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ЦитироватьNovember 4 - ORS 3: STPSat 3, ORSES, ORS Tech 1, ORS Tech 2, Prometheus 1, Prometheus 2, Prometheus 3, Prometheus 4, SENSE 1, SENSE 2, Firefly, STARE B (Horus), NPS-SCAT, CSIP, Rampart, CAPE 2, KYSat 2, Lunar Orbiter&Lander CubeSat, SwampSat, Black Night 1, SPA-1 Trailblazer, TetherSat, DragonSat 1, COPPER, PhoneSat 2.4 - Minotaur I - MARS LP-0B - 23:30-02:30

ЦитироватьSTPSat-3 Delivered to Wallops for Virginia Spaceport's Fourth but Possibly Not Final Launch of 2013

By Mike Gruss, Brian Berger | Sep. 12, 2013
 
(http://www.spacenews.com/sites/spacenews.com/files/styles/large/public/images/articles/STPSat3_Ball4X3.jpg) (http://www.spacenews.com/sites/spacenews.com/files/images/articles/STPSat3_Ball4X3.jpg)
STPSat-3, built by Ball Aerospace, is the second spacecraft in an experimental Defense Department program to quickly build and launch satellites. Credit: Ball Aerospace photo

WASHINGTON — Following last week's high-profile launch of a NASA Moon probe from Virginia's Wallops Island, the launch facility is getting ready to send a second small satellite into orbit this year atop a converted intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Orbital Sciences Corp.-provided Minotaur 5 rocket that launched NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft (http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/37108spacecraft-glitch-mars-ladees-otherwise-spectacular-nighttime-launch) Sept. 6 shortly before midnight on the East Coast left a streak of fire visible from Maine to South Carolina.
A smaller Minotaur 1 relying on solid-rocket motors from decommissioned Minuteman missiles for its initial boost is slated to launch in early November carrying an experimental U.S. Defense Department satellite recently delivered to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a state-run facility co-located with NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
The satellite, the STPSat-3, was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., in 47 days and is the second spacecraft in an experimental Defense Department program to quickly build and launch satellites.
"STPSat-3 will demonstrate the robust SIV spacecraft by carrying five payloads and a de-orbit module," Rob Strain, president of Ball Aerospace and former director of NASA's Greenbelt, Md.-based Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a Sept. 6 statement announcing that the satellite — built on Ball's Standard Interface Vehicle (SIV) platform — had arrived at Wallops for its planned Nov. 4 launch.
Looking further ahead, the STPSat-3 spacecraft will carry five payloads including missions to measure plasma densities and solar irradiances.  They include:
 

[/li]
• a U.S. Air Force Academy mission designed to measure plasma densities and energies;
   
  
• a Naval Research Laboratory wind and temperature mission to help characterize the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere;
   
  
• a directed energy experiment from the Air Force Research Lab;
   
  
• a NASA/NOAA mission to collect precise measurements of total solar irradiance;
   
  
• and a space phenomenology mission.
  

 The STPSat-3 launch also will include the release of several cubesats.
While there was immediate word on whether the STPSat-3 launch will take place at night or during daylight hours, the next launch out of Wallops will definitely be a daytime launch.
Orbital Sciences is slated to launch its unmanned Cygnus cargo tug Sept. 17 on a NASA-sponsored demonstration flight to the international space station. Lift off is scheduled for 11:16 a.m. EDT.
 Orbital Sciences kicked off Wallops' busy 2013 in April with the maiden launch of the Antares rocket the Dulles, Va.-based company built to carry Cygnus on at least eight paid cargo runs station. The first of those paid runs is slated to lift off from Wallops between Dec. 11 and Jan. 10, according to a NASA manifest.

ЦитироватьOnce the Antares is off the pad, attention at MARS will turn to the next Minotaur 1 launch in early November. The mission is sponsored by the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space office, a unit tasked with delivering tactical and research satellites on a tight budget.

The Minotaur 1's main payload is the STPSat 3 satellite, which hosts five technological research payloads and a de-orbit module. STPSat 3 is already at Wallops being prepared for the launch.

Twenty-eight CubeSats — tiny palm-sized satellites built by students, researchers and commercial entities — are also hitching a ride on the Nov. 4 launch.

ЦитироватьSMDC team shakes things up for future

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/28409.jpg)
Shaker Plate smdc.JPG

Posted: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 7:44 am

By JASON CUTSHAW SMDC/ARSTRAT | 0 comments

Satellite undergoes vibration testing

A team of Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command engineers got together to save time and money to ensure the future of the command's satellite program does not get shaken off track.

Members of the SMDC/ARSTRAT Space and Cyberspace Technology Directorate put their various expertise to use to help the Operationally Responsive Space Enabler Satellite, or ORSES, get mounted to a shake plate prior to random vibration testing at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

Members of the Space and Cyberspace Technology Directorate team involved with the project include Dr. Travis Taylor, Ryan Wolff, Mark Ray and Cindy McCoy.

"In order for a satellite to go into the rocket that launches it, it has to go through a process where it is shaken to simulate the launch environment," Taylor said. "It is tested to find out that it is not going to harm the launch rocket and the other payload in it, and also, survive the rigors of a launch.

"Our contractors had an adaptor plate, but it was not compatible and the mounting holes would not match up with our next satellite going up. To have this happen with the contractor, there wasn't enough money and there wasn't enough time for them to accomplish it."

With ORSES preparing to launch in early November fr om NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., it was paramount to perform all testing and preparations for the launch.

"We were concerned, and the time factor was pushing up against us," Taylor said. "So, finally we had a staff meeting, and we decided to do it ourselves. We bought our own 24-by-24, 2-inches-thick, 110-pound piece of aluminum. I, along with my dad, Charles, went out to his shop at home and worked about 20 hours in less than two days to get all the holes drilled and ready for the test.

"So what we ended up doing here at SMDC was, in a period of two to three days, was figure out how to save time and money to make sure we got our satellite tested so it will meet its launch date Nov. 4."

With time being a factor before the November launch, the team took it upon themselves to ensure all would be ready for SMDC's next generation of satellites to launch into space.

"I built the satellite and performed all of the testing, and the last thing needed was to perform vibration tests," Wolff said. "These are very aggressive and we test at loads from 6g to 13g. One thing I am most proud of is we did this all in-house. From putting the satellite together from parts and pieces to making the shake plate, we did it all here."

With the launch of ORSES, the main goal is to provide support for Soldiers serving in harm's way and to provide them with another means of communication.

"This was both a bad thing, and a good thing," Taylor said. "The bad thing is that this is the sign of the times when we don't have a lot of money in the budget to get people to help us with projects like this. The good thing is that it takes us back to wh ere we are going to have to do these things ourselves and not depend on outside sources.

"It is great to see people here in-house at SMDC really stepping up and doing great things," he added. "And with the success of the launch, we are going to help provide secure and improved tactical communications for the war fighter, you can't top that."

As the team looks to the lessons learned, they pointed out that everything happens for a reason and said they are happy to be working together for SMDC and the troops in the field.

"This team is awesome," McCoy said. "Everyone supported each other and we came together to accomplish this mission to ultimately support the troops, and SMDC can be proud."

