Busy Launch Week

Three big space launches are planned during the next
three days. On Wednesday 8/10, Atlas V-401 AV-007
is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Pad 41
with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Thursday,
the first Ariane 5GS is expected to launch iPStar,
the heaviest GTO comsat ever, from Kourou. On Friday,
Boeing will finally send its Delta IVM+(2,4) into space
from Pad 37B at the Cape with GOES-N.

That's probably $450+ million worth of launch vehicles
and more than $1 billion in payloads that are set to fly
this week.

Good luck to all.

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:
Three big space launches are planned during the next
three days. On Wednesday 8/10, Atlas V-401 AV-007
is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Pad 41
with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Thursday,
the first Ariane 5GS is expected to launch iPStar,
the heaviest GTO comsat ever, from Kourou. On Friday,
Boeing will finally send its Delta IVM+(2,4) into space
from Pad 37B at the Cape with GOES-N.

Now word that the Atlas V MRO launch has been postponed
for at least 24 hours, so Arianespace will probably beat
both EELVs into space this time.

- Ed Kyle

"Ed Kyle" wrote in news:1123606329.630724.7960
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Ed Kyle wrote:
Three big space launches are planned during the next
three days. On Wednesday 8/10, Atlas V-401 AV-007
is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Pad 41
with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Thursday,
the first Ariane 5GS is expected to launch iPStar,
the heaviest GTO comsat ever, from Kourou. On Friday,
Boeing will finally send its Delta IVM+(2,4) into space
from Pad 37B at the Cape with GOES-N.

Now word that the Atlas V MRO launch has been postponed
for at least 24 hours, so Arianespace will probably beat
both EELVs into space this time.

The Delta IV launch has also been delayed, to Saturday.

The Atlas V is a minimum configuration with no solids, so
it will be a clean and pretty launch to watch.

http://www.ilslaunch.com/

http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/l...4_webcast.html

http://www.arianespace.com/

--Damon

Damon Hill wrote:
"Ed Kyle" wrote in news:1123606329.630724.7960
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Ed Kyle wrote:
Three big space launches are planned during the next
three days. On Wednesday 8/10, Atlas V-401 AV-007
is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Pad 41
with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Thursday,
the first Ariane 5GS is expected to launch iPStar,
the heaviest GTO comsat ever, from Kourou. On Friday,
Boeing will finally send its Delta IVM+(2,4) into space
from Pad 37B at the Cape with GOES-N.

Now word that the Atlas V MRO launch has been postponed
for at least 24 hours, so Arianespace will probably beat
both EELVs into space this time.

The Delta IV launch has also been delayed, to Saturday.

The Atlas V is a minimum configuration with no solids, so
it will be a clean and pretty launch to watch.

http://www.ilslaunch.com/

http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/l...4_webcast.html

http://www.arianespace.com/

--Damon

Thanks Damon. Here's are more details.

Ariane 5GS with iPStar is scheduled to go Thursday
morning 8/11 with a 2:39-4:39 AM EDT window. For
those who don't choose to sleep, broadcast will be at:
"http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en"
This is the first Ariane 5GS, which is a standard
Ariane 5G equipped with upgraded Ariane 5E-class
solid rocket boosters. At 6.7 tonnes, iPStar will
be the heaviest comsat ever boosted to GTO. The
current record, set by a Sea Launch Zenit in April,
is 6.1 tonnes.

After grabbing a couple hours sleep, you could then
switch to the Atlas V AV-007 MRO launch coverage at:
"http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils081005/"
beginning at 7:30 AM EDT on August 11. This will
probably also be on NASA-TV. Rollout starts late
August 10, and might be visible on one of the KSC
ELV feeds at "http://www.ksc.nasa.gov", but Atlas V
nighttime rollouts are usually hard to see because
they don't illuminate the vehicle until it reaches
the pad.

