GPS 2F-8 Launch on Atlas 5 - Smooth Florida sailing in shadow of Orbital's Anatres explosion

United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched their Atlas 5 this afternoon with a GPS satellite as the payload (GPS 2F-8 or #GPSIIF8). This launch is a tribute to Florida’s amazing track record of safety and operations in lieu of Orbital’s catastrophic  rocket explosion last night in Virginia. The Orbital explosion of Antares may have caused significant damage to their only launchpad. The failure will require an accident investigation before they can start rebuilding, which may hurt their business significantly as commercial customers migrate towards Florida to launch on +SpaceX's Falcon 9 or overseas. SpaceX will be the only Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) provider for NASA to the International Space Station for the near-term, which will cause shifting in payloads manifested, and could trickle-down to payloads being delayed or costs going up as the supply capability reduces. As payloads jockey for position, the true economic impact to the space coast will occur in December during the Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1). Hotels across the coast are already sold out (including our floor space) and Florida is expecting "Shuttle-like" crowds. This mission is a simple two-orbit profile, but is a critical step in returning launching human spaceflight from the USA.

Another successful launch from the space coast. My 28th in 25 months since moving here.

Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket exploded shortly after clearing the tower at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. It was en route to the International Space Station as a resupply mission loaded with consumables for the crew, science, and secondary payloads. Photo Credit: NASA HQ

The official stats:

Oct. 29	Atlas 5  •  GPS 2F-8
Launch time: 1721 GMT (1:21 p.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launched the Air Force's eighth Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket flew in the 401 vehicle configuration with a four-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. See our Mission Status Center. [Oct. 29]

Space!

Ryan

Red sky at morn, sailors be warn. Missed the #SpaceX #AsiaSat8 launch, but the rumble woke me up!

Strike three. That's three missed launches in a row, but at least the rumble from the rocket woke me up at 4am so I experienced part of the launch and acknowledge that it actually did happen. I set my alarm for the beginning of the launch window at 1:25am and was up in time to test my camera (see image below). I was dazed and following updates on Twitter tagged with #SpaceX and #AsiaSat8, but then the time came and went and the launch was aborted at T-12 seconds! I saw tweets that the media was being escorted off base and to me that indicated at least a 30-min delay before another attempt could be made. I wasn't willing to stay up all night with an unknown launch window, so I decided to call it a night. Three launches in a week is pretty fantastic even if I missed watching them all!

Red sky at night is usually sailor's delight, but not today. I guess since it was 1:20am that "red sky at morn, sailors be warn" is more appropriate. This moment was captured leading up to the T-12 seconds abort of +SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket waiting to launch AsiaSat 8. It did finally go at 4am.

Most importantly on this date, is that it's Jen and I's 2nd wedding anniversary! We had a rover land on Mars for our wedding party post-reception (5 August 2012 - Mars Science Laboratory / Curiosity) and now a rocket launch on year 2! We missed the landing as well in 2012, because there's not much reception at Yellowstone National Park!

The stats (to be updated in past-tense later):

Aug. 5	Falcon 9  •  AsiaSat 8
Launch window: 0525-0811 GMT (1:25-4:11 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the AsiaSat 8 communications satellite. AsiaSat 8 will support direct broadcasting, private networks and broadband connectivity for customers in China, India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Delayed from April, May, June and Aug. 4. [Aug. 3]

Space!

Ryan

My first missed launch while being in Florida, but at least I was playing ice hockey! #GPS2F7 on #AtlasV

Friday night I was on the ice playing hockey, yes ice hockey in Florida, so I missed my first launch ever while being in the same location/State. Apparently one of my teammates felt the building rumble. Next time I'll have to wear my digital sports watch and set an alarm. Douglas Adams would not approve of me not wearing my Timex 24/7. I was tempted to set an alarm, throw on skate guards, and "run" outside, but there will be plenty more launches to witness. At least I was able to capture a few photos of the rocket on the launchpad during the #SpaceInterns tour of CCAFS/KSC earlier this summer (Photo from 21 July).

A drive by of SLC (or LC) 41 and a view of GPS 2F-7 on top of a Atlas 5 rocket. This was the only view of the rocket I saw since I was playing hockey during the launch late Friday night.

The official Spaceflightnow.com summary:

Aug. 1/2	Atlas 5  •  GPS 2F-7
Launch window: 0323 GMT on 2nd (11:23 p.m. EDT on 1st) Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launched the Air Force's seventh Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket flew in the 401 vehicle configuration with a four-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 31. See our Mission Status Center. [Aug. 1]

Space!

