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#1260
by
Lewis007
on 04 Sep, 2014 11:01
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Two earlier launches took place in Brazil: a FTI rocket on August 21 from Alcantara for Operação Águia 2 - 2014 (in preparation for the VS-30 launch of Operação Raposa), and a FTB from CLBI on August 28 for Operação Barreira 10.
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#1261
by
Lewis007
on 04 Sep, 2014 11:17
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#1262
by
Lewis007
on 05 Sep, 2014 07:42
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Video of the VS-30 launch in Brazil on Sep. 2 (Operação Raposa).
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#1263
by
mvpel
on 06 Sep, 2014 01:54
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A while back, I walked off a plane in Huntsville and into a large meeting at the MDA ARC which my hosts were attending, and one of the principal engineers was laying out some details of one part of a test campaign. I was absolutely floored.
I had until that point only seen the piece I had been supporting, my own company's role in the tests, with a good group of good people who just spent a lot of time watching big screens while on the phone with faceless folks out in Colorado.
Seeing that engineer walk everyone through part of the vast tapestry of minute details that make up a flight test campaign, down to decompression flight rules for C-130 pilots dropping the target missile and the time-on-station constraints of the HALO planes running the IR cameras, was astounding. A symphony orchestra has absolutely nothing on this. Half a dozen orchestras don't either. I felt privileged and honored to work, however indirectly, with such brilliant and meticulous people who can weave all those pieces together.
Seven tests a year? Sure, if all you want to do is launch a missile and just shoot it down, lather, rinse, repeat. Might even be able to do it even with sequestration cuts.
But that piecemeal testing has already been done at WSMR. What the big tests Adm Syring was talking about need to prove is the system capability against threat-representative scenarios, against targets that can fly thousands of miles in a matter of minutes. And clearing thousands of miles of transoceanic airspace to prevent a cloud of shredded missile from hitting a plane, not to mention everything else leading up to that shredding - including a huge amount software development and testing - takes a lot of work and effort. People have to work half-days - Navy half days, that is, only 12 hours.
It's worth it to see the image of a reentry vehicle in space in the last moments of its existence, but it's still an enormous orchestrated effort by hundreds and hundreds of highly talented people solving very complex problems.
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#1264
by
edkyle99
on 10 Sep, 2014 14:40
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Bulava launched today (September 9, 2014) from submarine in White Sea to Kura test range, Kamchatka. Two more similar tests planned by year's end.
- Ed Kyle
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#1265
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 11 Sep, 2014 07:35
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#1266
by
Salo
on 13 Sep, 2014 17:42
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/agni1-testfired-successfully/article6400697.eceSFC personnel test-fires Agni-IY. Mallikarjun
Agni-I, a surface-to-surface, nuclear-weapons-capable ballistic missile, was test-fired for its 700-km strike range from the Wheeler Island, off the Odisha Coast, on Thursday.
Strategic Forces Command (SFC) personnel launched the single-stage, short-range missile, powered by a solid propellant, from a rail mobile launcher as part of regular user training to consolidate operational readiness.
The missile carrying a 1,100-kg payload zeroed in on the target with a high degree of accuracy, a missile scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation said. Describing it as a fantastic launch, he said the missile achieved a CEP (circular error probability) of about 50 metres. Its trajectory was tracked and monitored by sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships through the 550-second flight.
The first night-trial of the missile was conducted in April.
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#1267
by
edkyle99
on 14 Sep, 2014 02:45
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Here's the problem. They are planning only seven tests during the next 10 years, and they highlight that as a good thing. They should be testing seven times or more per year.
- Ed Kyle
You need to understand how heinously expensive and complex these tests are. That kind of testing tempo would require MDA to grow in size tenfold, if not more.
I do understand, at least in the abstract. But I also believe that something this complex, and critical, is not going to be proven by only flying it 0.7 times per year. Yes tests are expensive, but how much is Los Angeles or Seattle or Denver or Chicago worth? How much is 20% of the U.S. Navy at San Diego worth? Are we to have a real, or theoretical, missile defense system?
- Ed Kyle
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#1268
by
jcm
on 15 Sep, 2014 19:05
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#1269
by
sdsds
on 15 Sep, 2014 20:14
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Hmm. The operational range of a Trident D5 is somewhere between 7,840 and 11,300 kilometres? When did we declare war on Iceland? (Trajectory shown below is only 7350 km.) Serioiusly, though, where's the test range over which such a payload could possibly have reentered?
