Author Topic: LIVE: Orbital Pegasus XL/NuSTAR - June 13, 2012  (Read 123375 times)

Offline Kim Keller

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 970
  • Not OldSpace, Not NewSpace - I'm ALLSpace
  • Location: Wherever the rockets are
  • Liked: 2419
  • Likes Given: 125
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #20 on: 12/22/2011 04:21 pm »
Alas, no. No cameras in the test bay.

Online Ronsmytheiii

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23394
  • Liked: 1879
  • Likes Given: 1023
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #21 on: 01/20/2012 05:05 pm »
Quote
Processing and integration of the three stages comprising an Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket are complete in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California

Looks like a small space, probably could have used a fish eye

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=4

Offline Kim Keller

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 970
  • Not OldSpace, Not NewSpace - I'm ALLSpace
  • Location: Wherever the rockets are
  • Liked: 2419
  • Likes Given: 125
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #22 on: 01/24/2012 09:16 pm »
I don't think Randy has one. He's not part of PAO. The photos he takes are primarily in support of vehicle processing (think closeout photos), so a fisheye lens wouldn't be very useful.

I don't think NASA even has a PAO resident at VAFB.

Offline Kim Keller

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 970
  • Not OldSpace, Not NewSpace - I'm ALLSpace
  • Location: Wherever the rockets are
  • Liked: 2419
  • Likes Given: 125
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #23 on: 01/24/2012 09:26 pm »
Oh, BTW, we're gonna get started on Flight Sim 2 in an hour or so. The three rocket stages are now mated (you can't see S3 in the photos above).
« Last Edit: 01/24/2012 09:29 pm by Kim Keller »

Offline Mr. D

  • Member
  • Posts: 39
  • Liked: 3
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #24 on: 01/25/2012 01:00 am »
Also, the satellite has left Orbital about an hour ago. So, it should arrive at VAFB near the end of the week (maybe ?).

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #25 on: 01/25/2012 03:21 pm »
News release: 2012-023                                                                     Jan. 25, 2012

NASA's NuSTAR Ships to Vandenberg for March 14 Launch

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-023&cid=release_2012-023

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Tuesday, to be mated to its Pegasus launch vehicle. The observatory will detect X-rays from objects ranging from our sun to giant black holes billions of light-years away. It is scheduled to launch March 14 from an aircraft operating out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

"The NuSTAR mission is unique because it will be the first NASA mission to focus X-rays in the high-energy range, creating the most detailed images ever taken in this slice of the electromagnetic spectrum," said Fiona Harrison, the mission's principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.

The observatory shipped from Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Va., where the spacecraft and science instrument were integrated. It is scheduled to arrive at Vandenberg on Jan. 27, where it will be mated to the Pegasus, also built by Orbital, on Feb. 17.

The mission will be launched from the L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft, which will take off near the equator from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific. NuSTAR and its Pegasus will fly from Vandenberg to Kwajalein attached to the underside of the L-1011, and are scheduled to arrive on March 7.

On launch day, after the airplane arrives at the planned drop site over the ocean, the Pegaus will drop from the L-1011 and carry NuSTAR to an orbit around Earth.

"NuSTAR is an engineering achievement, incorporating state-of-the-art high-energy X-ray mirrors and detectors that will enable years of astronomical discovery," said Yunjin Kim, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

NuSTAR's advanced telescope consists of two sets of 133 concentric shells of mirrors, which were shaped from flexible glass similar to that found in laptop screens. Because X-rays require large focusing distances, or focal lengths, the telescope has a lengthy 33-foot (10-meter) mast, which will unfold a week after launch.

These and other advances in technology will enable NuSTAR to explore the cosmic world of high-energy X-rays with much improved sensitivity and resolution over previous missions. During its two-year primary mission, NuSTAR will map the celestial sky in X-rays, surveying black holes, mapping supernova remnants, and studying particle jets travelling away from black holes near the speed of light.

NuSTAR also will probe the sun, looking for microflares theorized to be on the surface that could explain how the sun's million-degree corona, or atmosphere, is heated. It will even test a theory of dark matter, the mysterious substance making up about one-quarter of our universe, by searching the sun for evidence of a hypothesized dark matter particle.

