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Old October 7th, 2018 #10
Nikola Bijeliti
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Default Launch of Argentine SAOCOM Satellite

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Allan View Post
Were you able to see first stage separation and boost-back?
I just watched the launch of SAOCOM 1A (Satélite Argentino de Observación COn Microondas, Spanish for Argentine Microwaves Observation Satellite), which was built by the Argentine Space Agency CONAE (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales).

I didn't have my camera with me, since I was watching from my front yard, which is a good distance from the launch site, so I didn't expect to see much, however, the launch was quite spectacular, especially compared to the two launches that I attended in person. This time I could see the first stage separation, boost-back, and watch the first stage return to the launch site. The first stage separation was actually more spectacular than what I saw on the official launch video. It created a large cloud which filled a large area of the sky. The launch was visible from as far away as Petaluma, Sacramento, and Lake Tahoe, California; western Nevada; Phoenix, Arizona; and northwest Mexico.