Lift off for Tactical Satellite-3 has been scheduled for May 5, 2009, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Wallops Island Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.The program recently encountered challenges with some of the spacecraft's components, but the required repairs have been made and the system has been given the green light for its year-long experimental mission."Our program team never gave up, and establishment of the launch date serves as a testimony to their dedication, determination and duty to making TacSat-3's mission a success," said Dr. Thomas Cooley, TacSat-3 program manager. "Obviously, the project has much to do in these next few weeks leading up to lift off, but we now have a firm end date to get on orbit and begin the fun experiment phase."Led by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate here, the less than 880-pound satellite, originated in 2004 to address military needs for responsible, flexible, and affordable spacecraft operating in the cosmos, consists of three innovative experiments: the Raytheon Company-built Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer hyperspectral imager, the Office of Naval Research's Satellite Communications Package, and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Avionics Experiment. The trio of trials will provide real-time imagery (within 10 minutes of collection); sea-based information transmitted from ocean buoys; and plug-and-play avionics to advance the technology of rapid spacecraft integration and help enable the responsive space vision.Program participants include the AFRL's Sensors Directorate, Dept. of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space office, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Wing, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the Office of Naval Research.
Wallops PAO is trying to figure out what to do with all of them.
I'm going to try to sneak in myself.
What do Civil Air Patrol planes have in common with Tactical Satellite-3? Both utilize the same onboard processing. Adapted for functionality in the cosmos for the upcoming TacSat-3 mission by Space Computer Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate here and Sensors Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, the Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance system has been employed by the Civil Air Patrol for search and rescue, homeland security and disaster impact appraisal and aid operations.
I wonder how close one can get to the launch pad for the launch. The visitors center is more than 7 miles from the pad. But there are several roads south of there that are much closer. One from the town of Assawoman that ends less than 2 miles west of the pad according to Google earth. Will thar road be closed for the launch?Don
5/6 is the requested launch day
Quote from: Jim on 04/28/2009 01:41 pm5/6 is the requested launch dayIs that 5/6 UTC 0000 ie:5/5 2000 EDT ?
Will someone be recording the launch, as I will miss this
Do we know if this launch is going to hug the east coast or go straight out to sea?