ЦитироватьWednesday, September 18, 2013            
Sky is no limit for engineering students whose tiny satellite will be launched into space soon
                                                           
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/89531.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/89531.jpg)KySat-2 will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 500 km and a speed of about 8 km/second, making a trip around the planet once every 90 minutes or so. (Photo fr om UKNow)

   By Keith Hautala
 Special to KyForward
College students are often encouraged to "reach for the stars" in establishing their goals. A group of University of Kentucky students, along with their peers at Morehead State University, have done just that – literally.
In November, the satellite they built will be launched into space.
The students worked under the auspices of the Kentucky Space consortium, putting in long hours for much of the past year — in addition to their regular classes and assignments — to design, build and test the satellite, named KySat-2.
"It's a phenomenal educational opportunity," says James Lumpp, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the UK Space Systems Laboratory. "We have had both undergraduate and graduate students working on the project, even some high school interns."
KySat-2 was built to the CubeSat picosatellite standard, which restricts its volume to one liter (about a 4-inch cube, roughly the size of a tissue box) and its mass to one kilogram (2.2 pounds). CubeSat was created to bring small, affordable satellite technology within reach of educational and research institutions. The Kentucky Space consortium is one of a couple dozen or so CubeSat programs operating in the United States.
Yesterday, UK student and manager of the UK team involved, Jason Rexroat, was in Albuquerque to deliver KySat-2 in person, where it was loaded onto a carrier with other CubeSats from around the country. From there, the satellites will be transported to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, wh ere they will be launched on an unmanned rocket Nov. 4.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/89532.jpg)
UK Steve Alvarado demonstrates software that will allow the KySat-2 team to track the position of the satellite and make contact over ham radio frequencies. (Photo from UKNow)

 "It's rare for students to get hands-on experience with an actual space engineering project," said Rexroat, a UK electrical engineering graduate student.
UK's CubeSat program is supported by grants from NASA. The students who work in the lab, many of them undergraduates, are paid employees of the university. Most other CubeSat programs are either club-based and dependent on volunteers, or they are curricular projects that involve large numbers of students working for course credit.
"We are in a fairly unique position in that we have a small number of students who are able to really dedicate themselves to work on the mission," said Steve Alvarado, an electrical engineering senior at UK. "It has been a lot of long hours and a lot of sleepless nights."
Despite its tiny size, KySat-2 is loaded with complex electronics, including an onboard computer, a digital camera, lithium-ion batteries, solar electric panels and a ham radio transceiver.
Once launched, KySat-2 will orbit about 500 km (roughly 300 miles) above the Earth, whizzing around the planet once every 90 minutes or so at speeds close to 8 km/s (18,000 mph). The team will be able to track its position from the ground using software. Two or three times a day, KySat-2 will be a tiny blip on the horizon over Lexington, for about 10 minutes at each pass.
During that brief window, the team will be able to make direct contact with KySat-2 over ham radio frequencies from a ground station in UK's F. Paul Anderson Tower. KySat-2 will send back data, including starfield photos taken with its onboard camera. The team will also be able to make connections at other times via Genso, a network of radio amateur and university ground stations around the world. There are also plans to use a mobile ground station to communicate with the satellite, in an educational outreach mission with local K-12 schools.
KySat-2 is the second Kentucky Space satellite to be built. KySat-1 was built over a period of five years, starting in 2006. Although fully tested and flight-qualified to NASA standards, KySat-1 never achieved orbit. The first Kentucky satellite was lost on March 4, 2011, as part of NASA's unsuccessful Glory mission.
"This is engineering in the extreme," Lumpp says. "Everything that goes into space has to withstand extreme changes in temperature, vacuum, exposure to radiation, intense vibration — virtually every sort of stress you can imagine. When you work in space you have to accept that there's going to be a certain amount of failure. It's just part of the game."
The KySat-2 team members are all too aware of the seemingly infinite number of things that could go wrong, but they try not to think about it too much.
"We've built it to NASA standards, we've bench tested it and put it through all of its paces numerous times," Rexroat said. "Once we hand it over, it's literally out of our hands. We have to just hope for the best."
Chris Mitchell, a computer engineering senior, acknowledges that it will be a long six weeks of waiting from now until launch day.
"Each of us has a huge emotional investment in the mission," he said. "Obviously we all want it to work perfectly."
Still, Alvarado is confident that all the hard work and sleepless nights will pay off:
"It will all be worth it for those five seconds, when we receive our first packets of data."
http://youtu.be/0nOjTK1SmvI (http://youtu.be/0nOjTK1SmvI)
 Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing
Keith Hautala is a clinical information specialist at University of Kentucky.

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ЦитироватьGovernment shutdown triggers Minotaur delay
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 20, 2013

Forced to halt launch preparations due to the partial shutdown of the U.S. government, officials are targeting a mid-November launch of a Minotaur 1 rocket from Virginia's Eastern Shore on a technology demonstration mission with a record-setting payload of 29 satellites.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/89605.jpg)
 [SIZE=-2]File photo of a Minotaur 1 rocket at Wallops Island, Va. Credit: NASA[/SIZE]
 
 The solid-fueled launcher was supposed to blast off Nov. 4 on a mission under the banner of the U.S. military's Operationally Responsive Space office, an initiative aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of the Pentagon's space programs.
Technicians planned to begin assembling components of the four-stage rocket on launch pad 0B at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in October. But just as preparations began to ramp up for the launch, managers had to order a work stoppage Oct. 1 because the government shutdown interrupted access to facilities on NASA property, including a satellite processing building, a rocket storage complex and the launch pad.
Stacking of the four-stage Minotaur 1 rocket on its launch pad typically begins a few weeks before liftoff.
The Minotaur 1 rocket, marketed and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., is a fusion of decommissioned Minuteman missile stages and new commercial solid rocket motors built by ATK.
Orbital Sciences continued to work at Wallops through the shutdown on the next Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft, which are scheduled for launch in a window between Dec. 15 and Dec. 21, according to David Thompson, the company's chairman and CEO.
Speaking to investment analysts in an Oct. 17 third quarter earnings call, Thompson said processing of the Antares and Cygnus vehicles was exempt from the government closure because they support the International Space Station, which kept operating at full capability during the 16-day partial shutdown.
"The impacts on us were pretty modest with regard to current business," Thompson said. "All of our contracts were well-funded so we had no problems there."
But missions not deemed essential to NASA or the military, such as projects required to protect life and property, were put on the back burner during the shutdown.
 (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/89606.jpg)
 [SIZE=-2]A technician works on the STPSat 3 spacecraft, the largest satellite slated to launch on the Minotaur 1's next mission. Credit: Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.[/SIZE]
 
 A source familiar with preparations for the upcoming Minotaur launch, which is known as the ORS 3 mission, said the shutdown caused a day-for-day slip in the launch date. The launch has been tentatively rescheduled for Nov. 19.
Orbital Sciences announced the ORS 3 launch contract in April 2012, and one of the launch's objectives is to demonstrate officials can pull off the mission on a shortened schedule modeled on a template borrowed from the commercial space industry.
Instead of purchasing the rocket outright, the military signed a commercial launch services contract with Orbital, which is responsible for securing a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The rocket will test a new GPS tracking system and an autonomous destruct device designed to destroy the launch vehicle if it flies off course. Launch vehicles usually rely on radar tracking from ground-based antennas, and a safety officer is on standby to manually send a destruct command if the rocket veers off course.
The effort is aimed at reducing the workforce, time and cost required to launch satellites, according to the ORS office.
The Minotaur 1 rocket will launch 29 satellites into low Earth orbit, setting a new record for the most payloads ever deployed from a single rocket.
The largest payload is a technology trailblazer named STPSat 3, an approximately 400-pound spacecraft hosting five experiments to test next-generation satellite components and measure the space environment.
Four dozen more satellites will launch stowed inside CubeSat deployment pods for release once the Minotaur's upper stage reaches orbit.

ЦитироватьSTPSat 3
Developed under the Space Test Program, it carries five separate packages of instruments and a passive aero-drag sytem, similar to one on the Minotaur upper stage, that will drop it from orbit at the end ot its life (up to 25 years). The following descriptions were provided by Ball Aerospace, the satellite manufacturer and are printed verbatim:
iMESA-R (Integrated Miniaturized Electrostatic Analyzer Reflight), a U.S. Air Force Academy mission designed to measure plasma densities and energies,
J-CORE (Joint Component Research), a space phenomenology mission sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) /EO Countermeasures Technology Branch (RYMW) & Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC),
SSU (Strip Sensor Unit), an AFRL Directed Energy (RD) experiment to provide risk reduction through on-orbit testing and operation of a sensor assembly,
SWATS (Small Wind and Temperature Spectrometer), a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) mission to provide in-situ measurements of the neutral and plasma environment to characterize the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere,
TCTE (TSI Calibration Transfer Experiment) , a NASA/NOAA mission to collect high accuracy, high precision measurements of Total Solar Irradiance to monitor changes in solar irradiance incident at the top the Earth's atmosphere with TCTE instrument provided by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.

