this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
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During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit. SpaceX has made contact with five of the satellites so far and is attempting to have them raise orbit using their ion thrusters.

There's also a tweet saying the same thing in fewer words.

This is the affected mission: Starlink 9-3 launch bulletin

Let's hope it was due to SpaceX pushing the envelope on their in-house Starlink missions in some way, though I have no specific guesses along those lines. Perhaps a manufacturing defect or an operational mistake are more likely to be the leading candidates for the cause.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
RUD Rapid Unplanned Disassembly
~ Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
~ Rapid Unintended Disassembly
SECO Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
Jargon Definition
Starlink SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation
perigee Lowest point in an elliptical orbit around the Earth (when the orbiter is fastest)

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