WorldView 2- Delta II 7920 - 8.10.09 22:51 ЛМВ-Vandenberg

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

Oct. 6      •  WorldView 2
Launch time: 1838-1853 GMT (2:38-2:53 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will deploy the WorldView 2 commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit for the DigitalGlobe company. ULA will conduct this commercial launch for Boeing. The rocket will fly in the 7920 vehicle configuration. Delayed from July. [Sept. 12]

[Salo]

http://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/worldview-2.html

[Salo]

http://worldview2.digitalglobe.com/
http://www.sovzond.ru/satellites/436/438.html
http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/worldview-2.htm

[Salo]

http://rnd.cnews.ru/tech/news/line/index_science.shtml?2009/09/02/360210

WorldView-2 доставлен к месту старта

02.09.09, Ср, 17:40, Мск

Как сообщила пресс-служба компании Ball Aerospace, спутник ДЗЗ WorldView-2 компании DigitalGlobe после завершения комплексных проверок доставлен на авиабазу "Ванденберг" в Калифорнии. Отсюда ракета-носитель Delta 2 должна вывести аппарат на орбиту; старт запланирован на 6 октября 2009 года.

Спутник WorldView-2, как и предыдущий аппарат этой серии WorldView-1, выполнен на платформе Ball Aerospace BCP 5000, специально предназначенной для создания спутников дистанционного зондирования Земли сверхвысокого разрешения.

Ожидается, что аппарат с солнечно-синхронной орбиты высотой 770 км при съемке в надир позволит получать изображения Земли пространственным разрешением 0,46 м в панхроматическом и 1,8 м - в каждом из восьми мультиспектральных каналов. При съемке с отклонением в 20 градусов от надира эти параметры составят 0,52 м и 2,4 м соответственно.

Спутник WorldView-2 будет отличаться от других ДДЗ-спутников сверхвысокого разрешения в первую очередь высоким разрешением в мультиспектральных каналах и особенно их количеством.

Аппарат будет производить съёмку сразу в восьми каналах - шести в видимом и двух в ближнем инфракрасном диапазонах. Обычно мультиспектральная съемка в высоком разрешении ведётся в четырёх каналах (трёх оптических и одном ближнем инфракрасном), а отечественный аппарат "Ресурс-ДК" - только в трёх каналах.

Прогресс дался непросто - масса аппарата достигла двух с половиной тонн. Для сравнения масса спутника QuickBird разрешением 0,6 и 2,4 м в панхроматическом и мультиспектральных каналах соответственно составляет 1 т, а спутника Ikonos (1 м и 4 м соответственно) - всего 700 кг.

[Salo]

http://www.worldview.ru/

СПУТНИК WORLDVIEW-2

Космический аппарат WorldView-2 планируется запустить в середине 2009 года. Разработка космического аппарата WorldView-2 велась параллельно с созданием спутника WorldView-1. В проекте создания спутников участвуют такие компании как Ball Aerospace (платформа, интеграция), Eastman Kodak (оптическая камера), ITT (интеграция), BAE Systems (система обработки). Спутник WorldView-2 должен быть выведен на солнечно-синхронную орбиту высотой 770 км, обеспечивающую его прохождение над любым районом Земли каждые 1–2 дня (в зависимости от широты). WorldView-2 позволит получать цифровые изображения земной поверхности с пространственным разрешением 46 см в панхроматическом режиме и 1,84 м в мультиспектральном режиме при съемке в надир. Расчетный срок пребывания спутника на орбите составит не менее 7 лет.

Области применения данных дистанционного зондирования, полученных со спутника WorldView-2:

Создание и обновление топографических и специальных карт и планов вплоть до масштаба 1:2 000.

Создание цифровых моделей рельефа с точностью 1-3 метра по высоте.

Инвентаризация и контроль строительства объектов инфраструктуры транспортировки и добычи нефти и газа.

Выполнение лесоустроительных работ, точная автоматизированная инвентаризация и оценка состояния лесов.

Инвентаризация сельскохозяйственных угодий, создание планов землепользования, точное земледелие.

