/planetdeimos/status/1614079044605153280
SV05: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/463100639828770837/1316248712531673189/GPS_III_SV05_Falcon_9_B1062_LC40_061621_SpaceX_fairing_1.jpg?ex=675a5ba3&is=67590a23&hm=6a62bdc431d1d9b5b70a2e582c099e57288d93028f89b164daae0e174422b5f1&=&format=webp&width=1358&height=905
Some people offer the theory that this is to prevent criticisms of a Vulcan-bound launch being ditched but I'm not buying it. Could it have been really something else?
In any case, we might have the answer on the evening of December 13.

D Wise (@dwisecinema) on X

Only on the space coast can you get stuck behind rocket traffic in the afternoon, and then stuck for payload move at night.
@NASASpaceflight

Twitter ·
Sean Cannon (@planetdeimos) on X

GSPIII-SV06, encapsulated and set to launch next week on a Falcon 9.

Twitter ·
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On the other hand...the NOTAMs for 1st stage recovery and 2nd stage re-entry zones look so close to previous F9 GPS III launches that I really do think it's GPS III (though we won't know which of the 5 remaining - all declared ready for launch some years ago - until closer to launch):

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Compared with the F9/GPS III SV06 launch:

bitter berry
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ben cooper also says that a GPS launch is planned this month

tepid chasm
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I did remember there was one or 2 cases where he got the identity wrong initially before though

analog ridge
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it do be somethin

remote stream
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real

royal summit
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the payload is launching on the launcher

gritty crown
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falcon

past breach
solar igloo
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huh

slow portal
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The R-word on the G-word

slow portal
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Fairings are 215 and 218 if y'all wanted to know

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They're the two fairing halves from Europa Clipper

faint frigate
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something else

arctic forge
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Based Clipper Fairings

remote stream
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idk the source, saw in a chat
and I'm too lazy to look for it or ask, so deal with it on your own TrollPolite

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someone said B1085

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and for some reason mentioned GPS III SV04 💀 they fixed themselves to SV10

mild axle
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o maybe something else

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idk man

tepid chasm
fallow forge
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😵‍💫

stone stump
mild axle
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rrt?

past breach
mild axle
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ohh

tepid chasm
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Well, hmm, Ben Cooper deleted his reference to this being GPS on his website…

slow portal
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Yeah it was just changed to RRT-1

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But it was GPS before

tepid chasm
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The rocket NOTAMs still quacks like a duck though

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If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

past breach
stone stump
slow portal
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B1085... called it

tepid chasm
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Launch timeline is almost 1:1 with GPS III-6’s

IMG_0363.jpg
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Compared with this one

tepid chasm
# slow portal B1085... called it

So do we still keep our entry here as GPS III SV10 or do we relist it
It really looks like a duck and quacks like a duck despite no-one really officially try to confirm it

tepid chasm
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So @slow portal ...do the NSF team really have "semi-insider" information that really confirms this as a GPS III launch? 'cause, well, NSF is actually the first media to actually call that out (horror)...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbDifEAAK4U

YouTube
NASASpaceflight
🚀SpaceX Launches RRT-1 (GPS-III SV10)

GPS-3 (Global Positioning System) or Navstar-3 (Navigation System using Timing And Ranging) are the first evolution stage of the third generation of the GPS satellites.

The U.S. Air Force announced in May 2008 that a team led by Lockheed Martin has won the competition to build the next-generation Global Positioning System (Navstar) Space System...

