Minotaur I/ORS-3 Launch 11/19.

[Lohan2008]

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131118-908864.html?dsk=y

Edited November 20, 2013 by Lohan2008

[lazarus1024]

I saw it. Unfortunately, I lost sight of it after the second stage. It was still pretty cool though.

I actually saw the first stage jettison and second stage ignition with the ole mark I eyeball this time. LADEE was a better launch from my location though. I guess just the direction they choose to launch each on. LADEE seemed (from my perspective) to head more due East and this launch was a bit to the south east directly away from me.

So LADEE I actually got a bit of profile to it and this launch was more nozzle on. I am around 130 miles from the launch site. LADEE I caught through the trees in my backyard about 20s after launch and was in view until around 150s or so post launch before it went over the curve of the Earth. This launch took longer to see, in part because I wasn't looking at the right patch of sky and didn't notice it until around 60s post launch and was then observable until around the same time or somewhat after, except it was lost site instead of around curve of Earth (still nice and high up, just too far away to see and/or after second stage burn out. I lost site about 5-8s before the video stream showed the stage burn-out/shut down).

Smaller and harder to see the rocket burning. Though it was cool because A) This time I climb up on my roof for a better view and it was early enough that my boys were able to say up to see it (5 1/2 and 3 1/2 and NUTS over rockets and space. I liberally feed that hunger whenever I can).

They were still talking about it this morning when I had to leave for work.

I WILL go and see a launch in person one of these days (my in-laws live 20 miles from Wallops).

[lazarus1024]

Also, even though this is whicked cool to watch the launches from my own backyard (I should probably go to the field nearby which would have a better view) and it is close enough I could go see a launch, I am almost more excited about the New Horizons mission.

A friend from high school (who sadly I've lost touch with) back when he was at John Hopkins engineering program, post grad, worked on the guidance team for the probe designing the guidance programming.

That and...its Pluto man. That place gets no darned respect and its the only [ex]planet that we haven't had a probe orbit or fly-by. I just hope once it gets past Pluto they'll be able to redirect it to fly-by some other interesting Kuiper belt object(s) on the way out-system (IIRC the plan is that New Horizon will have something like 70lbs or so of propellant remaining after Pluto fly-by and they are attempting to plan to redirect the probe towards object(s) of interest post Pluto fly-by).

Also the probe is going to be so far away that it'll take a long time to flush the memory storage system of all of the pictures and sensor readings its going to take is it goes by Pluto. Also, because of the distances involved, New Horizon actually studied Jupiter in more depth than it'll be able to study Pluto, as when it flew by Jupiter getting a gravity assist it was able to load and flush its memory twice over in the time it took to pass Jupiter, where as Pluto it'll only have the once. Total data storage is 8GB on two SSDs (a primary and a back-up, both of 8GB size).

Data transmission rate by Jupiter was 38kbit/sec. At Pluto it will be 1kbit/sec. Though the Wikipedia article I don't think specifically mentions it, during New Horizon's trip, work on the Curiosity, Spirit and Opportunity Mars missions actually figured out a way to increase data rates by double when was previously possible for radio deep space communication at similar signal strengths (I assume an improvement either in character sets used and/or noise filtering algorithms).

So I think the actual data rates possible are closer to 2kbit/sec at Pluto orbit (I think the Wikipedia article is mentioning the originally planned data rates).

At any rate, with 64Gbit of data (8GiB) at 1 (or even 2)Kbit/sec, you are talking 1 or 2 years to flush everything back to Earth.

Also specifically mentioned in the article is that both the signal link is proving stronger than expected and that the space probe has two downlink channels, possibly enabling mission planners to gang them to double data rates. So actual rates might be closer to 3-6kbit/sec. Still a long time to get all the data back.

The first images at better than Hubble resolution will be around 70 days out (in/around 2015). These plus earlier observations that'll begin 6 months out, will be used for plot final approach manuevering and mission planning.

That said, during the primary obsevations we'll see nothing as the probe does not have a rotatable sensor platform like a lot of space probes do (to cut down on weight and complexity/possible failure points) so the whole craft has to rotate for sensor readings and then realign the high gain antenna with Earth to transmit back. So there is probably going to be a several week to possibly month or two "black out" with nothing coming back (I'd assume at least in the week or two leading up to encounter and the week or two after during the primary obsevations).

That said, I'd assume we'll get at least an image or 10 back leading up to this that the mission planners are getting to plot trajectory and final obsevation mission program that they'll upload to the probe. Its a slow data date, but fast enough to only take 10 or 20 minutes to send back a couple of highly compressed moderately high resolution visible light and near infrared images.

[Deadpangod3]

Urgh, my parents just HAD to take me to get a flu shot like half an hour before the launch!

I swear the world doesn't want me to watch a live rocket launch

[Beowolf]

Watched the launch from my backyard. The first one I've ever seen, and a checkmark on my bucket list.

The next Minotaur launch, scheduled for December 15th, will include a cubesat I'm part-owner of, thanks to Kickstarter.