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Commercial and US Government Launch Vehicles => ULA - Delta, Atlas, Vulcan => Topic started by: Targeteer on 11/26/2015 02:08 am

Title: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Targeteer on 11/26/2015 02:08 am
NSF Articles on InSight:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Insight

---

http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123464211

Atlas V booster lands at Vandenberg

by Airman 1st Class Robert J. Volio
30th Space Wing Public Affairs

11/25/2015 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A cargo aircraft carrying an Atlas-V booster recently arrived here, Nov. 20.

The Antonov AN-124, one of the largest aircraft in the world, made its way from a production facility in Huntsville, Ala. to deliver the booster.

"The Antonov flew from Zurich, Switzerland to Mansfield, Ohio, and then to Huntsville, Ala.," said 1st Lt. Hammad Ghazali, 4th Space Launch Squadron mission manager. "From there, the Atlas booster was loaded onto the aircraft and flown directly to Vandenberg."

Due to the large size of rocket components, transportation can pose unique challenges.

The vehicles with the transportation muscle to accomplish this task include the Antonov - the Delta Mariner, a large cargo vessel used to transport rocket components by sea - and air ride tractor trailers, vehicles made to handle large, fragile shipments.

The Delta IV rocket is delivered by the Delta Mariner due to its massive size inhibiting other forms of travel.

"The Atlas V and Delta IV boosters can be transported via the Delta Mariner," said Ghazali. "This large ship is capable of carrying up to three boosters from the production site in Alabama to either Cape Canaveral Air Force Station or Vandenberg."

Various personnel were on hand to carefully orchestrate and coordinate the successful arrival and unique transportation of the rocket booster.

"An operation of this magnitude requires extensive training, coordination and teamwork," said Lt. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, 4th SLS commander. "Members across Team Vandenberg, along with United Launch Alliance and other mission partners, helped make it all happen. The 30th Operations Support Squadron airfield operations team ensured the aircraft's successful arrival, offload and departure. The 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron and 30th Security Forces Squadron teams supported the transportation convoy from the airfield to building 7525. The combined cohesion of ULA, 4th SLS and 30th Space Wing Safety ensured the booster offload went smoothly - ensuring mission success. Numerous others across Team V provided the infrastructure and support necessary to make this operation a successful one."

Despite arriving via flight to Vandenberg, the booster's original transportation method involved another option.

"The Atlas booster was originally built in Denver, Colo. before production moved to Decatur, Ala.," said Ghazali. "Getting the first stage from Denver to Vandenberg wasn't feasible via truck so the booster was designed to be flown to the launch location. Flying the booster to the launch location minimizes the transport time and avoids hazards that the booster structure would be exposed to over land."

Consisting of a multitude of features, the Atlas booster is a pivotal piece of the space mission puzzle.

"The Atlas-V booster provides space lift for critical spacecraft, including defense satellites, NASA scientific missions, and commercial satellites," said Zarybnisky. "The boosters carry the bulk of the fuel required to produce the thrust necessary to launch these satellites into the desired orbits. The orbits we launch to, from Vandenberg, are unique and provide our launch customers the ability to perform missions they could not accomplish if they launched from Cape Canaveral."

With the booster's successful arrival, day-to-day launch operations remain intact - ensuring mission success at Vandenberg.

"Launch vehicle processing has very tight timelines," said Zarybnisky. "Delays in a single operation can have large ripple effects across the process. By ensuring a smooth delivery, we can prevent schedule compression that induces additional risk into launch vehicle processing."
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: arachnitect on 11/26/2015 03:03 am
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: Newton_V on 11/26/2015 03:25 am
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.

Yeah, it's not uncommon for the VAFB Atlas V boosters to get flown out.  AV-051 booster was flown out as well.
C-5's haven't been used for a long time.  Maybe never for Atlas V, I can't recall.  Half the fleet is retired (C-5As), half of the other half is always in some overhaul or upgrade program.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: Zed_Noir on 11/26/2015 07:34 am
Is the Atlas V too big to be transport by road like the Falcon 9?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: edkyle99 on 11/26/2015 06:48 pm
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.  EDIT:  It is six inches wider, so I'm not sure if road transport is possible.  It seems close.

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
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: baldusi on 11/26/2015 07:52 pm
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
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: John-H on 11/26/2015 09:59 pm
Then the F9 is <exactly> 12 feet in diameter, which is the usual legal US road limit. Atlas is just above this.

John
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: edkyle99 on 11/27/2015 12:21 am
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
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.
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.

 - Ed Kyle
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: jacqmans on 12/02/2015 01:24 pm
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March 4 2016
Post by: ethan829 on 12/15/2015 07:54 pm
Now NET March 18:


https://twitter.com/alexwitze/status/676864559609610240
Quote
Jim Green: InSight will not launch before March 18. (Also said launch window pushes into April.) #AGU15
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Chris Bergin on 12/17/2015 04:20 pm
Next Stop: Mars – Lockheed Martin Delivers NASA’s InSight Spacecraft to Launch Site

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2015/december/insight-space-mars-delivered.html - with photo.

Next Mission to Mars Working Toward a March Launch

                                                                     
Caption: Lockheed Martin delivered NASA’s InSight spacecraft to its California launch site on Dec. 15, 2015. The Mars lander was shipped aboard a U.S. Air Force transport plane from Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado to Vandenberg Air Force Base where it will undergo final processing in preparation for a March launch. Photo credit: Lockheed Martin [high-res images link]


DENVER, Dec. 17, 2015 – NASA’s latest mission to Mars took its next step on its long journey to the Red Planet. On Dec. 16, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) delivered NASA’s InSight spacecraft to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The lander will now undergo final processing in preparation for a March launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket.

The InSight lander will study the deep interior of Mars and will address one of the most fundamental questions of planetary and solar system science: how did the planets form? The mission will help scientists understand the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system more than four billion years ago. Lockheed Martin designed and built the spacecraft and is responsible for testing, launch processing and mission operations.

InSight was previously scheduled to ship to California in early January, but delivery was moved three and a half weeks early to provide more time at the launch site for the integration of the seismometer instrument (SEIS) developed by the French Space Agency, CNES.

“We’ve worked closely with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to design and build an amazing spacecraft, one that is based on our Mars Phoenix design that successfully landed on Mars in 2008,” said Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “The spacecraft and its environmental testing are complete, and now the launch team is moving to California to perform final preparations for a March launch.”

The 1,380-pound spacecraft, consisting of the lander, aeroshell and cruise stage, was shipped aboard a U.S. Air Force transport plane in an environmentally controlled container. The plane, spacecraft and support personnel took off from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado and touched down at Vandenberg Air Force Base. While at Vandenberg at the Astrotech Space Operations facility, the spacecraft will undergo final processing including the installation and testing of the SEIS instrument, system-level checkout, propellant loading and a spin balance test.

The InSight mission is led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Bruce Banerdt. The Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France's space agency, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are each contributing a science instrument to the two-year scientific mission. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Targeteer on 12/17/2015 10:34 pm
http://mars.nasa.gov/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1878

NASA's next Mars spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for final preparations before a launch scheduled in March 2016 and a landing on Mars six months later.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built and tested the spacecraft and delivered it on Dec. 16 from Buckley Air Force Base in Denver to Vandenberg, on the central California Coast.

Preparations are on a tight schedule for launch during the period March 4 through March 30. The work ahead includes installation and testing of one of the mission's key science instruments, its seismometer, which is scheduled for delivery to Vandenberg in January.

"InSight has traveled the first leg of its journey, getting from Colorado to California, and we're on track to start the next leg, to Mars, with a launch in March," said InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The seismometer, provided by France's national space agency (CNES), includes a vacuum container around its three main sensors. Maintaining the vacuum is necessary for the instrument's extremely high sensitivity; the seismometer is capable of measuring ground motions as small as the width of an atom. A vacuum leak detected during testing of the seismometer was repaired last week in France and is undergoing further testing.

InSight's heat-probe instrument from Germany's space agency (DLR), the lander's robotic arm and the rest of the payload are already installed on the spacecraft.

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first Mars mission dedicated to studying the deep interior of the Red Planet. This Mars lander's findings will advance understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

One of the newest additions installed on the InSight lander is a microchip bearing the names of about 827,000 people worldwide who participated in an online "send your name to Mars" activity in August and September 2015.

InSight will be the first mission to Mars ever launched from California. The mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.


For more information about InSight, visit:

http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov
Title: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Jakusb on 12/22/2015 04:45 pm
Is this (bad) news? Or already known?:
Heads up @elakdawalla the @NASAInSight delay is "true"

https://twitter.com/nasawatch/status/679353284864442368 (https://twitter.com/nasawatch/status/679353284864442368)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: zubenelgenubi on 12/22/2015 05:10 pm
Breaking news about the possible delay of the launch of InSight to the next Mars launch window is (primarily) going on in The InSight Mission to Mars General Thread (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27717.0).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Lars-J on 12/22/2015 07:53 pm
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?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: ugordan on 12/22/2015 07:54 pm
Ugh....

Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/679403845240283136
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Star One on 12/22/2015 08:32 pm

Ugh....

Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/679403845240283136

Especially considering the missions it was chosen over & if it does impact forthcoming Discovery missions.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Kim Keller on 12/24/2015 02:31 pm
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?

That has not been decided yet, but is definitely being actively worked by ULA.

I'm really bummed by the delay - I ws the prime NASA electrical engineer assigned to it and it would've been my first visit to VAFB in over a year and a half. I'm tired of my cubicle in the O&C!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Newton_V on 12/24/2015 03:12 pm
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?

It's a little tricky as the next Atlas V (IIF-12) is the first with common avionics (multiple cut-ins), and there are only a couple vehicles left with Block II avionics.  One of those at ER is definitely staying on that LV.

"Most" of the avionics with the upgrade in on the upper stage, but not all of it.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Prober on 02/10/2016 02:05 pm
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?





Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: whitelancer64 on 02/10/2016 02:39 pm
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?

The possibility of cancellation has been known since December.

https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/679403845240283136
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: baldusi on 02/10/2016 04:44 pm
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?
I 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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Star One on 02/10/2016 04:48 pm

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?

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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Prober on 02/10/2016 07:38 pm

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.


agree with the comment this is a dangerous game.  Spend 1/2 a billion dollars and do heavy promotion in HSF of a "Journey to Mars"



then this mess  >:(

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: arachnitect on 02/10/2016 10:39 pm
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?
I 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.

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?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: shooter6947 on 02/10/2016 10:42 pm

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?

They hold a Termination Review, after which the NASA brass make the call whether to pony up the extra money or cancel the mission.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: sdsds on 02/10/2016 11:44 pm
Thanks! The phrase "termination review" was enough to find this link:
http://www.nap.edu/read/11530/chapter/2#7
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: vapour_nudge on 03/06/2016 03:38 am
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Zed_Noir on 03/06/2016 06:42 am
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.

No, the spacecraft will end up in a museum if not launched in the next window IMO. The design is old with a lot of no longer available parts & obsolete software. It will cost roughly the same for a new spacecraft as re-purposing the Insight spacecraft.

Read somewhere that the Atlas launcher is reassigned to Worldview 4.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - March, 2016
Post by: Targeteer on 03/09/2016 01:36 pm
Great news  I happily updated the thread title launch date  :)

March 09, 2016
RELEASE 16-026
NASA Targets May 2018 Launch of Mars InSight Mission
Artist's concept of InSight
NASA has set a new launch opportunity, beginning May 5, 2018, for the InSight mission to Mars. This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars after the lander's robotic arm has deployed a seismometer and a heat probe directly onto the ground. InSight is the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings will advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to study the deep interior of Mars is targeting a new launch window that begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018.

InSight’s primary goal is to help us understand how rocky planets – including Earth – formed and evolved. The spacecraft had been on track to launch this month until a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument prompted NASA in December to suspend preparations for launch.

InSight project managers recently briefed officials at NASA and France's space agency, Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), on a path forward; the proposed plan to redesign the science instrument was accepted in support of a 2018 launch.

“The science goals of InSight are compelling, and the NASA and CNES plans to overcome the technical challenges are sound," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "The quest to understand the interior of Mars has been a longstanding goal of planetary scientists for decades. We’re excited to be back on the path for a launch, now in 2018.” 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, will redesign, build and conduct qualifications of the new vacuum enclosure for the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), the component that failed in December. CNES will lead instrument level integration and test activities, allowing the InSight Project to take advantage of each organization’s proven strengths. The two agencies have worked closely together to establish a project schedule that accommodates these plans, and scheduled interim reviews over the next six months to assess technical progress and continued feasibility.

The cost of the two-year delay is being assessed. An estimate is expected in August, once arrangements with the launch vehicle provider have been made.

