Launches...

[2hats]

Launch of Hayabusa-2 (asteroid sample return) on a H-IIA from Tanegashima is now due this Wednesday 03 December at 04:22:04UTC. Asteroid arrival planned for July 2018 and sample arrival at Earth December 2020. Live launch coverage here.

PS A lander for this mission, MASCOT, has been developed by the DLR and CNES (same leads for Rosetta's Philae lander).

 

[2hats]

And will the satellites be able to fly to the correct orbit?

ESA have now gradually 'flown' one of the two satellites to an alternative lower orbit (but one where it syncs up with the rest of the constellation) and have fired it up and received navigation (and in due course, with any luck, SAR) signals from it. So it looks like they plan to operate that (and the other partner satellite that went up with it to a wrong orbit) from this alternate location such that they will effectively achieve the planned mission anyway.

 

[2hats]

Hayabusa-2 got off the ground successfully this morning and is on the way to asteroid 1999 JU3 via an Earth gravity assist flyby in December 2015.

 

[2hats]

Second launch of the day coming up this evening. An Ariane 5 at 2038UTC from French Guiana, carrying two communications satellites (US and Indian) to geosynchronous orbits.

Just to note Ariane 6 development was approved earlier this week.

 

[Crispy]

Not much of a step forward is it? Swapping big solids for small ones and simplifying the stage construction a bit. From what I hear, the operational cost saving will take decades to amortise the development cost. Doesn't seem worth it, especially seeing as SpaceX is about to eat all of Ariane's commercial business...

 

[2hats]

Not much of a step forward is it? Swapping big solids for small ones and simplifying the stage construction a bit. From what I hear, the operational cost saving will take decades to amortise the development cost. Doesn't seem worth it, especially seeing as SpaceX is about to eat all of Ariane's commercial business...

Arguably, to some degree it is not all (or even) aimed at the commercial market. ESA have a charter duty to maintain independent access to space for member countries and associated organisations (it'll still get a lot of European payloads). SpaceX may well come to take a large share of the commercial market but spacecraft operators will be nervous about having all their eggs in one basket, I suspect.

 

[Crispy]

So why even replace A5 at all, if the operational savings are so much less than the development cost?

To keep European aerospace businesses busy I suppose.

 

[2hats]

A bit more configuration flexibility. But yes, not much different than the military industrial complex really. Spend money to generate jobs and keep workforce tech skills current.

 

[2hats]

The Ariane 5 launch has been postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions at the launch site. A revised launch date is currently being determined.

 

[2hats]

Some sources report rescheduled Ariane 5 launch for 2039UTC tonight, but strangely no word from Arianespace themselves.

e2a: looks more likely tomorrow, Saturday.

2e2a: Arianespace reporting this is now on. Scheduled for 2040UTC tonight.

 

[2hats]

An Atlas V 541 was launched from Vandenburg this morning at 0313UTC (most likely, from the launch profile and the few published details, carrying a combined electronics and IR imaging intelligence payload, officially named NROL-35, to join the constellation of satellites that almost certainly contributed to the only published US intelligence data concerning the downing of flight MH17).

The Centaur upper stages are now actively disposed of on the initial orbit in order to minimise subsequent space debris. This activity is known as a Collision and Contamination Avoidance Maneuver (CCAM) which involves a small burn (of otherwise wasted ullage gasses) to ensure the Centaur re-enters over the southern Indian Ocean after having delivered its payload to a pre-operational orbit. The result of the burn (in this case) can be seen, and was in fact seen over Europe before sunrise this morning (image below taken around 0511UTC this morning from NW UK) - as a cloud of vented fuel/water (the fuel is cryogenic hydrogen with oxygen) expanding out from the upper stage:

 

[2hats]

Just to add that yesterday's Centaur plume can be seen in this all sky shot (arrowed, of course) to give you some idea of how bright it appeared between about 0511UTC and 0554UTC (even in a heavily moonlit sky, north of London):

Time lapse video of the same where you can clearly see it moving (brightening and then fading) between 1m22s and 1m25s (video runtime).

 

[Limejuice]

The payloads of launch vehicles, over time, expressed in horses:

http://xkcd.com/1461/large/

Well, why not?

 

[2hats]

Arianespace VS10 is due off tonight at 1837UTC from French Guiana - a Soyuz ST-B carrying four O3b communications satellites (group F3 destined for circular orbits just under 8000km up). You can watch it live on the Arianespace web site.

