Author Topic: NASA - Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope updates  (Read 105827 times)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #340 on: 06/11/2008 06:05 pm »
RELEASE: 08-62

NASA'S GLAST LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, successfully launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:05 p.m. EDT today.

The GLAST observatory separated from the second stage of the Delta II at 1:20 p.m. and the flight computer immediately began powering up the components necessary to control the satellite. Twelve minutes after separating from the launch vehicle, both GLAST solar arrays were deployed. The arrays immediately began producing the power necessary to maintain the satellite and instruments. The operations team continues to check out the spacecraft subsystems.

"The entire GLAST Team is elated the observatory is now on-orbit and all systems continue to operate as planned," said GLAST program manager Kevin Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

After a 75-minute flight, the GLAST spacecraft was deployed into low Earth orbit. It will begin to transmit initial instrument data after about three weeks. The telescope will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, searching for signs of new laws of physics and investigating what composes mysterious dark matter. It will seek explanations for how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed, and look for clues to crack the mysteries behind powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.

"After a 60-day checkout and initial calibration period, we'll begin science operations," said Steve Ritz, GLAST project scientist at Goddard. "GLAST soon will be telling scientists about many new objects to study, and this information will be available on the internet for the world to see."

NASA's GLAST mission is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.

For more information about the GLAST mission, please visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/glast

Jacques :-)

Offline ChrisC

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #341 on: 06/11/2008 07:05 pm »
GLAST post launch release...

Really?  A DOC file?  How amateurish.  DOC files can be virus vectors.  I ain't clicking on that.

Thanks for the coverage and links!
« Last Edit: 06/11/2008 07:05 pm by ChrisC »
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Offline mikemr

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #342 on: 06/11/2008 07:13 pm »
Did anyone notice an unusual vertically deflected solid booster plume at T-0? It deposited soot on the vehicle all the way up to the interstage. I don't recall seeing this on any Delta II launch before (but I've only seen a few score of them). It even made PAO Diller's commentary pause ("and ........ liftoff").

Online Chris Bergin

Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #343 on: 06/11/2008 07:13 pm »
GLAST post launch release...

Really?  A DOC file?  How amateurish.  DOC files can be virus vectors.  I ain't clicking on that.



United Virus Alliance Successfully Launches .doc Mission for Chris C's PC. ;)


Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (June 11, 2008) – A United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket successfully launched the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) at 12:05 p.m. EDT, today. Blasting off from Space Launch Complex 17B here, it marked the first NASA mission conducted by ULA this year.
Following a 1 hour and 15 minute flight, the GLAST spacecraft was deployed on its journey and will begin to transmit photos and data beginning approximately three weeks after launch. The telescope will explore the most extreme environments in the Universe, seeking to understand what composes the mysterious dark matter, explaining how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed, and helping crack the mysteries of the exceptionally powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
 “Today’s launch was the culmination of tremendous teamwork by NASA, ULA and the Air Force to ensure that GLAST received a safe and accurate ride to orbit,” said Jim Sponnick, vice president, Delta Product Line “ULA has a long history of providing reliable launch services for NASA’s space exploration missions and we are honored to have played a vital role in supporting this critical mission that will help to unlock the mysteries our universe.”
NASA's GLAST mission is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the U.S.
The ULA Delta II Heavy 7920H configuration vehicle featured a ULA first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and nine Alliant Techsystems (ATK) strap-on solid rocket motors. An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powered the second stage. The GLAST payload was protected during launch by a 10-foot-diameter composite payload fairing.
ULA began processing the Delta II launch vehicle in Decatur, Ala., nearly two years ago. In January, the second stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from Decatur, followed by the first stage in February. The vehicle was erected on the stand at Pad 17-B March 26, with solid rocket motor installation completed by early April. Hundreds of ULA technicians, engineers and management worked to prepare the vehicle for the GLAST mission.
-more-
-2-
ULA’s next launch is the OSTM/Jason-2 mission for NASA scheduled for June 20 aboard a Delta II rocket from SLC-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. 
ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo., supported by transition employees in Huntington Beach, Calif. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., Harlingen, Texas, San Diego, Calif., and Denver, Colo.  Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
For more information on the ULA joint venture, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321).
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Offline marshallsplace

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #344 on: 06/11/2008 07:47 pm »

Offline Jim

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #345 on: 06/11/2008 07:59 pm »
Did anyone notice an unusual vertically deflected solid booster plume at T-0? It deposited soot on the vehicle all the way up to the interstage. I don't recall seeing this on any Delta II launch before (but I've only seen a few score of them). It even made PAO Diller's commentary pause ("and ........ liftoff").