▶ Play video
slow portal
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No we just think it might be and therefore we put it

tepid chasm
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Hmm, hopefully we all are right!

slow portal
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I really think there's no way it isn't GPS

tepid chasm
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I had a quick look and it seems the launch might be heading to GPS constellation orbital plane C (there are 6, A to F), which last saw a new GPS satellite in July 2015 (so back in the Block IIF days)

rose bridge
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geps

remote stream
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Did any of ships depart to scoop the fairings? CB_Dwayne_huh

slow portal
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Doug

tall kiln
# slow portal Doug

use his full government name (according to my mom anyway) smh

he's Douglas the Tuglas

royal summit
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bob the slob

fallow forge
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123rd booster reflight this year

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And B1085 will become fastest booster to 4 launches (B1083 was the fastest to 3 launches, but its long turnaround for its 4th mission on Polaris Dawn meant that B1083 was only 11th fastest to 4 launches)

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even B1058 was faster to 4 launches than B1083

tepid chasm
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1 minute push back for this

analog ridge
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Game OVER

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SpaceX Rocket Booster Launch Delayed!!!!1!!!

tepid chasm
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50 💀

analog ridge
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:/

slow portal
tepid chasm
analog ridge
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💀

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Angery

remote stream
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@gritty crown u jinxed the wrong launch TrollPolite

tepid chasm
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https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1867745013775708192

SpaceX (@SpaceX) on X

Due to high winds, we are standing down from today's launch of the RRT-1 mission. Teams will continue to keep a close eye on the weather as we work toward the next best launch opportunity. A new target launch date will be shared once available

Twitter ·
slow portal
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Sounds like maybe not going to be tomorrow

fallow forge
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New NGA notice says 24-hour delay

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We'll see if that sticks

tepid chasm
gritty crown
tepid chasm
stone stump
analog ridge
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The scrubs husk

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I have had today and tomorrow planned out perfectly to watch them

tepid chasm
# analog ridge The scrubs <:husk:946257118288310303>

It's from Ben Cooper

The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the RRT-1 mission for the U.S. Space Force from pad 40 on December 16 at 7:52 p.m. EST.
https://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Guide.html

Rocket Launch Viewing Guide: SpaceX launch viewing, ULA launches at...

Where to watch SpaceX rocket launches at Cape Canaveral. The best places & viewing locations locations to watch SpaceX Falcon 9, ULA Atlas V, SLS, Starship, NASA launches in person at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Where to go to see rocket launches if you are visiting Disney, Orlando.

analog ridge
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I actually just checked that like an hour or two ago 😭

gritty crown
fallow forge
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SpaceX webpage updated, they are indeed on for a Monday attempt

analog ridge
slow portal
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You know, I've always theorized that having the gray band on the RP-1 tank for GPS missions was due to the launch time and the exposure to sunlight. Looking at the launch times... I may not be that far off. Those that were launched later in the day carried the gray band while the ones launched early in the day did not carry it.

GPS-III SV01 - 13:51 UTC NO
GPS-III SV03 - 20:10 UTC YES
GPS-III SV04 - 23:24 UTC YES
GPS-III SV05 - 16:09 UTC NO
GPS-III SV06 - 12:24 UTC NO
GPS-III SV10 - 00:51 UTC YES

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Not sure how it actually works but it might be the reason why we see the gray band on some missions and don't see it in others

past breach
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IIRC SV04 didn't have a gray band

bitter berry
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it did not

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only SV03

slow portal
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Huh I had seen pictures of it with the band, I guess they were photos of 3

past breach
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Yeah it did not

be24d9000e5062c30ae06c6f4b4a95b6.png
slow portal
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Mmmm

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Then I have no idea lol

past breach
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SV04 did have a weird gray patch on the interstage though for some reason

8_GPS_III_SV04.jpg
slow portal
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Poor 62

solar igloo
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i think that was just the TPS

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did they forget to apply the TPS on that lower part lol?

past breach
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1 minute tweak to T-0

past breach
analog ridge
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Stuck at a drawbridge omw to see it 💀

slow portal
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Looks like it's :00 on the seconds

fallow forge
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GPS III-10 (RRT-1) | Falcon 9

past breach
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SpaceX is live

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No second stage coverage

tepid chasm
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Hmm

faint frigate
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peak

fallow forge
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I might have miscounted the stream delay

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Commentary of T-0 at 00:51 probably false

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2nd flight of both fairing halves, about a 2 month turnaround of those halves

past breach
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Going to be a fun one to confirm mission success if the USSF is not saying a word about it

tepid chasm
past breach
tepid chasm
fallow forge
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Startup

past breach
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Liftoff!