"NuSTAR will provide an unprecedented capability to discover and study some of the most exotic objects in the universe, from the corpses of exploded stars in the Milky Way to supermassive black holes residing in the hearts of distant galaxies," said Lou Kaluzienski, NuSTAR program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NuSTAR is a small-explorer mission managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Its instrument was built by a consortium including Caltech, JPL, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Danish Technical University in Denmark, the University of California, Berkeley, and ATK-Goleta. NuSTAR will be operated by U.C. Berkeley, with the Italian Space Agency providing its equatorial ground station located at Malindi, Kenya. NASA's Explorer Program is managed by Goddard. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar and http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/ .
Jacques :-)

Offline Kim Keller

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 970
  • Not OldSpace, Not NewSpace - I'm ALLSpace
  • Location: Wherever the rockets are
  • Liked: 2419
  • Likes Given: 125
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #26 on: 01/26/2012 06:27 pm »
I haven't done a full data review yet, but flight sim 2 went very smoothly. We continue to press on toward launch.

Offline Robotbeat

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39270
  • Minnesota
  • Liked: 25240
  • Likes Given: 12115
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #27 on: 01/26/2012 07:17 pm »
I haven't done a full data review yet, but flight sim 2 went very smoothly. We continue to press on toward launch.
Awesome. Good luck!
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #28 on: 01/28/2012 09:00 pm »
Spacecraft Arrives
Workers position the payload transporter supporting the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft for transfer from the airlock to the high bay of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Image credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB
Jan. 27, 2012
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/nustar/multimedia/gallery/gallery-index.html
Jacques :-)

Online Ronsmytheiii

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23394
  • Liked: 1879
  • Likes Given: 1023
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #29 on: 02/03/2012 02:19 pm »
image of NuSTAR in the processing facility:

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=4

Offline kevin-rf

  • Elite Veteran
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8823
  • Overlooking the path Mary's little Lamb took..
  • Liked: 1318
  • Likes Given: 306
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #30 on: 02/18/2012 08:55 pm »
One week delay:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/pegasus/nustar/120218delay/

NASA press release:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/nustar/news/nustar20120217.html

Quote
The mission's launch is now scheduled for no earlier than March 21 to allow the launch vehicle team an additional week to complete necessary engineering reviews.
If you're happy and you know it,
It's your med's!

Offline TheMightyM

  • Member
  • Posts: 69
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #31 on: 03/01/2012 05:23 pm »
The latest from NASA's launching rockets page:

Quote
Pegasus Fairing Installation Scheduled for Friday
Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:34:37 AM EST

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, closeouts of the NuSTAR spacecraft and the Pegasus payload fairing are under way. Fairing installation is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

When all testing and processing is complete, the integrated vehicle will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch, which is currently scheduled for no earlier than March 21.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #32 on: 03/09/2012 02:37 pm »
News release: 2012-067                                                                    March 8, 2012

NASA to Hold Media Briefing About Upcoming NuSTAR Mission

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-067&cid=release_2012-067

NASA will hold a media briefing at 9 a.m. PDT (12 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, March 13, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). The mission will use advanced optics and detectors, allowing astronomers to observe the high-energy X-ray sky with much greater sensitivity and clarity than any mission flown to-date. The televised briefing will take place at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Live streaming video of the briefing will be available at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv or at http://ustream.tv/nasajpl2.

NuSTAR will advance our understanding of how structure in the universe forms and evolves. It will observe some of the hottest, densest and most energetic objects in the universe, including black holes, their high-speed particle jets, ultra-dense neutron stars, supernova remnants, and our sun.

NuSTAR is targeted for launch no earlier than 8:30 a.m. PDT (11:30 a.m. EDT) on March 22. The launch window extends to 12:30 p.m. PDT (3:30 p.m. EDT). The spacecraft will liftoff on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL launch vehicle, released from an aircraft originating from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Briefing Participants are:
-- Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington
-- Fiona Harrison, NuSTAR principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.
-- Daniel Stern, NuSTAR project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
-- Yunjin Kim, NuSTAR project manager at JPL

NuSTAR is a Small Explorer mission led by the California Institute of Technology and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, both in Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va. Its instrument was built by a consortium including Caltech; JPL; the University of California, Berkeley; Columbia University, New York; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; the Danish Technical University in Denmark; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif.; and ATK Aerospace Systems, Goleta, Calif. NuSTAR will be operated by UC Berkeley, with the Italian Space Agency providing its equatorial ground station located at Malindi, Kenya. The mission's outreach program is based at Sonoma State University, Calif. NASA's Explorer Program is managed by Goddard. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar and http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/ .
Jacques :-)

