NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
Commercial and US Government Launch Vehicles => NGIS (Formerly Orbital ATK) - Antares/Cygnus Section => Topic started by: Ronsmytheiii on 04/13/2009 02:27 am
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After some issues, seems that a launch is finally near:
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.
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123141387
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The launch will probably be covered on the MARS webcast:
http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast/
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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
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Let me ask the folks at Wallops if they have an "official" spot for the general public to go to. I guess you can always go to Chincoteague harbor...
I'm told that there is an extraordinary number of "official" visitors for this launch, mostly congressional pu... I mean, staffers, and that the Wallops PAO is trying to figure out what to do with all of them.
I'm going to try to sneak in myself.
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Wallops PAO is trying to figure out what to do with all of them.
How big is the flame trench? Can they use the stimulus money to rent enough folding chairs?
I'm going to try to sneak in myself.
Don't get caught ;)
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Have to include this since I used to be in CAP:
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.
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123145588
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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
From the Wallops TacSat-3 webpage (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/tacsat3.html):
"Viewing the Launch
The launch will be visible in the mid-Atlantic region. Locally, the NASA Visitor Center on Va. Route 175 and the beach at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge/Assateague National Seashore will be open to view the launch."
The above two (2) locations are the customary viewing sites. If you check Google Earth, it will be seen the Assateague National Seashore offers a good viewing area.
Visitors up in Ocean City often watch from the ocean pier at the southern end of town although the launch site is some 60 miles distant.
The launch window is between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., EDT, on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, with back-up launch windows for the same time period on each successive day thereafter up through Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
Twitter launch schedule updates can be viewed at http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops.
Launch updates are also available on radio station 760AM that has a five-mile broadcast range centered upon the NASA Wallops Visitors Center.
Launch updates are also available by telephone to 757.824.2050.
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5/6 is the requested launch day
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5/6 is the requested launch day
Is that 5/6 UTC 0000 ie:5/5 2000 EDT ?
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5/6 is the requested launch day
Is that 5/6 UTC 0000 ie:5/5 2000 EDT ?
Yes, 5/5 2000 EDT (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/tacsat3.html)
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I think the GeneSat-2 in the topic title is in error. The CubeSats listed on the Wallops web page are: PharmaSat1, CP6 CubeSat, HawkSat-1, and AeroCube
(http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/tacsat3.html)
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http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast/ is looking good for a webcast.
Will be moved for live coverage later.
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Will someone be recording the launch, as I will miss this :(
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Will someone be recording the launch, as I will miss this :(
Yep, we'll either have it on the free video section or youtube it.
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Weather still a 50/50 chance tomorrow, tornadoes right now in Virginia :o
http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
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Article and video on the Minotaur launch tonight:
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/interactive-explore-minotaur1-and-its-payload
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Do we know if this launch is going to hug the east coast or go straight out to sea?
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Do we know if this launch is going to hug the east coast or go straight out to sea?
According to the tracking sites it appears it will be headed south east:
Two down-range tracking sites are supporting the TacSat-3
launch — Coquina and Antigua. At Coquina, located on the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, Wallops deployed mobile ra-
dar, telemetry, and command systems. The Coquina location
provides an alternative look angle at the vehicle during flight.
This angle is necessary when plume attenuates the RF signal
necessary to track the vehicle. Radar and telemetry systems at
Antigua will also track the vehicle as the spacecraft achieves
orbit.
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"The latest weather forecast shows an 85% probability of violating launch weather constraints. Countdown continues."
http://twitter.com/ATKRocketNews
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T-6 hours and 45 minutes. Wallops crews are on station and beginning to test support equipment and systems
http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
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Image of the Tacsat-3 Minotaur:
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T-6 hours and counting. 1 p.m.forecast still shows poor weather for launch
http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
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Image of the Tacsat-3 Minotaur:
I think this image is Tacsat-2/Minotaur (please look at the upper logo).
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T-5hours counting at 3 p.m. All crews are on station. The launch range is ready to continue the countdown. Still poor weather.
http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
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lightning in area,loop is up
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Doors open
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Whilst this may not be the best place to ask (mods please move if so), I've just noticed that the orbital.com webpage doesn't appear to work with firefox. I just get a blank page, both on my laptop at home and my desktop at work. It works fine with IE.
Anyone else experienced this problem?
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Any meteorologist out there? Trying to figure out whether I should leave now to try to watch the launch (its a two hour drive through a toll road)
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T-4 hours and counting. Weather still an issue. Looking for rain at the beginning of the window.
Wish me luck, I am off!
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Image of the Tacsat-3 Minotaur:
I think this image is Tacsat-2/Minotaur (please look at the upper logo).
Well, it´s equivalent to this
http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code840/multimedia/TacSat.jpg (http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code840/multimedia/TacSat.jpg)
one.
Here´s
http://www.losangeles.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123147523 (http://www.losangeles.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123147523)
the right one.
Thomas
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I wonder how far they will go with the count, with only a 15 percent chance of acceptable weather?
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Launch Conductor has requested the clock to hold at T-1:45:00 due to weather.
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About an hour ago there was a report that they were having difficulty getting one of the range aircraft airborne. There has been no further word on this, I would expect them to call a scrub in the next 15 minutes if this is not resolved.
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Polling for OSP site safing
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All stations go for site safing.
Launch scrubbed.
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Horrible weather.
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Horrible weather.
Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow.
Is it the same window?
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Officially scrubbed for the night.
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From NASA:
We have canceled tonight's launch attempt of the Minotaur 1 rocket because of poor weather conditions. A decision on the next launch attempt will be made later tonight.
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Horrible weather.
Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow.
Is it the same window?
Wallops weather shows a better chance at launching on Friday, possibly Thursday.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/VA/Wallops_Island.html
I'll let rdale post and will delete this if he has a forecast that is more accurate than the one above.
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Florida has gators and crocs, we have turkey and deer:
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In a selfish way, I'm happy it was scrubbed tonight. Now I'll maybe get a chance to see it with my own eyes a night or two before heading down to FL to see STS-125. Very good week for me.
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Next attempt will be on 8 May (GMT), same window.
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55% chance of suitable weather tomorrow morning.
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"The next launch attempt For tacSat-3 mission is Thursday, May 7. Window is 8 to 11 p.m. 55% probability of good weather for launch."
http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
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http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
If weather is good, the gantry should be removed around four hours to launch.
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Blue skies overhead - Wallops just issued a weather forecast with a 60% probablity of good weather for launch.
http://twitter.com/PharmaSat
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Blue skies overhead - Wallops just issued a weather forecast with a 60% probablity of good weather for launch.
It's time to change the thread title!
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Hello!
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Tower has been rolled back
T-3 hours 46 minutes and counting.
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Did someone say they were working an issue with the range?
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Did someone say they were working an issue with the range?
They just mentioned it again. It was a downrange tracking issue, should be resolved in the next 30 minutes.
Weather briefing at 21:00 GMT.
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LSE has been powered down, prelaunch tests complete.
No vehicle or spacecraft issues being worked.
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The weather briefing has been conducted. To summarise:
Weakening rain, clear of island, small amount of rain,
A small area of cloud is moving in from Washington, it will be close to WFF at around T-0, and is the main concern at the moment.