The seismometer instrument's main sensors need to operate within a vacuum chamber to provide the exquisite sensitivity needed for measuring ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. The rework of the seismometer's vacuum container will result in a finished, thoroughly tested instrument in 2017 that will maintain a high degree of vacuum around the sensors through rigors of launch, landing, deployment and a two-year prime mission on the surface of Mars.

The InSight mission draws upon a strong international partnership led by Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt of JPL. The lander's Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package is provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). This probe will hammer itself to a depth of about 16 feet (five meters) into the ground beside the lander.

SEIS was built with the participation of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, with support from the Swiss Space Office and the European Space Agency PRODEX program; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, supported by DLR; Imperial College, supported by the United Kingdom Space Agency; and JPL.

"The shared and renewed commitment to this mission continues our collaboration to find clues in the heart of Mars about the early evolution of our solar system," said Marc Pircher, director of CNES's Toulouse Space Centre.

The mission’s international science team includes researchers from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. It was delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in December 2015 in preparation for launch, and returned to Lockheed Martin's Colorado facility last month for storage until spacecraft preparations resume in 2017.

NASA is on an ambitious journey to Mars that includes sending humans to the Red Planet, and that work remains on track. Robotic spacecraft are leading the way for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, with the upcoming Mars 2020 rover being designed and built, the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers exploring the Martian surface, the Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft currently orbiting the planet, along with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) orbiter, which is helping scientists understand what happened to the Martian atmosphere.

NASA and CNES also are participating in ESA’s (European Space Agency's) Mars Express mission currently operating at Mars. NASA is participating on ESA’s 2016 and 2018 ExoMars missions, including providing telecommunication radios for ESA's 2016 orbiter and a critical element of a key astrobiology instrument on the 2018 ExoMars rover.

For addition information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/insight

More information about NASA's journey to Mars is available online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/journeytomars
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May, 2018
Post by: Star One on 09/02/2016 03:34 pm
NASA Approves 2018 Launch of Mars InSight Mission

Artist's concept of InSight
NASA has set a new launch opportunity, beginning May 5, 2018, for the InSight mission to Mars. This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars after the lander's robotic arm has deployed a seismometer and a heat probe directly onto the ground. InSight is the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings will advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA is moving forward with a spring 2018 launch of its InSight mission to study the deep interior of Mars, following final approval this week by the agency’s Science Mission Directorate.

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was originally scheduled to launch in March of this year, but NASA suspended launch preparations in December due to a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS).

The new launch period for the mission begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. The next launch opportunity is driven by orbital dynamics, so 2018 is the soonest the lander can be on its way.   

“Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in Washington. “It’s gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth.”

The SEIS instrument -- designed to measure ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom -- requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors in order to withstand harsh conditions on the Red Planet. Under what’s known as the mission “replan,” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will be responsible for redesigning, developing and qualifying the instrument's evacuated container and the electrical feedthroughs that failed previously. France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), will focus on developing and delivering the key sensors for SEIS, integration of the sensors into the container, and the final integration of the instrument onto the spacecraft.

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is contributing the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) to InSight’s science payload.

NASA’s budget for InSight was $675 million. The instrument redesign and two-year delay add $153.8 million. The additional cost will not delay or cancel any current missions, though there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017-2020.

InSight’s primary goal is to help us understand how rocky planets formed and evolved. Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said, “We’ve concluded that a replanned InSight mission for launch in 2018 is the best approach to fulfill these long-sought, high-priority science objectives.”

CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall added, "This confirmation of the launch plan for InSight is excellent news and an unparalleled opportunity to learn more about the internal structure of the Red Planet, which is currently of major interest to the international science community."

The InSight Project is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
[email protected]

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
[email protected] / [email protected]

2016-230

Last Updated: Sept. 2, 2016
Editor: Tony Greicius
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May, 2018
Post by: Star One on 09/03/2017 07:06 pm
NASA's Next Mars Mission to Investigate Interior of Red Planet

Preparation of NASA's next spacecraft to Mars, InSight, has ramped up this summer, on course for launch next May from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California -- the first interplanetary launch in history from America's West Coast.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems is assembling and testing the InSight spacecraft in a clean room facility near Denver. "Our team resumed system-level integration and test activities last month," said Stu Spath, spacecraft program manager at Lockheed Martin. "The lander is completed and instruments have been integrated onto it so that we can complete the final spacecraft testing including acoustics, instrument deployments and thermal balance tests."

InSight is the first mission to focus on examining the deep interior of Mars. Information gathered will boost understanding of how all rocky planets formed, including Earth.

"Because the interior of Mars has churned much less than Earth's in the past three billion years, Mars likely preserves evidence about rocky planets' infancy better than our home planet does," said InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. He leads the international team that proposed the mission and won NASA selection in a competition with 27 other proposals for missions throughout the solar system. The long form of InSight's name is Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

Whichever day the mission launches during a five-week period beginning May 5, 2018, navigators have charted the flight to reach Mars the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2018.

The mission will place a stationary lander near Mars' equator. With two solar panels that unfold like paper fans, the lander spans about 20 feet (6 meters). Within weeks after the landing -- always a dramatic challenge on Mars -- InSight will use a robotic arm to place its two main instruments directly and permanently onto the Martian ground, an unprecedented set of activities on Mars. These two instruments are:

-- A seismometer, supplied by France's space agency, CNES, with collaboration from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany. Shielded from wind and with sensitivity fine enough to detect ground movements half the diameter of a hydrogen atom, it will record seismic waves from "marsquakes" or meteor impacts that reveal information about the planet's interior layers.

-- A heat probe, designed to hammer itself to a depth of 10 feet (3 meters) or more and measure the amount of energy coming from the planet's deep interior. The heat probe is supplied by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, with the self-hammering mechanism from Poland.

A third experiment will use radio transmissions between Mars and Earth to assess perturbations in how Mars rotates on its axis, which are clues about the size of the planet's core.

The spacecraft's science payload also is on track for next year's launch. The mission's launch was originally planned for March 2016, but was called off due to a leak into a metal container designed to maintain near-vacuum conditions around the seismometer's main sensors. A redesigned vacuum vessel for the instrument has been built and tested, then combined with the instrument's other components and tested again. The full seismometer instrument was delivered to the Lockheed Martin spacecraft assembly facility in Colorado in July and has been installed on the lander.

"We have fixed the problem we had two years ago, and we are eagerly preparing for launch," said InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman, of JPL.

The best planetary geometry for launches to Mars occurs during opportunities about 26 months apart and lasting only a few weeks.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Together with two active NASA Mars rovers, three NASA Mars orbiters and a Mars rover being built for launch in 2020, InSight is part of a legacy of robotic exploration that is helping to lay the groundwork for sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

More information about InSight is online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/insight

https://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6934
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 11/02/2017 02:41 am
Spotlight Space: Exploring Mars’ Interior

LockheedMartinVideos
Published on Nov 1, 2017

We’re going behind the scenes to spotlight the latest space technology in this edition of Spotlight Space. NASA’s InSight lander will explore Mars’ interior and will be the first to record measurements of Mars’ interior, providing scientists with the greatest clues yet into evolutionary processes that shaped the rocky planets. In this episode, we’ll show you how it’s built for space and how the spacecraft will serve NASA. As leaders in space technology, Lockheed Martin is developing the latest spacecraft and satellites to explore the universe.

https://youtu.be/nX_oyiP_nKM?t=001

https://youtu.be/nX_oyiP_nKM

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: vapour_nudge on 12/20/2017 09:08 am
Newton_V is there a tail number for the LV yet for this mission?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Newton_V on 12/24/2017 02:34 pm
Newton_V is there a tail number for the LV yet for this mission?

Yes, the next 4 are:

SBIRS-G4:  AV-076
GOES-S:  AV-077
AFSPC-11:  AV-079
INSIGHT:  AV-078

(AEHF-4 is AV-073)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Star One on 01/24/2018 08:33 pm
Next Mars Lander Spreads Its Solar Wings

Quote
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.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/next-mars-lander-spreads-its-solar-wings
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 01/25/2018 04:14 am
Image to go with that.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 02/27/2018 03:55 am
Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/968308988981972992
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 03/01/2018 03:03 am
NASA InSight Mission to Mars Arrives at Launch Site

JPL/NASA

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7071

NASA's InSight spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California to begin final preparations for a launch this May. The spacecraft was shipped from Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, today and arrived at Vandenberg at 3:49 p.m. PST (6:49 p.m. EST). The launch period for InSight opens May 5 and continues through June 8. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring the planet's heat output. It will also be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from the West Coast.

"The Air Force C-17 crew from the 21st Airlift Squadron gave us a great ride," said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Next time InSight travels as high and as fast, it will be about 23 seconds into its launch, on the way to Mars."
At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg, InSight will soon be removed from its shipping container -- the first of several remaining milestones to prepare it for launch. Later next week, the spacecraft will begin functional testing to verify its state of health after the flight from Colorado. After that, the team will load updated flight software and perform a series of mission readiness tests. These tests involve the entire spacecraft flight system, the associated science instruments and the ground data system.

"One of the most important activities before launch is to load the spacecraft with the fuel needed for the journey to Mars," said Hoffman. "After fuel loading, the spacecraft will undergo a spin-balance test to determine precisely the center of mass. This knowledge is needed to be sure the entry and descent into the Mars atmosphere goes as planned."

InSight will be carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-401 rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base. For a May 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:05 a.m. PDT (9:05 a.m. EDT).

InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to map the deep interior of Mars. These waves travel through geologic materials at different speeds and reflect off boundaries, giving scientists a glimpse of the composition and structure of the planet's interior. They reflect the initial formation of the planet, and the resulting insights into how Mars formed will help us better understand how other rocky planets are created, including our own Earth.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. A number of European partners, includingFrance's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission.

For more information on InSight, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/


News Media Contact

Andrew Good / DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433 / 393-9011
[email protected] / [email protected]

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726 / 358-1077
[email protected] / [email protected]

2018-040

---------------------------------
Photo:
Personnel supporting NASA's InSight mission to Mars load the crated InSight spacecraft into a C-17 cargo aircraft at Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The spacecraft, built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin Space, was shipped February 28, 2018, in preparation for launch from Vandenberg in May 2018. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin Space
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 03/07/2018 09:21 pm
Mars InSight Arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Published on Mar 7, 2018

NASA's InSight spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin final preparations for launch. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring its heat output. It will be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from this west coast launch facility.  The launch period for InSight opens May 5, 2018, and continues through June 8, 2018.

https://youtu.be/FQtjra0uEnc?t=001

https://youtu.be/FQtjra0uEnc
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 03/18/2018 07:22 pm
Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/975451996688961541?s=21
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 03/20/2018 07:00 am
March 19, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-046

Media Invited to View NASA's Mission to Study Mars Interior

Media are invited to view NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander Friday, April 6, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where it’s currently undergoing final tests for its May launch.

Media attending the event will have an opportunity to interview members of the InSight team and go into the cleanroom at Astrotech Space Operations to view the lander.

This event is open only to U.S. citizens who possess a government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license, and proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate. Two forms of government-issued identification are required for access on the day of the event, including one with a photograph.

Media planning to attend this event must send their driver's license number and state of issue, date of birth, and name of their media outlet and editor's contact information, to 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen at [email protected] no later than noon PDT, Friday, March 30.

Due to space restrictions, only two representatives from each media outlet will be allowed to participate. More information will be provided to registered media regarding access, arrival and event times as details are finalized.

InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, are created.

InSight also will be the first planetary spacecraft to take off from the West Coast, launching aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg. Currently scheduled for May 5, the two-hour launch window opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT).

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 03/23/2018 09:07 pm
March 23, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-052
NASA Invites Media to View Launch of InSight Mars Lander from West Coast


Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA’s next mission to Mars - the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport spacecraft (InSight) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch period runs May 5 through June 8.

Prelaunch media activities at Vandenberg include a briefing on May 3 and launch activities on May 5. Credentialing deadlines are as follows:

International media must RSVP by sending their passport number, country of issue and date of birth, as well as media outlet name and editor's contact information, to 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen at [email protected] no later than noon PDT Monday, April 2.
U.S. media must RSVP by sending their driver's license number, state of issue and date of birth, as well as media outlet name and editor's contact information, to 2nd Lt. Rasmussen no later than noon PDT Wednesday, April 18.
InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created.

The spacecraft will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg, making it also the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

For more information about InSight, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/insight

-end-

Photo: The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport spacecraft (InSight) will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Credits: NASA
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: aku on 03/24/2018 06:33 am
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Newton_V on 03/24/2018 01:49 pm
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.

Flight azimuth of 158 deg
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: cppetrie on 03/24/2018 03:39 pm
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?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Skyrocket on 03/24/2018 03:46 pm
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?

