I believe this is the booster for this launch based on the timeline. The question is, why was this booster delivered by air (or by a C-5 instead), and not by sea? Anyone else see the irony in a RD-180 powered booster being delivered by an AN-124 to a US Air Force base?Not the first time the AN-124 has been used. Won't be the last either.
I believe this is the booster for this launch based on the timeline. The question is, why was this booster delivered by air (or by a C-5 instead), and not by sea? Anyone else see the irony in a RD-180 powered booster being delivered by an AN-124 to a US Air Force base?Not the first time the AN-124 has been used. Won't be the last either.
Probably a lot cheaper than sending the boat all the way around. Next west coast D-IV is already out there.
Is the Atlas V too big to be transport by road like the Falcon 9?CCB is shorter
Atlas V core is 3.81m, which is wider than the F9 (just 15cm or so). But the true question is if it was designed for read transport. The F9 core doesn't rest the whole length over a transport, so it sort of carries itself. I haven't seen this arrangement for the Atlas V cores, specially for the rigors of a cross country road trip.Is the Atlas V too big to be transport by road like the Falcon 9?CCB is shorter and skinnier than a Falcon 9 first stage, so there's no reason it could not be done unless there are highway obstructions on the routes.
Air or water transport has long been the standard procedure for U.S. launch vehicle stages. The original Atlas/Titan/Thor/Jupiter stages were missiles that were required to be air-transportable.
- Ed Kyle
Ooops, I got that wrong (thinking about the Antares diameter probably). Falcon 9 is 144 inches diameter. Atlas 5 CCB appears to be 150 inches diameter.Atlas V core is 3.81m, which is wider than the F9 (just 15cm or so). But the true question is if it was designed for read transport. The F9 core doesn't rest the whole length over a transport, so it sort of carries itself. I haven't seen this arrangement for the Atlas V cores, specially for the rigors of a cross country road trip.Is the Atlas V too big to be transport by road like the Falcon 9?CCB is shorter and skinnier than a Falcon 9 first stage, so there's no reason it could not be done unless there are highway obstructions on the routes.
Air or water transport has long been the standard procedure for U.S. launch vehicle stages. The original Atlas/Titan/Thor/Jupiter stages were missiles that were required to be air-transportable.
- Ed Kyle
Jim Green: InSight will not launch before March 18. (Also said launch window pushes into April.) #AGU15
Q from @erichand: Will you launch in 26 mos, or will you have to cancel? Grunsfeld: as a cost-capped mission, cancellation is on the table.
Ugh....QuoteQ from @erichand: Will you launch in 26 mos, or will you have to cancel? Grunsfeld: as a cost-capped mission, cancellation is on the table.
https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/679403845240283136
Now that InSight has been delayed until the next window, 2 years from now(?) - what will happen with the Atlas V? It is already at VAFB, so will it be used for the next flight after that, or put in storage?
Now that InSight has been delayed until the next window, 2 years from now(?) - what will happen with the Atlas V? It is already at VAFB, so will it be used for the next flight after that, or put in storage?
Some disturbing info from an article
http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html
They basically are talking cancellation for money reasons?
Some disturbing info from an articleI believe they are playing a dangerous game here. The President will present a Budget where InSight is cut, hoping that then the California Reps will find the extra money and appropriate it so they don't cancel it since it's basically ready. Magic extra budget. At least that's my wild speculation.
http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html
They basically are talking cancellation for money reasons?
Some disturbing info from an article
http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html
They basically are talking cancellation for money reasons?
Some disturbing info from an article
http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html (http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html)
They basically are talking cancellation for money reasons?
Is that basically much different from what the situation was when they announced it wouldn't be flying this year? Doesn't seem to indicate any decision has been made one way or the other yet.
Some disturbing info from an articleI believe they are playing a dangerous game here. The President will present a Budget where InSight is cut, hoping that then the California Reps will find the extra money and appropriate it so they don't cancel it since it's basically ready. Magic extra budget. At least that's my wild speculation.
http://www.space.com/31890-nasa-mars-insight-lander-fate.html
They basically are talking cancellation for money reasons?