Тонкий мониторинг состояния посевов, оценка засоренности, выявление вредителей и болезней сельхозкультур, прогнозирование урожайности.

Автоматизированное создание крупномасштабных карт и планов растительности, ландшафтов и природопользования.

Обновление топографической подосновы для разработки проектов генеральных планов перспективного развития городов, схем территориального планирования муниципальных районов.

Инвентаризация и мониторинг состояния транспортных, энергетических, информационных коммуникаций.

Широкий круг задач в области охраны окружающей среды.

[N2H4]

http://worldview2.digitalglobe.com/docs/WorldView-2_datasheet.pdf

Полоса обзора: 1355 км (+-45 град.).
Полоса захвата: 16,4 км.
Скорость перенацеливания: 3-5 град.с (используют гиродины).
Период выхода на цель с разрешением 1 м: 1,1 сут.

Мощность СБ: 3,2 кВт.
Ёмкость АБ: 100 Ач.

Погрешность реализации кадра: "<"500 м.
Погрешность привязки без опорных точек: 6,5 м (CE90).
Погрешность привязки с опорными ориентирами: 2 м (CE90).

Квантование сигнала: 11 бит.
Ёмкость ЗУ: 2199 Гбит.
Скорость радиолинии: 800 Мбит/с.

Суточная производительность: 975 тыс. кв. км.
Максимальная площадь за сеанс: 96х110 км.
Длина маршрута: 250км.

[Старый]

Квантование сигнала: 11 бит.
Скорость радиолинии: 800 Мбит/с.
Суточная производительность: 975 тыс. кв. км.

У меня получилось что если пиксел размером полметра то при таких условиях он должен передавать изобразжение 15 часов в сутки. Где ошибка?

[Dude]

думаю, что время на передачу оценить по этим трем параметрам невозможно, учитывая первичную обработку на КА и сжатие без потерь.

[N2H4]

Это маркетинг.

Указывают площадь для самого "грубого" канала. Если взять пиксель 1,84 м, то  получится 3960 секунд, даже без сжатия.

Для сравнения, земная станция, расположенная на широте 65 град. видит (>10 град.) аппарат, находящийся на 700 км ССО,  ровно 4000 секунд в сутки, на 800 км - 4700 сек.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

Oct. 8    Delta 2  •  WorldView 2
Launch window: 1838-1853 GMT (2:38-2:53 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will deploy the WorldView 2 commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit for the DigitalGlobe company. ULA will conduct this commercial launch for Boeing. The rocket will fly in the 7920 vehicle configuration. Delayed from July. Delayed from Oct. 6 as result in slips by previous Delta 2 mission of STSS Demo.

[Salo]

Фото предстартовых приготовлений:
http://worldview2.digitalglobe.com/launch/index.aspx

[Salo]

Ссылка на трансляцию:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/missions/worldview-2/

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d345/status.html

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009
A commercial Earth-imaging satellite built to see the planet's true colors for high-resolution mapping and monitoring will ascend to orbit Thursday atop a Delta 2 rocket launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Officials from rocket-maker United Launch Alliance, satellite operator DigitalGlobe and builder Ball Aerospace, the commercial launch marketer Boeing and all of the supporting cast gathered for the final readiness meeting this morning and approved plans to enter into the countdown tonight.

"Everything is looking good," said Hieu Lam, the Delta commercial program manager.

"There are no issues coming out of the (Launch Readiness Review). We are working no issues on the launch vehicle, the Range is green, the satellite is good."

Liftoff from the Space Launch Complex 2 pad is scheduled for 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT), which is the opening of a 14-minute window of opportunity for the rocket to fly.

Weather forecasters say there is no chance that conditions will violate any of the launch rules. The rare 100 percent "go" outlook includes just a few low clouds with light fog and haze, five miles of visibility, northwesterly winds of 12 to 16 knots and a temperature of 55 to 58 degrees F.

"A dry upper-level low system currently over Vandenberg will move east of base this evening. High pressure will build over the western U.S. behind the exiting low. This high pressure system will remain overhead into tomorrow and will bring fair weather conditions," launch forecasters say.