A few clouds at 3,000ft, 14,000ft and 25,000ft
Winds blowing 12kts to the SSW, winds aloft to the south and west
At the time of launch there will be scattered clouds at 3,000 and 14,000ft, winds to the SSW of 12kt, and a small chance of rain.
There is a 30% chance of a thunderstorm and 25% chance of being red on clouds. There is also a small chance of anvil clouds.
Overall there is a 30% chance of violation on weather
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Polling for final arming
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Thermal blanket will remain attached until T-0
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Kochina (not sure about spelling) is now green, so the range issue is resolved.
Range is still amber at the moment, but is not working any issue. Everything else is green.
150 minutes until launch.
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just heard all sites are green now...
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Kochina (not sure about spelling) is now green, so the range issue is resolved.
Range is still amber at the moment, but is not working any issue. Everything else is green.
150 minutes until launch.
The spelling is "Coquina"
And the Range being "amber" is normal. It just means everything is as it should be. They don't go 'green' until theire radars and command destruct sites are locked on rocket a few minutes prior to launch.
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Another weather briefing. In summary:
•Thunderstorms moving to the north of the launch site
•Will clear by end of the window
•Thunderstorms to the south could affect the Coquina tracking station
•Very good conditions
•Winds to the South at low altitude, becoming more westerly at altitude
•14,000ft cloud ceiling with some scattered at 3,000ft predicted at launch
•30% chance of a thunderstorm at T-0
•30% chance of violation at the start of window, rapidly moving
•Less chance of violation later in the window
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Tornadoes in the vicinity of Coquina, severe weather predicted there in about an hour. It may need to be temporarily closed, but should be reopened in time for launch.
There is also discussion ongoing on the "engineering anomaly" channel.
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T-2 hours and counting
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Little tip for the live stream here:
http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
Open in Firefox. If you have installed the free VLC player you get a perfect picture. Full screen possible. May be you muß renew the site to get the download window in Firefox. If you go to "open" instead of download the VCL opens if properly installed.
You find the freeware player at www.videolan.org
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T-90 minutes, beginning site safing
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Spacecraft being powered down due to lightning in the area
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Surveillance aircraft returning to base as a precaution.
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Countdown will hold at T-1 hour 15 minutes
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MST will be moved back onto the pad.
Delay is due to weather at the start of the window, they are going to try and launch later in the window.
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Spacecraft powering down
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Lightning predicted over the launch site in 30-35 minutes
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Spacecraft has been powered down
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T-1 hour, 15 minutes and holding
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Sometimes you gotta love these eventful launches :)
thanks for the coverage, btw!
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MST or "Shelter" is now being moved to cover the rocket.
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MST or "Shelter" is now being moved to cover the rocket.
Or at least should be. No sign of movement yet...
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45 minutes required from the aircraft taking off again to launch.
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MST or "Shelter" is now being moved to cover the rocket.
Or at least should be. No sign of movement yet...
They are doing some kind of work at the base of the rocket...
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MST or "Shelter" is now being moved to cover the rocket.
Or at least should be. No sign of movement yet...
They are doing some kind of work at the base of the rocket...
I think they were safing the first stage, and preparing for the arrival of the MST. They did some work there earlier, after the MST had been removed.
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MST or "Shelter" is now being moved to cover the rocket.
Or at least should be. No sign of movement yet...
They are doing some kind of work at the base of the rocket...
Would this be the "safing" procedures? A bit of a hassle to have to do this from a cherry picker against the timeline of an approaching thunderstorm... Why can't this be done from the service tower?
- Ed Kyle
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MST being moved...
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MST is on its way.
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Tower just about to move over the rocket now.
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MST movement complete
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"End of hazardous operations"
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Continuing to monitor the weather, launch operations will resume once the current storm cell is clear.
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Here's gif movie of the MST rollback.
- Ed Kyle
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My internet is being about 20 times slower than dialup in 1996, so I can't really look on the previous pages. Could somebody really quickly tell me at what time the earliest possibility of launch is? Are we on track for 8:00? I want to go outside and watch it from the beach but I have to be somewhere at 8:00. Thanks a lot.
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Moving back into launch operations
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My internet is being about 20 times slower than dialup in 1996, so I can't really look on the previous pages. Could somebody really quickly tell me at what time the earliest possibility of launch is? Are we on track for 8:00? I want to go outside and watch it from the beach but I have to be somewhere at 8:00. Thanks a lot.
Absolutely no chance of launch earlier than about 01:00 GMT (09:00 your timezone). It will probably be later than that.
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Spacecraft powering back up
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Ready to start final arming, waiting for spacecraft to power up.
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Polling controllers on arming
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All controllers are go for final arming.
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"Hazardous operations" have resumed.
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Still holding at T-01:15:00
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Spacecraft powered up, no power switching.
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Final vehicle closeout in work.
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Moving "Shelter" (MST) back away from the rocket
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MST is moving
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MST has cleared the rocket
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Tower back in the "parked" position. Seemed to move a lot quicker on the way back - never seen an MST move so fast.
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And they're back working at the base of the rocket again.
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Still holding at T-75 minutes?
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yes
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Set clock to T-1 and holding
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standing by for surveillance aircraft (waiting for weather to improve)
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Good time to point out that we have a couple of hours left in the window...not to mention a nice moon rising out of the east as seen from inland.
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Reports that weather is iffy for Pharmasat launch tonite. May try arouns 10pm EDT tonite - Godspeed
http://twitter.com/worden
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Little tip for the live stream here:
http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
Open in Firefox. If you have installed the free VLC player you get a perfect picture. Full screen possible. May be you muß renew the site to get the download window in Firefox. If you go to "open" instead of download the VCL opens if properly installed.
You find the freeware player at www.videolan.org
Thanks for the VLC player tip! Haven't heard of it before.
I am currently watching the live feed from NASA Wallops Flight Facility, which is a first for me. I took the following steps (I'm running Windows XP Home w/Firefox 3.0.10 plus DSL internet connection):
1. Downloaded & installed the VLC player (from the freeware link provided by Stardust).
2. Tried directly opening the live stream link, but no joy.
3. Opened the VLC player itself, clicked "Media", then "Advanced Open File", then "Network". Selected "HTTP" in the Protocol dropdown, then pasted the live stream link into the Address area. Clicked "Play", and the connection was successful.
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Anyone finding the webcast has died?
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Anyone finding the webcast has died?
Hmm, working at SVC
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It died on me too, but I just reestablish again by clicking on the link above. Maybe it's a time out parameter. We've all been on for sometime now waiting.
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Anyone finding the webcast has died?
Mine cut out for a few minutes, but I've been having problems with my internet connection since my last post (which is why I haven't updated for a while), so I thought nothing of it.
Strange bug, I lost everything except the webcast, then I got that back and lost the webcast. Everything is working now though.
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Plane has not departed. Another line of storms getting ready to come through the area....Ugggh!
http://twitter.com/PharmaSat
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Still holding at T-1 hour
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About ten minutes left until they run out of window.
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Local news update for weather, some cells with lightning, hale, and rotation...
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Feed is working for me...
http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
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View from alternate camera
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No audio for quite some time, but the video appears to continue without interruption. It just changed to a different camera view. As GW mentioned, the T-0 point continues to show as 1 hr and holding.