It happens on all B pads launches especially heavy launches.  I am sure it didn't make George pause.

Look at Dawn, MER B, SIRTF, etc launches
« Last Edit: 06/11/2008 08:05 pm by Jim »

Offline John44

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Offline Antares

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #347 on: 06/11/2008 10:23 pm »
I remember seeing that ignition cloud obscure the vehicle on MER B (the first D-II Heavy and a night launch) and just looking back down at my telemetry, thinking "well, if I can still see this, the rocket is still there."
If I like something on NSF, it's probably because I know it to be accurate.  Every once in a while, it's just something I agree with.  Facts generally receive the former.

Offline Nick L.

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #348 on: 06/11/2008 11:22 pm »
Did anyone notice an unusual vertically deflected solid booster plume at T-0? It deposited soot on the vehicle all the way up to the interstage. I don't recall seeing this on any Delta II launch before (but I've only seen a few score of them). It even made PAO Diller's commentary pause ("and ........ liftoff").

I think he paused because there was more time between main engine start and liftoff than he was expecting. I've seen many launches where the commentator hesitates because he/she is waiting for movement before saying that it lifted off. It would be embarrassing for him to say "liftoff" and then having a pad abort... :)

The big cloud is normal, it's just because of the larger solid motors.
« Last Edit: 06/11/2008 11:23 pm by Nick L. »
"Now you may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place..."

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #349 on: 06/12/2008 02:53 am »

The big cloud is normal, it's just because of the larger solid motors.

It is also because Pad 17B has a different exhaust duct configuration than Pad 17A.  This configuration was part of the pad's conversion for Delta 3.  Ever since, a similar cloud has risen for every launch, including standard Delta 2 launches, from the "B" pad. 

 - Ed Kyle

Offline Nick L.

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #350 on: 06/12/2008 10:41 pm »

The big cloud is normal, it's just because of the larger solid motors.

It is also because Pad 17B has a different exhaust duct configuration than Pad 17A.  This configuration was part of the pad's conversion for Delta 3.  Ever since, a similar cloud has risen for every launch, including standard Delta 2 launches, from the "B" pad. 

 - Ed Kyle

How is it different? Or is that ITAR?  ;)

Interesting that the soot has become a concern. I feel like I'd seen soot like that before on Delta IIs. I'd imagine if GEMs can withstand a Delta IV-style fireball they can handle a lot, but that's just my supposition...
« Last Edit: 06/12/2008 10:43 pm by Nick L. »
"Now you may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place..."

Offline mikemr

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #351 on: 06/13/2008 12:17 am »
What a fantastic forum, thanks for all the info on my SRM exhaust comment.

Offline robertross

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #352 on: 06/13/2008 01:43 am »
I want to thank all who posted the play-by-play on this launch. I was away travelling and missed all but a call of successful launch. I felt like I went through it live!
Great job.

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #353 on: 06/13/2008 04:34 am »

The big cloud is normal, it's just because of the larger solid motors.

It is also because Pad 17B has a different exhaust duct configuration than Pad 17A.  This configuration was part of the pad's conversion for Delta 3.  Ever since, a similar cloud has risen for every launch, including standard Delta 2 launches, from the "B" pad. 

 - Ed Kyle

How is it different? Or is that ITAR?  ;)

Interesting that the soot has become a concern. I feel like I'd seen soot like that before on Delta IIs. I'd imagine if GEMs can withstand a Delta IV-style fireball they can handle a lot, but that's just my supposition...

The attached NASA photo shows some obvious differences, with 17A on the right and 17B on the left.  17B has three exhaust ducts with rectangular cross sections, which implies a flame deflector setup that diverts exhaust in three directions.  17A just has a basic flame deflector ramp and no exhaust ducts.  I don't know the details (there might be differing water deluge systems for example), but I think that the exhaust duct arrangement creates the big vertical "puff" of smoke that appears during 17B launches that does not show itself on 17A launches.

Hopefully, someone who knows more will fill in the details.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #354 on: 06/13/2008 05:51 pm »

 Pad 17B has a different exhaust duct configuration than Pad 17A. 

How is it different? Or is that ITAR?  ;)

Here are some more details about 17B.  ITAR I know not about, since I don't work at the Cape, but the following is from open literature regardless.

