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#40
by
edkyle99
on 21 Aug, 2017 03:04
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#41
by
Danderman
on 21 Aug, 2017 04:14
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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.
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#42
by
edkyle99
on 21 Aug, 2017 13:24
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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.
It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.
- Ed Kyle
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#43
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 21 Aug, 2017 14:02
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#44
by
zubenelgenubi
on 21 Aug, 2017 17:54
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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.
It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.
- Ed Kyle
Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape CanaveralOrbital ATK considered basing the launch from a Minotaur pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, but the site is too far north to reach the equatorial orbit needed on the ORS-5 mission.
Another option Orbital ATK briefly considered was setting up a temporary Minotaur launch pad at the European-run spaceport in French Guiana, just north of the equator, but Cape Canaveral eventually became the best choice once engineers devised a way to add another rocket motor on top of the Minotaur 4.
Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)? The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.
I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?
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#45
by
zubenelgenubi
on 21 Aug, 2017 18:32
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#46
by
Skyrocket
on 21 Aug, 2017 18:37
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According to the above chart, Stage 5 burns for about a minute, but does not increase altitude nor increase velocity.
It is mostly being used to reduce inclination to zero degrees - a big plane change.
- Ed Kyle
Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral
Orbital ATK considered basing the launch from a Minotaur pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, but the site is too far north to reach the equatorial orbit needed on the ORS-5 mission.
Another option Orbital ATK briefly considered was setting up a temporary Minotaur launch pad at the European-run spaceport in French Guiana, just north of the equator, but Cape Canaveral eventually became the best choice once engineers devised a way to add another rocket motor on top of the Minotaur 4.
Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)? The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.
I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?
As the first three stages of a Minotaur-IV are government assets, this might drop the price of a M-IV so far, that this option became viable.
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#47
by
Ewoker
on 21 Aug, 2017 19:12
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What is the difference of this 5 stage Minotaur IV to a Minotaur V? The 5th stage is different, but wouldn't it make this this one a different version of Minotaur V and not IV?
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#48
by
zubenelgenubi
on 21 Aug, 2017 19:57
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<snip>
Why not a Minotaur or Pegasus launch from Kwajelein, to acheive low equatorial earth orbit (LEEO)? The payload mass seems within the capability of Pegasus.
I assume, but seek confirmation:
Would a Pegasus air-launch from Kwajalein (9 deg N latitude),
OR a Minotaur 4, no 5th stage, launch from a temporary pad on Kwajalein,
be more expensive than the chosen launch vehicle/configuration/location?
As the first three stages of a Minotaur-IV are government assets, this might drop the price of a M-IV so far, that this option became viable.
To further clarify, the various competing costs appear to be:
ONE
Launching a "standard" M-IV from Kwajalein, which could have a very low price because of the first 3 stages are government assets, but would require building a temporary satellite processing site and a launch complex;
OR
TWO
Launching a "standard" Pegasus-XL from Kwajalein, which might cost more than a "standard" M-IV, especially as the
Stargazer is operating from a remote location;
OR
THREE--the choice chosen
Launching a non-standard M-IV, which adds the price of the systems engineering and execution of the use of a 5th stage, but from Cape Canaveral, a location with established launch infrastructure, AND where the launch costs could be very low to encourage the use of SLC-46.
How much did I get right? How much did I get wrong?
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#49
by
zubenelgenubi
on 21 Aug, 2017 22:05
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One more question, if one of our NSF experts is free to answer:
Where has the ORS-5 satellite been processed for launch?
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#50
by
Sam Ho
on 21 Aug, 2017 22:41
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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.
I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.
$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.
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#51
by
ZachS09
on 21 Aug, 2017 22:54
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I wonder when Orbital ATK will release a map that shows the states that might see the ORS-5 launch.
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#52
by
russianhalo117
on 21 Aug, 2017 23:31
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I wonder when Orbital ATK will release a map that shows the states that might see the ORS-5 launch.
Only Florida and various Islands on its way to the Equator.
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#53
by
Jim
on 21 Aug, 2017 23:53
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#54
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 22 Aug, 2017 06:58
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#55
by
Thorny
on 22 Aug, 2017 18:17
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Terrific to see SLC 46 back in action. This will be the fourth launch center, to host a Minotaur 4/5 launch. Not many launch vehicles can make that claim. (R-7/Soyuz. Pegasus. Any others?)
Sorry for the late reply, but Scout is another. Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg, Wallops Island, and San Marco.
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#56
by
russianhalo117
on 22 Aug, 2017 18:25
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Orbital ATK engineers are working final preparations for Friday’s #MinotaurIV launch of #ORS5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/899806958336835585
I guess the umbilical truss gets thirsty with the presence of a 5 gallon gatorade container at the top.
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#57
by
gongora
on 22 Aug, 2017 18:29
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Weather is 60% POV on the current forecast.
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#58
by
zubenelgenubi
on 23 Aug, 2017 01:51
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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.
I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.
$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.
Thanks--I somehow missed that.
And, reviewing the OP of this thread:
U.S. Air Force’s ORS-5 Satellite to Launch on Minotaur 4
WASHINGTON – Orbital ATK has won a $23.6 million contract to launch a small space-surveillance satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in 2017.
<snip>
Comparing this price point to the most recent launch contract for Pegasus into an low earth, 27 deg. inclination orbit, from Kwajalein:
November 20, 2014
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, to provide launch services for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.
<snip>
The total cost for NASA to launch ICON under this new firm-fixed price launch services task order is approximately $56.3 million. This includes spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry and other launch support requirements.
<snip>
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#59
by
russianhalo117
on 23 Aug, 2017 02:25
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Several of these questions were discussed a page or two earlier in this thread.
I wonder what decided them on a Minotaur 4 over say Pegasus XL.
$23M is cheaper than a Pegasus.
Thanks--I somehow missed that.
And, reviewing the OP of this thread:
U.S. Air Force’s ORS-5 Satellite to Launch on Minotaur 4
WASHINGTON – Orbital ATK has won a $23.6 million contract to launch a small space-surveillance satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office aboard a Minotaur 4 rocket in 2017.
<snip>
Comparing this price point to the most recent launch contract for Pegasus into an low earth, 27 deg. inclination orbit, from Kwajalein:
November 20, 2014
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, to provide launch services for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.
<snip>
The total cost for NASA to launch ICON under this new firm-fixed price launch services task order is approximately $56.3 million. This includes spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry and other launch support requirements.
<snip>
Awarded in different FY Dollars. You would need to convert the cost to a common Fiscal Year to properly compare.