If you will be away from your computer on Thursday, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

The launch will deploy WorldView 2, a sharp-eyed orbiter that can see objects just 18 inches across from 415 nautical miles up. The craft will join two others controlled by DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colorado. The QuickBird and WorldView 1 satellites were launched aboard Delta 2 rockets for the company in 2001 and 2007, respectively.

"With the addition of WorldView 2, an impressive third component of our constellation, DigitalGlobe will have increased capacity, which is expected to improve the speed with which we deliver our imagery products to our customers and provide more frequent refresh of our ImageLibrary to support a range of monitoring, analysis and decision-making services," said Jill Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe.

"The combination of rapid, comprehensive imagery collection; an industry-leading ImageLibrary; and fast and flexible worldwide content delivery allow DigitalGlobe products to integrate seamlessly into any mapping or enterprise solution, including hosting services, Web services and mobile applications."

What's special about WorldView 2 is the capability to image in eight different color bands. The result will be images of Earth in its truest natural colors with a resolution.

"At this time, there isn't another satellite which combines high-resolution with eight bands and the level of agility that we get from the WorldView-class satellite," DigitalGlobe says.

Commercial imaging satellites have a range of customers, including the U.S. government for intelligence-gathering, as well as urban planners, real estate developers, environmental interests and supplying pictures to online sites like Google Earth.

DigitalGlobe's main rival in the U.S. is the GeoEye company, which launched its latest satellite atop a Delta 2 rocket a year ago.

Thursday's launch will take about 62 minutes from liftoff until release of WorldView 2 into its polar orbit. Post-launch calibration and accuracy tests are planned to verify the satellite's performance before it enters service for a mission designed to last at least 7 years.

"We expect that WorldView 2 imagery products will be commercially available approximately 90 days after its successful launch," DigitalGlobe says.

"It will give us nearly twice our current collection capacity, it will allow us to collect nearly three times the Earth's land mass; it will give us unique refresh and coverage," the company says.

"Large-scale infusion of fresh, up-to-date imagery broadens the appeal for satellite imagery in emerging commercial applications as well as creating increased value for the sophisticated, professional users who will take advantage of the higher detail and definition from eight-band multispectral capabilities."

We will have complete live updates throughout the countdown and climb to orbit. Watch this page for the latest!

[Брабонт]

Трансляция здесь: http://ulalaunch.com/DeltaII_WorldView-2.html

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d345/status.html

1730 GMT (1:30 p.m. EDT; 10:30 a.m. PDT)
The launch team is monitoring the wind conditions aloft. Weather balloon data shows winds are a possible concern for vehicle controls up through 20,000 feet. But there's still more balloon runs planned to relay data today. The countdown is marching onwards in hopes the winds will cooperate.

1720 GMT (1:20 p.m. EDT; 10:20 a.m. PDT)
Loading of the Delta 2 rocket's first stage liquid oxygen tank has been accomplished. The process took 26 minutes and 4 seconds today, concluding at 10:20:19 a.m. local time. The tank will be replenished through the countdown to replace the super-cold liquid oxygen that naturally boils away.

The rocket is now fully fueled for launch. The vehicle's first stage was successfully loaded with RP-1 kerosene fuel a little while ago. The second stage was filled with its storable nitrogen tetroxide and Aerozine 50 fuels last Friday. And the nine strap-on booster rockets are solid-propellant.

1718 GMT (1:18 p.m. EDT; 10:18 a.m. PDT)
The liquid oxygen tank has reached the 95 percent mark.

1710 GMT (1:10 p.m. EDT; 10:10 a.m. PDT)
Liquid oxygen loading is continuing. Once the first stage tank is 95 percent full, the "rapid load" valve will be closed and the slower "fine load" phase will continue to fill the rocket.

1708 GMT (1:08 p.m. EDT; 10:08 a.m. PDT)
Now just 90 minutes away from the planned launch of the Delta 2 rocket.

1704 GMT (1:04 p.m. EDT; 10:04 a.m. PDT)
This approximate 25-minute process to fill the first stage liquid oxygen tank has been underway for 10 minutes. As the super-cold liquid oxygen continues to flow into the first stage, a bright white plume of vapors begins streaming from a vent on the rocket and the bottom of the vehicle ices over.

