Author Topic: LIVE: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013  (Read 150629 times)

Offline Artyom.

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3937
  • Liked: 1416
  • Likes Given: 135
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #20 on: 08/23/2013 06:37 am »
A brand new Minotaur IV rocket is scheduled to launch for the first time from Wallops Flight Facility on September 7th at 03:27 UTC. This vehicle will carry NASA's LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) spacecraft to the Moon.

This video shows animation of the flight profile the rocket will take.


Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #21 on: 08/23/2013 08:39 am »
RELEASE 13-265


NASA Prepares for First Virginia Coast Launch to Moon


In an attempt to answer prevailing questions about our moon, NASA is making final preparations to launch a probe at 11:27 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The small car-sized Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky. A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets.

"The moon's tenuous atmosphere may be more common in the solar system than we thought," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington. "Further understanding of the moon's atmosphere may also help us better understand our diverse solar system and its evolution."

The mission has many firsts, including the first flight of the Minotaur V rocket, testing of a high-data-rate laser communication system, and the first launch beyond Earth orbit from the agency's Virginia Space Coast launch facility.

LADEE also is the first spacecraft designed, developed, built, integrated and tested at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The probe will launch on a U.S. Air Force Minotaur V rocket, an excess ballistic missile converted into a space launch vehicle and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va.

LADEE was built using an Ames-developed Modular Common Spacecraft Bus architecture, a general purpose spacecraft design that allows NASA to develop, assemble and test multiple modules at the same time. The LADEE bus structure is made of a lightweight carbon composite with a mass of 547.2 pounds -- 844.4 pounds when fully fueled.

"This mission will put the common bus design to the test," said Ames Director S. Pete Worden. "This same common bus can be used on future missions to explore other destinations, including voyages to orbit and land on the moon, low-Earth orbit, and near-Earth objects."

Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at Ames, said the innovative common bus concept brings NASA a step closer to multi-use designs and assembly line production and away from custom design. "The LADEE mission demonstrates how it is possible to build a first class spacecraft at a reduced cost while using a more efficient manufacturing and assembly process," Hine said.

Approximately one month after launch, LADEE will begin its 40-day commissioning phase, the first 30 days of which the spacecraft will be performing activities high above the moon's surface. These activities include testing a high-data-rate laser communication system that will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth.

After commissioning, LADEE will begin a 100-day science phase to collect data using three instruments to determine the composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and remotely sense lofted dust, measure variations in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, and collect and analyze samples of any lunar dust particles in the atmosphere. Using this set of instruments, scientists hope to address a long-standing question: Was lunar dust, electrically charged by sunlight, responsible for the pre-sunrise glow above the lunar horizon detected during several Apollo missions?

After launch, Ames will serve as a base for mission operations and real-time control of the probe. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will catalogue and distribute data to a science team located across the country.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington funds the LADEE mission. Ames manages the overall mission. Goddard manages the science instruments and technology demonstration payload, the science operations center and provides overall mission support. Wallops is responsible for launch vehicle integration, launch services and operations. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages LADEE within the Lunar Quest Program Office.

For more information about the LADEE mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ladee

Jacques :-)

Offline Artyom.

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3937
  • Liked: 1416
  • Likes Given: 135
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #22 on: 08/23/2013 10:28 am »
LADEE Minotaur V Launch – Maximum Elevation Map

The LADEE nighttime launch will be visible to millions of spectators across a wide area of the Eastern US -weather permitting. This map shows the maximum elevation (degrees above the horizon) that the Minotaur V rocket will reach during the Sep. 6, 2013 launch depending on your location along the US east coast.

Credit: Orbital Sciences

http://www.universetoday.com/99284/nasas-ladee-lunar-probe-set-for-spectacular-science-and-september-night-launch-visible-to-millions-and-millions/

Offline douglas100

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2177
  • Liked: 227
  • Likes Given: 105
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #23 on: 08/23/2013 10:17 pm »
Minotaur stacking operations. Don't know if this has been posted already.

http://localtvwtkr.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/ladee2.jpg
Douglas Clark

Offline jsmjr

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 305
  • Washington, DC
  • Liked: 31
  • Likes Given: 28
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #24 on: 08/26/2013 03:06 pm »
Catching up on some materials from last week:

Quote
NASA Hosts NASA TV News Briefing on Upcoming Lunar Mission

Aug. 15, 2013

 

LADEE Readies for Orbital Maneuvering Thruster Burn Artist's Concept
An artist's concept of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft orbiting the moon and preparing to fire its maneuvering thrusters to maintain a safe orbital altitude.
Image Credit:
NASA Ames/ Dana Berry

NASA will host a news briefing at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 22, at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW in Washington, to discuss the agency's next, and first mission to the moon launching from the Virginia coast.

