LIVE: Delta IV Heavy: NRO L-49 - Jan 20, 2011

• #140 by Nick L. on 20 Jan, 2011 20:16
• 1-2 sep!
• #141 by Chris Bergin on 20 Jan, 2011 20:17
• Staging 1-2 Sep.
  
  Second stage ignition.
• #142 by Nick L. on 20 Jan, 2011 20:17
• NEDS deploy and second stage start.

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• #143 by Chris Bergin on 20 Jan, 2011 20:17
• Fairing sep.
• #144 by Nick L. on 20 Jan, 2011 20:17
• Fairing separation!

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• #145 by Chris Bergin on 20 Jan, 2011 20:17
• And that ends ULA's coverage for obvious security reasons.
• #146 by Lee Jay on 20 Jan, 2011 20:18
• So, debris = ice?
• #147 by Jim on 20 Jan, 2011 20:19
• Quote from: Lee Jay on 20 Jan, 2011 20:18

  So, debris = ice?
  

  
  nozzle particles
• #148 by Alpha Control on 20 Jan, 2011 20:20
• Quote from: Jim on 20 Jan, 2011 20:19

  Quote from: Lee Jay on 20 Jan, 2011 20:18

  So, debris = ice?
  

  
  nozzle particles
  

  
  Is that nominal?
• #149 by Nick L. on 20 Jan, 2011 20:20
• Webcast ended.

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• #150 by Lee Jay on 20 Jan, 2011 20:20
• Quote from: Jim on 20 Jan, 2011 20:19

  Quote from: Lee Jay on 20 Jan, 2011 20:18

  So, debris = ice?
  

  
  nozzle particles
  

  
  Thanks, Jim - gotta remember ablative nozzles.
• #151 by kq6ea on 20 Jan, 2011 20:20
• Only saw a rather short contrail here in Long Beach.
• #152 by PahTo on 20 Jan, 2011 20:20
• 
  Wow, congrats to all--what a spectacular launch/vehicle.  Nice to see the RS-68 and Delta IV working consistently!
  
  To echo Lee Jay:  there appeared to be a considerable amount of "stuff" falling away from the vehicle--ice?
  
• #153 by Targeteer on 20 Jan, 2011 20:21
• Were the 3 cores oriented vertically after the pitch maneuver?  It appeared that way on the video but I might have expected the vehicle to roll 90 degrees so they were horizontal. To an amateur that would seem more stable.
• #154 by William Graham on 20 Jan, 2011 20:21
• Fairing sep was significantly later than the baseline mission profile.
• #155 by STS Tony on 20 Jan, 2011 20:22
• Saw Betty from here!
• #156 by Danderman on 20 Jan, 2011 20:22
• I stuck my head out to see what it looked like here in the OC, just a vertical contrail, due to the launch azimuth heading away from here. The contrail probably got up to about 15 degrees or so from the horizon, and the angle of the departing launcher pretty much obscured staging and everything after that.
  
• #157 by Nick L. on 20 Jan, 2011 20:23
• Lots of charring this time - almost like the first Heavy launch. I think the burning insulation was even leaving a smoke trail...
• #158 by ugordan on 20 Jan, 2011 20:24
• Wow, that initial rise from the pad was freaking *majestic*. Subsequent video coverage sucked though. VAFB sure ain't CCAFS when it comes to that...
• #159 by Chris Bergin on 20 Jan, 2011 20:24
• A few people asking why we're calling the vehicle "Betty"
  
  Read William's great overview:
  http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/01/live-delta-iv-heavy-launch-nro-l-49/