The Drive By Brian O'Rourke December 17, 2021
The Falcon 9's unique southeastern flightpath should result in a spectacular light show for Californians.SpaceX plans to launch a package of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday. The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 1:24 AM Pacific Standard Time, though launch schedules often change. The launch might be considered unremarkable — SpaceX has launched more than 1,800 Starlink satellites so far, according to Space.com — but for the fact that its scheduled flight plan will have the rocket travel shortly over land then and along the California Coast before making a small dogleg turn to the east, an unusual maneuver. This is reportedly the first time a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg will follow such a path, and it is bound to give Southern Californians an unprecedented light show.
Temporary flight restrictions put in place show a reserved slice of airspace that runs southeast from Vandenberg roughly parallel to California’s Highway 1. This would appear to take the rocket out over the Southern California Bight and the Channel Islands.
Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA temporary restriction:
From December 18, 2021 at 0839 UTC to To December 18, 2021 at 1414 UTC
Altitude: From the surface up to and including 500 feet AGLhttps://t.co/l8JFgZgWO1 pic.twitter.com/54CQ2aIuMb
— Space TFRs (@SpaceTfrs) December 17, 2021
The website Teslarati — which describes itself as “a California-based multi-platform media company and leading lifestyle brand with a focus on Tesla, SpaceX, and ventures affiliated with Elon Musk” — explains that the launch will place the satellites in orbit at an inclination of 53.22 degrees. NASA defines orbital inclination as a measure of the angle formed between the equator and the plane of the object’s orbit when viewed from the side, so that the plane appears as a line.
More:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43571/spacex-rocket-will-make-a-highly-unusual-flight-along-californias-coast-overnight
