Getting a launch contract from NRO is a big coup for OSC. I'm presuming it says very good things about the perceived reliability of Minotaur-I. Have they launched any previous NRO payloads?
Quote from: Ben the Space Brit on 02/03/2011 10:38 amGetting a launch contract from NRO is a big coup for OSC. I'm presuming it says very good things about the perceived reliability of Minotaur-I. Have they launched any previous NRO payloads?Yes
What is the yellow material covering the bottom part of the booster. Thermal insulation?
What is the yellow material covering the bottom part of the booster. Thermal insulation?http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/nrol66/110203gallery/
What strikes me about the pictures from spaceflightnow is that they emphasise just how small the Minotaur is compared to liquid-fuelled LVs. You could see one being launched from a V2-style mobile launcher!
Quote from: Ben the Space Brit on 02/04/2011 07:41 amWhat strikes me about the pictures from spaceflightnow is that they emphasise just how small the Minotaur is compared to liquid-fuelled LVs. You could see one being launched from a V2-style mobile launcher!Russia's Minuteman counterpart, Topol, does just that. Several were used to orbit payloads under the START program, and those were launched from mobile launchers. It was never clear to me why the U.S. did not develop a similar capability. - Ed Kyle
Is the launch window length known?
Quote from: Art LeBrun on 02/05/2011 12:08 amIs the launch window length known?I haven't seen anything. Drop zones suggest that it might be going to SSO, so the window could be instantaneous.
Quote from: GW_Simulations on 02/05/2011 12:10 amQuote from: Art LeBrun on 02/05/2011 12:08 amIs the launch window length known?I haven't seen anything. Drop zones suggest that it might be going to SSO, so the window could be instantaneous.Thank you. Now if the clouds and fog can be kept at bay........
Will be avaible some webcast to look at this "pocket rocket"?
The live video is at countdown.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/
Launch preview article - by William Graham - another very good read:http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/02/live-orbitals-minotaur-i-californian-launch-nrol-66/
Media blackout.EDIT: Heh, it looks like SFN went a little too far on their coverage. They've deleted the last few entries and replaced them with the blackout notice.
Quote from: Jason1701 on 02/06/2011 11:37 amMedia blackout.EDIT: Heh, it looks like SFN went a little too far on their coverage. They've deleted the last few entries and replaced them with the blackout notice.The last few must have been pretty bland though?
Why would it be? There wasn't a webcast.Reminder of William's article.http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/02/live-orbitals-minotaur-i-californian-launch-nrol-66/
Amateur video
Beautiful!! Congratulations!I love photography, but have never had a chance to take a picture of a launch, much less a night launch. I've seen from the EXIF data that you used bulb, and an exposure of 91s at ISO 100. That's how long it took to clear the frame? Seeing that it had some clouds, may be the sky wasn't that nice, but 30s at ISO 400 gives, almost the same Dynamic Range on a 7D and 1/3stop brighter background. In fact, the natural ISO of the modern Canon is 200, so lowering the ISO only gives you longer exposure time.BTW, shouldn't there be a sticky on how to photograph a launch?
A little late on this one, I know, but here's a shot I took of the NROL-66 launch. Hope you all like it
There are other ways to slow down the exposure, you can use iso 200 and an x2 ND filter. That gives you exactly the same exposure, but at the native ISO of the chip which gives you slightly more dynamic range. There's a nice experiment to do, with the wider lens. You can put the camera in multishot continuous 15s shots at ISO 400 and then merge them in postprocessing. It could be a real nice series.
Quote from: TitanFan on 02/24/2011 04:19 amA little late on this one, I know, but here's a shot I took of the NROL-66 launch. Hope you all like it Stunning. Great job! Thanks for sharing.
NRO website.