NASA ELaNa 4 Cubesats
Ho`oponopono – 3U cubesat developed by students of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, and developed in co-operation with the USAF. Its purpose is to continue the radar calibration missions of RadCal (1993-041A/2269 8)  and a package aboard USA-147/DMSP F-15 (1999-067A/25991).
KySat 2 – 1U Cubesat designed, built, and tested by students of the University of Kentucky and Morehead State University, it allows students to receive data and telemetry and upload audio and text files for download by students at other schools. Students can also download (extremely) low resolution images taken by the satellite's imaging system and "command" the satellite. It replaces KySat 1 that was lost in the failed NASA Glory launch during 2011.
DragonSat-1 – 1U cubesat from Drexel Space Systems Laboratory of Drexel University carrying an Earth-imaging camera, a magnetometer, an accelerometer and seven temperature sensors. It will also test a gravity-gradient boom.
NPS-SCAT (Naval Post-graduate School – Solar Cell Array Tester) – 1U Cubesat testing solar cells and measuring how they degrade over time in the space environment.
Trailblazer – 1U Cubesat from University of New Mexico and providing proof-of-concept for an Air Force Sponsored bus technology called Space Plug-and-play Architecture (SPA). Also studying space weather with a radiation dosimeter.
ChargerSat-1 – 1U Cubesat built by Huntsville students, equipped with a gravity-gradient stabilisation boom and carrying out communications and solar cell tests.
PhoneSat 2.4 – 1U cubesat based on a Nexus telephone with Google operating system. It will take Earth images. As an addition to the PhoneSat-1 design, it can accept commands and is equipped with solar cells. Three earlier Phonesats were carried on the Cygnus test mission of 2011 Apr 21 (2013-016A, 2013-016C & 2013-016E)
Lunar Orbiter/Lander CubeSat – 1U cubesat, testing software and an imager for an eventual lunar orbiter/lander cubesat that will be sent to the Moon via a launch to geosynchronous orbit – from Vermont Technical College and the University of Vermont.
COPPER (Close Orbit Propulsion Plume and Elemental Recognition – Cube) – 1U cubesat from Parks College of Engineering, Aviation & Technology of St Louis University, to be used for infrared imaging.
Black Knight-1 – 1U Cubesat built by students at the West Point Academy to test a two-axis, passive, attitude control system and an Earth imaging camera.
SwampSat – 1U Cubesat developed by students at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, it is equipped with gyroscopes to demonstrate rapid and precise three axis attitude control.
CAPE-2 – 1U cubesat (Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment) from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, demonstrating satellite technology including stabilisation using the Earth's magnetic field. CAPE-1 was launched 2007.
TJ³Sat – 1U cubesat from Thomas Jefferson High School of Alexandria, Virginia that will be used as a broadcast satellite at amateur frequencies, using a phonetic voice synthesizer that converts strings of text to voice.

Government/Military Cubesats
A further package of Cubesats is being carried as a USAF-sponsored payload cluster:
SENSE SV1 (Space Environmental NanoSat Experiment) – 3U Cubesat – equipped with star cameras for attitude determination, carrying CTECS (Compact Total Electron Density Sensor) for ionospheric measurements and experiments, and CTIP (Cubesat Tiny Ionospheric Photometer) to monitor photons produced by the recombination of positive oxygen ions and electrons. Its purpose is to assess the use of small satellites to monitor space weather.
SENSE SV2 (Space Environmental NanoSat Experiment) – 3U Cubesat – equipped with star cameras for attitude determination, carrying CTECS (Compact Total Electron Density Sensor) for ionospheric measurements and experiments and WINCS (Wind Ion Neutral Composite Suite) to measure atmospheric and ionospheric density, composition, temperature and movement. Its purpose is to assess the use of small satellites to monitor space weather.
Prometheus 1 – 1.5U Cubesat from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, payload unspecified but assessing the operational effectiveness of a constellation of Cubesats.
Prometheus 2 – 1.5U Cubesat from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, payload unspecified but assessing the operational effectiveness of a constellation of Cubesats.
Prometheus 3 – 1.5U Cubesat from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, payload unspecified but assessing the operational effectiveness of a constellation of Cubesats.
Prometheus 4 – 1.5U Cubesat from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, payload unspecified but assessing the operational effectiveness of a constellation of Cubesats.
ORSES (ORS Enabler Satellite) – 3U Cubesat – collaboration between ORS and Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) to provide communications and data for underserved tactical users. Based on the SMDC-ONE satellite (2012-048B/38759) but upgraded with a Software Defined Radio (Vulcan Wireless) and an NSA Type-I encryption (Raytheon) Gryphon device.
Horus/STARE (Space-based Telescope for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris) – 3U Cubesat provided by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the National Reconnaissance Office, equipped with optical sensors to detect orbiting payloads & debris for orbit measurement. Held over from the USA 238 launch that carried its partner satellite – Re (2012-048A/3875 8) .
ORS Tech 1 – 3U Cubesat – unspecified payload from Johns Hopkins University being used to assess a multi-mission satellite bus.
Firefly – 3U Cubesat to explore the relationship between lightning and Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes (TGFs). The mission will involve students Students at Siena College in Loudonville NY, and at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne MD.

Final Rocket Stage
One payload will remain attached to the Minotaur upper stage:
SoM/DoM – a passive aero-drag de-orbit system to accelerate orital decay, similar to the one aboard STPSat 3. It was developed under the Space Test Program.
The Minotaur rocket will also carry a system to monitor its own ascent but it is not obvious which launch vehicle stage carries it:
AFSS (Autonomous Flight Safety System) – a demonstration system for use during the ascent phase of the launch that uses on-board tracking and processing to terminate an errant launch vehicle.

ЦитироватьTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2013
 Working on an austere launch pad in Virginia, technicians have constructed a 70-foot-tall rocket out of stockpiled government-furnished missile stages and commercial hardware for launch Nov. 19 with a record payload of 29 satellites. On Thursday, workers hoisted the upper stack atop the Minotaur 1 rocket atop the booster's first and second stages. The upper stack is composed of the Minotaur 1's Orion 50XL and Orion 38 second and third stage motors, plus the rocket's payload fairing containing the mission's satellites.
The mission's 29-satellite manifest is headlined by STPSat 3, a host spacecraft for five experiments and sensors to measure the space environment. Another 28 CubeSats are housed inside "wafers" to deploy from the Minotaur upper stage once it reaches its 310-mile-high orbit.
The satellites are enclosed inside the Minotaur's fairing, which is flying in the 61-inch-diameter configuration for this launch.
Now fully assembled, the Minotaur 1 rocket is in the midst of final testing. Final preparations still to come include a launch rehearsal later this week and a launch readiness review to clear the rocket and its payloads for flight.
It will mark the third space launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport since the first week of September, following another Minotaur launch of NASA's LADEE moon probe and the Antares rocket's second flight with a commercial cargo resupply craft for the International Space Station.
One more launch - another Antares rocket heading for the space station - is scheduled for mid-December to punctuate an unparalleled flurry of activity at the Virginia rocket base.
The spaceport is operated by the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority and lies on property owned by NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
The launch from pad 0B at Wallops is scheduled during a four-hour window opening at 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT) on Nov. 19.
The U.S. military's Operationally Responsive Space office is sponsoring the mission.
Charged with demonstrating innovative technologies, the joint-force ORS program is headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., with oversight from the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.
The Nov. 19 launch, known as the ORS 3 mission, will test automated launch vehicle trajectory targeting and range safety systems. Employing such capabilities on future space missions could reduce costs and the time required to prepare rockets for launch.
"These enablers not only focus on the ability to execute a rapid call up mission, they reduce engineering hours from months to days in both cases, resulting in decreased launch costs," says a mission description in an ORS fact sheet.
The ORS 3 mission also followed a commercial model in the procurement of the Minotaur 1 rocket from Orbital Sciences Corp. Officials are conducting the launch under a commercial license granted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Officials say this approach also reduces costs and simplifies development of the mission.

