🔴 EN DIRECT LANCEMENT SPACEX STARLINK GROUP 4-4 ( Fusée FALCON 9 )
Video from the channel UFOTINIK about Falcon 9, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 54:06. Language: French. Video type: Livestream.
What's being streamed
Live broadcast, commentated in French, of the launch of SpaceX's Starlink Group 4-4 mission with a Falcon 9 from the SLC-4E complex at Vandenberg base, California. The rocket carried 52 Starlink v1.5 satellites to a 540 km low orbit with a 53.2-degree inclination. The commentator explains that fewer satellites than the usual 60 are launched because each one weighs about 295 kg, compared to 260 kg for earlier models, and that this version includes inter-satellite laser links that reduce reliance on ground stations.
Key moments
Before liftoff, the commentator reviews the launch vehicle's specs: two stages, nine Merlin 1D engines on the first stage and one vacuum-optimized engine on the second, with RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants, and an ignition fueled by a hypergolic mix of triethylaluminum and triethylborane, which produces the green flash. The first stage, B1051, was on its eleventh flight, a reuse record. It had first flown in 2019 on the Demo-1 demonstration mission to the International Space Station. During the wait, the commentator also talks about Starship program prototypes, Raptor 2 engine production, and the planned launch date of the James Webb telescope. After liftoff come max dynamic pressure, stage separation, second-stage ignition, and fairing jettison.
Outcome
The first stage landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You, about 638 km from the launch site, completing its eleventh recovery. The second stage reached about 27,000 km/h at an altitude of 210 km. During the broadcast, confirmation of satellite deployment never came, because no ground station was in range to receive telemetry, and the live stream ended before that confirmation.