fallow forge
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Liftoff

faint frigate
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first f9 launch im watching in ages

past breach
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MECO

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Stage sep

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SES-1

faint frigate
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asds or rtls?

past breach
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ASOG

faint frigate
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👍

past breach
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Fairing sep

analog ridge
faint frigate
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nice

past breach
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Entry burn

royal summit
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lmao "on second thought we might not have great views of entry burn"

past breach
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Entry burn shutdown

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Landing burn

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Landing confirmed

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Nominal parking orbit insertion

faint frigate
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nice

royal summit
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another excellent landing

fallow forge
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6 people in mission control

tepid chasm
bitter berry
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it would be pretty funny if this is not a GPS satellite and SV10 launches in 2 or so years from now

tepid chasm
remote stream
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IIIB SV01 trollfaceCrazy

slow portal
bitter berry
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I don't understand why they have this much secrecy for a GPS launch

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especially since they are the least classified satellites the space force operates

analog ridge
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Yeah and they’ve publicly shown gps launches before so it’s weird

tepid chasm
analog ridge
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Great pics

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Wonder where they were at

gritty crown
gritty crown
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great pics by all 3 though

brittle canyon
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ok sooooo still no tweet of payload deployment

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i’m assuming atp it won’t come

brittle canyon
gritty crown
brittle canyon
gritty crown
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are they in ground tracking range

teal minnow
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wtf does RRT-1 mean

brittle canyon
gritty crown
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sometimes they also just take a hot minute

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we’ll get a deployment tweet or a HAHAHAHAHA SO GUYS remember zuma… please don’t be mad……

slow portal
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Normally these missions take an hour or two after deployment for confirmation

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There we go

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It's finally out

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Rapid Response Trailblazer

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SV07

analog ridge
slow portal
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Named Rapid Response Trailblazer-1 (RRT-1), this mission was a U.S. national security space launch and was also intended to demonstrate military capabilities to condense a typical two-year mission planning cycle to less than six months.

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The decision to accelerate the launch of SV-07 was made in mid-2024 when uncertainty around the Vulcan rocket’s readiness led Space Force leaders to reassess their options. Horne emphasized that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the NSSL program’s flexibility. “This is a way for us to demonstrate to adversaries that we can be responsive,” he said.

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Horne said the satellites have been remanifested. Because SV-07 was reassigned to SpaceX, ULA will get to launch SV-10.

analog ridge
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Alrighty then so a complete swap

slow portal
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Walt Lauderdale, chief of Falcon systems and operations at the Space Systems Command, said SpaceX’s familiarity with the GPS III program was instrumental in pulling off this mission on a short timeline. The company had previously launched five GPS III satellites.

“Our typical launch campaign is a 24-month cycle,” said Lauderdale.

Horne stressed that the goal of the RRT-1 mission was far more than just launching a GPS. It’s also about the Space Force learning how to be more adaptive. “That’s why we’re calling it a trailblazer mission,” he said. “We’re trying to send a message to an adversary that if a GPS asset were targeted, the United States would be able to get another one up quickly.”

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The RRT-1 mission was intended to prove that the rapid deployment approach can be applied to larger, more complex national security payloads like GPS.

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None of that Victus whatever shit

fallow forge
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GPS III-7 (RRT-1) | Falcon 9

tepid chasm
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The decision to accelerate the launch of SV-07 was made in mid-2024 when uncertainty around the Vulcan rocket’s readiness led Space Force leaders to reassess their options. Horne emphasized that this move was less about Vulcan delays and more about testing the boundaries of the NSSL program’s flexibility. “This is a way for us to demonstrate to adversaries that we can be responsive,” he said.
Yeah LOL, I mean it's not like that the GPS program didn't have built-in contingency procedures to reassign launches over different rockets to keep the system running in the past 💀

bitter berry
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there is one rocket and it is delta 2

tepid chasm
remote snow
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Its basically USSF telling ULA that they don’t trust them anymore and future missions will likely go to spacex

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But in a diplomatic way

analog ridge
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Why would USSF not trust them anymore

tepid chasm
bitter berry
remote snow
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Check the comments on RE

analog ridge
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Because of Cert-2?

remote snow
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#316186751565824001 message

tepid chasm
# analog ridge Why would they have any reason to even be sus at them?