What do they do if the delay puts them over the cost cap? Rewrite the Discovery program rules? Kick it out of Discovery but reinstate it as an ESMD mission or something?
There's a lot of angst and disappointment in this thread. Remember that even if the mission is cancelled, the spacecraft will be mothballed and may be reinvented as something else in in the future much like the Phoenix mission was.
Newton_V is there a tail number for the LV yet for this mission?
While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018, from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. The fan-like solar panels are specially designed for Mars' weak sunlight, caused by the planet's distance from the Sun and its dusty, thin atmosphere. The panels will power InSight for at least one Martian year (two Earth years) for the first mission dedicated to studying Mars' deep interior.
InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4.5 billion years ago. It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle and core. Studying Mars' interior structure may answer key questions about the early formation of rocky planets in our inner solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars - more than 4 billion years ago, as well as rocky exoplanets. InSight also will measure tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars today.
InSight is scheduled to launch in May 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Just got back from VAFB. Insight’s Atlas is in flow and looking good. the final Delta II has arived for IceSat. Busy year on the West Coast.
The @ulalaunch #AtlasV booster for @NASAInSight's Mars mission was recently lifted to vertical in preparation for the first interplanetary launch from the west coast on May 5.
What direction will the Atlas be launching to from Vanderberg? I believe all the previous Mars launches have been due east, to get the benefit of Earth's rotation.
Slightly OT perhaps, but why is this launching from Vandy? Why not FL? This is the first interplanetary launch from Vandy and that makes sense to me given that launching towards a pole or west doesn’t seem helpful to get to somewhere else in the solar system. So why is this one launching from Vandy?
In the early morning hours of May 5, millions of Californians will have an opportunity to witness a sight they have never seen before - the historic first interplanetary launch from America's West Coast. On board the 189-foot-tall (57.3-meter) United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will be NASA's InSight spacecraft, destined for the Elysium Planitia region located in Mars' northern hemisphere. The May 5 launch window for the InSight mission opens at 4:05 am PDT (7:05 EDT, 11:05 UTC) and remains open for two hours.
"If you live in Southern California and the weather is right, you'll probably have a better view of the launch than I will," said Tom Hoffman, project manager for NASA's InSight mission from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "I'll be stuck inside a control room looking at monitors -- which is not the best way to enjoy an Atlas 5 on its way to Mars."
This is probably a stupid question but: why Vandenberg? Sure, it's a light payload so it can be done but that's not a very good reasons to actually do it.I asked the same thing in post 46 and got an answer in post 47. Less traffic from Vandy and so less chance of range conflicts.
Maybe this is ULA trying to balance its workforce between the coasts?
This is probably a stupid question but: why Vandenberg? Sure, it's a light payload so it can be done but that's not a very good reasons to actually do it.I asked the same thing in post 46 and got an answer in post 47. Less traffic from Vandy and so less chance of range conflicts.
Maybe this is ULA trying to balance its workforce between the coasts?
#InSight and Mighty Atlas are together. Looking foward to a very unique Cinco De Mayo
Like a pea in a pod, I’m in my rocket’s protective nose cone. The nose cone was transported and placed atop the @ulalaunch #Atlas V rocket in preparation for my scheduled launch to #Mars on Cinco De Mayo, just seven days from today. go.nasa.gov/2w20vTJ
Flight azimuth of 158 deg
Flight azimuth of 158 deg
Any ideas if that's been confirmed? I cant find Notams yet and I cant see anything in the press kits.
Thanks
Our 18th trip to Mars, but we just never get tired of going...
I'm genuinely curious - has the issue about why this interplanetary mission is being launched from Vandenberg and not KSC been openly addressed or answered?
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force @30thSpaceWing predict a 20% chance of favorable weather for liftoff of @ulalaunch #AtlasV rocket with the #NASAInSight spacecraft on May 5. The primary concern with Range Safety is launch visibility.
Being that 'polar' launch sites have less launch window opportunities for Mars - does anyone know the length of days for the launch window if one or two weather scrubs happen?
