With 2017 now firmly in the rear view mirror, excitement is growing for what promises to be an amazing and historic 2018. However, December 2017 was not a quiet month for SpaceX. In addition to successfully reactivating SLC-40 and sending the first flight proven booster for a NASA mission to the ISS carrying a reused Dragon, SpaceX launched the Iridium-4 payload, also on a reused booster which was the first time a commercial customer has flown on a booster they had already flown on (Iridium-2, June 25, 2017). Finally, the year was finished out with SpaceX raising the Falcon Heavy for the first time at LC-39A on December 28, 2017 on what has begun to be affectionately called, “Revelation Day”.

A flight proven Falcon 9 Rocket rises from the newly re-activated SLC-40 carrying a previously flown Dragon capsule to the ISS for CRS-13. (NASA)

SLC-40 officially reactivated on December 4, 2017 with the static fire test of the CRS-13 mission. During the 10 months of reconstruction, lessons learned from the post AMOS-6 investigation as well as upgrades to the LC-39A pad led to major improvements at SLC-40.

In addition to moving many vital pieces of equipment underground or outside of the damage zone, the water system was heavily augmented and the flame trench was improved to limit concrete erosion. This has enabled longer static fire tests — the test on the 4th was close to 7 seconds. Having the ability to perform long tests in Florida reduces the need to ship landed cores back to Texas for testing.

Other improvements at SLC-40 centered around commonality and efficiency. Because of the nature of how the pads were built, LC-39A and SLC-40 often had site specific hardware and tools, even custom built ladders. This made operations difficult when having to move crew and equipment from one pad to another to handle a robust launch cadance. In addition, it introduced unwarranted risk with regard to ground support operations. As part of the rebuild, SLC-40 was made more common with LC-39A and the SLC-4e pad at Vandenberg. This simplifies training and reduces the risk of accidents due to differences between the sites.

“Sooty” Falcon 9 staged for launch for the CRS-13 mission to the ISS (SpaceX)

The first flight of the newly refurbished pad was on December 15, 2017. This flight featured the first flight-proven booster for NASA along with a previously flown Dragon capsule. In addition to being the first flight-proven booster used for a NASA mission, it was also the first time that a reflown booster was not cleaned and repainted. Instead the booster, nicknamed “Sooty”, featured the soot from its original landing during the CRS-11 mission in June 2017. Pinstripes ran down the length of the booster where the fuselage was cleaned to facilitate inspection of welds, etc.

The mission to the ISS was completed flawlessly and the Dragon delivered a number of experiments and equipment to the station on December 17, 2017. These experiments included a space debris sensor, a barley germination experiment (read: Space Beer), mice for muscle atrophy experiments, a glucose biosensor, and many others. The Dragon is expected to return to Earth for a splashdown in mid-January 2018.

The Iridium-4 launch as seen from La Jolla, California (Instagram: never_packing)

On December 22, 2017 at 17:27:23 (Pacific Time), SpaceX launched their final payload of the year with the 4th mission of the Iridium NEXT constellation deployment, bringing the launch campaign over the halfway mark. Each of the Iridium missions this year has been a set of 10 Iridium satellites that have been deployed to a polar low earth orbit.

The Iridium satellites are remarkable spacecraft that are steadily replacing Iridium’s current fleet in an effort to modernize and improve the company’s capabilities. Many people are familiar with the name Iridium from satellite phones; however, the new fleet offers additional features for improved IoT communications and even the passive ability to track ships and aircraft across the planet. When the Iridium campaign is completed in 2018, 75 new satellites will be on orbit, including 6 spares.

Of note is the fact that this launch happened one day after a historic anniversary for space flight. December 21, 2015 was the day that SpaceX first landed the booster segment of the Falcon 9 rocket after successfully delivering the OrbComm-2 satellite to orbit. As if by tribute, the atmospheric conditions as well as the timing of the launch lined up to give Californians a spectacular view of the launch plume and separation of the first and second stages through something called the twilight phenomena. This led to a bit of a kerfuffle as thousands of people called police or the news making claims of UFOs and aliens.

Two days prior to the Iridium-4 mission, Elon Musk shared pictures of the mostly assembled Falcon Heavy in the HIF (Horizontal Integration Facility) at launch pad LC-39A. This generated a great deal of excitement as enthusiasts could finally see Falcon Heavy as a real vehicle, rather than a paper (or CGI) rocket.

SpaceX then followed up a couple of days later with pictures of the Falcon Heavy demo payload. In the time since Elon announced this payload, much ado was made about the choice and whether it was really the payload or a joke. The revelation of the payload in the integration facility put any doubts about the sincerity of Elon (in this regard) to rest.

Elon Musk’s Midnight Cherry Tesla Roadster on the payload adapter for the launch of the Falcon Heavy (SpaceX)

Amidst the hubbub and activity of the holidays, SpaceX kept busy working on the Falcon Heavy. It was not expected that the initial static fire test of the assembled Falcon Heavy would happen in December 2017. Indeed, it now appears to be tentatively scheduled for January 6th, 2018 following the launch of the mysterious Zuma mission from SLC-40 on the 4th. However, enthusiasts received a special and unexpected treat on December 28th, 2017 when the Falcon Heavy was rolled out to the launch pad and raised up for the very first time as a single rocket.

Falcon Heavy on LC-39A as seen from Playalinda Beach (Derrick Stamos)

The unannounced event caught many by surprise, but as word rapidly spread that the Falcon Heavy was vertical, photos began to pour into social media and space forums. The purpose for the FH being raised vertical was to perform fit tests of the rocket to the TEL (Transporter-Erector-Launcher) and the associated ground support equipment (GSE) at the pad.

While there has not been any official word, and none is expected, from SpaceX about the results of the fit tests, industry insiders have confirmed that January 6th is the expected date for the static fire test with an inaugural launch happening no sooner than January 15th.

All in all, 2018 is on track to be one of the most remarkable years in spaceflight that has been witnessed in quite a while. The Falcon Heavy has 2–3 flights expected this year, the crewed Dragon flights will begin this year, and SpaceX expects to launch ~30 flights total, or one just under every two weeks. Perhaps this is the dawn of a new space age.