Company's Ground-Launched Rocket Completes Fourth Successful Mission
KOMPSAT/ACRIMSAT Launch Extends Taurus Rocket's 100% Success Rate
DULLES, Va., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) announced today that its Taurus(R) rocket successfully launched two satellites into their targeted orbit in a mission that originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California on Monday, December 20. Orbital's ground-launched Taurus rocket carried the Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT), an Earth-science spacecraft launched for the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitoring Satellite (ACRIMSAT), a space science satellite built and launched by Orbital for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This mission was the fourth launch of Orbital's Taurus rocket since its debut in 1994, all of which resulted in successful satellite deployments. It was also Orbital's second successful rocket launch in December. Earlier in the month, Orbital's air-launched Pegasus rocket launched seven ORBCOMM data communications satellites.
On Monday, December 20, at 11:13 p.m. (PST), the Taurus first stage rocket engine ignited, lifting the rocket off launch pad 576E at VAFB and commencing its flight into low-Earth orbit. Approximately 13 minutes later, Taurus accurately deployed the KOMPSAT satellite into a Sun-synchronous orbit about 429 miles (690 kilometers) above the Earth. About two minutes later, the ACRIMSAT spacecraft was also deployed into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 429 miles (690 kilometers). Teams of satellite engineers from KARI, NASA/JPL and Orbital have established initial communications with the two spacecraft and preliminary information indicates that both spacecraft are operating as planned in the early stages of their missions.
"Orbital is extremely pleased to complete this year's launch schedule with another successful mission," said Mr. Ronald J. Grabe, Orbital's Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Launch Systems Group. "The Taurus rocket again proved its reliability, adding to Orbital's industry-best space mission record over the past three years. The successful outcome of the Taurus launch also provided a very encouraging beginning for KOMPSAT's Earth science and ACRIMSAT's space science missions. We wish KARI and NASA/JPL the best of results as they embark on their important studies."
The KOMPSAT Satellite
The KOMPSAT satellite's scientific mission is designed to serve South Korea in several specific applications. The satellite carries three primary instruments, including an electro-optical camera for the production of digital elevation maps of Korea, an ocean scanning multispectral imaging instrument to study biological oceanography, and a space physics sensor that will study the effects of radiation on microelectronics and the characteristics of electrons in the ionosphere. Details about the KOMPSAT program can be found at kompsat.kari.re.kr/
The ACRIMSAT Satellite
Under a contract from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orbital's Space Systems Group designed and built the ACRIMSAT satellite at the company's McLean, Virginia satellite manufacturing and testing facility. The scientific mission of the ACRIMSAT satellite is to measure the degree of variation in total radiant energy from the Sun over its five-year mission life. Detailed information about the ACRIM program can be found at acrim.jpl.nasa.gov |