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About ten minutes left until they run out of window.
I thought the window was open for 3 hours (8pm EDT - 11pm EDT)?
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Based on weather and aircraft, will not go tonight
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SCRUB
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Damn.
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Feed switched to another camera angle.
I'm seeing the feed drop regularly...
Spotty audio, maybe off for tonight
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Damn.
Really, I am so sick of the fraking storms.....
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Shame, I really want to see this LV get back to orbit...
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Damn.
Really, I am so sick of the fraking storms.....
Tell me about it. I live in Virginia. Last week I was in Hawaii. Now I'm in the rain...
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but this does use the Eastern Range assets, correct? If so, then they have tomorrow left before standing down for Atlantis on Monday...
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reschedule is up:
Posted by RCC on 2009-05-07 at 23:52:13 EDT
The launch of the Minotaur rocket from Wallops has been scheduled for Friday, May 8. The launch window is 8 to 11 p.m. The launch was scrubbed this evening due to weather issues. We were not working any problems with the launch vehicle, spacecraft or the range at the time of the decision to stop tonight's launch attempt.
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reschedule is up:
Posted by RCC on 2009-05-07 at 23:52:13 EDT
The launch of the Minotaur rocket from Wallops has been scheduled for Friday, May 8. The launch window is 8 to 11 p.m. The launch was scrubbed this evening due to weather issues. We were not working any problems with the launch vehicle, spacecraft or the range at the time of the decision to stop tonight's launch attempt.
Thanks very much - title changed accordinly.
Welcome to the site's forum!
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Live stream on air!
http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
t- 5:11:00 just now.
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Launch time is now scheduled for 7:35 p.m., EDT (2335 UTC), today.
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Tower will be moved in 20 minutes
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I'm going to try and get some pictures of the launch (I live about 15 minutes away from the launch site). I'm also thinking about trying for a small movie, but it seems like I should probably leave that to people who know what they're doing. At any rate, I'll see how they turn out and if they are any good I'll try and post them. Hopefully we can see this liftoff tonight.
Thanks for all the updates in here.
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T-3 hours and counting
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Final arming to begin in 15 minutes.
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Final arming step one underway.
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Weather briefing will be conducted shortly.
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Weather briefing conducted.
To summarise:
One weather cell with no lightning near the border between Virginia and North Carolina. It will be just to the east at the time of launch.
Concern over mid level clouds, but they're not as thick as they thought. Shouldn't be a problem but we'll know more when the next balloon goes up.
Winds SSW at 8 kts, 87% humidity.
Mid level winds 110 kts SSW.
At T-0, Scattered clouds, broken higher up. 20% probability of rain. Slight chance of winds violating - 25% chance of violation, clouds are the main concern at 35% probability of violation.
Overall 35% chance of violation.
Very large storm approaching from Ohio, but it won't arrive until after the window closes.
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Voice checks underway
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Thermal blanket will not be removed.
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"Start of hazardous operations"
Tower will be moved shortly.
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Surveillance aircraft is airborne.
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Clock has just been set to T-10 minutes. I presume this is for something other than launch because the MST hasn't even been moved yet.
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Final arming complete up to (not including) moving the tower. The arming plug has not yet been inserted.
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Clock is showing T-0. Obviously not the correct count time.
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Discussion regarding MST rollback is ongoing.
"T+2 minutes 30 seconds". Actually T-2 hours 13 minutes.
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Weather briefing at T-1 hour 50 mins, tower will be moved after that briefing.
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The countdown clock on the video stream seems to be correct again.
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T-2 hours and counting
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Surveillance aircraft is on station, 150 km (93 miles) from the launch site.
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Summary of the latest weather briefing:
Weather looking very good. Small amount of rain in the area but is dissipating, nothing at the pad. Lots of holes in the mid-level cloud. Cloud is thinning out, and is not thick enough to be a problem anyway.
Scattered clouds at 3,500 feet, broken at 12,000 and overcast at 25,000
Maximum winds are 109 kts at 40,000 ft.
Conditions are favourable. 15% chance of a thunderstorm, small chance of rain.
Probability of constraint: 15% for visibility, 20% chance of rain, 30% chance of cloud constraints.
Go to move the tower.
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MST is on the move.
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Sounds like launch has been moved up another 5 minutes to 23:30 GMT.
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Tower movement complete
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Work ongoing at the base of the rocket. I wonder if they are installing the arming plug that was mentioned earlier.
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"Shelter roll is complete"
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Surveillance helicopter is airborne.
Range is amber and proceeding, no issues at this time.
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Timestamps on the various cameras are showing slightly different times.
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T-80 minutes and counting. Everything continues to look good.
Rocket, Spacecraft and Range are clear.
Evacuating the launch pad, GSO clearing area for launch.
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Pad is clear
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LSE being powered up
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Correction, LSE has not yet been powered up.
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I'm off to see the launch with some friends. Thanks for all the updates here!
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One hour to launch
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Timestamp on the feed currently says that it is 07:32:00 on 2 January. Hope they don't plan to use that as part of the countdown timer.
Go for terminal count.
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There is an issue powering up the LSE. MAT being formed to address it on Channel 8 (engineering anomaly channel).
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No hold required on the issue at the moment, hold will be at T-20 if needed. T-0 is unchanged for now.
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Weather is unchanged.
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T-45 minutes and holding.
No word yet on why they have decided to hold here.
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Hold is related to the LSE issue, which is odd because they were planning to run down to T-20 before holding on that if needed.
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Nominal balloon schedule being followed
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A boat is being escorted from the avoidance area. Still working the LSE issue.
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Sounds like they have a plan to resolve the issue.
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maybe we will get this off today... fingers crossed
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Team being sent to the pad to fix the LSE issue. Sounds like its a problem with a fibre optic connection.
Plan is to safe the vehicle and then repair it within the window.
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Waiting to confirm that LSE is completely powered down.
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Red team on the way to the launch pad.
LWO tracking a cell of weather to the West, should not be an issue.
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Safe plug has been installed.
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Possible constraint regarding mid-level clouds in the last 45 minutes of the window.
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Nice parting of the couds right over the rocket right now... too bad they couldn't launch right now... lol...
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LSE powerup issue. MAT opened and in process.
Resetting clock to T-50 minutes when MAT is closed, when the LSE is successfully powered up. New T-0 will be discussed.
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Estimating reset to T-50 once the issue is resolved.
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Range is clear. Still waiting for an ETC on troubleshooting steps to do a weather brief.
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"Looking towards the end of the window at this point in time"
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LSE issue resolved, currently being tested.
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Trying to get a weather briefing for the end of the window in the next 15 minutes.
Troubleshooting continuing,
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Briefing in 5 minutes
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Weather iffy at end of window.
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1AM local convective weather may violate limits- if I'm parsing the briefing correctly.
Gusts max at 52 with storm.
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Weather briefing:
Most of the convective weather will be well to the west at 03:00 GMT. Small chance of showers. Possible thickening cirrus and mid-level clouds. Potential severe weather at 05:00. The window will be long closed by then, but they need to be able to get the MST back by then. Maximum potential gusts are 52 kts. Following cells have max gusts of 39 kts.
End of window will probably be just okay for cloud thickness.