17B was modified for Delta III so that it could suppress/handle the larger acoustic loads created by the more powerful GEM-46 strap-on boosters.  Before the modifications, 17B and 17A both used relatively simple, open "J-turn" flame deflector ramps. 

Modifications included the creation of an enclosed "flame bucket" with side walls that fed a 150 foot long covered flame duct.  This is the long duct that heads east, away from the mobile service tower side of the pad. An interesting, even odd feature of this duct is the presence of a "louvered flow port" on the top of the duct just east of the launch stand.  From these louvers apparently flow the distinctive 17B rising exhaust plumes.  Note that this rising, vertical exhaust appears *before* the solids ignite, indicating that it is initially created by the RS-27A exhaust.  Once the solids ignite, the overall exhaust flow appears to be forced more into the long covered flame duct. 

It seems that an initial period of stagnant flow in the duct, a kind of fluid-dynamics inertia, must be overcome before the vertical cloud dissipates.  Once the duct flow speeds up, some of the initial vertical cloud is actually sucked back down through the louvers into the duct!

Two shorter "auxiliary" ducts were also added to 17B.  These are fed from the flame bucket and point northwest and southwest, generally.  How these work, exactly, I don't know.  I do know that they don't show exhaust when the RS-27A ignites.  Exhaust leaps from these auxiliary ducts only when the solids ignite.

The pad has a water suppression system that uses more water than 17A. 

It seems to me that this pad uses a pretty complex exhaust ducting system that may not yet be 100% understood.  The first launch from the newly modified 17B created some concern, for example, when an unexpected pitching force was applied to the standard Delta II launch vehicle at liftoff.  The louvered flow port was modified after that launch, and the "J-duct" was also modified.  (The new style exhaust plume also knocked down the perimeter fence along with two large trees east of the perimeter during this launch.)

It is my understanding that Pad 17A will soon be closed, leaving only 17B to handle the now-less-than 20 remaining Delta 2 launches.

This seems to be "flame trench/flame duct" month at the Florida launch sites, for some reason.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 06/13/2008 07:56 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #355 on: 06/13/2008 07:23 pm »
I will now add only one more message on this subject, concerning the two attached images of this Delta 333 launch.

The first image shows something funky happening on or near one of the SRMs.  I don't know what this is.  Perhaps it is ice falling from above, or something blowing up from below, or some material ripping away from the SRM casing.

The second image shows a "puff" coming out of the side of the 150 foot long flame duct.  A leaky duct is probably not part of the plan, but this doesn't look serious on the face of it.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 06/13/2008 07:26 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline Stephan

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #356 on: 06/13/2008 07:29 pm »
Launch seen from the beach : http://viavca.in2p3.fr/glast_beach.html
Best regards, Stephan

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #357 on: 06/14/2008 08:01 pm »
O.K.  ONE more message.  ;)

I found two photos that show more details of Pad 17B, both of Delta 319 during NASA's 2006 STEREO mission. 

The first photo shows the launch mount, with the famous "louvers" visible behind the rocket.  It appears that a series of panels are still in place around the base of the vehicle that will be removed prior to launch.  They appear to be arranged to divert some of the SRM exhaust into the three flame ducts discussed in a previous message.  Note that this photo was taken before all nine SRMs had been added to the launch vehicle.

The second photo is the only one I've seen that actually shows part of the flame bucket.  Here, one of the flame deflectors that divert SRM exhaust into one of the two "auxiliary" flame ducts is visible.  A movable section of the auxiliary flame duct would have been rolled into position in front of this deflector prior to launch (it has to be moved to allow the mobile service tower to fit around the pad).

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 06/14/2008 08:02 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline eeergo

Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #358 on: 06/14/2008 08:31 pm »
That's what I call an exhaustive study, thanks for so much insight Ed, it was a pleasure reading it. I didn't realise the vertical cloud came from the main engine, probably because it only acquires full thrust almost at the same time the solids ignite.

The details about the fence and the large trees are very interesting, along with the fact that the trench was slightly modified for this launch, which I assume was probably the reason for the anomalous soot. Risking being greedy, are there any photos available of the damage?

And please keep us posted pad rat :)
-DaviD-

Offline Nick L.

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Re: LIVE: Delta II - GLAST mission - June 11, 2008
« Reply #359 on: 06/15/2008 01:16 am »
Interesting reading, Ed, very exhaustive. I knew the pad had been modified for Delta III but not what was changed. Thanks!  :)
"Now you may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place..."

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