Author Topic: LIVE: Atlas V 421 - MMS - March 12/13, 2015 (02:44 UTC/10:44 pm Eastern)  (Read 119144 times)

Offline woods170

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 13, 2015
« Reply #60 on: 03/05/2015 09:26 am »

OT but I woke up last night with really bad feeling about the upcoming Friday the 13rd Atlas V flight. Maybe the number 13 brought back some old memory from the Apollo era.
Unless a black cat is spotted walking over the remains of a broken mirror under a ladder at the launch pad.... otherwise I don't think there will be a problem.
« Last Edit: 03/05/2015 09:28 am by woods170 »

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 13, 2015
« Reply #61 on: 03/06/2015 10:00 am »
Standalone Test of MMS Spacecraft Today

Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - 10:16

Eight days before launch, the MMS and Atlas V teams continue to process and test the four observatories and rocket systems. The standalone test of MMS is to wrap up today, following closely the integrated systems test performed Tuesday on both the spacecraft and rocket. The Flight Readiness Review is set for Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 13, 2015 (0244 UTC )
« Reply #62 on: 03/06/2015 06:11 pm »
MMS Cleared to Proceed Toward Launch

Friday, March 6, 2015 - 12:38

At the conclusion of a Flight Readiness Review on Friday, March 6, NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) managers gave a "go" to continue preparations leading to the planned liftoff of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft atop a ULA Atlas V rocket at 10:44 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 12. The Mission Dress Rehearsal, during which MMS and the Atlas will be powered up, is scheduled for Monday, March 9. The final management review before flight, the Launch Readiness Review (LRR), will be conducted on Tuesday, March 10. Following the LRR, NASA Television will air the MMS Prelaunch News Conference at 1 p.m. EDT.

MMS will study magnetic reconnection, a fundamental process that occurs throughout the universe when magnetic fields connect and disconnect explosively, releasing energy and accelerating particles up to nearly the speed of light. Unlike previous missions that have observed only evidence of magnetic reconnection events, MMS has sufficient resolution to observe and measure reconnection events as they occur. While MMS will fly through reconnection regions in less than a second, key sensors on each spacecraft are able to capture measurements 100 times faster than any previous mission. In addition, MMS consists of four identical observatories, which together will provide the first ever three-dimensional view of magnetic reconnection.

The mission observes reconnection directly in Earth’s protective magnetic space environment known as the magnetosphere. By studying reconnection in this local, natural laboratory, MMS helps scientists understand reconnection elsewhere, such as in the atmosphere of the sun and other stars, in the vicinity of black holes and neutron stars and at the boundary between our solar system's heliosphere and interstellar space.
Jacques :-)

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 13, 2015 (0244 UTC )
« Reply #63 on: 03/06/2015 06:59 pm »
How many launches will SpaceX need to complete in 2015 to have more launches this year than ULA?
I believe ULA has 13 launches planned in 2015.

SpaceX won't get there this year. 2016, perhaps!
OT but I woke up last night with really bad feeling about the upcoming Friday the 13rd Atlas V flight. Maybe the number 13 brought back some old memory from the Apollo era.
Atlas 5 and other Atlas launches have occurred many times on the 13th of a month, and none have failed in recent memory.  We have to go way back to 1978 to see an Atlas launch (an Atlas F) take place on a Friday the 13th, and it was a roaring success (a Tiros N).  Another way to look at this is that all of the Atlas family failures that have occurred have happened on a date that was not a 13th!

FYI, Delta 194, a Delta 2, successfully orbited Palapa B2R on April, Friday the 13th, 1990.  This satellite had been recovered by Shuttle after an AKM failure during a previous Shuttle mission that was not launched on a Friday the 13th (no Shuttles ever launched on a Friday the 13th)!

Looking back through the logs, it seems apparent, or at least likely, that managers have steered clear of Friday 13th launch dates over the years.  That needs to end.

 - Ed Kyle 
« Last Edit: 03/06/2015 07:20 pm by edkyle99 »

Online zubenelgenubi

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 13, 2015 (0244 UTC )
« Reply #64 on: 03/06/2015 08:01 pm »
re: this launch's date and Triskaidekaphobia

The launch time falls on Friday the 13th in UTC.  CCAFS is in the Eastern Time Zone--the launch time falls on the evening of the 12th in EST (UTC - 5 hours = EST).

I agree with Ed Kyle: if managers are avoiding launching on Friday the 13th due to superstition, then the superstition needs to stop, please.

My 2 cents,
Zubenelgenubi
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Online Chris Bergin

ULA:

Everything is progressing toward NASA’s MMS launch. The mission is set to liftoff on a ULA Atlas V rocket on Thursday, March 12 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 30-minute launch window opens at 10:44 p.m. EDT. Today’s L-4 forecast shows an 70 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. I have included the mission art.