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Sounds a bit confused interacting with Wx briefer...
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Another camera angle
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Issue now seems to be related to a power supply. They are planning to isolate and replace the supply. Should be resolved in 30 minutes. We should know in about 15 minutes whether it can be fixed without scrubbing or not.
Correction: The 30 minutes to resolve the issue is on top of the 15 to confirm whether it can be resolved.
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Update: LSE fibre problem related to PS at pad, still in work.
Proposed solution is to swap power supply.
Estimated 30 Min to replace PS.
TS complete in 15 minutes, 45 minutes total.
Launch op possible at end of window if TS successful. LV and SC green, range is green.
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Asking to reset countdown clock to T-50 minutes.
"Still aways away before we can launch, but we may have an opportunity to meet the window."
-
Resetting clock to T-50
-
Still some time away from picking up the count.
Should be able to make the end of the window.
-
Resetting clock to T-50:00 to pickup after LSE problem resolution.
Estimating "a ways" from resolving issue.
And updated...
-
Another weather briefing will occur at 01:00.
-
Wx brief delayed, ongoing anomaly activity on a non-webcast net.
-
Control room
-
Weather briefing delayed to 01:15.
-
Weather briefing has finally been conducted:
Convective complex is weakening, but could regenerate as it approaches.
Predicted time for severe weather (winds and lightning) is 04:30.
Troubleshooting complete, issue resolved. Preparing to re-arm the rocket.
-
TS done, problem potentially solved.
-
Final vehicle closeout beginning.
-
How long left in the window?
-
How long left in the window?
About 1 hour, 35 minutes. (closes at 03:00 GMT / 04:00 BST / 23:00 EDT)
Must resume in the next 45 minutes to make the end.
-
Pad evacuation in work.
-
Standing by to power up the LSE.
-
Pad is clear, LSE powerup in work.
-
Weather briefing continues...
Weather has not changed much in the last hour.
Precipitation still staying to the West.
Looks like the mid-level clouds will not be an issue within the window.
Severe weather will not arrive until 04:30. Gusts aren't very strong.
-
Approaching the end of final arming.
-
Sounds like they're getting ready to pick up the count.
-
Spacecraft powered operations have been resumed.
-
Polling to resume the count.
-
Go to proceed with terminal count.
-
New launch time:
02:40:00 GMT
-
Setting new launch time:
2009:129:02:40:00 UTC
-
Pad is clear and all personnel accounted for.
-
Countdown has resumed.
T-1 hour, 2 minutes and counting
-
Counting down...
-
LSE powerup complete
-
MATs closed now that LSE is working.
OSP SLV arming and final closeout complete
-
Polling for INS alignment
-
Go for INS alignment
Data recorders on
Avionics on external power
-
External power nominal
Flight computer checks underway
-
It seems that some of the flight controllers have different checklists to others, which could cause a problem later in the count.
-
Decided not to proceed with the hold contingency checklist.
Beginning final launch checklist.
-
Powering LV avionics.
-
Checking the avionics again.
-
Flight data files being loaded
-
Communications tests with the rocket underway.
External power is nominal.
Data nominal.
-
Flight computer checksum test underway
-
T-50 again. At least it's counting this time.
-
IMS initialisation setup complete
-
No issues being worked. Another weather briefing:
Bad weather will be well to the West during the launch window.
Weather is green.
-
T- 45:00 and counting wx briefing underway.
-
No mid clouds at all
-
10% chance of a thunderstorm. 20% of cloud layer violation.
-
Severe weather NET 05:00 GMT. That's two hours after the end of the window.
-
T-40:00 and counting.
-
T-40 minutes. Closest we've got yet.
Launch site clear, warning light red.
Island is clear and closed.
-
VDM internal power on
-
Transponder checks underway.
-
INS data verified as valid.
-
FTS safed
-
FTS arming test
-
Still going.
-
LV SV and range green.
-
There will be a hold at T-20 minutes if needed, no issues currently being worked.
Sounds like programme have requested the hold.
-
T- 30:00 and counting. Preparing to hold at T-20:00
-
T-30 minutes and counting.
-
Hold will be to allow extra time for balloon data processing, and will last 4-5 minutes.
Processing necessary to ensure that winds aloft are go.
It's certainly been an eventful launch attempt, and possibly even campaign.
-
Short term hold will be for balloon data. Hold 4-5 Minutes.
With good data, will select new T-0 and re-enter count.
-
T-25 minutes and counting.
-
T-20 minutes and holding
-
Made it to T-20:00 starting hold.
-
New launch time expected "within minutes".
-
New launch time:
02:45:00
-
New Launch time 2009 129 02:45:00
-
2 minutes remaining in the hold
-
T-20 minutes and counting
-
Counting.
-
Spacecraft configured for launch
-
Launch time confirmed as 02:45:00
-
I'll provide a video of the launch shortly after it happens in the free video section. I'll also do live coverage (with help from GW_Simulations and everyone else, of course) of launch.
-
Winds are acceptable for flight
-
Final launch readiness poll underway
-
Go for launch!
-
Polling, all go.
-
Hazard area is clear
-
T-15 minutes and counting
-
T-15:00 and counting.
-
Spacecraft on internal power
-
SC external power removed.
-
T-12 minutes and counting
-
Launch time set into flight computer.
-
Countdown sequencer set to 120 seconds.
-
LN-200 on external power. Voltage and current being evaluated.
-
T-10 mins and counting
-
T-10:00 and counting.
-
FTS on internal
-
Arming test
-
FTS arm enabled
-
Flight termination system armed
-
T-8 minutes and counting
-
T-7:00 and counting.
-
T-6 minutes, 30 seconds
Final authorisation poll underway
-
Final poling.
All are go.
-
Go for launch
-
Go for launch.
-
T-6 minutes
Data archiving underway
-
New camera angle.
-
T-5 minutes and counting
-
Avionics on internal power, external off
-
Auto sequencer enabled
Flight computer armed
-
Transponder trackable on internal power.
T-4 minutes and counting
-
T-4:00 and counting.
-
IMS in free inertial navigate mode
-
Range is green
-
T-3 minutes and counting
-
FTS power on
-
-
Hold
-
HOLD!
-
HOLD
-
HOLD HOLD HOLD
-
Hold called at T-02:13
-
Disarming and safing
-
Vehicle is safe.
-
Switching back to external power
-
Unlikely to get another shot this window.
-
FTS safed
-
FTS on external power
-
10 minute recharge required
-
14 minutes left in this window.
-
Darn...
I'm out for the evening. Better luck next try.
-
10 minutes to recharge the batteries, and they've only just started to discuss the anomaly, so reckon they've lost this opportunity.
-
Controllers discussing the cause of the hold on channel 8.
At the time the hold was called, I think someone mentioned low voltage or low power.
-
Controllers discussing the cause of the hold on channel 8.
At the time the hold was called, I think someone mentioned low voltage or low power.
"HOLD HOLD HOLD, ATC levels are LOW."
That's what I have from what I was recording. Any info on what the ATC is and we'll be set!
-
SCRUB
-
Scrubbed tonight. Low ATC levels in the FSO.
-
Launch team proceeding to launch site to safe the vehicle and spacecrafts.