The Delta IV with GOES-N has now been pushed back
to Saturday evening, August 13, with a window of
6:30 to 7:04 p.m. EDT. It will probably also be
shown on NASA-TV, as well as at:
"http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/livewebcast/d4_webcast.html"
An interesting tidbit about this launch is that if
it doesn't go by Sunday evening, it might not be
able to launch until *October*. This Delta has been
standing on 37B for months already (it was there
long before the MRO Atlas arrived at the VIF),
so it will be very interesting to see if this
well-rooted bird flies.

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:

Ariane 5GS with iPStar is scheduled to go Thursday
morning 8/11 with a 2:39-4:39 AM EDT window. For
those who don't choose to sleep, broadcast will be at:
"http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en"
This is the first Ariane 5GS, which is a standard
Ariane 5G equipped with upgraded Ariane 5E-class
solid rocket boosters. At 6.7 tonnes, iPStar will
be the heaviest comsat ever boosted to GTO. The
current record, set by a Sea Launch Zenit in April,
is 6.1 tonnes.

The V166 launch was a success, but the satellite ended
up weighing only 6.5 tonnes (6,450 kg) at launch. It
was still a record, but less than the 6.7 tonne number
provided in the Press Kit, which apparantly includes
some non-deployed mission-specific mass.

After grabbing a couple hours sleep, you could then
switch to the Atlas V AV-007 MRO launch coverage at:
"http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils081005/"
beginning at 7:30 AM EDT on August 11. This will
probably also be on NASA-TV. Rollout starts late
August 10, and might be visible on one of the KSC
ELV feeds at "http://www.ksc.nasa.gov", but Atlas V
nighttime rollouts are usually hard to see because
they don't illuminate the vehicle until it reaches
the pad.

The Atlas V launch has been postponed 24 more hours
until Friday morning after a fueling problem.

The Delta IV with GOES-N has now been pushed back
to Saturday evening, August 13, with a window of
6:30 to 7:04 p.m. EDT. It will probably also be
shown on NASA-TV, as well as at:
"http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/livewebcast/d4_webcast.html"
An interesting tidbit about this launch is that if
it doesn't go by Sunday evening, it might not be
able to launch until *October*. This Delta has been
standing on 37B for months already (it was there
long before the MRO Atlas arrived at the VIF),
so it will be very interesting to see if this
well-rooted bird flies.

Delta IV is still shown for a Saturday evening launch,
but it is not clear to me that the Canaveral range
can be turned around quick enough after the Atlas
launch to support that. Things are looking tight for
GOES-N. The setup might change after this morning's
round of meetings.

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:

Ariane 5GS with iPStar is scheduled to go Thursday
morning 8/11 with a 2:39-4:39 AM EDT window. For
those who don't choose to sleep, broadcast will be at:
"http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en"
This is the first Ariane 5GS, which is a standard
Ariane 5G equipped with upgraded Ariane 5E-class
solid rocket boosters. At 6.7 tonnes, iPStar will
be the heaviest comsat ever boosted to GTO. The
current record, set by a Sea Launch Zenit in April,
is 6.1 tonnes.

The V166 launch was a success, but the satellite ended
up weighing only 6.5 tonnes (6,450 kg) at launch. It
was still a record, but less than the 6.7 tonne number
provided in the Press Kit, which apparantly includes
some non-deployed mission-specific mass.

After grabbing a couple hours sleep, you could then
switch to the Atlas V AV-007 MRO launch coverage at:
"http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils081005/"
beginning at 7:30 AM EDT on August 11. This will
probably also be on NASA-TV. Rollout starts late
August 10, and might be visible on one of the KSC
ELV feeds at "http://www.ksc.nasa.gov", but Atlas V
nighttime rollouts are usually hard to see because
they don't illuminate the vehicle until it reaches
the pad.

The Atlas V launch has been postponed 24 more hours
until Friday morning after a fueling problem.

The Delta IV with GOES-N has now been pushed back
to Saturday evening, August 13, with a window of
6:30 to 7:04 p.m. EDT. It will probably also be
shown on NASA-TV, as well as at:
"http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/livewebcast/d4_webcast.html"
An interesting tidbit about this launch is that if
it doesn't go by Sunday evening, it might not be
able to launch until *October*. This Delta has been
standing on 37B for months already (it was there
long before the MRO Atlas arrived at the VIF),
so it will be very interesting to see if this
well-rooted bird flies.

