Author Topic: LIVE: Orbital ATK Minotaur 4 - ORS-5 - August 25 2017, SLC-46  (Read 95309 times)

Offline edkyle99

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Minotaur IV ORS 5 Mission Page.
http://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/feature-stories/MinotaurIV_ORS5_Mission-Page/default.aspx

Note the mention of secondary payloads.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 08/21/2017 03:10 am by edkyle99 »

Offline Danderman

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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.

Offline edkyle99

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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.

It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.

 - Ed Kyle

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Take a look at the mission patch for Friday’s launch of #MinotaurIV carrying #ORS5 for @usairforce. Launch window opens at 11:14 pm EDT

https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/899626529013080065

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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.

It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.

 - Ed Kyle

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral
Quote
Orbital ATK considered basing the launch from a Minotaur pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, but the site is too far north to reach the equatorial orbit needed on the ORS-5 mission.

Another option Orbital ATK briefly considered was setting up a temporary Minotaur launch pad at the European-run spaceport in French Guiana, just north of the equator, but Cape Canaveral eventually became the best choice once engineers devised a way to add another rocket motor on top of the Minotaur 4.

Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)?  The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.

I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?
« Last Edit: 08/21/2017 06:11 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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Minotaur IV ORS 5 Mission Page.
http://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/feature-stories/MinotaurIV_ORS5_Mission-Page/default.aspx

Note the mention of secondary payloads.

 - Ed Kyle

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral
Quote
During the 10-minute coast until ignition of the fifth stage motor, the Minotaur will release two CubeSats for an undisclosed U.S. government agency, and a three-unit shoebox-sized CubeSat for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

Seattle-based Spaceflight made arrangements for the CubeSats launching on the Minotaur 4.
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Offline Skyrocket

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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.

It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.

 - Ed Kyle

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral
Quote
Orbital ATK considered basing the launch from a Minotaur pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, but the site is too far north to reach the equatorial orbit needed on the ORS-5 mission.

Another option Orbital ATK briefly considered was setting up a temporary Minotaur launch pad at the European-run spaceport in French Guiana, just north of the equator, but Cape Canaveral eventually became the best choice once engineers devised a way to add another rocket motor on top of the Minotaur 4.

Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)?  The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.

I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?

As the first three stages of a Minotaur-IV are government assets, this might drop the price of a M-IV so far, that this option became viable.

Offline Ewoker

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What is the difference of this 5 stage Minotaur IV to a Minotaur V? The 5th stage is different, but wouldn't it make this this one a different version of Minotaur V and not IV?

Online zubenelgenubi

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<snip>

Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)?  The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.

I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?

As the first three stages of a Minotaur-IV are government assets, this might drop the price of a M-IV so far, that this option became viable.

To further clarify, the various competing costs appear to be:
ONE
Launching a "standard" M-IV from Kwajalein, which could have a very low price because of the first 3 stages are government assets, but would require building a temporary satellite processing site and a launch complex;
OR
TWO
Launching a "standard" Pegasus-XL from Kwajalein, which might cost more than a "standard" M-IV, especially as the Stargazer is operating from a remote location;
OR
THREE--the choice chosen
Launching a non-standard M-IV, which adds the price of the systems engineering and execution of the use of a 5th stage, but from Cape Canaveral, a location with established launch infrastructure, AND where the launch costs could be very low to encourage the use of SLC-46.

How much did I get right?  How much did I get wrong?
« Last Edit: 08/21/2017 10:05 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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One more question, if one of our NSF experts is free to answer:
Where has the ORS-5 satellite been processed for launch?
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Offline Sam Ho

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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.

I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.

$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.

Offline ZachS09

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I wonder when Orbital ATK will release a map that shows the states that might see the ORS-5 launch.
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Offline russianhalo117

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I wonder when Orbital ATK will release a map that shows the states that might see the ORS-5 launch.
Only Florida and various Islands on its way to the Equator.

Offline Jim

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One more question, if one of our NSF experts is free to answer:
Where has the ORS-5 satellite been processed for launch?

Astrotech

http://satnews.com/story.php?number=91114495

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Orbital ATK engineers are working final preparations for Friday’s #MinotaurIV launch of #ORS5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/899806958336835585

Offline Thorny

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Terrific to see SLC 46 back in action.  This will be the fourth launch center, to host a Minotaur 4/5 launch.  Not many launch vehicles can make that claim.  (R-7/Soyuz.  Pegasus.  Any others?)

Sorry for the late reply, but Scout is another. Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg, Wallops Island, and San Marco.

Offline russianhalo117

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Orbital ATK engineers are working final preparations for Friday’s #MinotaurIV launch of #ORS5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/899806958336835585
I guess the umbilical truss gets thirsty with the presence of a 5 gallon gatorade container at the top.

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Weather is 60% POV on the current forecast.

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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.

I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.

$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.
Thanks--I somehow missed that.

And, reviewing the OP of this thread:
U.S. Air Force’s ORS-5 Satellite to Launch on Minotaur 4

WASHINGTON – Orbital ATK has won a $23.6 million contract to launch a small space-surveillance satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in 2017.
<snip>

Comparing this price point to the most recent launch contract for Pegasus into an low earth, 27 deg. inclination orbit, from Kwajalein:
November 20, 2014
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, to provide launch services for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.
<snip>
The total cost for NASA to launch ICON under this new firm-fixed price launch services task order is approximately $56.3 million. This includes spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry and other launch support requirements.
<snip>
« Last Edit: 08/23/2017 02:00 am by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline russianhalo117

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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.

I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.

$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.
Thanks--I somehow missed that.

And, reviewing the OP of this thread:
U.S. Air Force’s ORS-5 Satellite to Launch on Minotaur 4

WASHINGTON – Orbital ATK has won a $23.6 million contract to launch a small space-surveillance satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in 2017.
<snip>

Comparing this price point to the most recent launch contract for Pegasus into an low earth, 27 deg. inclination orbit, from Kwajalein:
November 20, 2014
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, to provide launch services for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.
<snip>
The total cost for NASA to launch ICON under this new firm-fixed price launch services task order is approximately $56.3 million. This includes spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry and other launch support requirements.
<snip>
Awarded in different FY Dollars. You would need to convert the cost to a common Fiscal Year to properly compare.

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