-
Will they lose the range till after STS-125?
-
This is from Wallops, not KSC.
-
Will they lose the range till after STS-125?
This launch is from Wallops, Virginia, I wouldn't see why they would have range issues.
-
As soon as I grabbed the camcorder, the hold was called :(
-
As soon as I grabbed the camcorder, the hold was called :(
Ditto. But add binoculars to that.
-
No launch opportunity tomorrow.
"Do you want to give Eastern Range the good news or shall I?" - over the network, trying to send the above news.
-
May 19th is the next earliest opportunity, pending clearances.
-
Well, something to look forward to in a week and a half.
-
MAT being opened for ATC voltages being lower than 4.00 volts and causing launch abort.
-
No launch opportunity tomorrow.
"Do you want to give Eastern Range the good news or shall I?" - over the network, trying to send the above news.
That's what I meant by losing the Range in my post.
-
Seems the Wallops feed has been cut, or I can't get to it anymore..
-
As soon as I grabbed the camcorder, the hold was called :(
Ditto. But add binoculars to that.
What is the estimate as to how many miles away the launch could have been seen?
-
Will they lose the range till after STS-125?
This launch is from Wallops, Virginia, I wouldn't see why they would have range issues.
It used ER assets for launch. Antigua
-
Also I am not sure for STS-125, but Wallops is used to track the shuttle during liftoff (helps us get those lovely ET camera shots)
-
Will they lose the range till after STS-125?
This launch is from Wallops, Virginia, I wouldn't see why they would have range issues.
It used ER assets for launch. Antigua
Ah, had forgotten about the ER bit until they said it on the airwaves. Thanks again.
-
Also I am not sure for STS-125, but Wallops is used to track the shuttle during liftoff (helps us get those lovely ET camera shots)
It does for ISS flights. But it won't for STS-125 as that's a due east launch from KSC. We're actually going to lose the ET feedline camera video 7-minutes 30-seconds after Atlantis' launch.
-
Does Wallops have spectrum management like KSC?
-
Updated the thread title.
-
Hypothesis that it might have been an AWACS out of Pax River interfering.
-
Appears to be still tracking tomorrow evening. How's the weather looking?
-
Appears to be still tracking tomorrow evening. How's the weather looking?
Most forecasts showing 10-15mph wind during the day, but 5-10mph during the night. Mostly clear all day. If rdale or anyone else has a better forecast, go ahead and post. :)
-
The launch team received permission today to proceed towards the launch attempt of the TacSat-3 mission on May 19. The launch window is 7:35 to 11:30 p.m. Today's afternoon forecast shows a 90% probability of acceptable weather for launch. There is one issue that we are following. There is a possibility of a conflict with the air space we need for the launch. If there is a conflict, we will move the launch to Wednesday, May 20. We should know the status of this issue early Tuesday morning.
-
Apparently the "airspace conflict" (I don't know what that meant) was cleared - we are go for tonight. Azimuth from McLean, VA is 139 magnetic, distance 194 km. Will have my HD videocamera ready.
-
Apparently the "airspace conflict" (I don't know what that meant) was cleared - we are go for tonight. Azimuth from McLean, VA is 139 magnetic, distance 194 km. Will have my HD videocamera ready.
Excellent, and that explains why we gained a note saying "Scrub" then 10 minutes later "Unscrub"!
It's time for this bird to fly.
-
Apparently the "airspace conflict" (I don't know what that meant) was cleared - we are go for tonight. Azimuth from McLean, VA is 139 magnetic, distance 194 km. Will have my HD videocamera ready.
Excellent, and that explains why we gained a note saying "Scrub" then 10 minutes later "Unscrub"!
It's time for this bird to fly.
I like "Unscrub" ;D
-
Let's hope we don't "De-unscrub"...
-
Let's hope we don't "De-unscrub"...
"Re-scrub"?
But yes: Good luck for the launch!
-
"Re-scrub"?
Just as long as it leaves a clean an shiny launch pad behind ;)
Go Orbital, light up that sky...
-
MST removal ops in work for tonight's lift-off.
-
Weather is pretty nice. I heard an update while listening to the webcast and they have no storms in the area, possibly a few showers down in the Carolinas but nothing major. A few clouds at 14,000 (or 16,000 feet) but visibility is basically unlimited.
I'm on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and it's blue skies as far as the eye can see. Should be visible to many in the DC area I hope.
btw, while watching the webcast stream it disconnects pretty regularly every five minutes. Anyone else getting something like that?
-
Also, fwiw, NORAD was conducting air defense exercises over DC last night with a couple of F-16s and a Cessna, and today the Blue Angels were in Annapolis doing a practice routine. Don't think either of those would be the airspace interference problem they were concerned about but both were slightly out of the ordinary events for the DC area.
-
Little question: Live link? Must be another as on last try.
This is seemingly not working:
http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445.asx?bkup=32644
Shortened Link http://mfile.akamai.com/18569/live/reflector:59445 ==> access denied.
-
-
Let's hope we don't "De-unscrub"...
Was it so bad that I was star struck when I talked the the orbital representative last time? Still, you werent there to get my crabcakes....
-
final arming ad vehicle closeout
-
Same T-0 as the last attempts?
-
"4:35p.m. T-3hours and counting" so about 30 minutes early
-
"4:35p.m. T-3hours and counting" so about 30 minutes early
Thanking you.
-
-
"4:35p.m. T-3hours and counting" so about 30 minutes early
Thanking you.
I might have to retract that, forgot about any holds
-
OK. Problem solved. With the help from reply to my earlier post. For all here- it works in this way if you have this player.
I am currently watching the live feed from NASA Wallops Flight Facility, which is a first for me. I took the following steps (I'm running Windows XP Home w/Firefox 3.0.10 plus DSL internet connection):
1. Downloaded & installed the VLC player (from the freeware link provided by Stardust).
2. Tried directly opening the live stream link, but no joy.
3. Opened the VLC player itself, clicked "Media", then "Advanced Open File", then "Network". Selected "HTTP" in the Protocol dropdown, then pasted the live stream link into the Address area. Clicked "Play", and the connection was successful.
-
Begin site evacuation, we might be going today!
-
Thanks for the VLC player tip! Haven't heard of it before.
I am currently watching the live feed from NASA Wallops Flight Facility, which is a first for me. I took the following steps (I'm running Windows XP Home w/Firefox 3.0.10 plus DSL internet connection):
1. Downloaded & installed the VLC player (from the freeware link provided by Stardust).
2. Tried directly opening the live stream link, but no joy.
3. Opened the VLC player itself, clicked "Media", then "Advanced Open File", then "Network". Selected "HTTP" in the Protocol dropdown, then pasted the live stream link into the Address area. Clicked "Play", and the connection was successful.
thanks for the tip, have the stream working again :)
-
Check the "copyright" tag on the stream - NASA don't know what "NASA" stands for.
-
Working a range tracking issue at the moment.
-
T-90 mins, powering up LSE. ETC 20 mins.
-
Pathfinder radar issue has been waived, US Coastguard will provide tracking instead. Ships are being dispatched downrange.
-
Possibility of a delay due to time taken to deploy Coastguard ships.
-
Possibility of a delay due to time taken to deploy Coastguard ships.
Send in the Navy, Norfolk is close by!