The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

Data from the mission will provide unprecedented information about the environment around the moon and give scientists a better understanding of other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond.

Briefing participants include:

    Joan Salute, LADEE program executive, NASA Headquarters
    Sarah Noble, LADEE program scientist, NASA Headquarters
    Butler Hine, LADEE project manager, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
    Doug Voss, launch manager, Wallops
    Don Cornwell, mission manager for the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Journalists unable to attend at Headquarters may ask questions at participating NASA locations, join by phone, or send questions via Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Dwayne Brown [email protected] or 202-358-1726 with media affiliation information by 2 p.m. Aug. 22.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the LADEE mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ladee

 

Text was issued as media advisory M13-135

Dwayne Brown, Headquarters, Washington, 202-358-1726, [email protected]

Rachel Hoover, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., 650-604-4789, [email protected]

Keith Koehler, Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., 757-824-1579, [email protected]

Recorded news conference video here:



Offline Ben the Space Brit

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7206
  • A spaceflight fan
  • London, UK
  • Liked: 806
  • Likes Given: 900
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #25 on: 08/26/2013 03:55 pm »
Technical question: Is the Minotaur-V's fifth stage similar in any way to the Antares upper stage?
"Oops! I left the silly thing in reverse!" - Duck Dodgers

~*~*~*~

The Space Shuttle Program - 1981-2011

The time for words has passed; The time has come to put up or shut up!
DON'T PROPAGANDISE, FLY!!!

Offline Jim

  • Night Gator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 37440
  • Cape Canaveral Spaceport
  • Liked: 21451
  • Likes Given: 428
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #26 on: 08/26/2013 04:56 pm »
Technical question: Is the Minotaur-V's fifth stage similar in any way to the Antares upper stage?

The Antares upperstage is related to the Minotaur-V's first stage.  The CASTOR 30B is derived from the CASTOR 120 which was derived from the Peacekeeper first stage.   The Minotaur V fifth stage is the small Star-37, which was used on Delta II missions with less than 9 solids.
« Last Edit: 08/26/2013 05:23 pm by Jim »

Offline Lurker Steve

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1420
  • Liked: 35
  • Likes Given: 9
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #27 on: 08/26/2013 08:53 pm »
Technical question: Is the Minotaur-V's fifth stage similar in any way to the Antares upper stage?

The Antares upperstage is related to the Minotaur-V's first stage.  The CASTOR 30B is derived from the CASTOR 120 which was derived from the Peacekeeper first stage.   The Minotaur V fifth stage is the small Star-37, which was used on Delta II missions with less than 9 solids.

If Antares flew with a third stage, it would also use the Star-37.

Offline Jim

  • Night Gator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 37440
  • Cape Canaveral Spaceport
  • Liked: 21451
  • Likes Given: 428
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #28 on: 08/26/2013 09:08 pm »
Technical question: Is the Minotaur-V's fifth stage similar in any way to the Antares upper stage?

The Antares upperstage is related to the Minotaur-V's first stage.  The CASTOR 30B is derived from the CASTOR 120 which was derived from the Peacekeeper first stage.   The Minotaur V fifth stage is the small Star-37, which was used on Delta II missions with less than 9 solids.

If Antares flew with a third stage, it would also use the Star-37.

Star-48

Offline Artyom.

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3937
  • Liked: 1416
  • Likes Given: 135
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #29 on: 08/27/2013 03:44 pm »
Quote
In this photo, engineers as NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia encapsule the LADEE spacecraft into the fairing of the Minotaur V launch vehicle nose-cone. LADEE is the first spacecraft designed, developed, built, integrated and tested at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
http://www.nasa.gov/content/lunar-atmosphere-and-dust-environment-explorer/

Offline edkyle99

  • Expert
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15391
    • Space Launch Report
  • Liked: 8566
  • Likes Given: 1356
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #30 on: 08/27/2013 04:44 pm »
Quote
In this photo, engineers as NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia encapsule the LADEE spacecraft into the fairing of the Minotaur V launch vehicle nose-cone. LADEE is the first spacecraft designed, developed, built, integrated and tested at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
http://www.nasa.gov/content/lunar-atmosphere-and-dust-environment-explorer/
Does anyone know in which building this integration is happening?