Online Ronsmytheiii

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23394
  • Liked: 1879
  • Likes Given: 1023
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #33 on: 03/09/2012 06:38 pm »
Quote
Inside the Orbital Sciences processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, preparations to launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, are nearly complete. The spacecraft has been mated with its Pegasus XL rocket and enclosed in the Pegasus payload fairing

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=232

Offline Mapperuo

  • Assistant Webmaster
  • Global Moderator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1684
  • Yorkshire
  • Liked: 533
  • Likes Given: 68
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #34 on: 03/09/2012 10:29 pm »
Some rather poor NASA ELV snaps from just 10 minutes ago.
- Aaron

Offline Kim Keller

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 970
  • Not OldSpace, Not NewSpace - I'm ALLSpace
  • Location: Wherever the rockets are
  • Liked: 2419
  • Likes Given: 125
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #35 on: 03/09/2012 10:41 pm »
Yup, it's on the transfer trailer. Now all we need is a go for mate to the Tristar.
« Last Edit: 03/09/2012 10:48 pm by Kim Keller »

Offline Mapperuo

  • Assistant Webmaster
  • Global Moderator
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1684
  • Yorkshire
  • Liked: 533
  • Likes Given: 68
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #36 on: 03/09/2012 11:54 pm »
Tis back inside again.
- Aaron

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #37 on: 03/12/2012 07:34 pm »
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-042

NASA MARCH 13 NUSTAR MEDIA BRIEFING POSTPONED

WASHINGTON -- The Tuesday, March 13, media briefing to discuss the
upcoming launch of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)
has been postponed. The spacecraft will lift off on an Orbital
Sciences Pegasus XL rocket, which will be released from an aircraft
originating from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The
mission's Flight Readiness Review (FRR) is being rescheduled for no
earlier than Thursday, March 15, to allow time for a review of data
and simulations to qualify software associated with a new Pegasus
flight computer.

A revised launch date will be set at the FRR. A prelaunch media
briefing will be rescheduled after the FRR is complete.

NuSTAR will use advanced optics and detectors, allowing astronomers to
observe the high-energy X-ray sky with much greater sensitivity and
clarity than any mission flown before. The mission will advance our
understanding of how structures in the universe form and evolve. It
will observe some of the hottest, densest and most energetic objects
in the universe, including black holes, their high-speed particle
jets, ultra-dense neutron stars, supernova remnants and our sun.

For more information about NuSTAR, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nustar
Jacques :-)

Offline TheMightyM

  • Member
  • Posts: 69
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #38 on: 03/16/2012 05:59 pm »
Major delay  :(. From the NASA "Launching rockets" page:

Quote
At the March 15 launch status meeting for NASA's NuSTAR mission set to launch aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket a decision was made to postpone the launch. The delay will allow additional time to assure that the flight software to be used with a new Pegasus flight computer will issue commands to the rocket as intended.

The time required to complete the work moves the launch period beyond the timeframe currently available on the range at the launch site. In the interim, NASA will coordinate with the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll to determine the earliest launch opportunity available, which is anticipated to be within the next couple of months.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8562
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: Pegasus XL/NuSTAR
« Reply #39 on: 03/16/2012 06:41 pm »
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-045

LAUNCH OF NASA'S NUSTAR MISSION POSTPONED

WASHINGTON -- The planned launch of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic
Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission has been postponed after a March 15
launch status meeting. The launch will be rescheduled to allow
additional time to confirm the flight software used by the launch
vehicle's flight computer will issue commands to the rocket as
intended.

The spacecraft will lift off on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket,
which will be released from an aircraft taking off from the Reagan
Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The time
required to complete the software review has moved NuSTAR beyond the
March timeframe currently available on the range at Kwajalein. In the
interim, NASA will coordinate with the launch site to determine the
earliest possible launch opportunity. This is expected to be within
the next two months.

NuSTAR will use advanced optics and detectors, allowing astronomers to
observe the high-energy X-ray sky with much greater sensitivity and
clarity than any mission flown before. The mission will advance our
understanding of how structures in the universe form and evolve. It
will observe some of the hottest, densest and most energetic objects
in the universe, including black holes, their high-speed particle
jets, ultra-dense neutron stars, supernova remnants, and our sun.

For more information about NuSTAR, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov/nustar
Jacques :-)

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0