Because the launch vehicle is so much oversized, that they can launch from Vandenberg via a polar orbit without any performance penalties. As Vandenberg has far less launch traffic, especially Atlas, there are less possibilities of interference from other launch campaigns.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 03/30/2018 05:42 am
InSight: Digging Deep into Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Streamed live 9 hours ago

Original air date: Thursday, March 29 at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET, 2100 UTC)

NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its moon. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat in the planet's subsurface.

News briefing participants were:

• Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington
• Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL
• Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
• Jaime Singer, InSight instrument deployment lead at JPL

InSight will be the first planetary spacecraft to take off from the West Coast. It's scheduled to launch May 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. If pre-dawn skies are clear, the launch will be visible from Santa Maria to San Diego, California.

https://youtu.be/y2Hh3FeRrMU?t=001

https://youtu.be/y2Hh3FeRrMU
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 04/06/2018 10:53 pm
Bound for Mars: Countdown to First Interplanetary Launch from California

source: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7095

Quote
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."


https://youtu.be/AuNfBRaywU4?t=001

https://youtu.be/AuNfBRaywU4
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 04/09/2018 01:05 pm
Philip Sloss visited the spacecraft for NSF. Here's his feature article:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/04/insight-final-preparations-trip-land-mars/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 04/10/2018 03:43 am
Here is the NASA press kit.

(downloadable in the attachment link).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: DreamyPickle on 04/16/2018 10:58 pm
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.

Maybe this is ULA trying to balance its workforce between the coasts?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: cppetrie on 04/16/2018 11:46 pm
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.

Maybe this is ULA trying to balance its workforce between the coasts?
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Jim on 04/17/2018 02:27 pm
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.

Maybe this is ULA trying to balance its workforce between the coasts?
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.

It was suppose to launch two years ago, and the Atlas manifest was full.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Targeteer on 04/21/2018 05:21 am
30th Space Wing (Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.) 5 hrs ·Facebook

Atlas V InSight scheduled to launch

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg is scheduled to launch the NASA InSight on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3E here, Saturday, May 5, with a two-hour launch window starting at 4:05 a.m. PDT.

Come watch the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast from one of the following public viewing locations:

- The Lompoc City Airport at 1801 N H St., Lompoc, CA 93436. Parking is off O Street.

- St. Mary's Episcopal Church parking lot at 2800 Harris Grade Rd., Lompoc, CA 93436.

Guests can view the launch and see NASA TV commentary from either location along with NASA/InSight mission team members on-site to answer questions. Guests should arrive no earlier than 2:30 a.m. PDT and NASA TV coverage begins at 3:30 a.m. PDT.

For more information regarding the launch or public viewing locations, contact 30th Space Wing Public Affairs at (805) 606-3595 or [email protected].
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 04/21/2018 09:28 am
At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the gantry is rolled back on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V to a Centaur upper stage aft stub adapter (ASA) and interstage adapter (ISA) for NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft to land on Mars. The next step will be arrival of InSight encapsulated in its payload faring for mating atop the rocket. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/24/2018 10:22 am
Quote
#InSight and Mighty Atlas are together. Looking foward to a very unique Cinco De Mayo

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/988722952530153472
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Targeteer on 04/28/2018 03:25 am
April 27, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-071

NASA Sets Sights on May 5 Launch of InSight Mars Mission
 
NASA’s next mission to Mars, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight), is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 5, on a first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars. Coverage of prelaunch and launch activities begins Thursday, May 3, on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

InSight, the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, is targeted to launch at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Launching on the same rocket is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO). MarCO consists of two mini-spacecraft and will be the first test of CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities for future missions and may aid InSight communications.

NASA TV and online mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

Thursday, May 3

4 p.m. – Prelaunch Briefing

    Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
    Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
    Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for the InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales
    Philippe Lognonné, InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France
    Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight
    Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
    Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
    Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space
    Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA’s Launch Services Program
    Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches
    Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg
    1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing

Saturday, May 5

6:30 a.m. – Launch coverage begins.

7:05 a.m. – Launch time

Prelaunch Briefing Participation (all times Pacific)

The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. However, media still may participate in the May 3 prelaunch briefing by phone by contacting JoAnna Wendel at [email protected] no later than noon on Thursday, May 3.

Media and the public also may ask questions during the event on social media using #askNASA.

Media who are accredited to attend the prelaunch briefing in person should confirm their participation with 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen of the 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office at [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. on Monday, April 30.

Accredited media should arrive at the Hawk’s Nest off Highway 1, about one mile south of the Santa Maria Gate at Vandenberg, by 11 a.m. to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license or passport to receive a base pass.

Public Launch Viewing

There are two official launch viewing sites for the public in Lompoc, California. For information on these sites, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/launch/watch-in-person/

InSight will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created.

JPL manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and Germany’s DLR, are supporting the mission.

ULA, of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. The Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

Media may get more information on the InSight mission, prelaunch and launch events, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/insight-briefings-and-events

Join the conversation on social media by following InSight at:

http://twitter.com/NASAInSight 

or

http://www.facebook.com/NASAInSight/ 
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/28/2018 05:33 am
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/nasainsight/status/989991947799416832
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 04/28/2018 10:23 am
April 27, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY 008-18

InSight Briefings and Events


NASA’s next mission to Mars - the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport spacecraft (InSight) - is scheduled to launch as early as Saturday, May 5, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight’s liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 is targeted for 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) at the opening of a two-hour launch window, making it also the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast.

Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 3:30 a.m. PDT.

InSight will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created.

Launching on the same rocket as InSight is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO). These two mini-spacecraft are the first test of miniaturized CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities for future missions and may aid InSight communications.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate  (SMD) in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. The MarCOs were built by JPL, which manages InSight and MarCO for NASA. They were funded by both JPL and NASA's SMD.


The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. There are two official public viewing sites in Lompoc (one at the Lompoc Airport and the other at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church) that are open to all. For more information on these public sites, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/launch/watch-in-person/. To arrange an interview off Vandenberg AFB, please contact the JPL media relations representative in Lompoc at 626-864-0552 and 626-773-0370, or the JPL Media Relations office in Pasadena at 818-354-5011.


L-2 Day (Thursday, May 3)


InSight Prelaunch Briefing


A prelaunch mission briefing will be held at 1 p.m. PDT at building 836 and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.


Participants:
•Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
•Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
•Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
•Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales
•Philippe Lognonné – InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France
•Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight
•Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
•Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
•Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
•Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA’s Launch Services Program
•Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches
•Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg
•1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing


Accredited news media who plan to attend the briefing should confirm their participation with 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. PDT, Monday, April 30.

Accredited media should meet at the Hawk’s Nest off Highway 1 (about a mile south of the Santa Maria Gate) at 11 a.m. PDT to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

Media workspace will be available from noon to 4 p.m. PDT in a room adjacent to the briefing.

To participate by phone in the briefing, media must contact JoAnna Wendel, [email protected] by noon PDT on Thursday, May 3. Media and the public also may ask questions during the event using #askNASA.


L-1 Day (Friday, May 4)

Remote Camera Setup

There will be an opportunity for news media to establish sound-activated/timer-set remote cameras to photograph the Atlas V liftoff with InSight at Space Launch Complex-3. Media that do not have a remote camera to set up may not participate in this event.

Accredited media wishing to attend this activity should confirm their participation with 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. PDT, Monday, April 30.

Accredited media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 3:30 p.m. PDT to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

News Media Launch Pad Mobile Service Tower Photo Opportunity

There will be an opportunity for news media to photograph tower rollback at the Space Launch Complex-3. Space is limited.

Media wishing to attend this activity should confirm their participation with 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. PDT, April 30.

Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 10 p.m. PDT to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

Off-Base Media Opportunities

For interviews in the Vandenberg area and information on other ways to cover the launch, please contact JPL Media Relations at 626-864-0552 and 626-773-0370.

L-0 Day (Saturday, May 5)

Launch Viewing

Media wishing to cover the launch should confirm their participation with 2nd Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. PDT, April 30.

Media should meet at the Dick DeWees Community Center parking lot (1120 W Ocean Ave, Lompoc, Calif. 93436) at 2 a.m. PDT to be escorted to the viewing site. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

Off-Base Media Opportunities

For interviews in the Vandenberg area after launch and information on other ways to cover the launch, please contact JPL Media Relations at 626-864-0552 and 626-773-0370.

Public Viewing Sites

There are two official public viewing sites in Lompoc (one hosted by the city of Lompoc and the other hosted by St. Mary’s Episcopal Church) that are open to all. For more information on these sites, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/launch/watch-in-person/.

NASA TV Launch Coverage


NASA TV live launch coverage will begin at 3:30 a.m. PDT. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit https://www.nasa.gov/live.


Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of InSight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 3:30 a.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/.

Additional information about InSight and MarCO for the media is available in the launch press kit:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/insight/

Learn more about the InSight mission by visiting:

https://www.nasa.gov/insight

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

Join the conversation on social media by following the InSight mission on Twitter and Facebook at:

http://twitter.com/NASAInSight

http://www.facebook.com/NASAInSight/

Photo and video content for InSight is available at:

https://images.nasa.gov/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Notleslie on 04/29/2018 10:18 am

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
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Newton_V on 04/29/2018 03:00 pm

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

Yes.  It's been 158.0 ever since the slip from 2016.  The 2016 opportunity was 191.0 deg.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: eeergo on 05/01/2018 12:50 am
Great picture of InSight in its cruise configuration prior to launch:


https://twitter.com/jared_delvalle/status/991067755104423936
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: eeergo on 05/02/2018 01:23 am
InSight's heat shield has been cleared from potentially having the same issue as the MSL spare heatshield, i.e. what was to be the future Mars2020 rover heat shield, which now will be re-built.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/01/managers-clear-insight-for-launch-after-heat-shield-review/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/02/2018 10:25 am
Quote
Our 18th trip to Mars, but we just never get tired of going...

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/991623859735482368
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Newton_V on 05/02/2018 06:18 pm
Regarding above:  ???
Since it's not flying over Salt Lake City, the 63.4 deg is the park orbit inclination.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/02/2018 08:49 pm
LAUNCH ALERT

                              Brian Webb
                  [email protected]
                        www.spacearchive.info

                                  2018 May 2 (Wednesday) 13:07 PDT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                     SATURDAY VANDENBERG LAUNCH
                            by Brian Webb

An Atlas V rocket carrying three Mars-bound spacecraft is scheduled
for launch from south Vandenberg AFB this Saturday morning at 04:05
PDT, the start of a two-hour launch window. The event will be the
first-ever planetary mission to launch from the West Coast.

Following lift-off, the rocket will climb vertically for several
seconds before it begins a gradual turn and heads south-southeast over
the ocean. If the launch is successful, the Atlas will send NASA's
Mars InSight lander and two experimental communications satellites on
a seven month trip to Mars.

If liftoff occurs during darkness, and they sky is clear, the event
could be visible as far away as San Francisco, Mammoth, and San Diego,
Calif.

If liftoff happens after sunrise, and the weather cooperates, the
event should be visible for about 50 miles from the launch pad and the
rocket's flight path. Observers more than 100 miles away may be able
to see a short white contrail produced by the rocket as it passes
through altitudes of about 33,000 to 38,000 feet.

People in very quiet locations in coastal Santa Barbara and Ventura
Counties and the western Santa Monica mountains may hear a distant,
muffled rumble or perhaps a sonic boom from the launch some time
between T+4 and T+12 minutes.

Members of the public desiring a close-up view of the launch will
probably congregate west of Lompoc in the vicinity of highway 246
(west Ocean Avenue) and Union Sugar Road.

Official public launch viewing events are scheduled for the following
locations:

  - Lompoc City Airport, 1801 N H St., Lompoc

  - St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 2800 Harris Grade Rd., Lompoc

However, since the above locations are near the coast, there is a very
real possibility that low clouds or fog will obscure the launch.

Regardless of where you plan to go to view the launch, allow yourself
enough time to get there well before liftoff. After you arrive, be
aware of your surroundings and possible hazards such as traffic.

Also, if you plan to obtain countdown status via an Internet feed, be
advised that the feed may lag far behind the actual countdown.
During a launch last year, Pete Heins, N6ZE, discovered the countdown
feed was delayed by approximately 75 seconds.

Rather than relying on a feed for launch cueing, use a GPS receiver or
another source to obtain the exact time. You can also set your watch
to the exact time from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (www.nist.gov).

To learn more about the Atlas V and launch, go to:

      www.ulalaunch.com/docs/default-source/launch-booklets
      /mob_insightfinal.pdf

For launch status, countdown information, and webcasts of the launch,
point your browser to:

      spaceflightnow.com

      www.ula.com

      www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

To learn about viewing Vandenberg rocket and missile launches, go to:

      www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is a Vandenberg AFB news items about the launch and
launch viewing:

                 ATLAS V INSIGHT SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH
                         Published April 20

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Team Vandenberg is scheduled to
launch the NASA InSight on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket
from Space Launch Complex-3E here, Saturday, May 5, with a two-hour
launch window starting at 4:05 a.m. PDT.