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#1270
by
kevin-rf
on 16 Sep, 2014 12:48
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Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site? What clue causes you to think it overflew the US and headed to Iceland?
Vandenberg SLBM/ICBM launches headed out to Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site are often seen in Vegas.
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#1271
by
Lewis007
on 21 Sep, 2014 08:21
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#1272
by
catdlr
on 22 Sep, 2014 18:06
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs,
www.vandenberg.af.milMINUTEMAN III LAUNCH SCHEDULED
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An operational test launch of an Air
Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic
missile is scheduled for Tuesday Sept. 23, between 3:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.
from north Vandenberg.
The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the
effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system, according to Air
Force Global Strike Command.
Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, is the Launch Decision
Authority.
"While ICBM launches from Vandenberg almost seem routine, each one requires
a tremendous amount of effort and absolute attention to detail in order to
accurately assess the current performance and capability of the Nation's
fielded ICBM force and ensure public safety during the launch," Col. Balts
said.
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#1273
by
catdlr
on 22 Sep, 2014 18:37
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Sugar Shot to Space program
3 rocket motor tests at FAR on September 20, 2014
Published on Sep 22, 2014
Mojaverockets
Three static rocket motor tests were done at the Friends of Amateur Rocketry site in the Mojave Desert of California. The first was a successful M-class 6-grain APCP 75mm motor by Eric Beckner. The second is a successful K-class 2-grain 89mm sugar motor by Rick Maschek for the Sugar Shot to Space program using sorbitol as the fuel and does not have a core, it burns on two exterior flat sides of the grains. The third and final test is a 6-grain 4.5" (115mm) sugar motor using dextrose as the fuel by Randy Dorman and his son Theo. Unfortunately, the motor over-pressurized and CATOed at start up.
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#1274
by
catdlr
on 23 Sep, 2014 17:00
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs,
www.vandenberg.af.milMINUTEMAN III LAUNCHES FROM VANDENBERG
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile was launched during an operational test
at 7:45 a.m. here Tuesday.
Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, was the launch decision
authority.
"An outstanding display of teamwork ensured 100-percent mission success for
the first Minuteman launch of the year here at Vandenberg," said Col. Balts.
"We constantly focus on flawless execution of our launch, range and
expeditionary missions. I am extremely proud of the collaboration between
the 30th SW and the 576th FLTS."
___________________________________________________________
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#1275
by
catdlr
on 23 Sep, 2014 18:40
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MMIII GT211GM Media ReleasePublished on Sep 23, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs,
www.vandenberg.af.milMINUTEMAN III LAUNCHES FROM VANDENBERG
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#1276
by
Star One
on 24 Sep, 2014 11:19
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#1277
by
jcm
on 24 Sep, 2014 18:47
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs, www.vandenberg.af.mil
MINUTEMAN III LAUNCHES FROM VANDENBERG
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - An unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile was launched during an operational test
at 7:45 a.m. here Tuesday.
Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, was the launch decision
authority.
"An outstanding display of teamwork ensured 100-percent mission success for
the first Minuteman launch of the year here at Vandenberg," said Col. Balts.
"We constantly focus on flawless execution of our launch, range and
expeditionary missions. I am extremely proud of the collaboration between
the 30th SW and the 576th FLTS."
___________________________________________________________
Where do things stand these days on the conversion of the fleet from the Mk 12/12A to the Mk 21 reentry vehicle?
Should we assume that most (all?) flights are carrying Mk 21 these days, or not?
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#1278
by
Lewis007
on 01 Oct, 2014 09:27
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Preview of the launch of the VAULT mission on a Black Brant IX rocket from White sands (36.282US Kankelborg), which should have taken place yesterday (I could not find a confirmation that launch did occur).
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-funded-rocket-has-six-minutes-to-study-solar-heating/#Meanwhile, the launch of a Terrier-Lynx suborbital rocket for the Department of Defense on Oct 1 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility has been postponed. The next attempt is scheduled for midnight to 2 a.m., October 12.
(Source: NASA Wallops facebook).
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#1279
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 01 Oct, 2014 11:35
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