**Yayyyy Globalstar****Haha! That's funny, I thought it wasn't for another couple of hours so I was asleep at the wheel. Was busy drinking a celebratory wine without knowing, sitting out under a clear starry sky, full of satellites cruising by. I'm obviously getting a bit blase about these launches. AZ it's hard to worry too much about 4 on a Delta.
Looks like a constellation of 32 ready to go satellites are up. [Admittedly counting some chickens which haven't quite hatched, but they are near enough for my liking].
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Update for 5:00 a.m. EDT
T+plus 74 minutes. SEPARATION OF LOWER SPACECRAFT. The second pair of Globalstar satellites have been jettisoned from their dispenser mounted atop the Boeing Delta 2 rocket's second stage. Boeing reports today's mission has been very successful. Globalstar now has 32 spacecraft in space.
Over the coming minutes, the satellites will deploy their solar arrays in order to generate power and recharge onboard batteries. After an initial period of activities such acquiring the sun and Earth, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and checkouts that will take several days to complete. Controllers will then boost the satellites from the current preliminary orbits to their positions in the Globalstar constellation.
Our final update to the journal will come later today once information is released on the health and status of the spacecraft.
Update for 4:58 a.m. EDT
The first spacecraft separation orbit has an apogee of 738.448 nautical miles, perigee of 735.45 nautical miles, and inclination of 51.9 degrees. The parameters very close to perfect.
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Update for 4:55 a.m. EDT
T+plus 69 minutes, 30 seconds. SEPARATION OF UPPER SPACECRAFT. The two Globalstar satellites mounted on the upper tier of the dispenser have been deployed.
The rocket's second stage now will be oriented over the next few moments in preparation for separation of the lower two satellites. Release of those two spacecraft is now four minutes away.
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Update for 4:53 a.m. EDT
T+plus 67 minutes. Everything is reported to be going as expected. Now about two minutes away from separation of the first two satellites.
Sunday, July 25, 1999
Update for 4:48 a.m. EDT
T+plus 62 minutes, 30 seconds. The Delta rocket's second stage has completed its second burn today to deliver four Globalstar satellites into low-Earth orbit. Beginning in about one minute, the stage will begin maneuvers to achieve the proper orientation for deployment of the first two satellites.
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Update for 4:47 a.m. EDT
T+plus 61 minutes. NASA's Canberra tracking station in Australia has acquired the signal from the Delta 2 rocket. In less than a minute, the rocket's second stage engine will be restarted for a planned 27-second firing. This final boost will place the stage and attached satellites in the intended orbit for spacecraft separation.
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Update for 4:46 a.m. EDT
T+plus 60 minutes. The Air Force Rockingham tracking station is providing data.
Sunday, July 25, 1999
Update for 4:31 a.m. EDT
T+plus 45 minutes. About 10 minutes remaining in this communications pass of the Delta rocket over the Diego Garcia tracking site. Once the signal is lost through that station, the vehicle will be out of touch with the ground for about 3 1/2 minutes. This blackout period is created because of the gap in telemetry coverage between Diego Garcia and the NASA tracking station in Canberra, Australia. Canberra will provide coverage of the second stage's second burn and deployment of the spacecraft.
Following this morning's liftoff, the launch team began activities to safe pad 17A. Workers have now been sent into the complex to start turning the pad around for its next launch - the planned September launch of an Air Force Delta 2 carrying a Global Positioning System 2R military navigation satellite. >
flatoday.com
Maurice |