Come watch the first interplanetary mission to take off from the West
Coast from one of the following public viewing locations:

- The Lompoc City Airport at 1801 N H St., Lompoc, CA 93436. Parking
  is off O Street.

- St. Mary's Episcopal Church parking lot at 2800 Harris Grade Rd.,
  Lompoc, CA 93436.

Guests can view the launch and see NASA TV commentary from either
location along with NASA/InSight mission team members on-site to
answer questions. Guests should arrive no earlier than 2:30 a.m. PDT
and NASA TV coverage begins at 3:30 a.m. PDT.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

                           SECURITY POLICY

Launch Alert does not intentionally publish sensitive, potentially
sensitive, or inside information. All information comes from open
sources or is approved for public release.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2018, Brian Webb. All rights reserved. No portion of this
newsletter may be used without identifying Launch Alert as the
source and providing a functioning hyperlink or text that point to
http://www.spacearchive.info/newsletter.htm.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: HarryM on 05/02/2018 10:26 pm
Not sure about the ascent profile for this one but for the last Falcon 9 launch it was very visible here in Paso Robles (a few minutes before sunrise), about 80 miles from launch site. Fingers crossed!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: MATTBLAK on 05/02/2018 10:44 pm
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?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Lars-J on 05/02/2018 10:47 pm
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?

It was probably due to pad/schedule issues on the west coast. You can actually do interplanetary launches from polar trajectories, you just have fewer launch windows. And InSight is light enough that performance is not a concern. (heck, it is launching on a 401!)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/03/2018 05:17 am
ULA press kit. Looks like they messed up and only exported page 2 of the document.

https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/atlas-v-insight
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/03/2018 06:14 am
Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/991824673871683584
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: MATTBLAK on 05/03/2018 06:21 am
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?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/03/2018 07:12 am
InSight Countdown to T-Zero: From the West Coast to the Red Planet


NASAKennedy
Published on May 2, 2018

NASA's next Red Planet explorer has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California - a big step forward in the countdown to T-zero. The spacecraft is called InSight - short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - and it's being tested, fueled and encapsulated for launch aboard the powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The upcoming liftoff will mark the first time an interplanetary mission has launched from the West Coast.

https://youtu.be/U3tNa0sxmu0?t=001

https://youtu.be/U3tNa0sxmu0
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/03/2018 07:16 am
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?

According to this video, the launch window extends thru June 8th.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Published on May 1, 2018

Viewers on the West Coast may be able to see NASA's Mars InSight lander launch with its destination planet in sight. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be washed out by the Moon this month, but some meteors might be visible. May is also the best Jupiter-observing season, especially for mid-evening viewing.

https://youtu.be/5F4d_Ze3D0M?t=001

https://youtu.be/5F4d_Ze3D0M
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/03/2018 09:12 am
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ethan829 on 05/03/2018 10:00 am
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?

Here are all possible launch opportunities from Spaceflight Now (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/24/atlas-5-insight-launch-windows/):

May 5: 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT)
May 6: 3:55 a.m. PDT (6:55 a.m. EDT; 1055 GMT)
May 7: 3:50 a.m. PDT (6:50 a.m. EDT; 1050 GMT)
May 8: 3:40 a.m. PDT (6:40 a.m. EDT; 1040 GMT)
May 9: 3:35 a.m. PDT (6:35 a.m. EDT; 1035 GMT)
May 10: 3:30 a.m. PDT (6:30 a.m. EDT; 1030 GMT)
May 11: 3:20 a.m. PDT (6:20 a.m. EDT; 1020 GMT)
May 12: 3:15 a.m. PDT (6:15 a.m. EDT; 1015 GMT)
May 13: 3:10 a.m. PDT (6:10 a.m. EDT; 1010 GMT)
May 14: 3:00 a.m. PDT (6:00 a.m. EDT; 1000 GMT)
May 15: 2:55 a.m. PDT (5:55 a.m. EDT; 0955 GMT)
May 16: 2:45 a.m. PDT (5:45 a.m. EDT; 0945 GMT)
May 17: 2:40 a.m. PDT (5:40 a.m. EDT; 0940 GMT)
May 18: 2:35 a.m. PDT (5:35 a.m. EDT; 0935 GMT)
May 19: 2:25 a.m. PDT (5:25 a.m. EDT; 0925 GMT)
May 20: 2:20 a.m. PDT (5:20 a.m. EDT: 0920 GMT)
May 21: 2:10 a.m. PDT (5:10 a.m. EDT; 0910 GMT)
May 22: 2:05 a.m. PDT (5:05 a.m. EDT; 0905 GMT)
May 23: 2:00 a.m. PDT (5:00 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT)
May 24: 1:50 a.m. PDT (4:50 a.m. EDT; 0850 GMT)
May 25: 1:45 a.m. PDT (4:45 a.m. EDT; 0845 GMT)
May 26: 1:40 a.m. PDT (4:40 a.m. EDT; 0840 GMT)
May 27: 1:35 a.m. PDT (4:35 a.m. EDT; 0835 GMT)
May 28: 1:30 a.m. PDT (4:30 a.m. EDT; 0830 GMT)
May 29: 1:25 a.m. PDT (4:25 a.m. EDT; 0825 GMT)
May 30: 1:20 a.m. PDT (4:20 a.m. EDT; 0820 GMT)
May 31: 1:10 a.m. PDT (4:10 a.m. EDT; 0810 GMT)
June 1: 1:05 a.m. PDT (4:05 a.m. EDT; 0805 GMT)
June 2: 1:00 a.m. PDT (4:00 a.m. EDT; 0800 GMT)
June 3: 12:55 a.m. PDT (3:55 a.m. EDT; 0755 GMT)
June 4: 12:50 a.m. PDT (3:50 a.m. EDT; 0750 GMT)
June 5: 12:45 a.m. PDT (3:45 a.m. EDT; 0745 GMT)
June 6: 12:40 a.m. PDT (3:40 a.m. EDT; 0740 GMT)
June 7: 12:35 a.m. PDT (3:35 a.m. EDT; 0735 GMT)
June 8: 12:30 a.m. PDT (3:30 a.m. EDT; 0730 GMT)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: HarryM on 05/03/2018 03:23 pm
Very foggy on the Central Coast the last few days, even up here in Paso where it is usually sunny or very light/patchy fog.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Svetoslav on 05/03/2018 03:29 pm
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
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: HarryM on 05/03/2018 03:50 pm
"Range Safety" is mentioned so I guess they need to able to visually track it for the initial part of launch, even though telemetry would (I think) be the main method.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/03/2018 07:43 pm
https://youtu.be/YKVhjdWitsg (https://youtu.be/YKVhjdWitsg)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Kim Keller on 05/03/2018 09:54 pm
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

It has to do with the propagation of a shock wave in the event of an explosion close to the ground. A low ceiling would extend the distance at which the wave could cause damage due to reflection off the cloud layer.

Really, really hoping we get this off on the first try - besides having to be on console all night, I have to quickly change out of my Atlas hat and put on my Pegasus hat.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/03/2018 10:14 pm
Quote
1st Lt. Kristina Williams: 80% chance of weather violation for Saturday launch because of fog; same for Sunday. #InSight

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592

Quote
However, the Air Force seems to suggest that they could mitigate this and launch despite the fog.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Kim Keller on 05/03/2018 10:39 pm
Quote
1st Lt. Kristina Williams: 80% chance of weather violation for Saturday launch because of fog; same for Sunday. #InSight

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592

Quote
However, the Air Force seems to suggest that they could mitigate this and launch despite the fog.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/992154320425582592

Yes. There are realtime calculations that may provide clearance.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Mapperuo on 05/03/2018 11:19 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixo8RGDf5dU
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/04/2018 04:59 am
Launch Alert
9:31 PM
to launch-alert

The following are excerpts from a launch update received at 9:06 p.m. Thursday from the United Launch Alliance:

"Good evening - The ULA and NASA Launch Readiness Review was completed today and  everything is progressing toward the ULA Atlas V InSight mission for NASA. The mission is set to lift off on an Atlas V rocket on Saturday, May 5 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Today’s L- 2 forecast shows a 20 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. The two-hour launch window begins at 4:05 a.m. PT ...


Launch Forecast Summary:

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 80%

Primary concerns: Launch Visibility



The overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24-hour delay: 80%

Primary concern: Launch Visibility


Launch Broadcast

Live launch coverage will begin at 3:30 a.m. PT on May 5.

Webcast available at: www.ulalaunch.com ..."
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Lewis007 on 05/04/2018 06:40 am
Some Mars Insight patches (& logo) I found on the Internet.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/04/2018 01:03 pm
Press release, 04 May 2018

Hammering down to Martian depths – countdown to NASA's InSight mission

- The DLR experiment HP3 will be the first to fully automatically burrow five metres into the Martian soil

The formation of planets and the occurrence of volcanism and earthquakes are determined by the thermally driven forces acting inside a planet. Continents and life as we know it emerged on Earth.
On Mars, the internal development dynamics slowed rapidly. To decipher the interior of Mars and its past in more detail, and to find out what makes Earth so unique, an Atlas launch vehicle will
lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 13:05 CEST (04:05 local time) on 5 May, carrying NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)
lander to Mars. Upon its arrival on 26 November 2018, InSight will touch down just north of the equator, on the Elysium Planitia plain, where it will commence its work as a geophysical observatory.
This will be the first mission to Mars to focus on exploring the planet's interior and its 4.5-billion-year history. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR)
is contributing one of the three principal experiments of the NASA InSight mission, HP3 – a small probe that will hammer five metres deep into the Martian soil to measure temperature and thermal
conductivity at various depths to determine the heat flow from deep inside the planet. The resource-saving key technology developed by DLR has already been used in road construction in China, for
agriculture in Poland and in avalanche surveillance in Switzerland.

More precise knowledge of Mars' interior and other terrastial planets

"The InSight mission fulfils the long-standing desire of planetary scientists to operate a geophysical observatory on a terrestrial planet," explains Tilman Spohn from the DLR Institute of Planetary
Research and Principal Investigator of the HP3 experiment. "Mars is an ideal destination – easy to reach and comparable with Earth," Spohn continues. "The processes that played out after the formation
of a metallic core at the Martian centre, its surrounding rocky mantle and the crust slowed down much earlier than on Earth." It is therefore possible that the 'fingerprints' of the events that
led to the formation of an earth-like planetary core, mantle and crust have been preserved to this day. "Understanding how this occurred on Mars will enable us to acquire a far better insight into
the events that unfolded on Earth up to the emergence and continued existence of life, as well as into the evolution of the Moon, Venus and Mercury. It might even allow us to learn a great deal
about the formation of rocky planets around other stars – or extrasolar planets." The researchers are curious as to whether – as in Earth’s interior – a hot molten core is at the heart of Mars.

Launch from the United States West Coast
 
InSight was selected in August 2012 as the twelfth Discovery Mission. Like all previous missions in this NASA programme, InSight is a comparatively small mission targeted at a specific subject
within planetary research. Together with the upper stage for injection into a transfer orbit, the total mission mass is just 727 kilograms, and the actual lander weighs just 360 kilograms. This
makes it possible to launch the mission from the US airbase at Vandenberg, California, using an Atlas V-401 launch vehicle. It will be the first time for a planetary mission to be launched from
this NASA site. The 70-metre antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network in California, Australia and Spain will be used to maintain contact with the lander on its voyage to Mars and during the mission
itself.

A geophysical observatory for the Red Planet

The lander's principal structure is a two-metre-diameter platform carrying most of the system components, namely the experiments in 'travel mode', the antennas, the thrusters, the fuel tanks and
three telescopic legs. Upon arrival on Mars, a robotic arm will deploy the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) onto the surface first. The seismometer will be used to record waves
propagating through the planet from marsquakes and from sites impacted by meteors. DLR is also involved scientifically in the SEIS experiment. Afterwards, in early January 2019, the HP3 experiment
developed by DLR will be taken from the platform and lowered onto the Martian ground. HP3 is an abbreviation for Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package. The experiment consists of a housing
– referred to as the support structure – placed on the surface of Mars that holds a 40-centimetre-long hammering probe with a diameter of 27 millimetres – nicknamed 'the Mole' by the scientists.
Powered by an electric hammering mechanism, it will burrow its way centimetre by centimetre into the surface of Mars over a period of several weeks. The support structure and the 'Mole' were built
by the Bremen-based DLR Institute of Space Systems in cooperation with external partners. For example, the Mole's impact mechanism was developed and built with support from Astronika and the Space
Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Centrum Badań Kosmicznych; CBK), both located in Warsaw. The maximum achievable depth is five metres.

