Author Topic: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25 2010  (Read 78345 times)

Online Blackstar

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #80 on: 09/26/2010 04:57 am »
I saw the Pacific Collector at Alameda a few years ago.  She was moored near the USS Hornet Museum.  I didn't take this picture, but it's a beauty.

Offline Ford Mustang

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #81 on: 09/26/2010 04:57 am »
Launch video is up!

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=22824 (In the FREE video section. Only need to have a forum account)

Showing a replay now, then ending coverage.  No different views, so nothing really to show.
« Last Edit: 09/26/2010 05:57 am by Andy USA »

Offline csmjr91090

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #82 on: 09/26/2010 04:57 am »
Looked really great from San Fernando Valley....Very bright 1st stage (missed getting photos of it because of pesky trees, no focus) everything else was great. Also saw the puff of smoke as well, a nice treat. The photos I did get are basically an orange ball with a trail.

Congrats to the Vandenberg team and all involved for providing yet another wonderful launch!


Online Blackstar

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #83 on: 09/26/2010 04:58 am »
Looked like a big plume for a vehicle that size. Speedy vehicle, didn't take long to get up there!

Designed to throw nukes...

Offline Satori

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #84 on: 09/26/2010 04:59 am »
Thanks for the coverage guys!!! Returning to bed!!!

Offline Art LeBrun

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #85 on: 09/26/2010 05:04 am »
Great view from Orange County, California......similar to Delta first stage during SRM burn...........
1958 launch vehicle highlights: Vanguard TV-4 and Atlas 12B

Offline matthewota

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #86 on: 09/26/2010 05:19 am »
Great view from Signal Hill in Long Beach, California. The exhaust was bright red, with a faint plume visible for a time. Second stage ignition was visible. To bad it did not launch right after sunset....it would have been more spectacular.
"Nightime is merely the Earth's shadow"
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Offline csmjr91090

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #87 on: 09/26/2010 06:06 am »
Great view from Signal Hill in Long Beach, California. The exhaust was bright red, with a faint plume visible for a time. Second stage ignition was visible. To bad it did not launch right after sunset....it would have been more spectacular.

The Delta II scheduled to launch on Oct 29th looks like it will be a twilight launch. Launch window opens at 7:21 local time. Should be a great sight to see.

Offline jimvela

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #88 on: 09/26/2010 07:06 am »
Spacecraft separation!  Congrats to Orbital, SBSS, and Boeing! 

... and of course the Ball contingent that built the payload and bus were pretty stoked to see our baby off as well...

The Minotaur 4 is a very bright and fast mover, big contrast between that and the majestic, loud, and deliberate Atlas we saw at the start of the week.

One more near term- I hope to see the webcast of a repeat Minotaur performance out of Kodiac in November.

Offline mikes

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Re: Minotaur IV - SBSS
« Reply #89 on: 09/26/2010 09:12 am »
I was going through the mission book while waiting for launch & had a trivial question regarding the patch on the last page. Is the first word “Vivi” or “Vidi” ?

If it’s Vidi a translation can be: I came, I saw, I conquered. (The laconic despatch in which Julius Ceasar announced to the Senate his victory over Pharnaces.)

Scio: to know, understand
Patrocinor: to protect, defend, support, patronize

I don't think it can be "vivi", so

 vidi scio patrocinor

All first person singular, but varying in tense and voice

vidi (video, videre, vidi)
1st sing, perfect, active
"I saw" (the thing)

scio (scio, scire, scivi)
1st sing, present, active
"I understand" (the thing)

patrocinor (patrocino, patrocinare, patrocinavi)
1st sing, present, passive
"I defend" (in general)

(someone with better Latin is free to correct this!)

Offline robertross

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #90 on: 09/26/2010 12:57 pm »
I saw the Pacific Collector at Alameda a few years ago.  She was moored near the USS Hornet Museum.  I didn't take this picture, but it's a beauty.

That is a beauty. Thanks for posting that.

Offline JosephB

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #91 on: 09/26/2010 02:18 pm »
During the webcast one of the team members gave a "Go wolfpack!"
Does that refer to the fleet of tracking/telemetry ships?  i.e. Worthy, Pacific Collector & possibly others.