-
sky looks nice and clear - -I guess that 1 hour 18 minutes to go
-
Possibility of a delay due to time taken to deploy Coastguard ships.
Send in the Navy, Norfolk is close by!
But from the discussion after the last scrub, an E-2 might not be the best way of providing downrange tracking...
-
LSE powered up, OSP SLV Minotaur I Final Arming checklist complete
-
Coastguard chasing a ship out of the downrange hazard area, go for launch on time.
-
Correction, count will not proceed beyond T-60 mins until the ships are in position.
-
-
mission control
-
Plan in place, range is go to proceed with count for current T-0.
No hold at T-60.
T-1 hour and counting, in final launch checklist.
-
-
0% probability of weather violation
Much better than the last few attempts
-
-
IMS alignment complete
-
No issues being worked
-
Range confirms that the contingency plan is working
-
coming up on 30 minutes
-
Past T-30, still go
-
FTS test completed
-
T-20 minutes and counting
-
Spacecraft payload configured for launch.
Launch time confirmed as 23:35:00
-
Winds are go
-
Looks like lovely weather there. And the upper level winds are acceptable.
-
Final poll underway
-
Hold
-
Violation of the downrange hazard area.
-
-
T-15 minutes, 35 seconds and holding
-
Violation is a boat downrange.
-
I hope Ron didn't go out in his speedboat for a closer vantage point! ;) Send in the Navy!
-
Violation is a boat downrange.
These East coast bankers!! They have too much time now. :D :D
-
Boat is turning round
-
Should be clear in 5 minutes
-
I wonder what it looks like when they go out and intercept the violators. Do they come screaming in with megaphones yelling at the violators or what? :D
-
New launch time: 23:45:00 GMT
-
Reset to T-18 minutes and holding. Final readiness poll will be conducted again.
-
I'm downrange in Kitty Hawk NC - and hoping to catch this baby as it clears the horizon up to the north from here. Camera ready - and will post some pics (if they're any good) after it launches.... 1/4 of 8 local or so..
-
Ok good, only 20 minutes away from a launch all being well.
-
Resumed
-
I'll be looking south from Long Island, N.Y.
-
Holding again
-
Come on Coastguard, get it together!
Count had resumed, but holding again at T-18 mins.
-
Back to T-18 minutes and holding again, Coastguard wasn't sure if the boat would be clear in time.
-
Come on Coastguard, get it together!
Where are those damned exocet's when you need them!!!
-
5 minutes until he is clear again.
-
5 minutes until boat out of hazard area.
New launch time 23:55 UTC.
-
New launch time: 23:55:00 GMT
-
T-21 mins and holding
-
No, they've changed their minds...
T-20 minutes and holding
Picking up the count in 30 seconds
-
T-20 minutes and counting.
-
T-20 minute limit checks are go
-
-
Spacecraft configuration in work
-
lets hope that is the last delay... we are going in the wrong direction.
-
Winds are go.
-
T-18 minutes and counting
-
S/C configured.
-
"Final" poll underway (again)
-
They poll more groups than the Shuttle program.
-
T-15 mins and counting, go for launch
-
All restricted areas clear.
-
They poll more groups than the Shuttle program.
They have polled several controllers two or three times for the same thing.
Spacecraft on internal power.
-
T-12 mins and counting
-
I'll have a video located in the Free Video section shortly after launch. Thanks for the updates, guys.
-
Countdown sequencer set to -120 seconds
-
LN-200 (?) voltage and current good.
-
Rocket, spacecraft and range are green.
-
T-10 minutes.
-
T-10 minutes and counting.
-
T-10 minute limit checks are go
LN-200 data nominal
-
LN-200 (?) voltage and current good.
Inertial Measurement Unit
-
FTS on internal power
-
FTS external power off
-
FTS arming test
-
FTS current and voltage good.
-
Test completed
-
T-8 minutes and counting
-
FTS armed
-
S&As to armed.
-
T-7 mins and counting
-
T-7.
-
Final authorisation for launch has been given.
-
Final polling (again?)
-
T-6 mins and counting, ground ordnance armed.
-
Ground ordnance enabled.
-
PT-5 minutes and counting
-
Avionics on internal power
-
Avionics transferring internal.
-
Avionics external power off
-
Auto sequencer enabled
-
Flight computer armed
-
Flight computer armed. C-Band transponder trackable.
-
C-band transponder trackable on internal power
T-4 minutes and counting
-
Limit checks are go
-
INS in NAV mode.
-
INS in nav mode
-
Range is green
-
-
PT-3 minutes and counting
-
T-150 seconds and counting.
-
T-120 seconds and counting
-
hate to ask - anyone know the inclination of the launch??
-
T-120 seconds.
-
Auto sequencer has started
-
Limit checks go
Ordnance armed
-
Orion S&As armed.
-
PT-60 seconds and counting.
One minute away from launch.
-
T-60 seconds. Go Minotaur!
-
T-45 seconds
-
good luck.... fingers crossed...
-
T-30
-
LIFTOFF
-
-
Get up there!!
Nominal first stage flight.
-
-
MAXQ
-
-
What a beautiful sight into the clear blue sky!
-
-
Staging
-
-
-
-
Now 5500 mph.
-
Staging
-
2-3 sep.
-
-
Fairing sep.
-
5,500mph
62 miles altitude.
Staging - stage three ignition.
Fairing Sep.
-
Fairing sep, hope it was better than the last time OSC tried that
-
-
-
T+3 minutes
-
-
Stage 3 tailing off
-
-
Burnout
-
Third stage burnout. Now coasting.
-
-
Calculating S4 ignition time
-
-
T+4 mins
-
-
-
-
man - that rose up off the horizon and was gone.........
-
hate to ask - anyone know the inclination of the launch??
40.5 degrees according to http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat3/timeline.html
-
pretty much a blue screen from here on in... have to read the commentary (obviously no rocket cam.... :( )
-
Got a view of launch from Long Island!
-
man - that rose up off the horizon and was gone.........
She's a mover, that's for sure! 8)
-
S4 ignition will be at T+550 seconds
-
T+5 minutes.
Stage 4 calculated start time is T+550 sec.
-
Everything continues to look good
-
-
Looks like there is a fire near the pad.
-
2 minutes to S4 ignition
-
Now 13200 mph. Fourth stage ignition in about 2 minutes.
-
"Vehicle flight path and attitude are nominal"
-
All systems nominal.
-
1 minute to S4 ignition.
I think we can remove the "NET" from the thread title now
-
1 minute to fourth stage ignition.
-
Looks like there is a fire near the pad.
That's the boat that wandered into the range ;)
-
Battery activation, S4 ignition in ~11 seconds.
-
S4 ignition
-
Fourth stage ignition!
-
T+9 minutes
-
T+9 minutes. Attitude and systems are good.
-
S4 burnout
-
T+10 minutes
-
LOS
-
T+10 minutes. LOS.
-
Acquisition by Antigua.
-
Launch video from T-5 to third stage burnout and into the coast phase. Let me know if you have problems (in that thread) with the launch video, as noted.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17119
-
T+11 minutes.
-
T+11 mins, systems appear nominal
-
20 seconds to S/C sep.
-
TacSat-3 separation
-
Phew....!