Hammering with 14,000 times gravitational acceleration

HP3 is not a 'drill' as it does not rotate. Instead, the mole advances using a special hammering mechanism in which a spring is repeatedly compressed, causing a hammer to be accelerated forward
towards the inner lining of the tip of the 'Mole' each time the spring is released. These impacts generate an acceleration of up to 14,000 times that of Earth's gravity, which is why the sensitive
measurement technology inside the probe requires special shock absorption techniques to withstand the stresses. For this reason, the DLR Microgravity User Support Center (MUSC) used systems for
impact and vibration minimisation devised by the DLR Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems in Braunschweig. A special system isolates the sensors from the impacts and in doing
so minimises their exposure to stress. For this purpose, the system is fitted with specially patented double helix springs – also known as 'galaxy springs'. In addition to the vibration dampening
springs in the Mole, methods for equipping the temperature sensors and feed lines on the measuring cable are technical highlights that make use of the Mole on Earth appealing for physical measurements
in remote areas with scarce resources. 

Temperature sensors on the science tether measure the temperature in the subsoil

At the heart of the experiment is a tether equipped with temperature sensors – developed by the DLR Institute of Planetary Research – which the Mole pulls into the Martian soil. Once the Mole has
reached its final depth below the surface, the system will record ground temperature measurements for up to two years in order to determine the temperature gradient in the subsurface. The sensors
are able to measure temperature differences of just a few thousandths of a kelvin (or one degree Celsius), in order to determine the very small geothermal temperature gradient. Mounted on the lander,
the experiment also includes the radiometer RAD, which is designed to measure the temperature of the Martian surface. Knowledge of the surface temperature is essential to calculate disturbances
in the temperature distribution in the subsurface. RAD was developed and built by the DLR Institute of Optical Sensor Systems.

The HP3 instrument on the NASA InSight mission

The InSight mission is being conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is a mission in the NASA Discovery
Programme. DLR is contributing the HP3 experiment to the mission. Scientific leadership lies with the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, which was also in charge of developing the experiment
in collaboration with the DLR institutes of Space Systems, Optical Sensor Systems, Space Operations and Astronaut Training, Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems, System Dynamics and Control,
as well as the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics. Industrial partners are Astronika and the CBK Space Research Centre, Magson GmbH and Sonaca SA. The scientific partners are the ÖAW Space
Research Institute in the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Kaiserslautern. The DLR Microgravity User Support Center (MUSC) in Cologne is responsible for HP3 operations.

Using Mars as an example – how does a planetary 'heat engine' work?

Planets can be perceived as heat engines in a way analogous to steam engines. When they formed, the planets heated up due to the impact of planetesimals on their surface. In addition, the decay
of the radioactive elements like uranium, thorium and potassium generated immense heat within the rocky interior. But planets cool over time, leading to changes in their heat balance. We refer
to this process as thermal evolution. Heat is transported in the interior of the planet by very slow but powerful convective movements of mantle rock. Put simply, hot rock rises like very viscous
tar to the surface, while cold material sinks towards the core. We are familiar with this transport of energy through the circulation of mass, for instance, in a pot of soup on a cooker or by the
lava lamps that were popular a while back. The movement of ductile hot, sometimes even molten, rock causes the formation of mountains and the emergence of volcanism on the surface. Here, the planet
turns heat into mechanical work, just like a steam engine.

Scientific objectives and tasks of the InSight mission

The InSight mission is designed to investigate Mars' interior structure and to analyse the processes at play underneath its surface. This is intended to provide a better understanding of the emergence
and evolution of terrestrial planets. It will be achieved by:

- determining the size, composition and condition (liquid or solid) of the core;
- determining the thickness and structure of the Martian crust;
- determining the composition and structure of the rocky mantle of Mars;
- determining the heat balance of Mars’ interior.

The mission will include analysis of the tectonic activity and meteorite impact rate on the Martian surface, and in doing so will:

- determine the strength, frequency and geographic distribution of seismic activity in the planet's interior, and 
- measure the frequency of meteorite impacts on the Martian surface.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/04/2018 02:24 pm
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992405696560824320
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZYGOTE5 on 05/04/2018 04:10 pm
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
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Lars-J on 05/04/2018 04:25 pm
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

The Centaur is going towards Mars. It always goes where the payload goes, so in the case of planetary missions, it will be left in a solar orbit that will come close to Mars.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Svetoslav on 05/04/2018 04:37 pm
What about MarCO? They are cubesats, so I don't assume they have thrusters?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: AndyH on 05/04/2018 04:55 pm
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.

ETA... https://youtu.be/Ixo8RGDf5dU?t=1h22m10s (https://youtu.be/Ixo8RGDf5dU?t=1h22m10s)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/04/2018 07:56 pm
Couple of photos released by NASA
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: JJ starman on 05/04/2018 08:03 pm
Can I ask ,Is the launch noon UK time on Saturday?
I can't work out the conversion,
Thanks in anticipation of awesome launch coverage.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: hopalong on 05/04/2018 08:14 pm
11:05 - 12:05 UCT = 12:05 - 13:05 BST.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/04/2018 08:17 pm
Launch Alert
12:56 PM
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/launch-alert

Saturday's scheduled launch of an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg AFB appears to be on schedule. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:05 a.m. PDT, the start of a two-hour launch window. If everything goes as planned, the Atlas will send the Mars InSight lander and two communications relay satellites to Mars.

Although the weather is expected to violate launch rules (due to fog), it appears the launch can still take place.

For launch status, countdown information, and webcasts of the launch,
point your browser to:

     
      www.ulalaunch.com

      www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 01:00 am
FEATURE ARTICLE: Atlas V set for first interplanetary West Coast launch with InSight spacecraft to Mars -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/atlas-v-first-interplanetary-west-coast-launch-insight-mars/

By William Graham. This is an epic 5,000 word feature, over *four* pages, (Next Page icons at the bottom of each page).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Jdeshetler on 05/05/2018 03:09 am
Set up 3 remote cameras for NASA InSight Mars Lander Launch tonight at 4:05am
Title: Re: SpaceX F9 : Bangabandhu-1 : KSC 39A : May 2018 : Updates
Post by: catdlr on 05/05/2018 04:18 am
This is one of probably several live streaming feeds for this launch.

WATCH LIVE: NASA launches InSight Lander to Mars

PBS NewsHour
Started streaming 5 hours ago

InSight is scheduled to launch May 5 at 7:05 a.m. ET Watch the event in the stream above.

Before sunrise on Saturday morning, a NASA rocket is scheduled to lift off from a California launchpad with an interplanetary spacecraft aboard and set forth on a six-month journey to Mars to study the guts of the Red Planet.

InSight, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will be the first lander or rover bound for Mars since Curiosity launched in 2011. It will also be the first to dig deep into the planet’s interior in an effort to understand how the planet’s geology evolved over billions of years. The probe will scan for seismic activity, keeping tabs on the planet’s so-called “marsquakes.”

https://youtu.be/pFhF66CIOG0?t=001

https://youtu.be/pFhF66CIOG0
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 07:06 am
Quote
The Mobile Service Tower at Space Launch Complex-3 rolls back and the #AtlasV with @NASAInSight begins to emerge.

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992654259572260864
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 07:07 am
https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/992655640353951746
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 07:26 am
Tower rollback is complete

Quote
So dramatic. Wow. #NASAInSight

https://twitter.com/w00ki33/status/992665482888069120
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 08:05 am
A couple of photos released by NASA

Edit: added more photos from NASA
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 08:42 am
Quote
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.

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992684438189375488
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 08:43 am
Quote
NASA Launch Manager, Tim Dunn, has conducted the #AtlasV 🚀 Insight 🛰cryogenic tanking poll. The NASA team is GO for cryogenic tanking.

https://twitter.com/nasa_lsp/status/992685644202856449

Edit to add:

Quote
The ULA team has confirmed readiness to begin cryogenic fueling operations. The countdown will resume shortly. #AtlasV @NASAInSight

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992687633406070784
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 08:52 am
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992688186873864192
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: mlindner on 05/05/2018 09:16 am
I'm so looking forward to this. I think this is the first time I have personal relations to an interplanetary mission. In the briefing they list "AstroDev of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for electronics". I believe the CD&H (Command and Data Handling), EPS (Electrical Power System) and UHF radios were built by AstroDev, which is run by my previous professor, Professor James W. Cutler of the University of Michigan. Unless I'm mistaken this should be a derivative system of what was used on RAX-2 ELaNa-3 mission of a few years ago. Though I'm still looking into the details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAX-2
https://exploration.engin.umich.edu/blog/?page_id=2765

I stated several years ago here on these forums (only to be shot down) that cubesats are going to be the future of innovation in space. This is one of the first steps. I'm more excited about MarCO than I am about InSight.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/insight/appendix/mars-cube-one/

PDF from a talk by MarCO Chief Engineer, Andrew Klesh, about the University of Michigan heritage for this mission. http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~bklofas/Presentations/DevelopersWorkshop2015/Klesh_MarCO.pdf
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:32 am
Countdown at T-1hr 18mins and COUNTING.

Launch Director's loop indicates there are no issues at this time.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:35 am
Atlas V LOX at 80% filled at this time.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:35 am
CFA purge to control mode.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:42 am
LH2 chilldown complete.

LH2 Centaur fueling has started.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:43 am
Centaur engine chilldown has begun.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:46 am
Hmm..  Atlas LOX is at 50% load now. (Down from 80% as they said earlier.  The earlier call out must have been a mistake as the LOX level has continued to rise from 40 to 50 in the last few minutes).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:47 am
Centaur LH2 at 10%
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:50 am
The countdown has reached T-1hr.  We are 1hr 15mins away from the opening of today's launch window.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:51 am
Centaur LOX load complete.  In stable replenish.

Centaur LH2 load at 30%.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:55 am
Final flight control pressurization underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 09:57 am
Centaur LH2 nearing 80%.

Atlas LOX at 80%
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:01 am
Centaur LH2 in topping ops.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:05 am
1 hour until launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 10:08 am
One of three photographers for NSF at this one :)
 
https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/992697015875260416
@thejackbeyer

The mighty #AtlasV waits,  ready to send @NASAInSight to #Mars #InSight @torybruno @ulalaunch @NASASpaceflight
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:08 am
Fueling of both Atlas and Centaur has entered topping.

Fill and Drain valve cycling ops complete and good.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:10 am
Range ready for FTS open loop test. 

And that's underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:12 am
Atlas V core stage now fully fueled for launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Kim Keller on 05/05/2018 10:12 am
Range is no longer red for visibility requirement.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: vapour_nudge on 05/05/2018 10:12 am
This will be the second NASA launch out of VAFB on an Atlas V following on from Landsat 8 in 2013
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:15 am
Centaur LH2 fueling complete.  Centaur in stable replenish for both LOX and LH2.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 10:16 am
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/992707111665709057
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:20 am
Coverage begins in about ten minutes.

I should mention that this is the 50th launch I'm covering since I began doing so in October 2015.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:20 am
Atlas V is now fully fueled for launch.

The launch team is not currently working any issues - including weather - that would prevent an on-time launch at the opening of the launch window at 04:05 PDT (11:05 UTC).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Kim Keller on 05/05/2018 10:25 am
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/992707111665709057

Requirement was waived after blast calcs came in acceptable.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:26 am
A flurry of checks of various Atlas/Centaur and ground systems are underway now.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:30 am
NASA coverage starting soon.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:31 am
From Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA TV presents live coverage of the launch of the InSight lander bound for the Red Planet. Also launching will be two Mars Cube One cubesats, which will act as experimental relay satellites during the landing phase.

We're currently scheduled for the opening of a two-hour window: 11:05 UTC (4:05 AM PDT).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:31 am
Atlas RD-180 in transducer calibration complete.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:32 am
Coverage has started.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:33 am
This is how foggy it is at SLC-3E.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:33 am
Two hour launch window.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 10:34 am
Quote
Visibility req now officially waived.  Fog no longer an issue.  #InSight

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992710424964419585
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:34 am
It takes ten weeks for InSight to place its scientific instruments on the ground.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:35 am
L-30 minutes.

This morning's commentator is Josh Finch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:35 am
Final weather briefing is underway in public comms discussion net.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:35 am
Final flight control preps are complete.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:35 am
Weather update next.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:36 am
Weather briefing underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:36 am
Weather is green. POV is 0%.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:36 am
Weather is GREEN with a 0% POV and no areas of concern.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:38 am
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:38 am
No COLAs obstructing the trajectory throughout today's window.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:39 am
There are no cutouts due to COLAs (collision avoidance).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:40 am
Sometime after midnight Pacific Daylight Time, the Mobile Service Tower was rolled back to its launch position.

And earlier this morning, RP-1 kerosene, liquid oxygen, and liquid hydrogen were loaded into the Atlas and Centaur tanks.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:40 am
T-10mins and counting.