The Atlas V MMS mission overview brochure located here: http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Mission_Booklets/AV/av_mms_mob.pdf
« Last Edit: 03/09/2015 12:26 am by Chris Bergin »
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Offline Newton_V

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #66 on: 03/09/2015 12:55 am »
Re:  "...then this superstition needs to stop"

What superstition??  The one you created?  I assure you the people scheduling launches do not take this into consideration.

Go back and look at all scheduled launch dates (not when actually flown) a month or more out for ULA launches.  Tell me what day of the week the launch is scheduled for, at the site.

There might be a couple, like interplanetary, that are different, but it sure looks like a trend to me.

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #67 on: 03/09/2015 02:32 pm »
Mission Dress Rehearsal Today for MMS

Monday, March 9, 2015 - 11:23

Launch week for NASA's MMS mission began today with a dress rehearsal for the teams that will take part in Thursday night's launch. The teams, including NASA's Kennedy and Goddard centers, United Launch Alliance and Southwest Research Institute, are replicating all countdown activities for the Atlas V rocket and the four MMS observatories. The weather forecast for Thursday calls for 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions during the 30-minute launch window. The concern is for cloud constraints. Liftoff time is scheduled for 10:44 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
Jacques :-)

Offline catdlr

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #68 on: 03/09/2015 10:42 pm »
Atlas V MMS Mission Profile

Published on Mar 9, 2015
The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission studies the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that work together to provide the first three-dimensional view of this fundamental process, which occurs throughout the universe.

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Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #69 on: 03/10/2015 07:03 pm »
Forecast Remains 70 percent 'Go'

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - 10:16

Two days from launch, forecasters from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 70 percent chance of favorable weather for the liftoff of NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket during a 30-minute launch window that opens at 10:44 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 12. The final management review before flight, the Launch Readiness Review (LRR), will be conducted this morning. Following the LRR, NASA Television will air the MMS Prelaunch News Conference at 1 p.m. EDT.
Jacques :-)

Offline John44

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #70 on: 03/10/2015 08:46 pm »
NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission Prelaunch News Conference
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9310

Offline Targeteer

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #71 on: 03/11/2015 12:58 am »
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2015/0099.html

"MMS launch; Payload separation, CCAM and fueldump visible from North America"

For the true geeks out there :)
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline Hunt101

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #72 on: 03/11/2015 02:07 am »
The Launch Readiness Review was completed today with no constraints for launch. NASA’s MMS mission is set to liftoff on a ULA Atlas V rocket on Thursday, March 12 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 30-minute launch window opens at 10:44 p.m. EDT. Today’s L-2 forecast shows a 70 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch.

Offline satwatcher

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #73 on: 03/11/2015 11:18 am »
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2015/0099.html

"MMS launch; Payload separation, CCAM and fueldump visible from North America"

For the true geeks out there :)

It is quite a spectacle that is pretty rare, so if you are in North America and it is clear out, go try and see it.

Offline input~2

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #74 on: 03/11/2015 03:09 pm »
Navigational warning
Quote
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
ROCKETS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 130244Z TO 130347Z MAR,
ALTERNATE 140240Z TO 140343Z MAR
IN AREAS BOUND BY:
A. 28-38N 080-37W, 28-38N 080-35W,
28-36N 080-03W, 28-34N 079-43W,
28-29N 079-43W, 28-32N 080-35W.
B. 28-26N 078-04W, 28-23N 077-33W,
28-15N 077-34W, 28-18N 078-07W.
C. 23-52N 054-54W, 22-52N 051-43W,
22-39N 051-47W, 23-40N 054-58W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 140443Z MAR 15.//

Authority: EASTERN RANGE OP A4989 021916Z MAR 15.

Date: 090346Z Mar 15
Cancel: 14044300 Mar 15

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #75 on: 03/11/2015 04:34 pm »
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Mar-2015/0099.html

"MMS launch; Payload separation, CCAM and fueldump visible from North America"

For the true geeks out there :)

It is quite a spectacle that is pretty rare, so if you are in North America and it is clear out, go try and see it.
Probably only visible in southern states, since it is a 28 point something inclination.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #76 on: 03/11/2015 07:33 pm »
MMS Forecast Remains 70 Percent Go for Launch

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 10:52

The weather forecast remains 70 percent favorable for the liftoff of NASA’s MMS spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 10:44 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Liftoff is targeted for the beginning of a 30-minute launch window from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41. A mission science briefing will air at 1 p.m. today on NASA TV from Kennedy's Press Site.
Jacques :-)

Offline John44

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #77 on: 03/11/2015 09:04 pm »
NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission Science Briefing
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9313

Online robertross

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #78 on: 03/11/2015 11:22 pm »
image from NASA TV

one of the spacecraft entering the thermal vacuum chamber, with another waiting

Online robertross

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Re: Atlas V 421 - MMS (4x) - March 12, 2015 (10:44pm Eastern )
« Reply #79 on: 03/11/2015 11:24 pm »

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