1654 GMT (12:54 p.m. EDT; 9:54 a.m. PDT)
LOX loading begins. Cryogenic liquid oxygen, chilled to Minus-298 degrees F, has started flowing from a 28,000-gallon storage tank at Space Launch Complex 2, through plumbing and into the bottom of the Delta 2 rocket. The LOX will be consumed by the first stage main engine during the first four-and-a-half minutes of flight along with the 10,000 gallons of RP-1 kerosene already loaded aboard the vehicle.

1648 GMT (12:48 p.m. EDT; 9:48 a.m. PDT)
The launch team has received the official "go" to begin preparations for loading the rocket's first stage liquid oxygen tank as planned.

1638 GMT (12:38 p.m. EDT; 9:38 a.m. PDT)
The countdown is continuing as planned at Vandenberg Air Force Base for launch just two hours from now at 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT).

The Delta 2 rocket will place into orbit the WorldView 2 satellite, the latest high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft for operator DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colorado.

How will the addition of this new satellite help DigitalGlobe win new customers? Here's what a company spokesperson says:

"Having faster delivery times obviously provides competitive advantages, but the amount of new capacity allows us to create more opportunities to serve the growing use of imagery in location-based services and mobile applications.

"Large-scale infusion of fresh, up-to-date imagery broadens the appeal for satellite imagery in emerging commercial applications as well as creating increased value for the sophisticated, professional users who will take advantage of the higher detail and definition from eight-band multispectral capabilities."

1637 GMT (12:37 p.m. EDT; 9:37 a.m. PDT)
The latest weather outlook for launch time is calling overcast skies at 400 feet with low status clouds and mist, visibility of six miles, a temperature in the mid 50s F and northwesterly winds 12 to 18 knots. All of those conditions are within limits for liftoff.

1636 GMT (12:36 p.m. EDT; 9:36 a.m. PDT)
Work to turn on and configure the Delta's onboard guidance computer has been completed.

1621 GMT (12:21 p.m. EDT; 9:21 a.m. PDT)
The first stage fuel tank of the Delta 2 rocket has been fully loaded for today's planned launch. The tank was filled with a highly refined kerosene, called RP-1, during a 17-minute, 50-second process that officially concluded at 9:21:03 a.m. local time.

The next major task in the count will be loading supercold cryogenic liquid oxygen into the first stage starting in about 30 minutes.

The kerosene and liquid oxygen will be consumed by the stage's Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and twin vernier steering thrusters during the initial four-and-a-half minutes of flight.

1619 GMT (12:19 p.m. EDT; 9:19 a.m. PDT)
Rapid-loading of the RP-1 tank has concluded with 9,800 gallons already aboard the rocket. Fine load is continuing to finish filling the tank.

1615 GMT (12:15 p.m. EDT; 9:15 a.m. PDT)
The launch team has computed that today's full load for the first stage fuel tank is 9,979 gallons.

Once the tank is filled to 98 percent or 9,800 gallons, the "rapid load" valve will be closed and the slower "fine load" phase will continue to top off the tank.

1610 GMT (12:10 p.m. EDT; 9:10 a.m. PDT)
About seven minutes into the fueling process. The rocket's kerosene tank has been filled with 4,000 gallons so far.

1603 GMT (12:03 p.m. EDT; 9:03 a.m. PDT)
Fueling begins. About 10,000 gallons of the kerosene propellant are pumping into the base of the rocket from storage tanks at the pad as fueling of the Delta 2's first stage begins for today's launch.

A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates on the countdown, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

1558 GMT (11:58 a.m. EDT; 8:58 a.m. PDT)
First stage fueling preparations are starting. After verifying valves, sensors, flow meters and equipment are ready, a highly-refined kerosene fuel will begin flowing into the vehicle a few minutes from now.
 
1543 GMT (11:43 a.m. EDT; 8:43 a.m. PDT)
The rocket's control system and guidance computer are being turned on.

And the launch is starting the steps to pressurize the first and second stage helium and nitrogen systems and the second stage fuel and oxidizer tanks.