-
TacSat-3 sep!
Congrats to Orbital!
-
Firefighters appear to have arrived at LP-0B
-
well done.. great launch.. good coverage as well...
-
Phew....!
Congrats!
-
Planned Antigua LOS at T+13:07 (00:08:07 GMT)
PharmaSat separation will be 13:00 (not sure of time zone), CubeSats will be deployed at 14:00 (presumably the same time zone)
-
Nice work!
Launch video:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17119
-
Congrats from Germany at 02:11 after midnight. Bed is calling! Always a joy to see a sucessfull lift-off and orbital insertion. Keep the idea of space rockin!!
-
Number 56...
-
Here are the pics from my house on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, about 75 miles from the launch site.
(http://www.penguinsix.com/images/IMG_9179.jpg)
(http://www.penguinsix.com/images/IMG_9182.jpg)
(http://www.penguinsix.com/images/IMG_9183.jpg)
(http://www.penguinsix.com/images/IMG_9188.jpg)
-
Number 56...
And counting. Congratulations!
-
All stations and consoles are released.
-
Congratulations on a great launch! Good to see the first stateside launch for our new PolySat, as well as having it and the other CubeSats reach orbit!
-
Secondary and tertiary payloads should have separated by now.
-
Number 56...
Many congratulations!
-
Can be a real test when you recycle so many times. Easy to take your eye off the ball. Deserves praise.
-
Great shots, penguinsix...thanks for sharing.
View from Long Island was (surprisingly) pretty amazing!
-
Number 56...
Well done!
Thanks for the coverage everyone. Neat to follow.
-
Looks like there is a fire near the pad.
That's the boat that wandered into the range ;)
I just read this... lol... I was just kidding about the exocets!! :o
-
Yeah, I was about 1.5 miles away and saw the fire going pretty fiercely until the red flashing lights showed up. It was a great launch!
-
We were able to see the launch all the way up here in central NY (Cortland). We looked south and saw the rocket traveling east at around 10-20 degrees altitude. Saw a bright flare during a separation?? Just looked like a white speck for the most part. Still VERY cool to see though!
-
That's cool. I looked out here from Buffalo but no joy. Must have been below the treeline. which covers 4 or 5 degrees of the horizon I'd estimate.
If it had been delayed a few more days, I might have been able to see it, as we'll be in Watkins Glen for the weekend. Oh well.
-
Took this 40 or so minutes back from Kitty Hawk beach some 120 miles south from Wallops... Sky was too bright to capture the launch very well - the smoke trail was hairline thin - and when it plumed - it vanished into the background...
-
Watched this rise above the capitol in Washington DC - was a pretty amazing sight. Can't wait until the Taurus 2 launches start up...
-
Watched this rise above the capitol in Washington DC - was a pretty amazing sight. Can't wait until the Taurus 2 launches start up...
Those are going to be really cool! Should be sometime next year no?
-
from the webcast:
Posted by RCC on 2009-05-19 at 22:41:58 EDT
One last note: Both the TacSat-3 and PharmaSat spacecraft have communicated with their ground stations.
that is all
-
from the webcast:
Posted by RCC on 2009-05-19 at 22:41:58 EDT
One last note: Both the TacSat-3 and PharmaSat spacecraft have communicated with their ground stations.
that is all
And two objects cataloged so far by STRATCOM as 2009-28A and 28B, in 432 x 467 km x 40.5 orbit - probably Tacsat and the Minotaur final stage.
-
Awesome. Congratulations to antonioe and the entire Orbital team. :)
-
Awesome. Congratulations to antonioe and the entire Orbital team. :)
Appreciate the kudos, but *I* didn't have anything to do in this launch (maybe that's why it worked? ::) ). The team that assembled and flew the vehicle is entirely from Chandler. However, in their name, thank you. Minotaur 1 is so far 8 for 8. Let me see if I can collect and post a few names and mug shots so you can meet the REAL Minotaurers...
The big gulp comes in a few months when we fly the first Minotaur IV with a multi-hundred-million satellite on its FIRST FLIGHT!!! :o
-
According to the CalPoly CubeSat Community Website, contact has been established with all three CubeSats.
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Thanks for the coverage. It is always to follow the launches on NSF.
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RELEASE: 09-114
NASA FLIGHT FACILITY SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES NANOSATELLITE
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- NASA's PharmaSat nanosatellite successfully
launched at 7:55 p.m. EDT Tuesday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at Wallops Island,
Va. PharmaSat rode to orbit aboard a four-stage Air Force Minotaur 1
rocket. Also aboard were the Air Force Research Laboratory's TacSat-3
satellite and other NASA CubeSat Technology Demonstration
experiments, which include three four-inch cubed satellites developed
by universities and industry.
PharmaSat will investigate the effects of antifungal agents on the
growth of yeast in microgravity. This research could improve
understanding of how microbes may become resistant to the drugs used
to treat sick astronauts on long-duration space missions.
"After a spectacular launch as a hitchhiker on the Tacsat-3 mission,
we made contact with PharmaSat and confirmed that the spacecraft
deployed successfully," said Bruce Yost, PharmaSat mission manager at
NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The PharmaSat
mission and science teams are now preparing to complete the
experiment on the yeast cultures."
Approximately 20 minutes after launch, PharmaSat separated from the
Minotaur 1 rocket and entered low Earth orbit at an altitude of
approximately 285 miles. About an hour after launch, NASA spaceflight
engineers made contact with PharmaSat. After a spacecraft checkout
period, ground controllers will command PharmaSat to initiate its
biological experiment, which will last approximately 96 hours.
Now that PharmaSat is activated and has begun transmitting radio
signals to ground control stations at SRI International in Menlo
Park, Calif., and Santa Clara University in California, it will send
mission data to the NASA Mission Management Team at NASA's Ames
Research Center. The nanosatellite could transmit data for as long as
six months.
The TacSat-3 launch was the third Minotaur vehicle launched from the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's launch pad 0B on the southern end
of Wallops Island. Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile
Systems Center's Space Development and Test Wing at Kirtland AFB,
N.M., has overall management of the mission.
The Exploration Technology Development Program in NASA's Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington funded
the PharmaSat project.
For information about PharmaSat, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/pharmasat.html
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Number 56...
? 56 what?
My guess would be orbital launch attempts by Orbital. There've been 40 Pegasus launches, and 8 launches each by Minotaur 1 and Taurus.
- Ed Kyle
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Correct, that's what I meant.
I asked Chandler to send me a launch team photo(s) for this launch. I'll post it as soon as I get it.
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In the meanwhile, here's some pictures that Orbital's Carlos Niederstrasser and Lori Brooks and CalPoly's Jon Brown took of the launch from Downtown DC. They used STK to predict the rocket's trajectory from a selected spot in front of the Capitol building, then placed a Nikon D60 with an 18-55 mm lens at that location, with the sensitivity at ISO400 to account for the illumination. Due to U.S. Capitol Police regulations, they could NOT use a tripod (!)
Photos were taken approx 5 minutes from liftoff. Photoshop was used to enhance the contrail, due to the very unfavorable lighting conditions.
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Also, here's a high-res shot of the launch:
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Oh very nice indeed!
Meanwhile, the Air Force are happy...
