NROL-76 – Falcon 9 – Кеннеди LC-39A – 01.05.2017 11:15 UTC

[tnt22]

Светает. Рассвет в KSC сегодня наступит в 06:42 EDT.

[tnt22]

05/01/2017 13:21
T-minus 55 minutes and counting. While the National Reconnaissance Office keeps most of its missions shrouded in total secrecy, the agency has revealed bits of information on the payload to be launched today.

Спойлер

An NRO spokesperson confirmed to Spaceflight Now on Sunday that today's launch, codenamed NROL-76, was booked with SpaceX through a third party contractor. The NRO official said Ball Aerospace, a spacecraft manufacturer based in Boulder, Colorado, arranged the launch with SpaceX under the auspices of a "delivery in orbit" contract with the U.S. government spy agency.

In the satellite business, a delivery in orbit contract typically describes an arrangement where a spacecraft builder hands over control of a payload the the end user -- in this case, the NRO -- once the mission is declared ready for operations in orbit.

According to a report published by Space.com, the Federal Aviation Administration's commercial launch license for this flight indicates the mission is heading for low Earth orbit, a regime several hundred miles above Earth. The exact parameters of the orbit have not been disclosed, but hazard notices released to pilots and sailors ahead of the flight indicated the rocket will travel northeast from Cape Canaveral, seemingly heading for a high-inclination orbit that will allow the spacecraft to pass over the bulk of the world's population as it flies around Earth.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

‏ @CwG_NSF 4 мин. назад

Ground winds are well within tolerance for launch. Upper level winds are "being watched." #SpaceX #NROL76 #Falcon9

[tnt22]

05/01/2017 13:24
SpaceX reports the launch team is set for for liftoff at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT), but they are tracking upper level winds.

[che wi]

[tnt22]

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 1 мин. назад

T-45 Minutes: LOX flow should now be initiated to begin loading #Falcon9 with ~360 metric tons of -207°C Liquid Oxygen.

[tnt22]

05/01/2017 13:31
T-minus 45 minutes. Liquid oxygen is now being loaded into the Falcon 9 rocket. Both stages burn the same RP-1 kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture.

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 1 мин. назад

Upper Level Winds are not part of the range weather assessment. Analyzed as part of flight dynamics for each vehicle individually. #Falcon9

[tnt22]

Момент восхода
 

[tnt22]

15 мин до начала трансляции на сайте SpaceX

[tnt22]

SpaceXUpdates‏ @SpaceXUpdates 2 мин. назад

Big vent underway for LOX load.

1 мин. назад

[Дмитрий Ильин]

Задымила.

[tnt22]

 @CwG_NSF 1 мин. назад

LOX load on Stage 2 has started. #SpaceX #Falcon9 #NROL76

[tnt22]

45th Space Wing‏ @45thSpaceWing 4 мин. назад

T-30 min until launch! Launch poll says we are GO for launch! #Falcon9 #NROL76

[tnt22]

05/01/2017 13:45
T-minus 30 minutes and counting. Liquid oxygen loading of the Falcon 9's second stage is reported to have begun.

05/01/2017 13:49
It's a gorgeous morning here at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here's a view taken a couple of minutes ago from the Spaceflight Now office.

[tnt22]

‏ @CwG_NSF 4 мин. назад

T-27mins. All is still proceeding well from a technical standpoint. Upper level winds being monitored. #SpaceX #NROL76 #Falcon9

[Space Complex]

ветер до 50 км\ч??? это очень плохо...

[tnt22]

05/01/2017 13:54
SpaceX's live coverage of today's launch will be different than normal. The company's webcast coverage of the ascent portion of the flight will end around 3 minutes after liftoff, once the Falcon 9's payload fairing is jettisoned, at the request of the National Reconnaissance Office.

Live video of the first stage's descent and landing will continue, with touchdown set for T+plus 8 minutes, 46 seconds, at Landing Zone 1 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

[tnt22]

Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 3 мин. назад

The classified #NROL76 satellite should be entering its final preparations now, switching to battery power & enabling its launch sequence.