Inmarsat-S–Europasat/Hellas-Sat 3 (HS3-IS), GSAT-17– Ariane 5 ECA (VA238)– Kourou ELA-3 – 28.06.2017

[tnt22]

06/28/2017 23:29
Minus-30 minutes. The Ariane 5's first and second stages should now be loaded with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

Спойлер

The 17.7-foot-diameter first stage's Vulcain 2 engine burns 149.5 metric tons, or about 329,000 pounds, of liquid oxygen and 25 metric tons, or about 55,000 pounds, of liquid hydrogen. The cryogenic upper stage's HM7B engine consumes about 14.7 metric tons, or more than 32,000 pounds, of oxygen and hydrogen.

The fluids are stored at super-cold temperatures and naturally boil off in the warm tropical atmosphere in French Guiana. More propellant is slowly pumped into the rocket for most of the countdown to replenish the cryogenic fuel.

The topping sequence ends in the final few minutes of the countdown as the fuel tanks are pressurized and the fueling system is secured.

Built by a consortium of European contractors led by Airbus Safran Launchers in Vernon, France, the Vulcain 2 engine generates up to 300,000 pounds of thrust during its 9-minute firing. It burns about 320 kilograms, or 705 pounds, of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant per second.

The engine's nozzle has an exit diameter of 2.1 meters, or about 6.9 feet. It weighs more than 4,600 pounds and its liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen turbopumps spin at 12,300 rpm and 35,800 rpm, respectively.

The Vulcain 2 replaced the Vulcain engine used on the initial version of the Ariane 5. The newer engine produces 20 percent more thrust.

The Ariane 5's upper stage is powered by an HM7B engine, a modified version of the HM7 engine used on the upper stage of the Ariane 4 rocket. The 364-pound HM7B engine is manufactured by Airbus Safran Launchers in Ottobrunn, Germany.

The HM7B engine produces more than 14,500 pounds of thrust in vacuum.

The Ariane 5 configuration with a Vulcain 2 engine and HM7B-powered cryogenic upper stage is known as the Ariane 5 ECA.

The Ariane 5's twin solid rocket boosters are packed with propellant near the launch site in French Guiana before they are assembled and positioned on each side of the cryogenic core stage.

With the rocket now fully fueled for launch, the vehicle weighs 1.7 million pounds. At liftoff, the rocket produces 2.9 million pounds of thrust.

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[tnt22]

Началась трансляция на ТыТрубе

[tnt22]

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 3 мин. назад

The satellites are looking forward to 25 min of powered flight & separation by L+42 min. #Ariane5 Ascent Profile: http://bit.ly/2shOVkI 

[tnt22]

06/28/2017 23:43

Спойлер

Minus-16 minutes. Some statistics on today's flight:

[/li]
• 238th launch of an Ariane rocket since 1979
• 290th Arianespace mission
• 92nd launch of an Ariane 5 rocket since 1996
• 63rd launch of an Ariane 5 ECA rocket since 2002
• 69th flight of a Vulcan 2 engine
• 195th flight of an HM7B engine
• 81st Ariane 5 launch targeting GTO
• 1st Hellas-Sat satellite launched by Arianespace
• 9th Inmarsat satellite launched by Arianespace
• 21st ISRO satellite launched by Arianespace
• 149th Thales Alenia Space satellite launched by Arianespace
• 7th launch from the Guiana Space Center in 2017
• 4th Ariane 5 launch in 2017
  

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[che wi]

[tnt22]

Началась трансляция Arianespace
 

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[tnt22]

06/28/2017 23:46
A final weather briefing is scheduled at Minus-10 minutes.

06/28/2017 23:46
During the last few minutes, the Synchronized Sequence has been prepped for activation. This computer-run sequence assumes control of the countdown at the Minus-7 minute mark to perform the final tasks to place the rocket and pad systems in launch configuration.

At Minus-4 seconds, the rocket's onboard computer will take over control of main engine start, health checks of the powerplant and solid rocket booster ignition commanding for liftoff.

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 47 сек. назад

#Ariane5 will enter its Synchronized Countdown Sequence at T-7 minutes to undergo final reconfigurations for launch.

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[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 36 сек. назад

The Countdown will hold at T-7 Minutes and not enter the Synchronized Sequence. #Ariane5

[che wi]

Отсчет остановлен.

[tnt22]

06/28/2017 23:53
Minus-7 minutes and holding. The countdown has paused due to a red condition.

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 2 мин. назад

Hold.

[che wi]

T-0 – 21:10 UTC

[tnt22]

Stéphane Israël‏ @arianespaceceo 2 мин. назад

Weather is OK. New HO is targeted at 21.10 UT.

[tnt22]

Обновил
 

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 3 мин. назад

Ensemble de Lancement (Ground Infrastructure) is RED, causing the Hold. Today's window stretches until 22:16 UTC, current target is 21:10.

[tnt22]

06/28/2017 23:54
Stephane Israel, Arianespace's chairman and CEO, says weather is OK at the launch site, and the new launch time is targeted for 2110 GMT (5:10 p.m. EDT; 6:10 p.m. French Guiana time).

06/28/2017 23:57
Arianespace has not identified the problem that caused the unplanned hold, but the range operations manager said the red condition was with readiness of ground systems at the Kourou launch base.

06/28/2017 23:58
The countdown must resume by 2103 GMT (5:03 p.m. EDT) to permit a liftoff at 2110 GMT (5:10 p.m. EDT).