L-25mins.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:40 am
L-25 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:41 am
NASA EDGE interview.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:41 am
Jim Green being interviewed by NASA Edge.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:43 am
There's an issue the team is now looking at.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:43 am
Just showed a tiny chip with millions of names inputted on it.

I went to the website and attempted to place my name on that chip.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:44 am
Now showing a highlight reel of the preparations for InSight's launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:44 am
T-4mins and HOLDING.  This is a built-in, planned hold.
There's an issue the team is now looking at.

It's an RF (Radio Frequency) issue caused by a patch the team did.  Fix in work.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:45 am
L-20 minutes. Showing highlight reel.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:46 am
T-4mins and HOLDING.  A planned built-in hold.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:46 am
From the highlights reel.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:46 am
T-4 minutes and holding. This is a planned 15-minute hold.

Remember that my posts have a delay of 1.1 seconds to sync with the actual liftoff time.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:46 am
There has been a series of YELLOW alarms.  Not violations.

But multiple Off Nominal Conditions.

Anomaly Team formed.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:47 am
T-4 minutes and holding. Had some yellow alarms.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:47 am
InSight will be the 17th NASA spacecraft to fly atop the Atlas V.

Discussing how the 401 config has enough performance to launch from Vandenberg to Mars.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:49 am
Showing launch profile.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:50 am
L-15 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:51 am
The launch ascent profile.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:51 am
Nice an animation of cubesat separation.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:52 am
Mission facts.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:53 am
L-12 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:54 am
Bridenstine talking about the mission.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:54 am
NASA's new Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:55 am
InSight on internal power.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:55 am
L-10 minutes. Favourite planet is Earth.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:56 am
Anomaly Team report.

Position indicator red alarm and other issues were a patching issue that was corrected.

Awaiting confirmation from OS that they're in correct config. 

Concurrence to proceed once that's confirmed.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:56 am
L-9 minutes. The final GO/NO GO poll will be conducted in about two minutes to ensure all is ready for the planned T0.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:56 am
L-9 minutes. You can follow Bridenstine on Twitter.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:56 am
Launch On Time verification underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:57 am
Red Line monitor in correct config.  Solar Radiation within limits for launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:57 am
L-8 minutes. One of her jobs is installing ordnance on the vehicle.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:58 am
Final polling underway!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:58 am
L-7 minutes. Looks foggier than before.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:59 am
L-7 minutes. The Launch Conductor performing the final GO/NO GO poll.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 10:59 am
GO FOR LAUNCH!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 10:59 am
Performing poll.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 10:59 am
L-6 minutes. Status board is GREEN. We're GO for launch at 11:05 UTC.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 11:00 am
Polling is GO to proceed out of the BIH.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:00 am
L-6 minutes. Poll complete. Go for launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:01 am
T-4mins and COUNTING!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:01 am
L-5 minutes. Standing by to release the hold in less than 60 seconds.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:01 am
Ground pyros enabled.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:01 am
L-5 minutes. "Little bit of fog in the area."
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:01 am
T-4 minutes and counting. Terminal Count has started.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:02 am
T-3mins.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:02 am
Securing LOX topping.

FTS internal.

Atlas tanks pressing for flight.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:02 am
T-3 minutes 54 seconds.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:02 am
T-3 minutes. Pressurizing the Atlas fuel and oxidizer tanks.

NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn has polled his team.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:03 am
Vehicle interna.

Securing Centaur LH2 and LOX.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:03 am
T-3 minutes. Solar radiation acceptable for launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:03 am
T-90secs
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:03 am
FTS armed.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
T-2 minutes. Launch vehicle is on internal power.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
T-1min!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
Range GREEN.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
90 seconds and counting. The Atlas V vehicle, InSight lander, Western Range, and ground systems remain GO at this time.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
T-2 minutes. Vehicle internal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
Go Atlas.

Go Centaur.

Go InSight!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
T-10secs!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:04 am
Under one minute to launch. Still proceeding with the count.

Launch azimuth will be south-southeast at 158 degrees.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
LIFTOFF.  LAUNCH OF INSIGHT
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
Hydraulics good.

Cleared tower!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
T-30 seconds. Go Atlas, Go Centaur, Go InSight.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
T-1 minute. Range is green.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
Closed loop control.

All good onboard!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:05 am
RD-180 performing nominally.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
T-10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, RD-180 ignition, 1, 0, and liftoff! NASA's InSight lander is finally underway, after a 26-month delay, to study the interior and subsurface of the Red Planet!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
Liftoff!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
Mach 1.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
Roll, pitch, and yaw programs have started. Vehicle now moving downrange.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
Max-Q!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
LAUNCH!!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
45 seconds into the flight. RD-180 performance is nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:06 am
Throttle down on schedule.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
T+2mins.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
1,960 mph vel.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
T+1 minute, 17 seconds. Atlas V is supersonic. The vehicle will go through Max-Q in nine seconds.

You're listening to Chief Telemetry Engineer Marty Malinowski provide launch vehicle ascent data.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
Closed Loop Guidance has begun.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
T+1 minute.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
Q-Alpha steering has begun.

All is nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:07 am
Now 100 seconds in. RD-180 has throttled up having passed the Max-Q region.

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:08 am
4,543 mph.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:08 am
T+3mins 15ses
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:08 am
T+2 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:08 am
T+2 minutes, 30 seconds. RCS pyro-valve has fired.

Next major event will be boost phase chilldown followed by the RD-180 throttling down to maintain an acceleration of 5Gs.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
4Gs acceleration now.


Booster phase cool down has begun.

5G throttle back.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
MECO!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
Staging!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
T+3 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
T+3 minutes, 20 seconds. Vehicle continues down the planned trajectory.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
RL-1 stage 2 ignition!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
Payload fairing sep!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
Boost phase chilldown has started. RD-180 is throttling down.

Pogo pyro valve has fired.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:09 am
T+4 minutes. Boost phase chilldown is complete and we have Booster Engine Cut-Off.

Standing by for staging.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:10 am
Centaur steering enabled.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:10 am
Booster stage has separated. Fuel and oxidizer prestart has begun on the RL-10C-1 engine.

We have ignition and full thrust. This first Centaur burn will last 8 minutes and 55.9 seconds.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:10 am
Fairing has been jettisoned. The Atlas V now weighs about 7% of its liftoff weight four-and-a-half minutes ago.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:10 am
T+4 minutes. BECO.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:10 am
Centaur in closed loop.  Slightly fuel rich.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
Nominal booster flight/performance confirmed.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
Altitude 90 miles, downrange 325 miles, velocity 10,870 miles per hour.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
Fairing jettison
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
8mins 56sec 2nd stage burn going perfectly to the plan right now.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
Fairing separation.

T+5 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:11 am
T+6 minutes. Pressures remain stable in the Centaur fuel and oxidizer tanks. Good thrust on the RL-10.

Booster stage performance was nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:12 am
All nominal on the Centaur.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:12 am
T+6 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:12 am
Rolling to optimize to TDRS-East.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:13 am
RL-10 still performing well.  Still fuel rich.

All nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:13 am
T+7 minutes. Slightly fuel rich.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:13 am
Thermal condition firings on RCS underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:13 am
T+8 minutes.

Centaur now rolling to acquire data from TDRS-East.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:14 am
T+9mins.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:14 am
T+8 minutes. RL-10 performing well.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:14 am
Again, Centaur tank pressures are stable. The RL-10C-1 engine providing 101.8 kilonewtons of thrust.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:14 am
Centaur at 136 miles altitude.
14,066 mph.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:15 am
T+10mins.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:15 am
T+9 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:15 am
Altitude 136 miles, downrange 1,230 miles, velocity 13,700 miles per hour.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:16 am
T+11mins.

All still nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:16 am
Just passed the 10-minute mark.

About three minutes left until Centaur MECO-1.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:16 am
2mins to SECO-1
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:16 am
T+10 minutes. NASA TV is about a minute behind real time for me.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:17 am
T+11 minutes.

Altitude 126 miles, downrange 1,610 miles, velocity 15,000 miles per hour.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:17 am
1min of powered flight remaining.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:17 am
T+11 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:18 am
12 minutes Mission Elapsed Time.

Sixty seconds left in this first burn. Centaur performance continues to be as expected.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:18 am
SECO-1.  Centaur engine has shutdown.  Centaur and InSight are IN EARHT ORBIT.  Coast phase now for about an hour before Trans-Mars Injection burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:18 am
T+12 minutes. One minute left in burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:18 am
Seteling motors on.

Fuel tank pressure vented.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:19 am
Centaur reorientation underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:19 am
T+13 minutes, 15 seconds. We have the first Centaur Main Engine Cut-Off.

The vehicle is now in a coast phase lasting 65 minutes and 40.7 seconds. At an MET of 78 minutes, 55.8 seconds, the RL-10 will restart for a burn lasting 5 minutes and 22.9 seconds and send InSight on its way to Mars.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:19 am
T+13 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:20 am
MECO! In 185 km orbit.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:20 am
Orbital parameters at Centaur MECO-1:

Apogee: 99.97 nautical miles
Perigee: 99.83 nautical miles
Inclination: 64.001 degrees
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:21 am
"Excellent agreement" between pre-flight orbit insertion targets and actual orbit achieved.

"Very little deviation."
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:22 am
Upcoming events.

1:18:56.9 Centaur Second Main Engine Start (MES-2)
1:24:19.8 Centaur Second Main Engine Cutoff (MECO-2)
1:33:19.8 InSight Separation
1:33:53.8 MarCO-A Separation
1:34:41.8 MarCO-B Separation
1:59:39.8 Start Blowdown
2:41:19.8 End of Mission
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:23 am
Centaur tank pressures stable.  Still rolling to reorient itself.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:24 am
Next interview.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:24 am
Everything is going well.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:25 am
Centaur roll reversal now underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:26 am
Centaur roll reversal complete.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:26 am
20 minutes into the flight.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:26 am
Interview with CNES.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:30 am
Showing some InSight trivia questions while Centaur coasts to its MES-2 point.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:30 am
All Centaur systems stable at 1,500 seconds Mission Elapsed Time.

118 miles alt.

5,514 miles DR.

17,407 mph vel.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:30 am
Some questions for you to ponder.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Mapperuo on 05/05/2018 11:32 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDq3n_VKyI
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: SciNews on 05/05/2018 11:33 am
NASA’s InSight launched by Atlas V 401
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoRj24RTn6g
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:33 am
Sue Smrekar being interviewed about her launch experience as well as InSight's scientific objectives.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:34 am
Interview with InSight Deputy Principal Investigator.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:35 am
InSight is technically a copy of the Phoenix lander, except it's not landing near the north/south polar cap.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:35 am
T+30 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:37 am
Centaur still very stable in orbit. 
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:37 am
Heading towards Antarctica.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:38 am
Apogee: 98.27 nautical miles
Perigee: 84.88 nautical miles
Inclination: 63.974 degrees

The settling motors near the RL-10 are on to keep the LH2 and LOX propellants settled during this lengthy coast phase.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:39 am
Showing some launch replays.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:40 am
Centaur now roll reversing again to maintain thermal limits ahead of 2nd burn.

All is nominal aboard Centaur and InSight.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:40 am
Well, it appears that there were some technical difficulties during the launch replay section, so we've switched back to the STK telemetry.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:44 am
As seen on the STK telemetry, the Centaur is doing a BBQ roll maneuver to even out thermal heating.

Talking about the MarCO cubesats.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:45 am
T+40 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:45 am
Joel Steinkraus: the MarCO Lead Mechanical Engineer.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:46 am
Centaur still looking good!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:46 am
40 minutes Mission Elapsed Time.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:49 am
Both MarCO cubesats were nicknamed "WALL-E" and "EVE" after the same-named characters in the Disney/Pixar movie "WALL-E".
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:50 am
Orion going past Mars. :-)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Craftyatom on 05/05/2018 11:51 am
Friend of mine in California got a shot of the rocket going overhead - not sure the exact timing or location, and of course it was too early for a noctilucent cloud, but it's a good video nonetheless.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:53 am
Interview with InSight Project Manager.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:53 am
InSight project manager.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:54 am
Centaur has passed from TDRS-E into zone of exclusion.  Loss of Signal as expected.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:55 am
3,000 seconds MET.

118 miles Alt.

12,586 miles DR

17,4054 mph vel.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:56 am
T+50 minutes. That "other" seismometer!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 11:57 am
Centaur has completed another roll reversal.

Confirmation of this indicates Acquisition of Signal has occurred and Centaur is out of Zone of Exclusion.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 11:58 am
"We really heard it!"
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 11:59 am
Jim Green was looking for Atlas-quakes!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:00 pm
InSight should land on Mars on November 26th.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:04 pm
Now showing a video documenting the mission objectives of the MarCO cubesats.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:04 pm
MarCO promo.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:05 pm
T+1hr. 