 - Ed Kyle

Offline jsmjr

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 305
  • Washington, DC
  • Liked: 31
  • Likes Given: 28
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #31 on: 08/27/2013 06:04 pm »
Wallops has issued their NOTMAR (Notice to Mariners) for LADEE.  Of note:

Quote
"Water and marsh areas between Wallops Island and mainland also will be closed. The Army Corp Engineers Danger Zone will be in effect for all launch attempts per 33 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 334. Fines and arrest authority are permissible by U.S. Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Police."

See also 33 CFR 334.130: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/334.130 (Which regulation references "Wallops Station" -- haven't heard that style elsewhere.)   


Offline spacedog71

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 167
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 3
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #32 on: 08/27/2013 08:36 pm »
http://www.nasa.gov/content/public-viewing-sites-established-for-nasa-ladee-moon-mission-from-wallops/#.Uh0Mdb99u-9

says that the official public viewing area for the LADEE launch are "Robert Reed Park on Chincoteague or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands".

they then point out that assateague beaches will be closed as of 7 pm, and that "it’s expected that the NASA Visitors Center will reach capacity early and close".

in order for the visitor's center to reach capacity and close, it's got to be open first, right?

Offline spacedog71

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 167
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 3
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #33 on: 08/27/2013 09:09 pm »
ah, that makes sense. there seemed to be a great deal of spillover for the antares launch in april as busloads of people were ferried onto, presumably, the facility itself but were leaving their cars in the visitors center parking lot.

all one to me, as even after labor day i figure there'll be enough friday night beach traffic to give me an ETA into the area of 10 pm at the earliest. good that the've got some designated places to target the GPS, at least. :)

Offline Fuji

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1231
  • Japan
  • Liked: 234
  • Likes Given: 14
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #34 on: 08/28/2013 12:53 am »
Minotaur V LADEE Mission Overview presentation and Launch Viewing Information
http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/MinotaurV/index.shtml

Offline grythumn

  • Full Member
  • **
  • Posts: 243
  • Liked: 167
  • Likes Given: 246
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #35 on: 08/28/2013 04:54 pm »
http://www.nasa.gov/content/public-viewing-sites-established-for-nasa-ladee-moon-mission-from-wallops/#.Uh0Mdb99u-9

says that the official public viewing area for the LADEE launch are "Robert Reed Park on Chincoteague or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands".

Ick. Firing up ArcMap, those are about 12, 12.5 miles away. I wonder if they're going to close Pierce Taylor as well...

-R C

Offline CardBoardBoxProcessor

  • Full Member
  • **
  • Posts: 240
  • Liked: 176
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #36 on: 08/29/2013 01:43 pm »
Arbuckle Road and areas around there will not be open, nor will the Visitor Center for public viewing this time due to the time. It is unclear at this time where the public may get a good view if any.

So those roads leading to Arbuckle Road will be closed to? How far out will roads be close?

any tips on viewing? Guess I will find a field near by and just sit there and watch after it rises above the tree line.  :-\
« Last Edit: 08/29/2013 02:10 pm by CardBoardBoxProcessor »

Offline SaxtonHale

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 175
  • Liked: 127
  • Likes Given: 143
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #37 on: 08/29/2013 08:13 pm »
Me too. There might end up being quite a few people here wanting to go.

Arbuckle Road and areas around there will not be open, nor will the Visitor Center for public viewing this time due to the time. It is unclear at this time where the public may get a good view if any.

So those roads leading to Arbuckle Road will be closed to? How far out will roads be close?

any tips on viewing? Guess I will find a field near by and just sit there and watch after it rises above the tree line.  :-\

Offline grythumn

  • Full Member
  • **
  • Posts: 243
  • Liked: 167
  • Likes Given: 246
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #38 on: 08/30/2013 03:42 am »
Me too. There might end up being quite a few people here wanting to go.

I took the day off, so I was going to head out Friday morning and scout out good places to watch from, and then set up my tent over on Assateague. I figure if the launch gets delayed, oh well, I get a couple of late beach days. :)

-Bob

Offline apollolanding

  • Veteran
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 362
  • Member Since 2006-04-10
  • New Jersey
  • Liked: 192
  • Likes Given: 91
Re: Minotaur V - LADEE - September 6, 2013
« Reply #39 on: 08/30/2013 11:58 pm »
Me too. There might end up being quite a few people here wanting to go.

I took the day off, so I was going to head out Friday morning and scout out good places to watch from, and then set up my tent over on Assateague. I figure if the launch gets delayed, oh well, I get a couple of late beach days. :)

-Bob

Bob, in case you weren't aware there's no camping allowed on the VA end of Assateague.  The only camping on Assateauge is up on the northern end which you access through Ocean City, MD. 

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/generalregulations.html
Proud Member of NSF Since 2006-04-10.

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0