It's just that USSF isn't exactly satisfied with Vulcan being able to fly their satellites yet (i.e. it's not yet certified), that's what I mean as "sus"
After all managing GPS satellites replenishments is a serious matter, the USSF must have been satisfied enough to give SV07-09's ride to them and now finds out ULA isn't ready yet
It's not that serious IMHO but still something that I think USSF was not hoping to happen

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This article also means the GPS satellites aren't exactly same enough that they can simply pull one out of storage and launch on whatever rocket they have certified/flown on with the GPS program within weeks

fallow forge
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Oof planning started at T-5 months

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Way before Cert 2

analog ridge
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Well USSF hasn’t certified Vulcan yet, it sounds more like their problem of certifying them. ULA has had delays yes, they held off for a while on Cert-2 because they wanted to wait for Dream Chaser but eventually decided to go without DC. Of course they did have that Centaur boom pre Cert-1 that definitely delayed it. What I’m getting at here is that the USSF has no reason to be sus at ULA. ULA has continually tried to get Vulcan going as fast as possible. They’ve experienced setbacks yes, but that’s no reason to be sus at them.
I understand them switching the payload to get it going faster, but the USSF shouldn’t be mad at ULA, the USSF is also at blame here for the slower ramp up. ULA is ready for the next Vulcan flight, the vehicle is fully assembled and is just waiting certification then payload.

slow portal
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Well

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Maybe ULA shouldn't have issues that need extra certification time

analog ridge
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Maybe their suppliers (cough NG cough) shouldn’t screw up stare

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The Centaur boom was probably entirely ULAs fault

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But Cert-2 GEM failure was most likely NGs fault

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But there’s never been a report or anything

slow portal
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NG and whatever the hell RUAG's name is today

analog ridge
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Oh yeah the fairing thing

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Completely forgot about that

olive needle
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Why do all the launches happen when I'm asleep

analog ridge
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Just like

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Wake up

olive needle
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This timezone sucks

olive needle
remote snow
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i wouldnt be surprised if ULA just wont get any new task orders for the next 4 years

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if USSF is already this soured on them

tepid chasm
remote snow
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I do wonder if RRT will become a legal mechanism to move non spacex payload contracts to spacex

bitter berry
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doubt it

remote snow
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so some dude on another server said the legal mechanism is already there in nssl

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¯_(ツ)_/¯

tall kiln
tall kiln
past breach
remote snow
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yeah someone told me that later, so not sure why did vulcan gain sv-10 then

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ussf guy said it had to get swap to vulcan

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if it wasnt legally required then

past breach
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I'd guess that that probably was the easiest option to prevent any contractual shenanigans with ULA

past breach
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SpaceX Mission Patch

RRT_1_d0911628dc.png
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"GPS III-10" stare

remote stream
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bruh

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SpX interns moment

past breach
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Same as GPS III SV01, which says "GPS III-2"

remote stream
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why was it 02 btw back in the days?

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Did they swap laucnhers too (but w/ less stressful timeline like this one)

past breach
remote stream
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interesting

analog ridge
solar igloo
shy mirage
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who is their target audience 😭

solar igloo
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this isnt a tweet made for awareness

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this is a tweet made with passion

fiery delta
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what's the issue?

snow pewter
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They let a Gen Z wrote the script osrexman

gritty crown
slow portal
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Brainrot

gritty crown
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its mean girls

tepid chasm
analog ridge
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Me when

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Me when I post in the wrong thread

remote stream
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Did Doug return with the halves?

slow portal
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Yep

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It photobombed our coverage of Nooglin kekw

image.png
remote stream
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lmfao

shy mirage
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star of the show 💀