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123150517
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Due to U.S. Capitol Police regulations, they could NOT use a tripod (!)
And we are safer for that ??? Great shots, thankyou and them for sharing. So how did they hold the camera steady? Or is that Itar'd ;)
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O.K. - Here's the list of the Orbital People that launched TACSAT-3:
Electrical: Kathryn Miller (Avionics lead and Vehicle Manager, call sign VM), Chennault Slaughter, Justin Makinen, my fellow basques Rocio Jauregui and Rick Arvizu, Joe Taliva'a, Rob Czeranko, Bill Kellett and contract employees Marcus Cole and Travis Parker.
Mechanical: Eric Draves (Mechanical lead, call sign ME), Mike Rempe (Launch Pad Chief, call sign PAD), Kevin Alber, Richard Dail, Steve Rabideau, JD Martin, Larry Nelson and Bill Nelson.
Systems: Kelly Fitzpatrick, Ken Gregory and Matt Orlando.
GNC: Dan Cheke, Brian Reich (Call sign GCN) and Joseph Kokes.
Ordnance: Mike Powers and Zachary Adland.
Safety/QA/Other: Michael Riley, Dan Varner, Brandon Thau, Dana Frederic, the indefaticable Karl Seelandt (Launch Conductor, call sign LC - other vehicles call that position “TC”), Frank Lopez, Mike Motola (Chief Engineer, call sign CE), Kevin Wilder (Program Manager and backup LC, call sign LCA) and my very good and old friend Dan Givens.
I hope I have not missed anyone. Thanks and well done to all!
As you can see, a total of 35 people traveled from either Chandler or Vandenberg: the first ones arrived at Wallops March 23, the last ones will depart Wallops today, Saturday May 23 (after packing and cleaning up) for a well-deserved Memorial Day weekend with their families.
Not everybody was there all the time: looking at their travel matrix, I count 1157 person-days (including travel) for an average team size of only 19 people during the entire 62-day campaign. the average stay at Wallops was 33 days, not in a single stretch (most people came back home and returned after the first try). Indeed, had the weather and the range problems not postponed the launch, the campaign would have been 51 days long, for a total of 962 person-days and an average stay of 28 days. Average team size would still have been 19 people.
You may find these statistics interesting.
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You may find these statistics interesting.
Yes I do. They're giving me a nice rough insight in the actual costs of a launch campaign and the cost of any delays.
Very rough, but to an amateur like me it's nice to get at least some actual cost data. ;)
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Just be careful extrapolating this data to other vehicles/circumstances; this is more in the vein of "the art of the possible". It represents the culmination of the "Keep It Simple, Stupid" small solid-motor approach that started with Scout in the 60's and 70's and culminated in Pegasus and Minotaur in the 90's and 00's.
You go to liquids, especially large liquids, and the bets are off.
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Yes, I had a feeling the numbers were a bit low. Which is good for you and your business obviously.
Of course there are other major cost driving factors of which I have admittedly no idea about how high they might be. To name a few:
Manufacturing costs
Payload integration costs
Range rental fees
Amortization on development costs
All kinds of general management and commercial overhead costs
Etc. etc. etc.
Truth is, I don't have the slightest idea about the true cost of any launch. But the data you provided gives me at least some things to clutch onto. ;)
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Back 10-15 years ago, the cost of launch averaged anywhere between 50% to 100% of the cost of the spacecraft. Indeed, a classical "Mission Costs Rule of Thumb" used to say there are five nearly-equal pieces of the pie: Spacecraft Bus, Instrument(s), Launch, Ground Equipment and the Systems Engineering/Program Management glue that hold it together.
That is no longer true.
Today, ratios of 10:1 in the cost of spacecraft:cost of launch are not uncommon; two examples: the first SBRS GEO spacecraft will cost over $2B, and ride on a $175M EELV. The first Minotaur IV, priced around $50M, will launch the SBSS spaceraft that cost over $500M. (http://www.space.com/spacenews/archive07/sbss_0611.html)
I don't know the cost of the TACSAT-3 spacecraft, but it probably was several times what Orbital got for that launch!!!
Corollary 1: while given two identical rockets with identical reliability and performance customers will prefer the cheaper one ("relative price elasticity" is high) a FREE rocket will not increase the demand for rockets more than 10-20%, given the cost of the rest of the mission ("absolute price elasticity" is very low.)
Corollary 2: customers will gladly pay a significant premium on the launch service if it is PERCEIVED to increase its reliability in any significant amount.
These are two lessons we learned the hard way.
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Update: according to AW&ST the TACSAT-3 spacecraft cost more than 5x the Minotaur 1 that launched it.
Given that flight operations add to this cost, a FREE launch would have reduced the TACSAT-3 mission cost by less than 20%!
And that is for a low-cost spacecraft!!!
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I'm glad to hear you say that. There always seem to be a lot of people on internet fora claiming that 'we must develop a low cost mass produced booster that will dramatically decrease launch costs and therefore increase flight rates and that this will lead to the final commercialization of space!' or some such words.
Not true of course, and your words prove it. Not only because launch costs are a 'minor' item in the budget of any space mission, but also because
1) if it had been true it would already have happened, and
2) it's a case of switching cause and effect. The cause is the market for satellites, the effect is the market for launchers. Not vice versa.
If there would be a good reason (read: a way to make lots of money) to launch many more satellites to LEO, GEO, or whereever then this <MIGHT> lead to lower launch costs due to higher flight rates. But the price elasticity example that you provide already tells us that it won't be as impressive as some people like to dream it will be.
Good to hear from a pro that my amateur views weren't too far off the mark. ;)
Well anyway, just my 2 cents. I guess it doesn't even belong in this topic so I'll shut up now. ;)
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Corollary 1: while given two identical rockets with identical reliability and performance customers will prefer the cheaper one ("relative price elasticity" is high) a FREE rocket will not increase the demand for rockets more than 10-20%, given the cost of the rest of the mission ("absolute price elasticity" is very low.)
Antonio,
while I see your general point taken to extremes this is definitely wrong.
If you give me FREE rockets (OK: FREE launches) I guarantee you that I will personally double your 56 launch track record although I can not guarantee you that all of the stuff you will be launching for me is really space-worthy 8)
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2) it's a case of switching cause and effect. The cause is the market for satellites, the effect is the market for launchers. Not vice versa.
Wrong. They are mutually dependent. See my example above at one extreme (and I'm serious: give me free launches and I'll fill them) and the other extreme is equally obvious (if you have no launch capability at any ost you will not have launches). So the whole question is: how does the elasticity function in between look like.
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If you give me FREE rockets (OK: FREE launches) I guarantee you that I will personally double your 56 launch track record although I can not guarantee you that all of the stuff you will be launching for me is really space-worthy 8)
Yeah, I see your point; there are several individuals within my company that come to mind... ::)
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Yeah, I see your point; there are several individuals within my company that come to mind... ::)
Chosing words out of Joe Bidens play book I see ;) Where did that teleprompter go again?
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Hi!
I'm writing an article about this launch and I need the exact launch time in format 2355:00,XXXUTC. Did anyone managed to get it? I know that on the launch video we can ear a technitian saying the launch time but is voice gets confuse by the launch comentator.
Any help is apreciated, thanks!