ЦитироватьMinotaur I/ORS-3

Launch Date:    November 19, 2013
Launch Location:    Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Virginia
Mission Customer:    Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office

The launch of a Minotaur I rocket for the U.S. Air Force ORS-3 mission is scheduled to occur on November 19, 2013, with a planned launch window from 7:30 -9:15 pm EST. The launch, from ignition to delivery of the satellites in orbit, will take a little less than twelve-and-a-half minutes, with a targeted 500 km circular orbit at an inclination of 40.5 degrees.

Highlights of the mission include:

    25th overall launch of the Minotaur family of rockets
    6th Minotaur launch from the Wallops Flight Facility
    2nd Minotaur launch from Wallops in the last three months
    29 Satellites being launched in the mission (the most ever aboard a single rocket)
    74 total number of satellites boosted into orbit aboard Minotaur rockets since the program's
    first flight in 2000

The primary payload for the ORS-3 mission is the U.S. Air Force STPSat-3 spacecraft. In addition, the rocket will deploy 28 cubesats and carry two non separating tertiary payloads. Among the cubesats being launched is TJ3Sat, the first satellite built by high school students to be launched into space. Orbital employees advised the students who designed and built TJ3Sat and the company provided technical and financial assistance to the program.

About Minotaur I

Minotaur I is a four stage space launch vehicle capable of boosting up to 1,300 lbs. into low- Earth orbit. The rocket combines two commercial upper stage motors and other Orbital launch vehicle technologies, including structures, avionics and other elements, with two government-supplied lower-stage rocket motors to create a responsive, reliable and low-cost launch system for U.S. government-sponsored spacecraft.

Orbital conducts Minotaur launches under the U.S. Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital-3 contract, which is managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, CA. The Space Development and Test Wing, based at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM, oversees Minotaur launches for SMC.

ЦитироватьTJ3Sat

TJ3Sat is a project between the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Orbital and other industry partners to design and build a CubeSat to increase interest in aerospace technology, as part of NASA's Educational Launch of NanoSatellites (ELaNa) program. TJ3Sat will be the first satellite built by high school students to orbit the Earth when it launches from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on an Orbital Minotaur I rocket.

TJ3Sat's primary mission is to provide educational resources to other K-12 education institutions and foster interest in aerospace through the successful design and flight of a CubeSat. The program was started in December 2006 and its launch is the culmination of almost 7 years of work by more than 50 TJ students. Orbital funded the purchase of the satellite hardware and its employees mentored the students providing engineering support. The company also made its software and hardware test facilities available to the project.

Mission Overview

TJ3Sat will allow students and amateur radio users the opportunity to send and receive data from the satellite. Students and other users from around the world will be able to submit text strings to be uploaded to the TJ3Sat website.

Approved text strings will be transmitted to the satellite and its Text Speak module will convert the text messages into a voice signal which will be relayed back to Earth over an amateur radio frequency using an onboard Stensat radio. In addition to the voice signals, properly outfitted amateur radio stations will also be able to receive state of health telemetry from the satellite

Performance:    

Orbit: 500 km, 40.5° inclination
Dimension: 10 x 10 x 11 cm (3.9 x 3.9 x 4.5 in)
Launch mass: 0.89 kg (2.0 lbs)
Solar Arrays: Body mounted solar cells, >3W avg.
Stabilization: Uncontrolled
Mission Life: 6 months (2-4 year orbit lifetime)
Status:    Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), Virginia

ЦитироватьU.S. Air Force photo of the Orbital Sciences Corporation #Minotaur 1 rocket on the launch pad NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket will carry the Ball Aerospace-built STPSat-3 satellite and 28 cubesats into space as part of the ORS-3 mission.

ЦитироватьOrbital Set to Launch Minotaur I Rocket in Support of ORS-3 Mission for the U.S. Air Force

-- Company's 25th Minotaur Rocket to Launch Record Number of Satellites Into Orbit --

-- Orbital-Sponsored TJ3Sat to be First Satellite Designed and Built by High School Students --

(Dulles, VA 18 November 2013) -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world's leading space technology companies, announced today that it is in final preparations for tomorrow's launch of a Minotaur I rocket in support of the Department of Defense Operationally Responsive Space Office's ORS-3 mission. The vehicle is scheduled to be launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia on Tuesday, November 19 at approximately 7:30 p.m. (EST).

The Minotaur I space launch vehicle combines Orbital's commercial launch vehicle technologies, including upper stage rocket motors, structures, avionics and other elements, with government-supplied first- and second-stage rocket motors to create responsive, reliable and low-cost launch systems for U.S. Government-sponsored spacecraft. It can place single or multiple satellites weighing up to 1,300 lbs. into low-Earth orbit. Tomorrow's mission will be the 25th Minotaur launch since the rocket's first flight in 2000.

Under the Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP) contract, which is managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Space Development and Test Directorate (SMC/SD) Launch Systems Division (SMC/SDL) located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Orbital designs, integrates, tests and provides space launch services with the Minotaur I, IV, V and VI rockets, as well as suborbital launch capabilities with the Minotaur II and III configurations.

"We are pleased that the ORS office has chosen the Minotaur I rocket to support this important mission that will not only launch the Air Force's Space Test Program Satellite-3 and 28 CubeSats, but will also demonstrate new methods and technologies designed to reduce overall launch costs," said Mr. Ron Grabe, Orbital's Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Launch Systems Group. "We look forward to a successful launch of the ORS-3 mission and the opportunity to continue supporting the Department of Defense's important work in the area of ORS systems."

In addition to conducting launch operations, Orbital is also a sponsor of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology's TJ3Sat, one of the 28 CubeSats aboard the Minotaur rocket and the first satellite to be built and tested by high school students. Over the past several years, volunteers from Orbital's technical staff mentored the student team and provided engineering oversight, while the company made its space testing facilities available and provided financial support for the satellite project at the Alexandria, VA school. The TJ³Sat was assigned to the ORS-3 mission through NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program based on launch manifest availability.

About the ORS-3 Mission
The ORS-3 mission, also known as the Enabler mission, will demonstrate launch and range improvements to include automated vehicle trajectory targeting, range safety planning, and flight termination; employ a commercial-like procurement with FAA licensing of a Minotaur I; and launch the Air Force's Space Test Program Satellite-3 and 28 CubeSats on an Integrated Payload Stack. These enablers not only focus on the ability to execute a rapid call-up mission, they automate engineering tasks that once took months and reduce those timelines to days and/or hours resulting in decreased mission costs.

About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com. Follow the company on Twitter @OrbitalSciences.