1538 GMT (11:38 a.m. EDT; 8:38 a.m. PDT)
Countdown begins! The three-hour Terminal Countdown sequence has been initiated for today's launch of the Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The booster will carry into orbit the latest commercial satellite to view the world.

Liftoff from the Space Launch Complex 2 pad is scheduled for 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT). Today's available launch window stretches 14 minutes to 11:52 a.m.

Between now and the launch time, the rocket's guidance system will be activated, onboard helium and nitrogen tanks brought up to pressure, the kerosene and liquid oxygen supplies loaded into the first stage, checks performed on the safety system and steering tests conducted on the engines.

This is a normal countdown for the Delta 2, a typical timeline to ready the vehicle for flight. Pre-planned holds are built into the countdown at the T-minus 15 and T-minus 4 minute points. The first will last 20 minutes; the second will be 10 minutes in length. Those pauses are designed to give the launch team the opportunity to work problems or catch up on items perhaps running behind schedule.

Polls of the various launch team members and managers occur during that T-minus 4 minute hold to ensure everything is ready to proceed into the busy final minutes that see the rocket put on internal power, pressurized and armed for liftoff from California's Central Coast.

1529 GMT (11:29 a.m. EDT; 8:29 a.m. PDT)
The launch conductor has just polled his team to ensure all stations are manned and systems are set for the Terminal Countdown.

1523 GMT (11:23 a.m. EDT; 8:23 a.m. PDT)
"Man stations for Terminal Count." The launch team members are about to be polled confirm their readiness to enter into the countdown.

1510 GMT (11:10 a.m. EDT; 8:10 a.m. PDT)
Workers have finished their hands-on chores at the launch pad and cleared the area for the rest of today's countdown.

1438 GMT (10:38 a.m. EDT; 7:38 a.m. PDT)
T-minus 150 minutes and holding. Clocks have been paused for a planned 60-minute built-in hold. The Terminal Countdown remains scheduled to start at 8:38 a.m. local time (11:38 a.m. EDT; 1538 GMT), beginning the formal three-hour process to bring the rocket to life for its commercial mission.

1325 GMT (9:25 a.m. EDT; 6:25 a.m. PDT)
A beautiful collection of photos taken at the launch pad showing the Delta 2 rocket poised for today's launch can be seen here.

1010 GMT (6:10 a.m. EDT; 3:10 a.m. PDT)
The pad's service gantry was wheeled away from the Delta 2 rocket overnight at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2.

The 177-foot tall mobile service tower was used to stack the two-stage vehicle, the nine strap-on solid rocket motors and the WorldView 2 payload atop the pad's launch mount. The tower also provided the primary weather protection and worker access to the rocket during its stay at the oceanside complex on North Vandenberg.

"I think this is probably one of the smoothest launch campaigns we have had," Hieu Lam, the Delta commercial program manager, said in an interview yesterday. "We've had hardly any launch vehicle issues, very few compared to previous missions, the satellite had no issues at all during their processing time. It's beautiful."

Ground teams will spend the next couple of hours getting the pad secured in advance of the Terminal Countdown. Launch remains targeted for 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT).

[Salo]

1738 GMT (1:38 p.m. EDT; 10:38 a.m. PDT)
The countdown is entering the final hour until the Delta 2 rocket soars away from the central coast of California carrying the WorldView 2 spacecraft.

As its name suggests, WorldView 2 follows a sister-satellite also built by Ball Aerospace and launched atop a Delta 2 rocket in 2007. So how is this new spacecraft different? Here's what a company spokesperson says:

"WorldView 2 builds upon many of the technical capabilities of WorldView 1, which was the first high-resolution satellite to operate with Control Motion Gyros, and provides very high agility with large scale collection capabilities and fast point tracking. We've taken those same technical features and added four-multispectral bands to improve the spectral fidelity and natural color capabilities. At this time, there isn't another satellite which combines high resolution with eight-bands and the level of agility that we get from the WorldView-class satellite."

