O3b FM13, O3b FM14, O3b FM15, O3b FM16 – Soyuz-ST-B/Fregat-MT (VS18 ) – Kourou ELS – 09.03.2018

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03/09/2018 21:21 Stephen Clark

We've embedded Arianespace's live YouTube feed, which is set to begin around 15 minutes prior to liftoff.

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Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 41 сек. назад

T-1 Hour: One hour to today's instantaneous T-0 opportunity for #O3b Flight 4. Prop load should be complete by this point ahead of final checks to prepare for the automated countdown sequence. #Soyuz

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Arianespace‏ @Arianespace сейчас25 секунд назад


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The live broadcast for #Soyuz Flight #VS18 will begin in less than one hour on http://Arianespace.com  and @YouTube.

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03/09/2018 21:52 Stephen Clark

T-minus 45 minutes. The European-funded, Russian-built pad is located about eight miles northwest of the Ariane 5 and Vega launch pads at the Guiana Space Center. Engineers sel ected the Soyuz launch site based on terrain, geology and a location away from Ariane facilities to ensure they did not interfere with each other.
It took three years and cost European governments $800 million to build the Soyuz launch facility, which is known by its French acronym ELS. Other than the 17-story mobile servicing tower and four lightning masts, the launch pad is modeled after the Soyuz launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
This morning's launch is the 18th Soyuz to fly fr om ELS.
The Soyuz pad includes blue and yellow umbilical arms and hold-down petals at the base of the rocket. On the back side of the pad is a deep flame trench dug out of granite bedrock. The facility also houses living quarters for Russian workers and a launch control center.
The Soyuz site lies closer to the town of Sinnamary than Kourou, which is more typically associated with the spaceport.

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03/09/2018 18:57 Stephen Clark

T-minus 40 minutes. Some statistics on today's flight:

1,885th Soyuz rocket launch
3rd Soyuz launch of 2018
18th Soyuz launch from French Guiana
2nd launch from Guiana Space Center in 2018
1st Soyuz launch from French Guiana in 2018
296th Arianespace launch since 1980
54th-57th SES satellites launched by Arianespace
150th-153rd Thales Alenia Space satellites launched by Arianespace
24th global orbital launch attempt in 2018

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03/09/2018 22:07 Stephen Clark

Minus-30 minutes. This morning's launch will use the Soyuz-2.1b, or Soyuz ST-B, version of the venerable Russian booster, featuring advanced digital avionics. Thrust from 32 engine nozzles on the first stage will generate more than 900,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff.

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Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 2 мин. назад

L-30 Minutes: Launch Command Power is activated at this time & teams head into final preps for automated countdown. #Soyuz

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Задержка начала трансляции Арианспейс - 15 минут!?

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Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 36 сек. назад

Setting up for the auto sequence, the four #O3b satellites switch to internal power and the spacecraft team reports their final GO for launch. Final Guidance System setup occurs at T-10 minutes, in parallel with a last check of weather conditions.

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Updated: 03/09/2018 22:16 Stephen Clark

Today's launch will use the Soyuz-2.1b, or Soyuz ST-B, version of the venerable Russian booster, featuring advanced digital avionics and an upgraded RD-0124 third stage engine. Thrust from 32 engine nozzles on the first stage will generate more than 900,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff.

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03/09/2018 22:17 Stephen Clark

Minus-20 minutes. The four 1,543-pound (700-kilogram) O3b satellites mounted on top of the Soyuz rocket are now being configured for launch.

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Пошла трансляция

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03/09/2018 22:22 Stephen Clark

The Soyuz rocket family has flown 1,884 times since the 1950s, and this is the 18th time the venerable launcher will fly from outside the territory of the former Soviet Union.

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight сейчас1 минуту назад


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Soyuz ST-B webcast begins with audio saying Red Weather. Clearly a mistake as the webcast starts and shows it's green.