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29 May 09 - 09:32 PM (#2643977) Subject: BS: another rocket launch- no headlines, tho From: GUEST,beardedbruce New Launch: 2009 May 19, 2355 UTC Site: Wallops Island, Virginia, USA Launcher: Minotaur International Designator(s): 2009-028A, B, C, D, E SCC Name Owner 35001 TACSAT 3 US 35002 PHARMASAT US 35003 HAWKSAT 1 US 35004 POLYSAT CP6 US 35005 AEROCUBE 3 US "A Minotaur rocket made a twilight ascent into space from Virginia's Eastern Shore Tuesday evening, successfully carting an experimental satellite into orbit to begin a year of tactical military exercises on the final frontier. "The 69-foot-tall [21-m-tall] Minotaur 1 booster lit its first stage and barreled into the sky at 7:55 p.m. EDT (2355 GMT) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va." "The four-stage rocket reached a 264-mile-high [425-km-high] orbit about 9 minutes after liftoff, and then began a one-by-one sequence of deploying its payloads. "The Air Force's TacSat 3 satellite separated from the Minotaur's fourth stage about 12 minutes after liftoff. "NASA's PharmaSat biology research spacecraft was released next. PharmaSat is a 10-pound [4.5-kg] satellite loaded with yeast cells in 48 microscopic sample containers in a fully-functional miniature laboratory. "PharmaSat was deployed 22 minutes after liftoff from a self-contained deployment system called a P-POD. The bread loaf-sized satellite contacted a ground station later Tuesday night, confirming it was in good shape following the launch." "The Minotaur also carried three tiny CubeSats: CP6 for California Polytechnic State University, HawkSat 1 for the Maryland-based Hawk Institute for Space Sciences, and AeroCube 3 for the Aerospace Corporation." "TacSat 3 carries a high-resolution imager and user-friendly software that will attempt to show officials the value of responsive spacecraft to lower-ranking military commanders leading troops on the battlefield." |
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30 May 09 - 01:05 AM (#2644026) Subject: RE: BS: another rocket launch- no headlines, tho From: michaelr Bruce, you're trolling. You are posting this because you know that phrases like "tactical military exercises on the final frontier" and "high-resolution imager and user-friendly software that will attempt to show officials the value of responsive spacecraft to lower-ranking military commanders" will get us lefties all atwitter. Thanks for the info, all the same. |
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30 May 09 - 01:19 AM (#2644028) Subject: RE: BS: another rocket launch- no headlines, tho From: CarolC If it went over southeastern North Carolina, I think I saw it. |
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31 May 09 - 06:26 PM (#2645182) Subject: RE: BS: another rocket launch- no headlines, tho From: GUEST,beardedbruce Probably, CarolC. It is intended to become the main space port for launches between Philadelphia and Richmond, if space/suborbital flights ever become comercial means of transport. |