Being that 'polar' launch sites have less launch window opportunities for Mars - does anyone know the length of days for the launch window if one or two weather scrubs happen?
I tried to find answer on the internet and I couldn't. Why fog/ceiling is a constraint to an Atlas launch? It's not thunderstorms. Two years ago ExoMars launched in quite a foggy weather
1st Lt. Kristina Williams: 80% chance of weather violation for Saturday launch because of fog; same for Sunday. #InSight
However, the Air Force seems to suggest that they could mitigate this and launch despite the fog.
Quote1st Lt. Kristina Williams: 80% chance of weather violation for Saturday launch because of fog; same for Sunday. #InSight
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592QuoteHowever, the Air Force seems to suggest that they could mitigate this and launch despite the fog.
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592
The bird is looking good. Launch Readiness Review complete. Crew Sync today. Pgo at 20% for fog. So, everyone, think very very clear thoughts #InSight
Hi all,
Re the Centaur rocket body, is this expected to decay quickly, or will it remain in orbit for several years?.
Best Regards
Zyg
What about MarCO? They are cubesats, so I don't assume they have thrusters?They have enough trust capability to do their own mid-course corrections.
The Mobile Service Tower at Space Launch Complex-3 rolls back and the #AtlasV with @NASAInSight begins to emerge.
So dramatic. Wow. #NASAInSight
The #AtlasV @NASAInSight countdown has just entered a planned 15-minute hold ahead of the readiness poll for cryogenic fueling. This is the first of two planned holds in today's launch countdown.
NASA Launch Manager, Tim Dunn, has conducted the #AtlasV 🚀 Insight 🛰cryogenic tanking poll. The NASA team is GO for cryogenic tanking.
The ULA team has confirmed readiness to begin cryogenic fueling operations. The countdown will resume shortly. #AtlasV @NASAInSight
The countdown has resumed and cryogenic fueling operations are getting underway. On track for #AtlasV to launch @NASAInSightat 4:05amPDT. Launch broadcast will begin at 3:30amPDT. bit.ly/av_insight
A reminder of our launch weather issue. Atlas V Launch Commit Criteria states that there must be visibility at the ground of 4 miles or greater to launch. If it's foggy, you're in violation of that. That's our big concern for today. #NASA #InSight @ulalaunch #AtlasV #Mars
QuoteA reminder of our launch weather issue. Atlas V Launch Commit Criteria states that there must be visibility at the ground of 4 miles or greater to launch. If it's foggy, you're in violation of that. That's our big concern for today. #NASA #InSight @ulalaunch #AtlasV #Mars
https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/992707111665709057
Visibility req now officially waived. Fog no longer an issue. #InSight
There's an issue the team is now looking at.
128
Truly enjoyed the experience of my first AtlasV launch, and all the excitement surrounding this incredible mission! Rather surprised my remote cams survived AND managed to capture *anything* in that totally rude fog. :) Here are a couple shots. @NASAInSight @ulalaunch
Ground teams are receiving signals from InSight as expected through the DSN!
And MarCO-A and MarCO-B!
Spacecraft separation!. InSight is on its way to Mars for landing on Monday, 26 November 2018.
Updating William Graham's feature article on Atlas V's launch with InSight to Mars - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/atlas-v-first-interplanetary-west-coast-launch-insight-mars/ … - with a new lead photo.
Sam Sun takes aerial photography of West Coast launches for NSF and kinda publishes them in L2. Check this one I've picked out of the collection! Atlas V defeating the fog! Had to be shared out of L2. 8)
I think they may be the same ones that recorded this (retweeted by Tory Bruno) Instagram post, right?:Negative. I was in a different aircraft 3000' above them.
Archived (full) webcast:
Part 1:
Part 2:
May 05, 2018
RELEASE 18-033
NASA, ULA Launch Mission to Study How Mars Was Made
First reports indicate the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that carried InSight into space was seen as far south as Carlsbad, California, and as far east as Oracle, Arizona. One person recorded video of the launch from a private aircraft flying along the California coast.