 

[2hats]

A good launch and staging. The Fregat upper stage appears to have behaved thus far (up to the end of the second burn). It should become apparent if it has been successful after the third burn is completed around 2035UTC tonight. This is the first flight of the Fregat after the failure in August (see above) which was determined to have been caused by a design/assembly issue with feed lines. The proximity of a cryogenic helium line to a hydrazine fuel line resulted in the fuel freezing (lack of definitive design guidance led to them being assembled in the factory sharing a support structure which helped one line chill the other). Loss of thruster attitude control in the ballistic phase (starved of the aforementioned fuel!) inevitably ended up with incorrect orientation for the next upper stage burn. This was (obviously) fairly straightforward to rectify.

e2a: reported to have delivered the satellites to the correct orbits, so it would appear the Fregat performed correctly this time.

 

[2hats]

Arianespace launch of their smallest rocket, Vega, due Wednesday at 1300hrs. This flight, VV04, will carry the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) which is a small, sub-orbital autonomous spaceplane, the aim of which is to test future re-entry technologies. The 100 minute flight will see it launched eastwards to an altitude of 400km before re-entry over and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, SW off the coast of Mexico.

 

[2hats]

The Vega IXV launch is still on and coverage has just started on Arianespace TV.

e2a: Telemetry issues have caused a hold at T-4 minutes. Reported to be a 30 minute recycle time required after this hold is released. The launch window is 1h43m in length.

2e2a: green and now targeted for launch at 1340hrs from T-4.

 

[2hats]

Signal acquired post re-entry, trajectory nominal. Parachutes about to deploy.

e2a: (supersonic) parachute deployment confirmed.

2e2a: splashdown, vehicle reached by recovery teams.

Next up is a runway landing with a new demonstration model (akin to a civilian X-37B).

 

[2hats]

The launch earlier - such a lightweight rocket using solids doesn't hang around...

 

[2hats]

Interesting launch platform camera angle:

 

[2hats]

Two for one deal today only...

Atlas V in 401 configuration taking GPS IIF-10 into orbit shortly (1636BST, 18 minute window) from Cape Canaveral. That can be seen live here.

Then this evening at 2242BST (37 minute window) an Ariane 5 ECA (VA224) will carry MSG-4 for EUMETSAT and the Brazilian Star One C4 satellites to geostationary orbit. MSG-4 is a second generation Meteosat providing for weather imagery coverage of Europe and Africa; once aloft it will be designated Meteosat-11 and kept as an on-orbit spare. Star One C4 is a communications satellite to be positioned over South America.

e2a: the GPS sat seems to have gotten off the ground successfully; some nice rocketcam shots riding on the second stage. Ariane launch should be covered here.

 

[2hats]

A H-2B rocket from Tanegashima will take the HTV-5 (H-2 Transfer Vehicle) unmanned cargo vehicle to the ISS at 12:50:49 BST today. Live Japanese coverage running here:

NASA TV are providing an English commentary.

 

[2hats]

Soyuz TMA-18M is off to the ISS at 0537BST this morning, with a crew of 3 including a Danish ESA astronaut. Coverage on NASA TV.

 

[2hats]

Atlas 5 in 501 configuration leaping off a pad from Canaveral this morning at 1118BST carrying a US Navy comsat (MUOS 4). Live coverage.

 

[2hats]

The Atlas V launch (02Sep) left an interesting exhaust trail off the coast of Florida as it ascended in to the sunlight. Amusing video:

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You are looking down ('up' through and along) the exhaust trail with the Atlas V visible as the bright white spot on the very right of it.

 

[2hats]

A warmup to Maj. Peake's re-entry tomorrow - an Ariane 5 ECA launch (VA230) tonight at 2130BST (launch window extends to 2240BST). Two communications satellites to geosynchronous orbit.

 

[2hats]

24 hour delay due to high altitude winds.

 

[editor]

 

[2hats]

Ariane 5 ES rocket (VA233) taking a stack of 4 Galileo navigation satellites to orbit in 1 minute, live here.

e2a: if these 4 reach operational orbit successfully (nominal launch thus far) then the Galileo satellite navigation system will be declared operational with 16 spacecraft on orbit (and 8 left to launch on two Ariane 5 missions, plus 6 on-orbit spares).

 

[2hats]

Second of the day - a Soyuz FG, mission MS03, is off in 10 minutes (2020hrs) taking 3 cosmonauts (Russian, ESA and NASA) to the ISS. Live on NASA TV.

(The 4 Galileo satellites reportedly all made it to orbit and will begin their check out).