Too bad we're not likely to get pictures after the scandal with the French dude taking pics of the mobile lift during the fit checks a year ago.
May this be Notam for this launch?V8170/13 - FLW DANGER AREAS ACT: ULD1, ULD2. SFC - UNL, DAILY 1200-1300, 23 DEC 12:00 2013 UNTIL 27 DEC 13:00 2013. CREATED: 19 DEC 05:26 2013DANGER AREAS ULD1701300N 0450000E – 700000N 0474000E 690000N 0442000E – 701300N 0450000E– 684000N 0462000EULD2732000N 0500000E – 725000N 0520000E 714000N 0470000E – 732000N 0500000E– 711000N 0492000E – UNL GND
Map to visualize drop zones ULD1 and ULD2
Quote from: input~2 on 12/19/2013 08:51 pmMap to visualize drop zones ULD1 and ULD2So it seems the target orbit is not SSO, but something 70-85 deg. inclination-ish?
According to: http://aist.ssau.ru/docs/Космическая%20платформа%20АИСТ%202013%20г.pptxIt will be 575 km altitude and 64.9 inclination, which is same as orbit for the first Aist, which has flown with Bion-M.
Found this on the NK forum site.According to : http://aist.ssau.ru/docs/Космическая%20платформа%20АИСТ%202013%20г.pptxIt will be 575 km altitude and 64.9 inclination
Quote from: ostangen on 12/18/2013 01:18 pmIt will be 575 km altitude and 64.9 inclinationIt is an orbit for the first Aist, which has flown with Bion-M.
It will be 575 km altitude and 64.9 inclination
Andrey is reporting on NK that the launch has slipped to December 25 at the same launch time. Now with a Rokot launch scheduled just half a day earlier can those at Plesetsk pull out two launches in 12 hours? After all it's no Baikonur where rockets are dozens of kilometers apart....
V8247/13 - DANGER AREAS ACT: ULD1, ULD2. SFC - UNL, DAILY 1200-1300, 24 DEC 12:00 2013 UNTIL 27 DEC 13:00 2013. CREATED: 22 DEC 11:01 2013
B5916/13 - TEMPO DANGER AREA NZD026 (EAST AUCKLAND OCEANIC FIR) IS PRESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: ALL THAT AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY A LINE JOINING S 30 00 00.0, W 131 00 00.0 S 30 00 00.0, W 175 00 00.0 S 60 00 00.0, W 175 00 00.0 S 60 00 00.0, W 131 00 00.0 S 30 00 00.0, W 131 00 00.0 ACTIVITY: SPACE DEBRIS RETURN. USER AGENCY: FOREIGN SPACE AGENCY. PRESCRIBED PURSUANT TO CIVIL AVIATION RULE PART 71 UNDER A DELEGATED AUTHORITY ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION. SFC - FL999, 24 DEC 20:00 2013 UNTIL 24 DEC 22:30 2013. CREATED: 22 DEC 12:11 2013
I'm looking at this as a new rocket, since it uses a new first stage and first stage propulsion system. It surely isn't an R-7. It is "Soyuz" only in the same sense that "Atlas 5" claims a link to the original "Atlas", despite using a completely different booster stage in place of the part that was originally called "Atlas". - Ed Kyle