All is nominal.

We are 18mins 57 seconds away from Centaur engine reignition for the Trans-Mars Injection burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:05 pm
T+1 hour.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:06 pm
T+60 minutes. This interview is all about the cruise phase after spacecraft sep.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Danderman on 05/05/2018 12:07 pm
I saw the ascent from Orange County through MECO. Because there were no SRBs, the exhaust was not as spectacular as other launches. What was striking was the acceleration which was apparent due to the view angle.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:10 pm
Inside MarCO.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:11 pm
Now flying over India.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:12 pm
Apogee: 103.33 nautical miles
Perigee: 92 nautical miles
Inclination: 63.997 degrees

Coast phase still nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:13 pm
Discussing the three new technologies the MarCO cubesats will be debuting.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:13 pm
10 minutes to Centaur engine re-ignition for TMI burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:14 pm
Antenna, radio and cold gas thrusters developed for MarCO. Uses fire extinguisher propellant (nitrogen gas).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:15 pm
Centaur settling motors are starting their sequence to prepare the Centaur for engine re-ignition.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:16 pm
Less than ten minutes away from Centaur MES-2.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:16 pm
T+1 hour 10 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:17 pm
Centaur now flying over the Asian mainlands; specifically near Russia.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:18 pm
5mins to Centaur re-ignition.

Centaur has begun turning to its re-ignition attitude.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:19 pm
Orbit has decreased since insertion. Now 170.1x180.0 km.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:20 pm
Five minutes until Centaur MES-2.

Shortly before reignition, the fuel and oxidizer prestart sequence will begin.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:20 pm
Centaur has begun "de-spin" operation, ending its thermal control roll.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:21 pm
Centaur has despun in preparation for reignition.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:21 pm
2mins to TMI burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:22 pm
Commentator saying ignition soon, but timeline says ignition is in four minutes.

T+1 hour 15 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:22 pm
Two of the Centaur settling motors remain active.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:23 pm
Centaur despin now complete. 

RCS settling now underway.

Tanks pressing for re-ignition.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:23 pm
Fuel pre-start.

LOX pre-start.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:24 pm
Centaur engine RE-IGNITION! This is a planned 5min 23sec Trans-Mars Injection burn
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:24 pm
We have fuel and oxidizer prestart underway on the RL-10.

Centaur tanks at the proper pressures.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:24 pm
One minute to second ignition.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:24 pm
All parameters nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:25 pm
T+78 minutes, 56 seconds. Centaur MES-2 has occurred. As I stated earlier, this second burn will last 5 minutes and 22.9 seconds.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:25 pm
RCS thermal conditioning firings underway.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:25 pm
Vehicle body rates are good. RL-10 thrust is nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:25 pm
Prestart.

Ignition!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:25 pm
All is nominal with the burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:26 pm
T+80 minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:26 pm
+1 minute.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:26 pm
RL-10 engine performance still nominal.

Tank pressures nominal.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:26 pm
Acceleration is 1.27 Gs
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:27 pm
+2 minutes. Engine performance looks pretty good.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:28 pm
All still nominal with the burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:28 pm
About two minutes of powered flight remaining.

RL-10 performance looks good.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:28 pm
1 min remaining to MECO-2.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:28 pm
+3 minutes. Pressures look good.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:29 pm
60 seconds left in this second burn.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:29 pm
Centaur engine CUT OFF - MECO-2!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:29 pm
+4 minutes. All systems continue to look good.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:29 pm
Centaur reorienting the spacecraft sep attitude.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:30 pm
T+84 minutes, 19 seconds. And we have shutdown of the RL-10. Separation of InSight will occur nine minutes from now.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:30 pm
About 8mins to InSight separation.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:31 pm
Centaur maneuvering to spacecraft sep attitude.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:31 pm
+5 minutes.

MECO2! Now in 9 minute coast phase.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:31 pm
"Excellent orbit achieved at MECO-2."

Pre-flight targets and actuals in "very close agreement."
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:32 pm
On the way to Mars. Telemetry data not showing, maybe because the orbit is now hyperbolic.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:32 pm
Centaur is in the proper attitude of spacecraft separation.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:33 pm
TDRS satellite visible in background.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:34 pm
Separation in about four minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:35 pm
Another interview. Nice tie!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:36 pm
Nice view of Alaska.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:36 pm
T+90 minutes.

About three minutes until InSight separates from Centaur. 34 seconds afterwards, MarCO 1 will be dispensed from the Aft Bulkhead Carrier.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:36 pm
Separation in about two minutes.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:37 pm
1min to spacecraft sep!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:38 pm
Spacecraft separation!.  InSight is on its way to Mars for landing on Monday, 26 November 2018.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:38 pm
One minute to separation.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:39 pm
CubeSat MarCO-A separation!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:39 pm
T+93 minutes, 19 seconds. InSight has separated from the Centaur.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:39 pm
CubeSat MarCO-B separation!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:39 pm
Separation!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:40 pm
And we have MarCO 1 separation. MarCO 2 will separate at 94 minutes, 40.7 seconds and end the hyperbolic ascent.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ugordan on 05/05/2018 12:40 pm
That was quite a fast turn - for Centaur standards!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:40 pm
MarCO-A separation!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:40 pm
T+94 minutes, 41 seconds. MarCO 2 has been separated!

Congratulations to NASA and the United Launch Alliance on the first interplanetary mission from the West Coast!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:41 pm
MarCO-B separation!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 12:41 pm
InSight separation actuals were virtually identical to pre-flight predictions!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:42 pm
Handshakes going around. JPL seems less excited.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2018 12:42 pm
S/C Sep! InSight if on the way to Mars after the first west coast interplanetary launch via an Atlas V called Marvin.

Feature article: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/atlas-v-first-interplanetary-west-coast-launch-insight-mars/ … - by William Graham.

Great coverage from Chris G, Steven and Zach!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:44 pm
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will soon make a few comments.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:44 pm
Bridenstine to give speech to launch team.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: MATTBLAK on 05/05/2018 12:45 pm
Congratulations to NASA, Vandenberg, JPL, and also to the Lockheed Martin team for providing another superb launch vehicle. Well done! Mars Awaits... :)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:46 pm
Bridenstine giving speech. Thanks to ULA, international partners CNES and DLR.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:48 pm
NASA commentator is in second row, second from left.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:49 pm
NASA Edge giving a recap of this morning's launch.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:50 pm
Back to NASA EDGE.

Congratulations to ULA, NASA and JPL for the successful launch!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: SciNews on 05/05/2018 12:51 pm
InSight and MarCO separation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkSoeSVA2wM
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:51 pm
NASA launch director is pretty excited. Put on quite a show for sound.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:52 pm
NASA Launch Director Tim Dunn being interviewed.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: NASAGeek on 05/05/2018 12:52 pm
Great launch! Congrats to all involved JPL,NASA,ULA. Can’t wait for landing in 6 months.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ZachS09 on 05/05/2018 12:53 pm
At this point, I'll end my commentary right here.

Have a great morning, guys. I'm gonna transition to the SpX-14 thread to cover the release of Dragon.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 05/05/2018 12:54 pm
NASA coverage has ended.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: ChrisGebhardt on 05/05/2018 01:00 pm
Ground teams are receiving signals from InSight as expected through the DSN!

And MarCO-A and MarCO-B!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Helodriver on 05/05/2018 01:06 pm
It least I did get to see some of the rocket. :) and hear the roar of launch from a distance.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: yg1968 on 05/05/2018 02:54 pm
Archived (full) webcast:

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_JNAFClFk


Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFJScdGRVc
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 02:58 pm
Spooky NASA launch images
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Rocket Science on 05/05/2018 03:14 pm
Congrats to all, well done! Thank you team NSF for the great coverage, see you on Mars! 8)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: HarryM on 05/05/2018 03:42 pm
We were able to see it from here in Paso Robles as an orange light that got up to about 20 deg above south horizon and then went on it's merry way.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Galactic Penguin SST on 05/05/2018 04:48 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfwEc6_Bv78
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: SciNews on 05/05/2018 05:24 pm
Leslie Radosevich (@leslie_radcat) : "The most surreal moment!! InSight and Atlas V Launch from 5000ft!!! Currently sharing this from the plane!!! Ahhhh!!!"
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZNN9HFTV0/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 05:39 pm
Just to make it official  :)

Quote
128

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992747876970217472
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: HarryM on 05/05/2018 06:28 pm
Nice record!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/05/2018 08:04 pm
Quote
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

https://twitter.com/w00ki33/status/992798962313715712
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: mlindner on 05/05/2018 09:05 pm
Ground teams are receiving signals from InSight as expected through the DSN!

And MarCO-A and MarCO-B!

Great news! I was most worried about MarCO because they have so many deployment events (10+ hinges by my counting).
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: LouScheffer on 05/05/2018 09:14 pm
The telemetry from the parking orbit seemed odd.

At second engine cutoff (53:22 in the archived webcast) the orbit was 99.82 x 99.91 (basically 100 nm circular)
But at 1:18:06, it was reported as 83.52 x 96.33
At 1:50:41, it was 91.96 x 98.68
At 1:52:26. it was 91.98 x 97.20

Now 100 nm is a low orbit, but the drag can't be that much, and if drag was responsible it would not go up again.

Any idea what's going on?
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: douglas100 on 05/05/2018 10:24 pm
I suppose it's possible that the Centaur's thrusters might have affected the orbit when they were used during the coast. But the 83.52 x 96.33 km quoted doesn't seem too plausible compared with the original figures quoted. I agree that it's unlikely to have been caused by drag.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: AstroBrewer on 05/05/2018 11:46 pm
I saw the Atlas from the LA area. I was a little late getting outside, but it was easily visible as a bright orange light with a tail.  As it got higher the tail went away, but the bright orange light was still easy to see. The tail started to reappear a little before the end of the stage one burn. At BECO it went dark abruptly, then it flashed on again briefly which was probably the retro tickets on the booster.  After that it was gone.  Very cool!

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: eeergo on 05/06/2018 12:50 am
Does anybody have a plot of the NOTAMs for this launch?

Congratulations to NASA, JPL, ULA and the many others supporting this mission! On to Mars!
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: robertross on 05/06/2018 12:56 am
Spacecraft separation!.  InSight is on its way to Mars for landing on Monday, 26 November 2018.

And a birthday present for me!

Thanks for the coverage
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Chris Bergin on 05/06/2018 12:58 am
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)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: eeergo on 05/06/2018 02:17 am
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?:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZNN9HFTV0/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: WheelsStop on 05/06/2018 04:07 am
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.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/06/2018 04:10 am
NASA's Mars InSight Mission Spotted Leaving Earth!
Astronomy Live
Published on May 5, 2018

Thanks to iTelescope.net for making these observations possible!

https://youtu.be/bDkXlyEBwWI?t=001

https://youtu.be/bDkXlyEBwWI

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/06/2018 06:07 am
Archived (full) webcast:

Part 1:


Part 2:


This video is the missing part in-between the two above.

Escape Velocity Burn - LIVE NASA InSight Mars Lander Launching On ULA Atlas 5 AV-078

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFQWXf2UIY0?t=001

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFQWXf2UIY0
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/06/2018 08:21 am
News Release Issued: May 5, 2018 (10:23am EDT)


Lockheed Martin-built NASA InSight Lander Officially on its Way to Mars
NASA InSight Mars lander is the first spacecraft to study the interior structure - from crust to core - of the Red Planet.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., May 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lockheed Martin Space continued its Mars heritage when the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft launched at 4:05 a.m. PT aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket. InSight has officially begun its six-month long journey to the Red Planet and is scheduled to arrive Nov. 26, 2018.

The Lockheed Martin-built InSight Mars lander was successfully launched today at 4:05 a.m. PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket.

Landers have explored the surface of Mars in unique ways, but InSight, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will be the first mission to peer beneath the surface and take the vital signs of the planet. It will be the first mission to study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and observing its rotational variations. It will use the seismic waves generated by Mars quakes and meteorite impacts to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will help mission scientists to better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, evolved.

"No two Mars missions are alike and the excitement of landing on another planet never goes away," Stu Spath, InSight program manager and director of Deep Space Exploration at Lockheed Martin Space. "Our team is thrilled to have worked with JPL on this project. Initial communications obtained by our Flight Operations team indicate that all spacecraft subsystems are healthy and that we are past the first critical events of the mission."

Lockheed Martin designed, built and tested the spacecraft and is responsible for flight operations during the cruise phase as well as entry, descent and landing in November later this year. Also, once the lander is on Mars, the mission operations team, based in Denver, will support science collection through the life of the mission – approximately two Earth years or one Martian year.

