TacSat-4 - Minotaur IV - Kodiak LP-1 - 27.09.2011 15:49 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/

Crews rehearse Minotaur launch countdown in Alaska[/size]

The launch team gathered on the Alaska coastline Friday for a mission dress rehearsal, a practice countdown in which technicians went through procedures to prepare the Minotaur 4 rocket and TacSat 4 payload for liftoff. The real launch is scheduled for Tuesday morning.[/size]

[Salo]

http://ors.csd.disa.mil/multimedia/index15e4.html?album=1&gallery=7

[Salo]

[KBOB]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/status.html идет трансляция

Рабочий с гаечным ключом обошел вокруг ракеты. До открытия стартового окна остается чуть более 5-ти часов.

[Salo]

Предстартовое видео:

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/110925mdr/

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/launchtimeline.html

Minotaur launch timeline[/size]
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 26, 2011

T-00:00   Liftoff
The first stage's decommissioned Peacekeeper SR118 solid rocket motor ignites to begin the Minotaur 4 rocket's mission. Pitch and roll commands two seconds later will put the rocket on the proper trajectory.

T+00:37   Max Q
Aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle reaches its peak as the Minotaur 4 accelerates through the lower atmosphere.

T+00:57   Stage 1 Sep./Stage 2 Ignition
At an altitude of 15 miles, the rocket's ATK-built solid-fueled first stage exhausts its supply of propellant and is jettisoned. The second stage's SR119 motor ignites to continue the flight toward space.

T+01:55   Stage 2 Burnout
The second stage SR119 motor, built by Aerojet, burns out at an altitude of 58 miles.

T+02:05   Stage 2 Sep./Stage 3 Ignition
After a 10-second coast, the Hercules SR120 third stage motor fires for a 72-second burn.

T+02:17   Fairing Jettison
The 92-inch graphite-epoxy aluminum honeycomb 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 78 miles.

T+03:18   Stage 3 Burnout
The Hercules SR120 motor completes its burn and the Minotaur 4 enters a coast period lasting almost 20 minutes, during which the vehicle's altitude will soar to more than 400 miles.

T+22:55   Stage 3 Separation
The Minotaur's third stage is released to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

T+23:06   Stage 4 Ignition
The Star 48 solid rocket motor is ignited to complete the job of placing the payload into orbit. This is the first flight of a Minotaur 4 rocket with the Star 48 fourth stage motor. This version of the rocket is called the Minotaur 4+ configuration.

T+24:28   Stage 4 Burnout
The fourth stage uses up its propellant and burns out as it enters the targeted elliptical orbit with a perigee altitude of about 115 miles, an apogee altitude of 7,487 miles, and an orbital inclination of 63.435 degrees.

T+27:48   TacSat 4 Separation
The Navy's TacSat 4 satellite is deployed from the Minotaur 4 rocket's fourth stage.

Data source: Orbital Sciences Corp.[/size]

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/groundtrack.html

[Salo]

Пуск ожидается в 19:49 ЛМВ.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/tower/

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/status.html

1319 GMT (9:19 a.m. EDT; 5:19 a.m. Alaska time)
 T-minus 2 hours, 30 minutes. The latest weather briefing indicates all criteria are now green and expected to remain that way for the rest of the countdown.

Meteorologists now expect partly cloudy skies with a widely scattered deck of clouds at 5,000 feet, winds from the west between 5 mph and 15 mph, and a 10 percent chance an elevated proton flux from solar activity could violate launch rules.

Otherwise, forecasters don't believe there will be any weather that could threaten launch today.

[Salo]

Идёт трансляция:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/tacsat4/status.html

[KBOB]

7:03 местного времени, начинается рассвет. (если бы выключили этот дурацкий фонарь на стартовой площадке, была бы потрясающая панорама).
Ограничений по погоде нет. (0%)

[Потусторонний]

1539 GMT (11:39 a.m. EDT; 7:39 a.m. Alaska time)
T-minus 9 minutes, 30 seconds. The launch vehicle's flight termination system has been switched to internal power and the external power source has been turned off.
1535 GMT (11:35 a.m. EDT; 7:35 a.m. Alaska time)
T-minus 14 minutes and counting. The launch hazard area and impact limit lines are clear of personnel.

[KBOB]

Что за книжки читают операторы в ЦУПе?

[Salo]

Улетела!

[KBOB]

3-я ступень отработала

[Потусторонний]

Launch pad tower rolls away from Minotaur rocket

[KBOB]

Пока нет подтверждения успешности отделения TACSAT-4.

[KBOB]

Есть подтверждение!

[bavv]

1625 GMT (12:25 p.m. EDT; 8:25 a.m. Alaska time)
SPACECRAFT SEPARATION CONFIRMED. The rocket's telemetry being radioed through a ground station in Chile confirms the payload separated. The vehicle's orbital parameters are as expected.