[Salo]

Пошла трансляция:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bls/missions/worldview-2/

[Salo]

1813 GMT (2:13 p.m. EDT; 11:13 a.m. PDT)
T-minus 15 minutes and counting. Countdown clocks are running again following the planned 20-minute hold. The count will continue to the T-minus 4 minute mark where another planned hold is scheduled. Launch remains set to occur at 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT).
1808 GMT (2:08 p.m. EDT; 11:08 a.m. PDT)
A readiness poll of the launch team has resulted in a "go" to restart the countdown as scheduled.
1758 GMT (1:58 p.m. EDT; 10:58 a.m. PDT)
The Delta rocket will be flying in its configuration known as the 7920-10 vehicle. The two-stage launcher is fitted with nine strap-on solid-propellant motors and a 10-foot diameter composite nose cone.

Flying away from its coastal pad, the rocket will head southward over the Pacific Ocean. Six of the solid boosters are ignited on the ground, the other three light a minute into flight to give the Delta's first stage added thrust through the initial ascent. Once the solids burn out and separate, the kerosene-powered main engine will continue pushing the rocket to an altitude of 65 nautical miles.

The spent first stage will jettison to let the hydrazine-fueled second stage ignite and achieve a preliminary parking orbit 11 minutes into flight.

The rocket then settles into a quiet coast along a trajectory the cruises above the South Pacific before crossing Antarctica and proceeding northbound toward Africa. The second stage reignites its engine for 22 seconds off the western coast of Madagascar to reach a near-circular polar orbit above the planet.

The WorldView 2 spacecraft is expected to be released from the rocket 62 minutes after blastoff.
1753 GMT (1:53 p.m. EDT; 10:53 a.m. PDT)
T-minus 15 minutes and holding. Clocks have entered the next planned hold period during the Terminal Countdown. This pause will last 20 minutes in duration.

These holds are designed to give the launch team a chance to deal with any problems and catch up on work that could be running behind schedule.

A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates on the countdown, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
1751 GMT (1:51 p.m. EDT; 10:51 a.m. PDT)
The first stage engine steering checks just finished.
1747 GMT (1:47 p.m. EDT; 10:47 a.m. PDT)
The second stage engine slews are complete. First stage tests have begun.
1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EDT; 10:45 a.m. PDT)
The launch team is beginning the "slew" or steering checks of the first and second stage engines. These are gimbal tests of the nozzles on the first stage main engine and twin vernier engines and second stage engine to ensure the rocket will be able to steer itself during launch.

[Salo]

1826 GMT (2:26 p.m. EDT; 11:26 a.m. PDT)
Putting WorldView 2 into orbit will expand operator DigitalGloble's constellation of high-resolution commercial imagery satellites, joining the QuickBird spacecraft launched in 2001 and WorldView 1 deployed in 2007.

At the moment of today's 11:38 a.m. launch by the Delta 2 rocket, QuickBird will be orbiting 243 nautical miles over the equatorial Indian Ocean and WorldView 1 will be flying 272 nautical miles over northern Canada on a southerly trajectory that passes east of Vandenberg some 10 minutes after the scheduled liftoff time.
1824 GMT (2:24 p.m. EDT; 11:24 a.m. PDT)
T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered the final planned built-in hold. This is a scheduled 10-minute pause leading to today's liftoff at 11:38 a.m. local time (2:38 p.m. EDT; 1838 GMT).
1818 GMT (2:18 p.m. EDT; 11:18 a.m. PDT)
Now just 20 minutes away from liftoff time.

WorldView 2 will become the 221st primary payload put into space by the venerable Delta 2 rocket over the past 20 years. Here's a look at some other stats about today's mission. This will be:
The 345th Delta rocket launch since 1960
The 9th Delta of 2009
The 146th Delta 2 rocket mission since 1989
The 6th commercial Delta 2 conducted by ULA for Boeing Launch Services
The 37th Delta 2 rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB

[Salo]

1830 GMT (2:30 p.m. EDT; 11:30 a.m. PDT)
Launch team polling is underway to verify the rocket, payload, ground systems and weather are ready for liftoff.