ЦитироватьA0742/13 - DUE TO MILITARY STATIONARY AIRSPACE RESERVATION "MINOTAUR 1/OSR-3" WITHIN THE NEW YORK OCEANIC CTA/FIR, NEW YORK OCEANIC WILL NOT ACCEPT IFR FLIGHT WITHIN THAT AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY: 3740N/7252W, 3738N/7207W, 3725N/7143W, 3703N/7134W, 3622N/7141W, 3622N/7240W, 3713N/7240W TO START POINT. THE FOLLOWING INTERNATIONAL ROUTES WILL BE AFFECTED: AR9, L453, L454, L455, L457 AND M201 INTERNATIONAL REROUTES ARE AS FOLLOWS: AR9: CLOSED L453: FILING L453 TO JOIN M201 USE INLAND RTG AND REVERSE TO CARRIBEAN USE INLAND RTG TO ECG AR8 OXANA DCT ALOBI L435 AND REVERSE L454: USE SQAUD DCT SKPPR DCT PERDO AND REVERSE L455: USE SQAUD DCT SKPPR L455 AND REVERSE L457: USE SAVIK L459 DASER M592 BDA AND REVERSE M201: USE M202 UKOKA M202 LOMPI AND REVERSE. SFC - FL999, 20 NOV 00:30 2013 UNTIL 27 NOV 03:00 2013. CREATED: 19 NOV 01:06 2013

Цитировать1550 GMT (10:50 a.m. EST)
 The launch of a Minotaur 1 rocket from Virginia is on schedule for tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST (0030 GMT). The launch window extends until 9:15 p.m. EST (0215 GMT), and the weather forecast calls for nearly ideal conditions with clear skies, temperatures in the mid-40s Fahrenheit, and just a 5 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch.
The launch is sponsored by the U.S. military's Operationally Responsive Space office. Based at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, the ORS program was established to develop and demonstrate technologies to lower the cost and increase the pace of Defense Department space missions.
The ultimate objective of the ORS initiative is the rapid call-up of launchers and satellites on standby, which can be quickly assembled and launched when military commanders need them.
Tonight's mission is aimed at testing an autonomous launch safety system for the ORS program, but the 70-foot-tall Minotaur is also loaded with 29 satellites.
The largest payload is STPSat 1, a refrigerator-sized satellite that serves as a host platform for five sensors and experiments for the military, NASA and NOAA.
The Minotaur is also carrying 28 CubeSats housed in "wafer" deployment mechanisms below STPSat 3.
The countdown is due to begin at 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT).
 
 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013
1430 GMT (9:30 a.m. EST)
 Mission managers on Sunday gave approval to proceed with final launch preparations for Tuesday night's flight of a Minotaur 1 rocket on a mission to demonstrate cost-cutting technologies for the U.S. military. The mission is set for liftoff in a window between 7:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. EST Tuesday (0030-0215 GMT Wednesday) from launch pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Officials met Sunday afternoon for the launch readiness review to discuss the status of the launch vehicle, its payload comprising 29 satellites, ground systems and weather.
There is a 95 percent chance of acceptable conditions at the time of launch, according to Keith Koehler, a NASA Wallops spokesperson.
On Monday, workers planned to complete final arming of the Minotaur 1 launch vehicle, which is powered by four solid-fueled stages derived from the Minuteman missile and commercial programs.
Vehicle testing and closeouts are complete, officials said.
Tuesday's Minotaur launch from Virginia depends on today's launch of NASA's Mars-bound MAVEN spacecraft going on schedule from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The two missions share a tracking site in Antigua, and if MAVEN's launch is delayed 24 hours, the Minotaur flight would be pushed back as well.
The launch countdown is set to begin about 5 hours before liftoff Tuesday.
The nighttime launch will be visible along the U.S. East Coast, with viewing opportunities available from South Carolina to New York and inland to the Appalachians.
We'll have live coverage and check back later for a full launch preview and more details on the mission.
If you're in the area and want to see the launch, check out this map (http://spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/ors3/visibility.html) showing its visibility, weather permitting.

ЦитироватьMinotaur launch timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: November 18, 2013

T-00:00    Liftoff
The first stage's decommissioned Minuteman 2 M55A1 solid rocket motor ignites to begin the Minotaur 1 rocket's mission. Pitch and roll commands two seconds later will put the rocket on the proper trajectory east from Wallops Island, Va.

T+00:37    Max Q
Aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle reaches its peak as the Minotaur 1 accelerates through the lower atmosphere.

T+01:01    Stage 1 Sep./Stage 2 Ignition
At an altitude of about 20 miles, the rocket's first stage exhausts its supply of solid fuel and is jettisoned. The second stage's SR19 motor ignites to continue the flight toward space.

T+01:17    Stage 2 Skirt Jettison
The second stage's aft skirt is jettisoned at an altitude of 32 miles.

T+02:13    Stage 2 Separation
After a 72-second burn, the Minotaur rocket's second stage separates at an altitude of 77 miles as the vehicle is traveling more than 6,000 mph.

T+02:15    Stage 3 Ignition
Components from the commercial Pegasus rocket program take over as the ATK Orion 50XL motor begins its 74-second firing.

T+02:25    Fairing Jettison
The 61-inch titanium payload fairing that protected the satellites during the ride through the lower atmosphere is jettisoned as the rocket ascends into space at an altitude of 86 miles.

T+03:29    Stage 3 Burnout
The Orion 50XL motor completes its burn and the Minotaur 1 enters a coast period lasting more than five minutes, during which the vehicle's altitude will soar to approximately 310 miles, the mission's orbital injection altitude.

T+08:56    Stage 3 Separation
The Minotaur's third stage is released to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

T+09:07    Stage 4 Ignition
The Orion 38 solid rocket motor is ignited to complete the job of placing the payload into orbit.

T+10:14    Stage 4 Burnout
The fourth stage uses up its propellant and burns out as it enters the targeted orbit at an altitude of about 310 miles and an orbital inclination of 40.5 degrees.

T+12:14    STPSat 3 Separation
The Air Force's STPSat 3 satellite is deployed from the Minotaur 1 rocket's fourth stage.

T+19:49    CubeSat Separation 1
The first portion of the mission's 28 CubeSat secondary payloads begin deploying from "wafer" containers stacked on the Minotaur fourth stage.

T+22:19    CubeSat Separation 2
The last portion of the mission's 28 CubeSat secondary payloads begin deploying from "wafer" containers stacked on the Minotaur fourth stage.

Data source: Orbital Sciences Corp.

Цитировать1955 GMT (2:55 p.m. EST)
 There is a 100 percent probability of acceptable weather conditions on the ground at the time of launch, but space weather conditions are currently NO GO for launch. Officials are monitoring an X-ray flux event caused by a solar storm.
There is also an issue with a backup flight termination system transmitter at the Minotaur's tracking station in Coquina, N.C.
 
 1930 GMT (2:30 p.m. EST)
 T-minus 5 hours and counting. The launch team has assembled in the launch control center on the main base of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, and clocks have begun ticking backward toward liftoff at 7:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT). Nearly 50 senior managers from NASA, the Air Force, Orbital Sciences and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport occupy the control room during countdown operations.
The first steps of the countdown include the activation of the launcher's on-board computer, followed by communications checks between the rocket's S-band telemetry system and ground receivers.
The Minotaur's inertial guidance system will aligned for flight, and the launch team will check the rocket's destruct system to ensure it is ready to terminate the flight if the rocket goes off course and threatens populated areas.
After initial testing is complete, the launch team will power down the Minotaur rocket, workers will clear the launch pad, and the final prelaunch checklist will begin at T-minus 60 minutes.

Цитировать2055 GMT (3:55 p.m. EST)
The X-ray flux issue has been cleared because the amplified stream of particles is not aimed at Earth, according to an Orbital Sciences spokesperson.

The mobile gantry at launch pad 0B has been retracted away from the 69-foot-tall Minotaur 1 launch vehicle, exposing the rocket at the oceanfront launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

The structure is moved back from the launch pad using a truck similar to an airplane pushback tractor.

The gantry's height was raised to 127 feet to support the Minotaur 5 rocket's first flight from Wallops in September. The Minotaur 5 is about 11 feet taller than the Minotaur 1.

The mobile gantry was reconfigured following the Minotaur 5's launch of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, mission on Sept. 6. Work platforms were moved to accommodate the Minotaur 1, which has a 5.5-foot-diameter first stage motor based on the Minuteman ballistic missile. The larger Minotaur 5 is based on the Peacekeeper missile and is 7.7 feet wide at the bottom.

Today's launch marks the sixth Minotaur flight from launch pad 0B at Wallops.

And the earlier issue with a transmitter at a tracking station in North Carolina has been resolved and will be cleared once it completes prelaunch testing.