Ryan

#AFSPC4 scrub on #Delta4, my first of many missed launches since moving to Florida

It was bound to happen, but after 23 months of living in Florida, I was out of town for a launch. The AFSPC 4 launch on the Delta 4 would have been my 22nd launch since moving to Florida Sept. 2012. I only attended one of the four scrubs on July 24th (I was hoping to watch it 7/23 while sailing), and was out of town for the other two scrubs. This has only happened to me twice before. The first mission where I witnessed a scrub (actually two) and missed the launch was STS-127 when +NASA invited the Student Ambassador's to a special conference and launch viewing opportunity. I did drive back one-week later from Cleveland (I was at NASA Glenn Research Center for my PhD research that summer) hoping to see STS-127, but it was scrubbed again. Luckily we did see the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launch to the Moon (18 June 2009) with the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)! The second near-miss was for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission when I came for my interview with Space Florida and it scrubbed. We didn't move down to Florida from Cambridge until after the launch (September). For the record, my differentiation between a scrub and a delay is if they fuel the rocket. If it's fueled and doesn't fly, it's a scrub!

Rockets in mirror are closer than they appear. We slowly watched a blue sky over the rocket get covered by lightning storms in the area and heavy cloud coverage.

The fact that Florida is launching nearly one rocket per month is still a great pace and as activity increases on the space coast, I look forward to the future where I'm missing several launches per month. I believe we can achieve the frequency of one orbital launch per week complemented by suborbital flights even more frequent than that. I won't predict when that happens, because we all know that it's "only two years away".

Too late... clouds are overhead of the rocket and then launch window officially closed. If the launch window was longer (or opened earlier), they may have been able to launch that evening.

For those keeping score on launches, scrubs and delays, here's Spaceflightnow.com's summary of this mission. Previous launch information can be viewed on their extremely useful Launch Log.

July 28	Delta 4  •  AFSPC 4
Launch time: 2328 GMT (7:28 p.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket launched the AFSPC 4 mission for the U.S. Air Force. The rocket flew in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. The payloads included two satellites for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program. Delayed from February. Moved forward from December. Scrubbed on July 23, July 24, July 25 and July 26. See our Mission Status Center. [July 28]

Space!

Ryan

#Orbcomm constellation of 6 launched by #SpaceX on #Falcon9 v1.1

One of the main perks to working on the Space Coast is viewing the nearly-monthly launches that occur. Due to delays in several launch attempts (technical, weather, bad ham sandwiches...), we may see one a week for a total of three launches in July. Today, in excellent morning weather conditions, +SpaceX launched a constellation of six Orbcomm Inc. communication satellites. With afternoon thunderstorms nearly every day in the summer, this should have been the plan all along! The rocket flew very vertically compared to other launches, which usually have long arcs to the East or South. It probably indicates the higher altitude they were aiming for and a lower inclination compared to the ISS orbit.

The first image below is the token or obligatory view form the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station viewing area (which features fish also trying to launch themselves out of the water, dolphins and manatees). The second image is three photos showing the Falcon 9 blowing smoke rings. Very groovy baby! This post is the first of many launch posts that I will back-blog so that all my launch photos are searchable by filters. This was launch #21 since moving to Florida in Sept 2012.

Orbcomm is up, up, and away!

The Falcon 9 blowing smoke rings

For those keeping score on launches, scrubs and delays, here's Spaceflightnow.com's summary of this mission. Previous launch information can be viewed on their extremely useful Launch Log.

July 14

Falcon 9  •  Orbcomm OG2

Launch window: 1322-1555 GMT (9:22-11:55 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch six second-generation Orbcomm communications satellites. The satellites will operate for Orbcomm Inc., providing two-way data messaging services for global customers. The rocket will fly in the Falcon 9 v1.1 configuration with upgraded Merlin 1D engines, stretched fuel tanks, and a payload fairing. Delayed from September, November, April 30, May 10, May 27, June 11, June 12, June 15, June 20, June 21, June 22 and June 24. See our Mission Status Center. [July 13]

Space!

Ryan

Yuri's Night 2014 hits the beach! Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach Celebrate #YurisNight!

Since I've been getting questions about where people can go celebrate +Yuri's Night on the Space Coast, I decided to post this summary so I could cut/paste one link to send around! I'm co-hosting the Space Coast Rocket Pub Crawl and it should be a great time! Rock the Planet!

FRIDAY APRIL 11

1.     Yuri's Night Kick Off with the 4th International Workshop on Lunar Science Applications (LSA 4)

·      Courtyard by Marriott Cocoa Beach-Port Canaveral

·      3435 N Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

·      5:30pm to 8:30pm

·      https://mcc.yurisnight.net/parties/2306-lsa-4-yuri-s-night-kick-off-event/

2.     Yuri’s Night Central Florida International Space Apps Challenge Hang Out

·      Cocoa Beach Brewing Company

·      150 N Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

·      8:30pm

·      https://mcc.yurisnight.net/parties/2362-central-florida-space-apps/

·      APRIL 12/13: Kennedy Space Center International Space Apps Challenge: https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org/location/kennedy-space-center/

SATURDAY APRIL 12

3.     Yuri’s Night Space Coast Rocket Bike Pub Crawl

·      Join us for this tour de bar across Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach to celebrate the 14th Annual Yuri's Night!