"Though the six-month journey is called the "quiet cruise phase" there are many things our team must do to make sure we are ready for InSight's arrival at Mars," said Tim Linn, InSight deputy program manager and entry, descent and landing manager. "The spacecraft will be traveling at a Mars relative velocity of approximately 12,500 mph, so we need precise entry flight path angle and orientation of the InSight spacecraft to be able to execute a successful propulsive landing and get the lander to a safe speed of ~5 mph before landing softly on the Red Planet." 

Lockheed Martin has built propulsive landers since the Viking missions in the 1970s and has participated in every NASA mission to Mars. InSight will be NASA's 21st mission to the Red Planet and the 11th Mars spacecraft Lockheed Martin has built. Pulling from this extensive experience, the InSight spacecraft incorporates advanced technology and lessons learned from previous Mars missions.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was designed, built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch vehicle. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management. The MarCOs were built by JPL, which manages InSight and MarCO for NASA. They were funded by both JPL and NASA's SMD.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/06/2018 08:29 am
May 05, 2018
RELEASE 18-033
NASA, ULA Launch Mission to Study How Mars Was Made

NASA’s Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is on a 300-million-mile trip to Mars to study for the first time what lies deep beneath the surface of the Red Planet. InSight launched at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 am PDT) Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

“The United States continues to lead the way to Mars with this next exciting mission to study the Red Planet’s core and geological processes,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “I want to congratulate all the teams from NASA and our international partners who made this accomplishment possible. As we continue to gain momentum in our work to send astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, missions like InSight are going to prove invaluable.”

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.

Riding the Centaur second stage of the rocket, the spacecraft reached orbit 13 minutes and 16 seconds after launch. Seventy-nine minutes later, the Centaur ignited a second time, sending InSight on a trajectory towards the Red Planet. InSight separated from the Centaur 14 minutes later – 93 minutes after launch – and contacted the spacecraft via NASA’s Deep Space Network at 8:41 a.m. EDT (5:41 PDT).

“The Kennedy Space Center and ULA teams gave us a great ride today and started InSight on our six-and-a-half-month journey to Mars,” said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “We’ve received positive indication the InSight spacecraft is in good health and we are all excited to be going to Mars once again to do groundbreaking science.”

With its successful launch, NASA’s InSight team now is focusing on the six-month voyage. During the cruise phase of the mission, engineers will check out the spacecraft’s subsystems and science instruments, making sure its solar arrays and antenna are oriented properly, tracking its trajectory and performing maneuvers to keep it on course.

InSight is scheduled to land on the Red Planet around 3 p.m. EST Nov. 26, where it will conduct science operations until Nov. 24, 2020, which equates to one year and 40 days on Mars, or nearly two Earth years.

“Scientists have been dreaming about doing seismology on Mars for years. In my case, I had that dream 40 years ago as a graduate student, and now that shared dream has been lofted through the clouds and into reality,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL.

The InSight lander will probe and collect data on marsquakes, heat flow from the planet’s interior and the way the planet wobbles, to help scientists understand what makes Mars tick and the processes that shaped the four rocky planets of our inner solar system.

“InSight will not only teach us about Mars, it will enhance our understanding of formation of other rocky worlds like Earth and the Moon, and thousands of planets around other stars,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency headquarters in Washington. "InSight connects science and technology with a diverse team of JPL-led international and commercial partners."

Previous missions to Mars investigated the surface history of the Red Planet by examining features like canyons, volcanoes, rocks and soil, but no one has attempted to investigate the planet's earliest evolution, which can only be found by looking far below the surface.

“InSight will help us unlock the mysteries of Mars in a new way, by not just studying the surface of the planet, but by looking deep inside to help us learn about the earliest building blocks of the planet,” said JPL Director Michael Watkins.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA's launch service provider.

A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen, Germany. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument.

For more information about InSight, and to follow along on its flight to Mars, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/insight
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/06/2018 08:31 am

Press release, 05 May 2018

HP3 'Mole' en route to the Red Planet - NASA InSight probe launched with DLR experiment on board

Over the course of a few months, the HP3 'Mole' developed by the German Aerospace Centre (Deutsches Zentrum fuer
Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) will burrow up to five metres deep into the Red Planet to explore its inner structure.
This will be the first time that a fully automatic self-hammering probe of this sort has been used. The experiment
is part of the NASA InSight mission to Mars, which launched on 5 May 2018. At 13:05 CEST (04:05 local time), an
Atlas 401 rocket took off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying the probe on board. The geophysical
observatory is set to land just north of the Martian equator, on the Elysium Planitia plain, on 26 November 2018,
having travelled for half a year, covering almost 500 million kilometres. There the small HP3 penetrometer will
hammer into the Martian surface. It will remain there for about two years, providing data about the temperature
gradient in the subsurface. Scientists want to understand how the interior of Mars developed, whether it still
has a hot, liquid core, and what makes the Earth so special in comparison.

"We are delighted that DLR is making a significant contribution to the NASA InSight mission with HP3 – one of the
mission's main three experiments – thus playing a key role in the joint exploration of the interior of Mars," said
Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, at the launch in California. Hansjörg Dittus, DLR Executive
Board Member for Space Research and Technology, added: "Today's successful launch is the result of six years of
outstanding collaboration between seven DLR institutes and facilities, which have made the development of this
highly specialised, resource-friendly excavation technology possible."

The researchers want to get a more accurate picture of the interior of Mars, and thus decipher its past. "So far,
we only have an approximate idea of the structure and properties of the core, mantle and crust of Mars, and why
the dynamics of its internal development slowed down so quickly compared to those of Earth," says the Principal
Investigator of the HP3 experiment Tilman Spohn of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research. "We want to examine
this in greater detail by carrying out the planned measurements in the Mars soil, which will also give us a better
understanding of the evolution of Earth and Earth-like planets in the Solar System and other planetary systems."
DLR's HP3 experiment will measure the subsurface temperature and thermal conductivity for that very purpose. The
experiment consists of a housing – referred to as the support structure – placed on the surface of Mars that holds
a 40-centimetre-long hammering probe with a diameter of 27 millimetres – nicknamed 'the Mole' by the scientists.
Powered by an electric hammering mechanism, it will burrow its way centimetre by centimetre into the surface of
Mars over a period of several weeks.

Launch from the United States West Coast

The launch of the InSight mission southwards over the Pacific Ocean is the first time that an interplanetary probe
has been launched from the United States West Coast. The spacecraft reached orbit 13 minutes and 16 seconds after
launch. Seventy-nine minutes later, the Centaur ignited a second time, sending InSight on a trajectory towards
the Red Planet. InSight separated from the Centaur 14 minutes later – 93 minutes after launch – and contacted the
spacecraft via NASA's Deep Space Network at 14:41 CEST. Two months prior to its arrival on Mars, following further
minor course corrections and a plethora of system tests, InSight will be ready to enter the Martian atmosphere
at over 20,000 kilometres per hour. The lander will enter the Mars atmosphere at a shallow angle before beginning
the critical landing phase (entry, descent and landing, or EDL). Once this has been accomplished, InSight will
descend to the surface of the planet using a parachute, from which it will separate and be slowed down by thrusters.
Contact will be maintained with the space probe during its flight to Mars and over the course of the mission itself
via the 70-metre antennas of NASA’s Deep Space Network in California, Australia and Spain.

The HP3 experiment on the NASA InSight mission

The InSight mission is being conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, on behalf
of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The InSight mission is part of the NASA Discovery Programme. DLR is contributing
to the mission with its HP3 (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package) experiment. The DLR Institute of Planetary
Research, which was responsible for developing the experiment in collaboration with the DLR institutes of Space
Systems, Optical Sensor Systems, Space Operations and Astronaut Training, Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems,
System Dynamics and Control, and Robotics and Mechatronics, is leading the experiment. The industry partners Astronika,
CBK Space Research Centre, Magson and Sonaca are also involved. The Space Research Institute at the Austrian Academy
of Science and the University of Kaiserslautern are scientific partners for the project. HP3 is operated by the
DLR Microgravity User Support Centre (MUSC) in Cologne.

Detailed information on InSight and the HP3 experiment are available in this background article:
http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-27154/year-all/#/gallery/30418 

And on DLR's dedicated mission site: http://www.dlr.de/en/insight
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: jacqmans on 05/06/2018 08:37 am
NASA JPL latest news release

NASA's First Deep-Space CubeSats Say: 'Polo!'

NASA has received radio signals indicating that the first-ever CubeSats headed to deep space are alive and well. The first signal was received at 12:15 p.m. PST (3:15 p.m. EST) today; the second at 1:58 p.m. PST (4:58 p.m. EST). Engineers will now be performing a series of checks before both CubeSats enter their cruise to deep space.

Mars Cube One, or MarCO, is a pair of briefcase-sized spacecraft that launched along with NASA's InSight Mars lander at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) today from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California. InSight is a scientific mission that will probe the Red Planet's deep interior for the first time; the name stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

The twin MarCO CubeSats are on their own separate mission: rather than collecting science, they will follow the InSight lander on its cruise to Mars, testing out miniature spacecraft technology along the way.

Both were programmed to unfold their solar panels soon after launch, followed by several opportunities to radio back their health.

"Both MarCO-A and B say 'Polo!' It's a sign that the little sats are alive and well," said Andy Klesh, chief engineer for the MarCO mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which built the twin spacecraft.

The computers inside each MarCO CubeSat haven't been turned on since being tested at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in mid-March, where they were prepared for launch by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems of Irvine, California. Each spacecraft had to do a lot of things right by itself for the team to hear a signal: batteries had to retain enough charge for the spacecraft to deploy their solar arrays, stabilize their attitude, turn toward the Sun and turn on their radios.

A couple of weeks will be spent assessing how the MarCO CubeSats are performing. If they survive the radiation of space and function as planned, they'll fly over the Red Planet during InSight's entry, descent and landing in November. They each have a special antenna to relay InSight's vital signs during the infamous "Seven Minutes of Terror," the crucial phase which has claimed the majority of humanity's probes sent to land on the Red Planet.

CubeSats are a kind of boxy satellite invented to teach engineering students how to build spacecraft. Today, they offer access to space for private companies and research institutions. They're just one kind of "SmallSat," which includes a broad range organized by weight class. CubeSats are generally under 33 pounds (15 kilograms), and can weigh as little as about five pounds (2.5 kilograms). They're distinctively modular, which makes it easier to buy "plug-in" parts rather than custom-design every part of the spacecraft.

NASA is taking the opportunity to test several experimental systems with MarCO. Their radios, folding high-gain antennas, attitude control and propulsion systems are all included to prove new technologies in deep space.

"We're nervous but excited," said Joel Krajewski of JPL, MarCO's project manager. "A lot of work went into designing and testing these components so that they could survive the trip to Mars and relay data during InSight's landing. But our broader goal is to learn more about how to adapt CubeSat technologies for future deep-space missions."

When InSight arrives on Mars in November, it won't rely on MarCO for sending landing data back to Earth. That job will go to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as several Earth-based astronomy telescopes. But the MarCO mission could help prove the potential for CubeSats as a kind of bring-your-own "black box" for future NASA missions.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/06/2018 09:43 am
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.



here is that video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZNN9HFTV0/
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Targeteer on 05/06/2018 11:49 am
43457       INSIGHT                           2018-042A           PAYLOAD   
43458   MARCO-A                           2018-042B           PAYLOAD
43459   MARCO-B                           2018-042C           PAYLOAD   
43460   ATLAS 5 CENTAUR R/B   2018-042D   ROCKET BODY   
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 05/06/2018 08:34 pm
ULA Atlas V - NASA InSight Mars Lander - Long Range Tracking

Jay DeShetler
Published on May 6, 2018

Shot from Santa Ynez Summit, 42 miles away with sound recorder left at the SLC-3E pad.

https://youtu.be/DsDGmRoNNrs?t=001

https://youtu.be/DsDGmRoNNrs
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Targeteer on 05/08/2018 06:14 am
From the Vandenberg Facebook page

Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: FutureSpaceTourist on 05/10/2018 07:34 pm
https://youtu.be/02mEFLOsMHM (https://youtu.be/02mEFLOsMHM)
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: Steven Pietrobon on 06/03/2018 11:43 pm
Here is the updated ULA press kit, which includes page 1, which was missing from the first version.
Title: Re: Atlas V 401 - InSight, Mars Cube One Vandenberg- LC-3E - May 5, 2018
Post by: catdlr on 11/21/2018 04:38 am
InSight Mars Mission's Road to Launch: Countdown to T-Zero


NASA
Published on Nov 20, 2018

On Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, our InSight spacecraft is set to land on Mars: https://go.nasa.gov/2Qcl8lq. This new documentary from NASA Launch Services follows InSight's road to launch earlier this year & May 5, 2018 liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

https://youtu.be/m6308PIJ130?t=001

https://youtu.be/m6308PIJ130