Online Blackstar

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #92 on: 09/26/2010 02:42 pm »
During the webcast one of the team members gave a "Go wolfpack!"
Does that refer to the fleet of tracking/telemetry ships?  i.e. Worthy, Pacific Collector & possibly others.

Not sure, but I think it refers to a squadron.  Possibly the group responsible for the launch, rather than the ship(s).

I really enjoyed the video, because that's something that we never see.  Quick question: when was the last time you saw a documentary that took you aboard a _tracking ship_ and even showed you the dishes inside the domes?  Probably never.  (I hope they put the video in a good quality version on the web somewhere--heck, I'd love to have it as a DVD just to get a better picture.)

The ships are manned by civilians, as you saw in the video.  They probably have a very few military people onboard for official duties, and they might take a few more "observers" along for the ride.  But I think that in general the way these ships work is they spend most of their time in port and then head out for a few days to cover a launch before returning back to port.  As you saw the one woman say, this was the first time they had taken one of the ships out to support a space launch.  Most of the time the ships track ICBM launches and anti-ballistic missile tests.

Online Blackstar

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #93 on: 09/26/2010 02:49 pm »
I saw the Pacific Collector at Alameda a few years ago.  She was moored near the USS Hornet Museum.  I didn't take this picture, but it's a beauty.

That is a beauty. Thanks for posting that.

Do a search under the ship's name for other pictures.  There is a larger format version of that picture on the web that really shows her off.  The photographer did push the colors a bit.  But it's a gorgeous photo and I envy the photographer's skill.

Several of the pictures I've seen show the Pacific Collector moored at Alameda, which is where I saw her a few years ago.  That leads me to suspect that she spends a lot of time there and only heads to Hawaii as a staging area to support certain missile campaigns.  I'm not sure why she would be moored at Alameda, because that's a little far north (San Francisco Bay) compared to where the ship should be operating, which is down near the equator and south of there, in the Hawaii and Kwajelein area (and I'm too lazy at the moment to Google for more information).  It may be that because she's a government ship, and the government owns the piers there, that they moor her there when not in use.

By the way, when she is moored at Alameda, she is only a few piers over from the USS Hornet Museum.  The Hornet has a lot of Apollo displays (she was a prime recovery ship).  That area is part of the former Alameda Naval Air Station.  If you watch Mythbusters, they frequently go out onto the old runways at Alameda to test car myths, and they use some of the old hangars for testing other things where they need a big enclosed space.  The City of San Francisco is right across the bay.

Offline JosephB

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #94 on: 09/26/2010 03:00 pm »
We got a glimpse of something pretty neat indeed. Very well done and a DVD would be cool to have on the TV cabinet.

I wonder if they will support the DIVH from VAFB?

Offline Jim

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #95 on: 09/26/2010 03:13 pm »

I wonder if they will support the DIVH from VAFB?

Doubtful, Delta IV uses TDRSS

Offline JosephB

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #96 on: 09/26/2010 03:19 pm »
Forgive me as I'm not very technical, but why couldn't this launch have used TDRSS as well? Doesn't TSRSS have global coverage?

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #97 on: 09/26/2010 03:33 pm »
Forgive me as I'm not very technical, but why couldn't this launch have used TDRSS as well? Doesn't TSRSS have global coverage?

Might have to do with the fact that this LV is a former ICBM.

Congratulations to Ball and Boeing on getting the SBSS ready, and impressive satellite to say the least.  Congratulations as well to OSC for the successful premier of another LV (in its orbital configuration)  This bodes well for Taurus II development.

Offline Space Pete

Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #98 on: 09/26/2010 04:24 pm »
Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur IV Rocket for U.S. Air Force Carrying Space Based Space Surveillance Satellite.

-- Second Successful Flight of Minotaur IV Extends Perfect Launch Record of Minotaur Rocket Family to 18 Missions --

-- Launch of SBSS Block 10 System Supports Air Force’s Ability to Track and Respond to Threats in Space --

Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that it successfully launched the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) Satellite, also known as SBSS Block 10, aboard a Minotaur IV rocket. The launch, which took place on Saturday, September 25, 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, extends Orbital’s record of launches with the Minotaur family of rockets to a perfect 18 successes out of a total of 18 missions.

The Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-8 at VAFB at 9:41 p.m. (PDT). The rocket flew an orbital trajectory downrange over the Pacific Ocean and delivered the SBSS satellite to the desired separation conditions.

The Minotaur IV launch vehicle is based on decommissioned Peacekeeper rocket motors that Orbital has upgraded and integrated with modern avionics and other subsystems to produce a cost-effective launcher based on flight-proven hardware. The launch of the SBSS satellite marks the first orbital mission for the Minotaur IV, which currently has a manifest of eight missions over the next several years.

“The second successful Minotaur IV flight, and the first orbital mission for the vehicle, continues the strong and growing tradition of mission success of the Minotaur rocket family. We are proud to support the U.S. Air Force with the next generation of the Minotaur family for the government’s Space Based Space Surveillance satellite program,” said Mr. Ron Grabe, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Launch Systems Group. “With two successful launches, we are confident the Minotaur IV can provide the flexibility and reliability the Air Force demands.”

Orbital has eight subsequent Minotaur IV launches scheduled, the next of which will launch the STP-26 mission, which is a small developmental satellite for the Air Force. The mission will originate from the Alaska Spaceport launch complex in Kodiak, Alaska.

About Minotaur IV

The Minotaur IV space launch vehicle leverages the flight-proven heritage of Orbital’s Minotaur I, Pegasus and Taurus space launch vehicles to provide a reliable, capable and cost-effective space launcher. Minotaur IV utilizes three government-furnished solid rocket motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBMs and, in certain configurations, a commercial solid rocket upper stage. Building on long experience of launch systems with over 50 flights of each core stage, Minotaur IV is capable of launching payloads up to approximately 4,000 lbs. (1,830 kgs.) to low Earth orbit.

About Orbital

Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company’s primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary exploration spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to U.S. Government agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found at www.orbital.com


www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=747
« Last Edit: 09/26/2010 04:24 pm by Space Pete »
NASASpaceflight ISS Editor

Offline Space Pete

Re: LIVE: Minotaur IV - SBSS - September 25
« Reply #99 on: 09/26/2010 04:26 pm »
1st Boeing SBSS Satellite Sends Initial Signals from Space.

The Boeing Company has acquired initial on-orbit signals from the first Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite following its launch at 9:41 p.m. Pacific time on Sept. 25 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The signals indicate that the satellite is functioning normally and is ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing.

The SBSS Block 10 satellite, which was built for the U.S. Air Force by a Boeing-led team that includes Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., was launched by an Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV rocket. The first signals from the advanced space surveillance satellite were received a short time later. The Boeing SBSS Satellite Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., confirmed that the satellite is healthy.

When it goes into operation with the Air Force, the SBSS satellite will be the service’s only space-based sensor capable of detecting and monitoring debris, satellites and other space objects without the disruptions from weather, atmosphere or time of day that limit ground-based observations. The satellite and its ground system will dramatically improve the accuracy and timeliness of tracking and monitoring capabilities, and provide the flexibility to quickly respond to new and changing mission requirements.

“The United States depends on space assets for security, communications, weather forecasting, and many other essential services,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “America’s adversaries recognize this increasing dependence, which makes the need for enhanced space situational awareness more and more vital. Today, the Air Force and Boeing SBSS team are delivering this advanced capability to the nation.”

Shortly after launch, the SBSS satellite began an automated sequence that deployed solar arrays, pointed them at the sun, and initialized satellite operations. For the next two weeks, operators will perform health checks on the satellite bus, followed by payload checkout. Tests include sending simulated space situational awareness tasks to the SBSS Satellite Operations Center, which will send commands to the satellite and collect data from those tasks for the Air Force Joint Space Operations Center. The SBSS system is expected to be ready to perform its mission and be turned over to the Air Force within 60 days.

“The successful launch of SBSS is an important milestone to ensure that this nation’s assets are protected,” said David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace. “We are proud to be a leader in providing critical technology development to the Air Force’s space situational awareness mission.”

Boeing is responsible for overall program management; systems engineering and integration; design and development of the SBSS Satellite Operations Center at Schriever; and system operations and maintenance. Ball Aerospace developed, designed, manufactured, integrated and tested the satellite, using the Boeing-built onboard mission data processor.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.


http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1436
NASASpaceflight ISS Editor

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