Delta IV is still shown for a Saturday evening launch,
but it is not clear to me that the Canaveral range
can be turned around quick enough after the Atlas
launch to support that. Things are looking tight for
GOES-N. The setup might change after this morning's
round of meetings.

Now add to the mix the Starsem Soyuz/Fregat launch of
PanAmSat's Galaxy 14 planned from Baikonur on August 12
at 2328Z (7:28 PM EDT). I think this payload, swapped
from Ariane, is only the second GTO comsat ever launched
by an R-7 type rocket. Look for coverage of this one at:
"http://www.starsem.com" or "http://www.arianespace.com".

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:

Ariane 5GS with iPStar is scheduled to go Thursday
morning 8/11 with a 2:39-4:39 AM EDT window. For
those who don't choose to sleep, broadcast will be at:
"http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en"
This is the first Ariane 5GS, which is a standard
Ariane 5G equipped with upgraded Ariane 5E-class
solid rocket boosters. At 6.7 tonnes, iPStar will
be the heaviest comsat ever boosted to GTO. The
current record, set by a Sea Launch Zenit in April,
is 6.1 tonnes.

The V166 launch was a success, but the satellite ended
up weighing only 6.5 tonnes (6,450 kg) at launch. It
was still a record, but less than the 6.7 tonne number
provided in the Press Kit, which apparantly includes
some non-deployed mission-specific mass.

After grabbing a couple hours sleep, you could then
switch to the Atlas V AV-007 MRO launch coverage at:
"http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils081005/"
beginning at 7:30 AM EDT on August 11. This will
probably also be on NASA-TV. Rollout starts late
August 10, and might be visible on one of the KSC
ELV feeds at "http://www.ksc.nasa.gov", but Atlas V
nighttime rollouts are usually hard to see because
they don't illuminate the vehicle until it reaches
the pad.

The Atlas V launch has been postponed 24 more hours
until Friday morning after a fueling problem.

The Delta IV with GOES-N has now been pushed back
to Saturday evening, August 13, with a window of
6:30 to 7:04 p.m. EDT. It will probably also be
shown on NASA-TV, as well as at:
"http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/livewebcast/d4_webcast.html"
An interesting tidbit about this launch is that if
it doesn't go by Sunday evening, it might not be
able to launch until *October*. This Delta has been
standing on 37B for months already (it was there
long before the MRO Atlas arrived at the VIF),
so it will be very interesting to see if this
well-rooted bird flies.

Delta IV is still shown for a Saturday evening launch,
but it is not clear to me that the Canaveral range
can be turned around quick enough after the Atlas
launch to support that. Things are looking tight for
GOES-N. The setup might change after this morning's
round of meetings.

The GSFC schedule now shows Delta IV set for Sunday
evening. If it misses on Sunday, GOES-N would slip
to October unless NASA can stretch the constraints.

Now add to the mix the Starsem Soyuz/Fregat launch of
PanAmSat's Galaxy 14 planned from Baikonur on August 12
at 2328Z (7:28 PM EDT). I think this payload, swapped
from Ariane, is only the second GTO comsat ever launched
by an R-7 type rocket. Look for coverage of this one at:
"http://www.starsem.com" or "http://www.arianespace.com".

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:

The Atlas V launch has been postponed 24 more hours
until Friday morning after a fueling problem.

Atlas V AV-007 flew a clean ascent Friday morning,
boosting MRO into heliocentric orbit, Mars-bound.
Two down.

The GSFC schedule now shows Delta IV set for Sunday
evening. If it misses on Sunday, GOES-N would slip
to October unless NASA can stretch the constraints.

Delta IV is set for Sunday, and now seems to have
until Tuesday before the eclipse window closes.
Boeing has struggled with this vehicle. It had to
replace an RS-68 turbopump, to review batteries, to
replace a guidance computer, etc. The last Delta IV
didn't do so well. Can Delta fly clean this time?