Цитировать2119 GMT (4:19 p.m. EST)
There are no issues with the launch vehicle or the payload at this point in the countdown, but the Wallops Range is "red" as engineers continue to troubleshoot an issue with the back-up flight termination system transmitter and a data circuit at the downrange ground station in Coquina, N.C.

Цитировать2135 GMT (4:35 p.m. EST)
After completing the pre-flight vehicle test checklist, Minotaur and ground support equipment have been powered down.

During the last couple of hours, the team retracted the launch pad gantry, established radio connections with the Minotaur launcher, and checked the rocket's flight termination system. And the launch team also aligned the Minotaur 1's inertial navigation system.

The launch team reports the launch pad is ready to begin final arming procedures for the Minotaur 1 rocket. The pad team is completing the final arming of the launcher now.

Цитировать2212 GMT (5:12 p.m. EST)
 The launch team has completed final vehicle arming, and the pad crew is preparing to evacuate the launch pad for launch.

Цитировать2300 GMT (6:00 p.m. EST)
T-минус 90 минут. Это относительно спокойную фазу обратного отсчета времени до финального предстартовой контрольный список начинается с T-минус 60 минут.
Инженеры продолжают устранять проблемы в вдали станции слежения в Ракушечник, Северная Каролина, Если диапазон "красный" в 6:30 вечера. EST (2330 GMT), отсчет времени будем проводить в T-минус 60 минут, пока проблема не будет решена.

Окно запуска сегодня простирается до 9:15 вечера. EST (0215 GMT).

Цитировать2320 по Гринвичу (6:20 p.m. EST)
Следуйте вместе с сегодняшнего старта, проверяя эта хронология основных событий во время Минотавр восхождение в космос.
И вид грунта следить карту Минотавра траекторию полета по пути на орбиту в этот вечер.

Если вы находитесь на восточном побережье США от Каролины до Новой Англии, может быть, вы сможете увидеть ракеты Minotaur полос в космос в этот вечер. Проверьте карту, показывающую, видимость возможности.

Цитировать2330 по Гринвичу (6:30 вечера. EST)
ЗАПУСК ЗАДЕРЖКИ. Отсчет времени проводит в Т-минус 60 минут, так как работники по-прежнему пытаются решить проблему на станции слежения на Ракушечник, штат Северная Каролина, южнее космодрома Wallops.
Окно запуска простирается до 9:15 вечера. EST (0215 GMT), так что часы должны резюме с 8:15 вечера. EST на упрощение запуска в этот вечер.

Цитировать2349 по Гринвичу (6:49 вечера. EST)
В Ракушечник диапазоне станции в Северной Каролине Outer Banks, как сообщается, работает. Придумывать убедиться, Ракушечник имеет хорошую связь с ракетного система прекращения полета.

Цитировать0015 по Гринвичу (7:15 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 60 минут и подсчета голосов. Отсчет времени возобновляется с целевым время запуска 8:15 вечера. EST (0115 GMT) после решения вопроса с вдали отслеживания сайта в Северной Каролине.
В этой точке отсчета, запуск команды открывает сводный контрольный перечень для руководства деятельностью по старта.

Цитировать0017 по Гринвичу (7:17 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 58 минут и подсчета голосов. - Ракетные системы с-активируется для окончательного тестирования.

Цитировать0020 по Гринвичу (7:20 p.m. EST Вт.)
T-минус 55 минут и подсчета голосов. Первые шаги the final countdown контрольный перечень входит активация Минотавр авионики для приведения транспортного средства инерциальной системой наведения и проверки ракеты S-band телеметрической системы связи, мощность сигнала.

Цитировать0023 (7:23 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 52 минуты и подсчета голосов. Ракеты S-диапазона, системы связи проверяется здоров и готов к запуску.

Цитировать0026 по Гринвичу (7:26 p.m. EST Вт.)
Погода outlook призывает температурой 39 градусов по Фаренгейту, высокие перистые облака и ветры с Севера на скорости 10 узлов. Вероятность нарушения погоды ограничений составляет 0 процентов.

Цитировать0032 по Гринвичу (7:32 вечера. EST Вт.)
В Wallops запуска опасной зоны был подтвержден ясно из всего персонала.

Цитировать0036 по Гринвичу (7:36 часов. EST Вт.)
Все системы функционируют нормально, в этой точке отсчета. Ракеты C-диапазона слежения Маяк был включен для проверки Минотавр разрушить систему.

Цитировать0045 по Гринвичу (7:45 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 30 минут и подсчета голосов.

Цитировать0050 по Гринвичу (7:50 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 25 минут и подсчета голосов. Ракеты отслеживания Маяк прошел предполетный досмотр, и прекращения полета система находится в стадии тестирования.

Цитировать0052 (GMT) (7:52 вечера EST Вт.)
Минотавр прекращения полета система была протестирована. В destruct устройство будет использовано для уничтожения ракеты, если он сбивался с курса во время полета.

Цитировать0053 по Гринвичу (7:53 p.m. EST Вт.)
Минотавр прекращения полета система была протестирована. В destruct устройство будет использовано для уничтожения ракеты, если он сбивался с курса во время полета.

Цитировать0055 (7:55 вечера. EST Вт.)
Верхний уровень ветры являются приемлемыми для запуска в этот вечер.

Цитировать9:45 часов. EDT (0145 GMT чт.)
T-минус 18 минут и подсчета голосов. Сегодняшний запуск состоится 11-й полет Минотавр 1 ракеты-носителя, которая работает на две ступени от МБР " Минитмен-2 баллистических ракет, а два этапа производным от Orbital Sciences воздушного базирования Pegasus ракеты. Это шестой запуск ракеты Minotaur от Wallops Island, штат Вирджиния.
В старта ракеты будут полоса вдали от стартовой площадки на более чем 200 000 фунтов тяги от его M55A1 первом этапе мотор. Она будет проходить скорость звука и точка максимального динамического давления в первые 40 секунд полета, затем сбросил свою твердом топливе первом этапе при T+плюс 61 секунды.

Его Минитмен-наследие SR19 втором этапе будет срабатывать в течение 72 секунд, затем дать дорогу Орион 50XL третий этап. В ходе третьего этапа сжечь, Минотавр 61-дюймовый обтекателя будет сбрасываться за борт.

После длительного побережье фазы 38 Orion четвертый этап зажжет ускорить ПРС 1 грузоподъемностью до орбитальной скорости. Корабль разделения ожидается, что при T+плюс 12 минут, 14 секунд. Будьте уверены, чтобы проверить наши сроки запуска более детальный взгляд на рейс последовательности.

Цитировать0100 по Гринвичу (8:00 p.m. EST Вт.)
T-минус 15 минут и подсчета голосов. Проверить состояние стартовой команды указывает на все еще остается "go" для запуска.

Цитировать0103 по Гринвичу (8:03 вечера EST Вт.)
Запуск опасности курения ясно и официальных плановых сроках ввода в 8:15 вечера. EST (0115 GMT) загружается в Минотавр бортового компьютера.

Цитировать0106 по Гринвичу (8:06 p.m. EST Вт.)
T-минус 9 минут и подсчета голосов. Ракеты прекращения полета система перешел на внутреннее питание.

Цитировать0108 по Гринвичу (8:08 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 7 минут. Минотавр грузы проверяются настроен для запуска.

Цитировать0109 по Гринвичу (8:09 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 6 минут. Финальный опрос запуска команды, заключенные с авторизации для запуска Минотавр 1 ракета в 8:15 вечера. EST в этот вечер.
Землю боеприпас был включен и ракеты-носителя telemtry данных архивируется.

Цитировать0110 по Гринвичу (8:10 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 5 минут. Ракеты авионики переход на внутреннее питание.

Цитировать0111 по Гринвичу (8:11 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 4 минуты. Бортового компьютера был вооружен и ракеты C-диапазона слежения Маяк работает, как ожидается, на внутренней силы.

