Spaceflight.com by Ian Atkinson March 24, 2018
SpaceX is preparing their Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E for its pre-launch static fire test, ahead of the fifth of eight planned Iridium NEXT launches. The vehicle, which includes the flight-proven booster 1041.2, will lift the fifth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into a 625 km polar orbit. The static fire test is currently scheduled on the Western Range to be conducted in a window that opens at 7 AM local time (14:00 UTC) on March 25, although this is subject to change. The launch, which will be SpaceX’s sixth mission this year, is expected to lift off at 7:19 AM local time (14:19 UTC) on March 29.
The test will be centered on the flight-proven booster 1041.2, a Block 4 booster which first flew supporting the third Iridium NEXT mission in October 2017.
The test is essentially a full countdown simulation, beginning with the Falcon 9 rocket – minus its payload – rolling out from the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) and being raised to vertical on the launch pad. The vehicle is then powered up and propellant is loaded into the tanks of both stages.
More:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/falcon-9-vandenberg-static-fire-fifth-iridium-next-mission/
