MAVEN -- Atlas V -- 18.11.2013 -- Canaveral

[che wi]

1737 GMT (12:37 p.m. EST)

The weather officer reports all constraints are now GREEN, but there is still a 40 percent chance of violating weather rules at the time of launch.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av038/status.html

1743 GMT (12:43 p.m. EST)
Launch is now 45 minutes away. The Atlas 5 rocket stands 188 feet tall and weighs 742,359 pounds fully loaded with propellant.

This launch will mark the seventh Atlas 5 launch of the year and the third Atlas 5 flight of the year for NASA.

Earlier this year, an Atlas 5 rocket launched NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite K from Florida on Jan. 30, followed by a launch Feb. 11 from California with the Landsat 8 Earth observation satellite. On March 19, an Atlas 5 launched the U.S. Air Force's second Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite, or SBIRS GEO 2, for missile early-warning detection.

A new GPS navigation satellite launched from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas 5 rocket May 15, followed July 19 by the launch of the U.S. Navy's second Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS 2, satellite designed to facilitate communications with troops on the move.

The Atlas 5's most recent launch Sept. 18 lofted the Air Force's third Advanced Extremely High Frequency, or AEHF 3, satellite for strategic nuclear-hardened communications.

1740 GMT (12:40 p.m. EST)
The first stage liquid oxygen tank and the Centaur's liquid hydrogen tank have reached the 95 percent levels, and topping has started.

1738 GMT (12:38 p.m. EST)
Final open-loop testing of the Atlas 5's destruct system is getting underway now.

1737 GMT (12:37 p.m. EST)
The weather officer reports all constraints are now GREEN, but there is still a 40 percent chance of violating weather rules at the time of launch.

1736 GMT (12:36 p.m. EST)
Centaur's liquid hydrogen tank is 90 percent full. The cryogenic propellant will be consumed with liquid oxygen by the stage's Aerojet Rocketdyne-made RL10 engine.

1731 GMT (12:31 p.m. EST)
The weather officer reports the field mill rule is currently NO GO. This is a measurement of electrical field in the atmosphere and is a concern due to the potential for rocket-triggered lightning during launch.

1728 GMT (12:28 p.m. EST)
Now 60 minutes fr om liftoff. Fueling of the Atlas rocket with cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen is progressing smoothly as the countdown continues on schedule for a liftoff at 1:28 p.m. EST (1828 GMT). Weather remains GO, and the launch window runs until 3:28 p.m. EST (2028 GMT)

If you are heading out to the beach or Port Canaveral to watch the launch, sign up for our Twitter feed to get occasional countdown 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.)

And if you are need tips on picking a good viewing spot, check out this authoritative guide on wh ere to go.

1725 GMT (12:25 p.m. EST)
Centaur liquid hydrogen has reached the 10-percent level, and Atlas first stage liquid oxygen is at 70 percent.

1718 GMT (12:18 p.m. EST)
Chilldown of the liquid hydrogen system has been accomplished. The launch team has received the "go" to begin filling the Centaur upper stage with the supercold fuel.

1717 GMT (12:17 p.m. EST)
First stage liquid oxygen tank is 50 percent full thus far. Chilled to Minus-298 degrees F, the liquid oxygen will be used with RP-1 kerosene by the RD-180 main engine on the first stage during the initial four minutes of flight today. The 25,000 gallons of RP-1 were loaded into the rocket Oct. 29 during a practice countdown.

1712 GMT (12:12 p.m. EST)
The Centaur engine chilldown sequence is being initiated.

Frost is building up on the Atlas 5 first stage as super-cold liquid oxygen is pumped aboard the rocket.

1703 GMT (12:03 p.m. EST)
Centaur liquid oxygen is now at flight level.

1659 GMT (11:59 a.m. EST)
The Centaur liquid oxygen tank reached the 92.4 percent level. The topping off process is starting now.

1653 GMT (11:53 a.m. EST)
The chilldown conditioning of liquid hydrogen propellant lines at Complex 41 is starting to prepare the plumbing for transferring the Minus-423 degree F fuel into the rocket. The Centaur holds about 12,325 gallons of the cryogenic propellant.

1653 GMT (11:53 a.m. EST)
Now at 75 percent on Centaur liquid oxygen.

1649 GMT (11:49 a.m. EST)
The conditioning of the systems for the first stage liquid oxygen tank have been completed. And a "go" has been given to begin pumping supercold liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5's first stage.

The Common Core Booster stage's liquid oxygen tank is the largest tank to be filled today. It holds 48,745 gallons of cryogenic oxidizer for the RD-180 main engine.

1648 GMT (11:48 a.m. EST)
Centaur liquid oxygen is 50 percent loaded.

1641 GMT (11:41 a.m. EST)
Passing the 20 percent level on the Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen tank.

1637 GMT (11:37 a.m. EST)
Alignment of the Atlas 5's guidance computer is complete.

1633 GMT (11:33 a.m. EST)
Filling of the Centaur upper stage with about 4,075 gallons of liquid oxygen has begun at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 following the thermal conditioning of the transfer pipes.

The liquid oxygen -- chilled to Minus-298 degrees F -- will be consumed during the launch by the Centaur's single RL10 engine along with liquid hydrogen to be pumped into the stage a little later in the countdown. The Centaur will perform two firings to propel the 5,420-pound MAVEN spacecraft onto an interplanetary trajectory today.

1623 GMT (11:23 a.m. EST)
The Centaur liquid oxygen pad storage area has been prepped. The next step is conditioning the transfer lines, which is now beginning to prepare the plumbing for flowing the cryogenic oxidizer.

1619 GMT (11:19 a.m. EST)
All console operators have reported GO status during the pre-fueling readiness poll. The ULA launch director also voiced his approval for moving forward with the countdown as scheduled today.

Loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the Atlas 5 rocket will be getting underway a short time from now.

1618 GMT (11:18 a.m. EST)
T-minus 120 minutes and counting! The launch countdown has resumed for today's flight of the Atlas 5 rocket on the NASA mission to deploy the MAVEN spacecraft on a 10-month journey to Mars.

Clocks have one more built-in hold planned at T-minus 4 minutes. That pause will last 10 minutes during which time the final "go" for launch will be given. All remains targeted for liftoff at 1:28 p.m. EST (1828 GMT) from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.

In the next couple of minutes, chilldown thermal conditioning of the mobile launch platform upon which the rocket stands will begin. This is meant to ease the shock on equipment when supercold cryogenic propellants start flowing into the rocket.

[che wi]

30 мин до старта.

[che wi]

Циклограмма
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av038/launchtimeline.html

[Bell]

Показывают как приближаются облака.

[LL_]

Контроль погоды пройден. Задержка предстартового отсчета на отметке L-14, 10 мин.

[Space Alien]

T-minus 4 minutes and holding.

[Space Alien]

[Bell]

а где отсчет??

[Salo]

1813 GMT (1:13 p.m. EST)
 T-minus 5 minutes. Standing by to go into the final built-in hold. All of the Atlas 5's propellant tanks are reported at flight level.  

1808 GMT (1:08 p.m. EST)
 Today marks the 41st flight for Atlas 5, born of the Air Force's competition to develop next-generation Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles. In its previous 40 missions since debuting in August 2002, the tally shows 15 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 9 commercial missions with communications spacecraft, 9 for NASA and 7 with spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Topped with the high-energy Centaur upper stage, Atlas rockets have been used since the 1960s to dispatch ground-breaking missions for NASA, including the Surveyors to the Moon, Mariner flights to Mars, Venus and Mercury, and the Pioneers that were the first to visit Jupiter and beyond.
 
 1803 GMT (1:03 p.m. EST)
 The launch weather officer says all weather constraints are observed GO and expected to remain GO at the time of liftoff. The forecast worsens later in the two-hour window as thicker clouds move into the area.  

1802 GMT (1:02 p.m. EST)
 The fuel-fill sequence for the first stage main engine is starting, and flight control final preps are complete.  

1801 GMT (1:01 p.m. EST)
 The launch team has cleared a concern with a transducer on the Centaur pressurization system.  

1758 GMT (12:58 p.m. EST)
 Just 30 minutes until liftoff time. Today's launch is the third Mars mission to blast off on an Atlas 5 rocket. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission will reach the red planet Sept. 22, 2014, if it launches today. MAVEN weighs exactly 2,458.83 kilograms fully fueled, and its fuel tank contains 431 gallons, or 3,626 pounds, of hydrazine.
Built by Lockheed Martin Corp., MAVEN has two wings of solar panels that will extend 37.5-feet tip-to-tip. The solar array deployment sequence should be complete within 15 minutes of MAVEN's deployment fr om the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage.
MAVEN carries eight instruments and nine sensors to probe the upper atmosphere of Mars from an elliptical orbit stretching from a peak altitude of 3,850 miles to a low point 93 miles from the Martian surface, wh ere MAVEN will survey the Martian upper atmosphere to determine what processes caused the atmosphere to thin out and cool off in the ancient past, dooming any potential life on the planet.
MAVEN will join other operating spacecraft at Mars, including NASA's Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on the surface, NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in orbit, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter.
If the launch goes at the opening of the window today, MAVEN will deploy from the upper stage of the Atlas 5 rocket about 52 minutes after liftoff.
Check out a timeline of the launch. The times are accurate if MAVEN launches at the beginning of today's launch window.
Following separation from the launch vehicle, MAVEN will activate its radio transmitter and radio its status to ground stations in Perth and Canberra, Australia. Then MAVEN will extend its solar panels and point them toward the sun to generate electricity.
 
 1754 GMT (12:54 p.m. EST)
 Open-loop testing of the Atlas 5's flight termination system is complete.

[che wi]

10 min do starta.


Heres a look at some stats about today's mission. This will be:

[/li]
• The 623rd launch for Atlas program since 1957
  
• The 333rd Atlas to occur from Cape Canaveral
  
• The 212th mission for the Centaur upper stage
  
• The 189th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
  
• The 441st production RL10 engine to be launched
  
• The 47th flight of the RD-180 main engine
  
• The 41st launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
  
• The 65th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
  
• The 10th Atlas 5 launch for NASA
  
• The 35th Atlas 5 to occur from the Cape
  
• The 28th daytime Atlas 5 launch from the Cape
  
• The 76th United Launch Alliance flight overall
  
• The 10th ULA launch of the year
  
• The 33rd Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
  
• The 27th 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
  
• The 19th Atlas 5 to fly in the 401 configuration
  
• The 3rd Mars mission to launch on Atlas 5
  
• The 7th Atlas launch of 2013
  
• The 9th launch from Cape Canaveral in 2013
  

[Bizonich]

Не понимаю разговорный английский, в чем дело-то?

[Bell]

все, кина не будет?

[Lanista]

Остановились на -4 мин, соответственно в 22.24 продолжат отсчет (если все ок).
Вы как в 1й раз.

[che wi]

Bell пишет:
а где отсчет??

We will have a planned, 10-minute hold at T-4 minutes.
https://twitter.com/MAVEN2Mars/status/402499897191985152

[Bizonich]

О, оживились. )

[samvlamix]

Они решили взять паузу!

[che wi]

- 5 мин

[Bell]

Lanista пишет:
Остановились на -4 мин, соответственно в 22.24 продолжат отсчет (если все ок).
Вы как в 1й раз.

картинки не было, уже есть

[Space Alien]

GO FOR LAUNCH!