Цитировать0112 по Гринвичу (8:12 вечера. EST Вт.)
T-минус 3 минут. Диапазон ясно для запуска. Ракета Minotaur встроенный компьютер будет взять на себя контроль отсчета в одну минуту.

Цитировать0113 по Гринвичу (8:13 p.m. EST Вт.)
T-минус 2 минут. Автоматическая последовательность запуска. Минотавр бортового компьютера, теперь контрольный отсчет.

Цитировать0113 по Гринвичу (8:13 p.m. EST Вт.)
T-минус 90 секунд. Ракеты снарядов вооруженные.

Цитировать0114 по Гринвичу (8:14 pm. EST Вт.)
T-минус 50 секунд. Запись данных диаграммы выполняются.

Цитировать0115 по Гринвичу (8:15 вечера. EST Вт.)
СТАРТ! Старт Минотавра 1 запуск ракеты запись 29 спутников для продвижения американских военных нужд, космических исследований и образования.

Цитировать0115 по Гринвичу (8:15 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 15 секунд. Ракета имеет скатных курс на подъем пространство над Атлантическим Океаном.

Цитировать0115 по Гринвичу (8:15 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 38 секунд. Проходя через район максимальное аэродинамическое давление на ракете. Скорость составляет 1 750 миль.

Цитировать0116 по Гринвичу (8:16 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 61 секунды. В M55A1 первом этапе мотор завершила сжечь и отделена от SR19 двигателя второй ступени. Обоих этапов наследия motors от баллистических ракет  Минитмен.

Цитировать0117 по Гринвичу (8:17 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 2 минут. Выйдя на промежуточной.

Цитировать0118 по Гринвичу (8:18 часов. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 3 минут. Нормальной производительности автомобиля, сообщили запуск команды.

Цитировать0118 по Гринвичу (8:18 часов. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 3 минуты 30 секунд. На третьем этапе еще не перегорела и Минотавре начале берегу фаза, длящаяся более пяти минут. Ракета будет летать на высоте около 310 км, где третий этап будет отдельный и четвертый этап зажжет добраться до орбитальной скорости.

Цитировать0120 по Гринвичу (8:20 p.m. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 5 минут. Системы на борту Минотавр " продолжить", чтобы хорошо выглядеть, так как ракета по инерции до высоты орбиты.

Цитировать0121 по Гринвичу (8:21 вечера. EST Вт)
T+плюс 6 минут. Никаких проблем не сообщалось до сих пор в этой 11-й полет Минотавр 1 ракета.
Бортовой компьютер вычислял ожидаемое время зажигания Ориона-38 четвертый этап.

Цитировать0121 по Гринвичу (8:21 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 6 минут 45 секунд. Минотавр теперь 850 км к юго-востоку от старта на высоте 270 км. Он путешествует по зарегистрировано 11700 дождь.
Ракета имеет переориентированы на третьем этапе пренебречь и четвертой стадии возгорания.

Цитировать0122 по Гринвичу (8:22 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 7 минут 30 секунд. Третий этап-будет выпущена примерно T+плюс 8 минут 56 секунд, и четвертый этап будет воспламеняться при T+9 минут 7 секунд.

Цитировать0125 по Гринвичу (8:25 вечера. EST)
T+плюс 10 минут, 25 секунд. Четвертый этап завершил ее горело, а транспортное средство должно быть на орбите.

Цитировать0126 по Гринвичу (8:26 p.m. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 11 минут. Развертывание STPSat 3 спутника, который планируется провести в течение одной минуты.

Цитировать0127 по Гринвичу (8:27 вечера. EST Вт.)
T+плюс 12 минут 20 секунд. Корабль разлуки! В STPSat 3 Спутниковое был развернут. Это хост-платформы для пяти датчиков и экспериментов для мониторинга космической среды и демонстрации новых военных технологий.

Цитировать0129 по Гринвичу (8:29 вечера. EST Вт.)
Развертывание миссии 28 CubeSats будет происходить вне зоны действия станции связи, так и подтверждение того, что событие не будет мне известно, пока спутники проходят через наземные антенны в ближайшие несколько часов.

Цитировать0133 по Гринвичу (8:33 p.m. EST Вт.)
Сегодня полета расширяет ракеты Minotaur запись до 15 успешных запусков спутников на околоземную орбиту. Минотавр 1 конфигурацию, которая стартовала сегодня достигла 11 успехов в 11 запусков, начиная с 2000 года, больше Минотавр 4 booster провела три безупречной спутниковые миссии, и Минотавр 5 вариант запущенный НАСА LADEE полет на Луну в сентябре.

Цитировать Он стал 25-м для ракеты "Минотавр"... 

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:

ЦитироватьОн стал 25-м для ракеты "Минотавр"...

...и последним. Вот и Минотавр улетел в небытиё вслед за Пегасом.
 Это всё к вопросу о нужности лёгких РН.

ЦитироватьВВК пишет:
Неужели все патроны кончились

ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:
Тупые американцы вместо 28-ми пусков спарка какого-нибудь, поделеного на десять, одним махом, попутно, Минотавр зафигачили

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Цели кончились. Для таких маленьких ракет нет полезных нагрузок.

ЦитироватьPirat5 пишет:
...Тупо шли на рекорд

ЦитироватьPirat5 пишет:

ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:
Тупые американцы вместо 28-ми пусков спарка какого-нибудь, поделеного на десять, одним махом, попутно, Минотавр зафигачили

...Тупо шли на рекорд

ЦитироватьClimate Scientists Can Breathe Easier Following Minotaur Launch of Air Force Experimental Satellite  
 By Debra Werner | Nov. 20, 2013  
 
(http://www.spacenews.com/sites/spacenews.com/files/styles/large/public/images/articles/TaurusGlory_OS4X3.jpg) (http://www.spacenews.com/sites/spacenews.com/files/images/articles/TaurusGlory_OS4X3.jpg)
"When we lost the Glory mission [above], it sent a chill down everybody's spine because we thought there was going to have an imminent gap in that data record," said Jeff Privette of the NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Credit: Orbital Sciences photo

SAN FRANCISCO — When NASA's Glory climate-monitoring spacecraft plunged into the Pacific Ocean due to launch failure in March 2011, scientists were concerned they would have no way to prevent a lengthy gap in their observations of solar energy, the primary driver of Earth's climate. Glory's Total Irradiance Monitor instrument was designed to measure solar energy reaching Earth and extend a record of solar energy data spanning more than 30 years.
"When we lost the Glory mission, it sent a chill down everybody's spine because we thought there was going to be an imminent gap in that data record," said Jeff Privette of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
Those concerns were put to rest Nov. 19 when the Total solar irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment (TCTE), an instrument designed to measure solar light in all wavelengths, traveled into orbit as one of six payloads on the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program 3 satellite that launch along with 28 secondary payloads on an Orbital Sciences Corp. Minotaur 1 rocket that lifted off from NASA Wallops Flight Facility (http://www.spacenews.com/article/military-space/38254minotaur-rocket-lofts-29-satellites-from-virginia-spaceport) in Virginia. "TCTE plays a critical role in extending the total solar irradiance record," Privette said. 
Since 2003, NOAA has obtained data on the sun's energy from the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment mission. The NASA-sponsored, Orbital Sciences-built spacecraft, designed to gather data for five years, began to show signs of its advanced age including battery degradation in 2011, Privette said.
In early 2012, the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics informed NOAA that it had a solar sensor that was scheduled originally to fly on a NASA space shuttle mission but was never used. Within weeks, U.S. Air Force officials approached NASA and NOAA to say that an instrument scheduled to fly on the Space Test Program Satellite 3 would not be ready in time so the service had room for an additional payload. "From that serendipitous moment in 2012, less than two years ago, we went from not having any way to carry this solar record forward to having something in space," Privette said.

