Author Topic: LIVE: Sea Launch: DIRECTV-11 launch - March 19 (Read 51280 times)

stockman · « **Reply #100 on:** 03/19/2008 10:39 pm »

Shutdown.

edkyle99 · « **Reply #101 on:** 03/19/2008 10:39 pm »

Block DM shutdown on time at 23:38:10 UTC.

edkyle99 · « **Reply #102 on:** 03/19/2008 10:41 pm »

Six or so minutes to separation.

edkyle99 · « **Reply #103 on:** 03/19/2008 10:50 pm »

Spacecraft separation!

Satori · « **Reply #104 on:** 03/19/2008 10:50 pm »

Spacecraft separation!!!! Good work Sea Launch!!!!

Lee Jay · « **Reply #105 on:** 03/19/2008 10:52 pm »

Okay, so this is over for SeaLaunch. But this satellite isn't in Geostationary orbit. Who monitors and controls the firing of the apogee stage? Boeing?

roy · « **Reply #106 on:** 03/19/2008 10:53 pm »

the satellite in orbit now ?

edkyle99 · « **Reply #107 on:** 03/19/2008 10:53 pm »

Guests viewing launch. Spacecraft acquisition announcement won't occur for some time (about 5 hours from now) due to ground station positioning.

Paula tells us that this was the 250th Block D(M)-series launch.

And yes, this appears to have been a successful Zenit 3SL launch, with successful spacecraft separation into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

- Ed Kyle

edkyle99 · « **Reply #108 on:** 03/19/2008 11:00 pm »

Speeches have begun.

Mr. Peckham tells us that the orbit achieved was 250 x 36,484.8 km x 0.0 deg, versus a planned 250 x 36,482 km x 0.0 deg.

- Ed Kyle

edkyle99 · « **Reply #109 on:** 03/19/2008 11:06 pm »

Heads of DirecTV and Boeing Satellite Systems offer congratulations.

Everyone is instructed to go buy DirecTV high def right now!

Jim · « **Reply #110 on:** 03/19/2008 11:06 pm »

Quote

Lee Jay - 19/3/2008 7:52 PM

Okay, so this is over for SeaLaunch. But this satellite isn't in Geostationary orbit. Who monitors and controls the firing of the apogee stage? Boeing?

the Spacecraft operator

edkyle99 · « **Reply #111 on:** 03/19/2008 11:12 pm »

End of webcast, with a launch replay showing that it really was hard to see due to poor visibility.

marsavian · « **Reply #112 on:** 03/19/2008 11:26 pm »

Quote

edkyle99 - 19/3/2008 7:12 PM

End of webcast, with a launch replay showing that it really was hard to see due to poor visibility.

It was hard to see because the broadcast turned into a slideshow a couple minutes before the launch where each frame was at least 5sec apart, poor show.

edkyle99 · « **Reply #113 on:** 03/19/2008 11:43 pm »

Quote

marsavian - 19/3/2008 7:26 PM

Quote
edkyle99 - 19/3/2008 7:12 PM

End of webcast, with a launch replay showing that it really was hard to see due to poor visibility.

It was hard to see because the broadcast turned into a slideshow a couple minutes before the launch where each frame was at least 5sec apart, poor show.

Not on my feed. At least not during the first hour of the flight. I saw smooth video until just a couple of minutes before the broadcast ended. I think it may have depended on your location, etc. (I'm in Newfoundland, Canada again, in a hotel.)

- Ed Kyle

stockman · « **Reply #114 on:** 03/19/2008 11:50 pm »

Quote

edkyle99 - 19/3/2008 8:43 PM

Quote
marsavian - 19/3/2008 7:26 PM

Quote
edkyle99 - 19/3/2008 7:12 PM

End of webcast, with a launch replay showing that it really was hard to see due to poor visibility.

It was hard to see because the broadcast turned into a slideshow a couple minutes before the launch where each frame was at least 5sec apart, poor show.

Not on my feed. At least not during the first hour of the flight. I saw smooth video until just a couple of minutes before the broadcast ended. I think it may have depended on your location, etc. (I'm in Newfoundland, Canada again, in a hotel.)

- Ed Kyle

Same here. I am in Southern Ontario and my feed was very smooth.

DarthVader · « **Reply #115 on:** 03/19/2008 11:57 pm »

Quote

marsavian - 19/3/2008 5:26 PM

Quote
edkyle99 - 19/3/2008 7:12 PM

End of webcast, with a launch replay showing that it really was hard to see due to poor visibility.

It was hard to see because the broadcast turned into a slideshow a couple minutes before the launch where each frame was at least 5sec apart, poor show.

Had the same issue (Vancouver, Canada), in fact I totaly missed the liftoff since I tried to restart the stream .... dumb move I know

Maa2p · « **Reply #116 on:** 03/20/2008 12:03 am »

This may be too early to ask, but is D12 on the schedule yet? The president spoke of it during his speech.

Nick L. · « **Reply #117 on:** 03/20/2008 12:10 am »

Congrats to Sea Launch! Job well done.

DarthVader · « **Reply #118 on:** 03/20/2008 03:43 am »

Two pictures of the launch have been posted on SeaLaunch web site:

http://www.boeing.com/special/sea-launch/mission_directv-11/gallery/directv11_launch_wide.html
http://www.boeing.com/special/sea-launch/mission_directv-11/gallery/directv11_launch_tall.html

Satori · « **Reply #119 on:** 03/20/2008 10:19 am »

From a Boeing news relese:

ST. LOUIS, March 20, 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has received the first on-orbit signals from its DIRECTV 11 satellite, indicating that the satellite is healthy and operating normally. A ground station in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa, reported spacecraft acquisition at 1:44 a.m. Eastern time, as scheduled.

The newest satellite for DIRECTV Inc. was launched on a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket on March 19 from Sea Launch's equatorial launch site in the Pacific Ocean.

"The successful launch of DIRECTV 11 marks another milestone in the evolution of DIRECTV as the leading satellite TV service and provider of high-definition programming," said Rômulo Pontual, DIRECTV's chief technology officer. "Through our long collaboration with Boeing and our commitment to deploying the most advanced technology, we are in the best competitive position to meet the growing demand for high-definition services and provide the most compelling viewing experience for our more than 16.8 million customers."

DIRECTV 11 is a Boeing 702 satellite with onboard technology that will enable DIRECTV to continue expanding its industry-leading lineup of quality High-Definition Television (HDTV) programming to its U.S. customers. DIRECTV 11, together with the DIRECTV 10 satellite launched last year, will provide DIRECTV with the capacity for 150 national HDTV channels and 1,500 local channels.

"Boeing and DIRECTV are celebrating 15 years of collaboration, and I cannot think of a better way to mark this occasion than with the successful delivery, launch and signal acquisition of the ninth satellite we've built for DIRECTV," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "We've come a long way since Boeing's first DIRECTV satellite, and we remain committed to their success as we work to deliver the next in the series of HDTV satellites."

DIRECTV 1, launched in 1993, boasted a solar wingspan of 86 feet and an innovative graphite-antenna system featuring transmit and receive reflectors with a contoured surface that required only one feedhorn antenna to provide an optimal signal. Today's DIRECTV 11 has a wingspan measuring more than 157 feet and supplements its antenna system with spot-beam technology capable of concentrating the broadcast signal to specific markets.

DIRECTV 11 is the second of three next-generation Boeing-built satellites that are helping to expand DIRECTV's market by providing technology that brings the crystal-clear sharpness of satellite-delivered HDTV into millions of households.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.