·      11am La Cantina Mexican Bar & Grill

·      12pm - Dotty's Bar

·      1pm - Hogan's Irish Pub

·      2pm - Grahams Beach Grill

·      3pm - Jump's Tiny Tavern

·      4pm – 6pm Oh Shucks Seafood Bar

·      http://bike.yur.is

4.     Yuri’s Night Soviet Block Wines

·      Enjoy a night of wines from countries that once were in the Eastern Block!! We will feature some beautiful Bulgarian and Romanian Wines!! Dessert, White, and Red!!!!

·      Bacchae Wine Bar, Cape Canaveral

·      7090 N Atlantic Ave., Cape Canaveral, FL 32920

·      7pm

·      https://www.facebook.com/events/1413706245558404/

NROL-67 Launch on Atlas 5 from CCAFS. Atlas' largest configuration!

A very smooth and quick afternoon launch. This is the largest configuration for the Atlas rocket family.

NROL-67 launching on an Atlas 541, ULA's biggest Atlas rocket configuration!

UP up and away! Wait, have I used that caption before? NROL-67, rolling away.

The official stats:

April 10	Atlas 5  •  NROL-67
Launch time: 1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-045, launched a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket flew in the 541 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, four solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from March 25 by range instrumentation issue. See our Mission Status Center. [April 10]

Space!

Ryan

#SpaceX launch of #Thaicom6 at #CCAFS

Right at the beginning of their launch window, +SpaceX successfully launched the Thaicom 6 satellite to GTO on a Falcon 9 ver 1.1. It was a loud launch and the rocket hit the cloud deck pretty quickly. We only caught a few glimpses of it through the clouds at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station viewing spot. A great launch to start 2014! I adjusted the levels on a few images to highlight the awesomeness.

Jan. 6

Falcon 9  •  Thaicom 6

Launch window: 2206 GMT (5:06 p.m. EST) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Thaicom 6 communications satellite. Thaicom 6 will provide C-band and Ku-band communications services across Southeast Asia and Africa. The rocket flew in the Falcon 9 v1.1 configuration with upgraded Merlin 1D engines, stretched fuel tanks, and a payload fairing. Delayed from August, October, Dec. 12, Dec. 20 and Jan. 3. See our Mission Status Center. [Jan. 6]

Space!

Ryan

Launch of MUOS-2 on Atlas 5 from CCAFS

It was a short launch as the rocket broke the cloud layer very fast, but it was still a great show. Photos taken from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station viewing area on the East-end of the NASA Causeway.

Launch of MUOS-2 on Atlas 5 from CCAFS 

Launch of MUOS-2 on Atlas 5 from CCAFS 

MUOS-2 on Atlas 5 breaking into the cloud deck.

The official stats from Spaceflight Now:

July 19	Atlas 5  •  MUOS 2
Launch time: 1300 GMT (9 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-040, launched the second Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite for the U.S. Navy. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide narrowband tactical communications designed to significantly improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move. The rocket flew in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. See our Mission Status Center. [July 19]

Space!

Ryan

Rockets light up October skies in Florida - #GPSIIF3 & #CRS1 #Dragon Launches on Delta IV & Falcon 9

Two launches in the span of four days occurred on the Space Coast this week with ULA's Delta IV rocket carrying the GPSII-F3 satellite (October 4th) and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifting a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for the Commercial Resupply Services Mission, CRS-1 (October 7th, they also had a secondary payload). This week has been window into our future on the Space Coast where we can expect multiple launches per week, every week. I hope we open space access to the point of daily launches, at least suborbital flights.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch of the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for the Commercial Resupply Services Mission, CRS-1

The photo composite of the Falcon 9 launch above is of five photos, each with 13 seconds of exposure. The photomerge created an interesting inversion in the middle of the contrail, but I like the artistic feature. This was my first night launch, so based on my Shuttle launch experience I was expecting 10-15 seconds before hitting a cloud deck. I was off by a significant factor, but at least I will be ready for the next night launch, of which there will be plenty! The HD video I shot with my phone is below. It was like watching a star get lifted into the night sky.



These are a couple of my favourite shots from the Delta IV launch. I love the long contrail that rockets leave behind that connect the earth to the cosmos, ripping a hole through the atmosphere. The classic zoom picture of a rocket just off the launch pad with a strong reflection in the water never gets old. It's a very personal souvenir that captures the excitement of the launch, and the immense power of the rocket.

This Delta IV launch was flawless on a beautiful morning from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 37B.

The Delta IV rocket carrying the GPSII-F3 satellite well clear of the tower and heading into the cosmos.

The official stats form the launches:

Oct. 4	Delta 4  •  GPS 2F-3
Launch time: 1210 GMT (8:10 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket deployed the Air Force's third Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket flew in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Delayed from Sept. 20. See our Mission Status Center. [Oct. 4]

Oct. 7/8

Falcon 9  •  SpaceX CRS 1

Launch time: 0035 GMT on 8th (8:35 p.m. EDT on 7th) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the third Dragon spacecraft on the first operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. The flight is being conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed from Aug. 9 and Sept. 24. See our Mission Status Center. [Oct. 7]