ЦитироватьАлександр Ч. пишет:
Стриптиз

ЦитироватьNASA's Latest Space Technology Small Satellite Phones Home         
Posted by Doug Messier on December 5, 2013, at 6:37 am in News
                                                                    
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/90884.jpg) (http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/11/19/minotaur-record-satellite-launch-includes-student-built-cubesat-phonesat/phonesat202-2/)
Closeup of a NASA Ames PhoneSat (Credit:
NASA Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart)
 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (NASA PR) — PhoneSat 2.4, NASA's next generation smartphone cubesat has phoned home. The tiny spacecraft that uses an off-the-shelf smartphone for a brain has completed checkout and sent back data confirming all systems are "go" for the spry spacefarer.
PhoneSat 2.4, a cube approximately four inches square, weighs only about 2.2 pounds, and was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. It is first of the PhoneSat family to use a two-way S-band radio, allowing engineers to command the satellite from Earth. It is confirming the viability of using smartphones and other commercially available electronics in satellites destined for low-Earth orbit.
"It's great to hear from NASA's most recent cubesat spacecraft," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "NASA is committed to opening up the high frontier to a new generation of explorers who can take advantage of these sorts of small satellites to do science and technology development at a fraction of the cost of larger, more complex spacecraft."
In April, NASA successfully demonstrated a one-week mission with PhoneSat 1.0. With an expected orbital lifetime of up to one year, PhoneSat 2.4 will measure how well commercially developed components perform in space over a long period of time. This innovative application of commercially developed technologies for use in space provides for low-cost, low-risk, highly repetitive missions to meet some unique NASA science and exploration needs.
The spacecraft was among 11 agency-sponsored cubesats deployed Nov. 19 by a NASA-built Nanosatellite Launch Adapter System aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur 1 rocket for the U.S. Air Force from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
PhoneSat 2.4 also will test a system to control the orientation of the cubesat in space. Like the earlier PhoneSat 1, PhoneSat 2.4 uses a Nexus S smartphone made by Samsung Electronics running Google's Android operating system. Santa Clara University in California is providing the ground station for the mission.
The smartphone provides many of the functions the satellite needs to operate, such as computation, memory, ready-made interfaces for communications, navigation and power, all assembled in a rugged package before launch. Data from the satellite's subsystems, including the smartphone, the power system and orientation control system are being downlinked over amateur radio at a frequency of 437.425MHz.
The next PhoneSat, version 2.5, is scheduled to launch in February, hitching a ride aboard a commercial SpaceX rocket. That spacecraft also is expected to perform in Earth orbit for several months and continue testing the two-way radio and orientation systems. The PhoneSat Project is managed by the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
The PhoneSat series of missions are pathfinders for NASA's next Small Spacecraft Technology mission, the Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN). The EDSN mission is composed of eight identical 1.5-unit cubesats, which are each approximately 4 inches by 4 inches by 6 inches in size and weighing about 5.5 pounds, that will be deployed during a launch from Kauai, Hawaii in 2014.
The EDSN mission will demonstrate the concept of using many small spacecraft in a coordinated cluster to study the space environment and space-to-space communications techniques. The eight EDSN satellites each will have a Nexus S smartphone for satellite command and data handling, with a scientific instrument added as a payload on each spacecraft.
During EDSN, each cubesat will make science measurements and transmit the data to the others while any one of them can then transmit all of the collected data to a ground station. This versatility in command and control could make possible large swarms of satellites to affordably monitor the Earth's climate, space weather and other global-scale phenomena.
The PhoneSat Project is one of many development projects within NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Program, one of nine programs within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The Small Spacecraft Technology Program develops and matures technologies to enhance and expand the capabilities of small spacecraft, with a particular focus on communications, propulsion, pointing, power, and autonomous operations.
For more information about PhoneSat, the Small Spacecraft Technology Program and NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech (http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech)

ЦитироватьG.K. пишет:

ЦитироватьВиктор Воропаев пишет:
19 нагрузок. Счастье аналитикам.

А теперь внимание: сколько времени спейстрек будет тянуть с распределением названий?

ЦитироватьU.S. Air Force Takes Control of STPSat-3  
By Mike Gruss | Jan. 9, 2014
 
(http://www.spacenews.com/sites/spacenews.com/files/styles/large/public/images/articles/STPSat3_Ball4X3.jpg)
The STPSat-3 is the latest in a series of spacecraft developed under a Defense Department program to field space capabilities quickly in response to emerging military needs. Credit: Ball Aerospace photo
 
WASHINGTON — Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., announced Jan. 9 it has turned over control of the recently launched Space Test Program Satellite (STPSat)-3 to the U.S. Air Force.
The STPSat-3 is the latest in a series of spacecraft developed under a Defense Department program to field space capabilities quickly in response to emerging military needs.
The satellite was launched Nov. 19 as the main payload aboard a Minotaur 1 rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a state-run facility located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. It included five payloads including sensors to measure plasma densities and solar irradiance.
Ball says it built the STPSat-3 satellite using the company's Standard Interface Vehicle platform in 47 days at a cost of about $30 million. 
The satellite's predecessor, the STPSat-2, also built by Ball, has been on orbit for three years.

Цитировать3/14/14 
COPPER: 120 Days on-orbit, but Still No Signals
 
We kept holding out hope that something would be heard, but unfortunately, we need to acknowledge that things are not looking good for COPPER. We have been unable to receive any signals, and the options on the failure tree have whittled down to a lot of potential failures and few potential recovery options.

The team's focus, now, is to devise testing plans to eliminate failure options as we prepare Argus (http://cubesat.slu.edu/AstroLab/SLU-02__Argus.html) for launch.

If you're interested in listening for COPPER's beacon, information can be found here (http://cubesat.slu.edu/AstroLab/COPPER_Tracking.html).

ЦитироватьSharicoff пишет:
33 богатыря 30 КА, с ними дядька Черномор до кучи ступень РН

ЦитироватьDevelopers of USSOCOM Prometheus reconnaissance satellite receive award
 Press Release From: Department of Defense (http://www.defenselink.mil/)
 Posted: Sunday, March 27, 2016

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – U.S. Special Operations Command took its operations into orbit Nov. 2013 with the launch of the first eight cube satellites in a project titled, "Prometheus." The CubeSats were developed in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico and the program was recognized with a Secretary of Energy Achievement Award during a special ceremony in Los Alamos on Feb. 26.
The Prometheus CubeSats are part of a technology development and demonstration effort to explore the viability of using a CubeSat constellation to meet existing special operations mission requirements. The Prometheus project is just one of a handful of initiatives that will continue to improve the responsiveness of space capabilities and provide SOF with tactically relevant information in shorter timelines.
"Our special operations forces are often deployed to locations that place them at the very edge of traditional satellite communications capabilities. This can present a serious challenge for our forces to effectively operate," said James F. "Hondo" Geurts, the Acquisition Executive at USSOCOM. "Seeing this problem set, the Los Alamos team mobilized their significant expertise and mission focused mindset to invent, refine, and rapidly field a radically affordable and operationally responsive approach to solving this hard problem. In doing so, this team enabled new capabilities for our nation's deployed special operations forces. We congratulate them for this well-deserved and significant recognition and are fortunate to have them as part of the SOF team."
LANL Director Charlie McMillan and Principal Associate Director Terry Wallace for Global Security, presented the awards, which recognize team members for their "deep technical expertise" and "tight collaboration ... to accomplish challenging performance goals under an aggressive launch timeline."
The technology developed by the Prometheus team has helped shape the future direction of agile space systems for the U.S. military and the Department of Energy. The CubeSats are demonstrating the capability to transfer audio, video, and data files from man-portable, low-profile, remotely located field units, to deployable ground terminals, using over the horizon satellite communications. The Prometheus CubeSat demonstration will provide the critical information needed to evaluate the approach, technology, concept of operations, operational utility, and affordability of future space systems.
// end //

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell ‏@planet4589  (https://twitter.com/planet4589) · 5 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/770986969988030465)

The Drexel University/USNA Dragonsat cubesat, launched in 2013, reentered on Aug 31. AFAIK Dragonsat was never heard from after launch