Now add to the mix the Starsem Soyuz/Fregat launch of
PanAmSat's Galaxy 14 planned from Baikonur on August 12
at 2328Z (7:28 PM EDT). I think this payload, swapped
from Ariane, is only the second GTO comsat ever launched
by an R-7 type rocket. Look for coverage of this one at:
"http://www.starsem.com" or "http://www.arianespace.com".

This one is tonight (Friday). It will be the sixth
Semyorka (R-7) this year, but the first since the
June 21 Molniya-M launch failure. We'll soon see
if Samara-Progress has figured out the problem.

- Ed Kyle

Ed Kyle wrote:

Atlas V AV-007 flew a clean ascent Friday morning,
boosting MRO into heliocentric orbit, Mars-bound.
Two down.

You kind of called this in your blog on Atlas going first despite
starting stacking later than the Delta. Though to be fair, part of the
Delta delay was due to spacecraft problem.

Delta IV is set for Sunday, and now seems to have
until Tuesday before the eclipse window closes.
Boeing has struggled with this vehicle. It had to
replace an RS-68 turbopump, to review batteries, to
replace a guidance computer, etc. The last Delta IV
didn't do so well. Can Delta fly clean this time?

With 2 solids on a single core, it should get out of the hydrogen
fireball faster than the triple core, but enough to avoid getting
blackened?

This one is tonight (Friday). It will be the sixth
Semyorka (R-7) this year, but the first since the
June 21 Molniya-M launch failure. We'll soon see
if Samara-Progress has figured out the problem.

Scrubbed for Friday.

Mike Chan wrote:
Ed Kyle wrote:

Atlas V AV-007 flew a clean ascent Friday morning,
boosting MRO into heliocentric orbit, Mars-bound.
Two down.

You kind of called this in your blog on Atlas going first despite
starting stacking later than the Delta. Though to be fair, part of the
Delta delay was due to spacecraft problem.

Yes, the payload was part of the delay, but the
launch vehicle has also been pretty cranky.

This Delta IV was stacked in mid-March, five months
ago. The Atlas V that just flew was erected at
SLC 41 in early May, only three months before it
flew. Boeing has had a Delta IV out at Vandenberg
since January 19, 2003. The original plan was for
a December 2003 launch, then it slipped to 2004,
then mid 2005. Now the first Delta IV Vandenberg
launch is showing as maybe not happening until
after the Titan 4 in October. Meanwhile, while
Boeing has been doing whatever it has been doing at
SLC 6 for *years* now, Lockheed has completely
rebuilt SLC 3E for Atlas V. (It started construction
*after* Boeing shipped its first rocket!) Lockheed
shipped its first Atlas V to Vandenberg in February
of this year and has reportedly already stacked it
for pathfinder activities on the pad. It is scheduled
to fly in early 2006. The fact that Lockheed is
having SpaceX kicked off of adjacent SLC 3W shows
that it is getting serious about flying ASAP.

I wonder which Vandenberg EELV will go first?
Wagers anyone? Irregardless, I'm smelling a trend
here.

Delta IV is set for Sunday, and now seems to have
until Tuesday before the eclipse window closes.
Boeing has struggled with this vehicle. It had to
replace an RS-68 turbopump, to review batteries, to
replace a guidance computer, etc. The last Delta IV
didn't do so well. Can Delta fly clean this time?

With 2 solids on a single core, it should get out of the hydrogen
fireball faster than the triple core, but enough to avoid getting
blackened?

Now slipped to Monday (does anyone want to bet October?)
The Medium-Pluses have shown a bit of sooting before,
but nothing like the Heavy.

This one is tonight (Friday). It will be the sixth
Semyorka (R-7) this year, but the first since the
June 21 Molniya-M launch failure. We'll soon see
if Samara-Progress has figured out the problem.

Scrubbed for Friday.

A 24 hour scrub until Saturday evening.

- Ed Kyle