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Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 23 2007, 11:38 AM

Rocket Launch Set for April 23 from NASA Wallops

April 21, 2007

The Missile Defense Agency, in partnership with NASA and the U.S. Air Force, plans to conduct a rocket launch between 3 and 3:30 a.m., April 23, 2007, from the NASA Wallops Island Facility, Va.
A Minotaur I Rocket launching from NASA Wallops Flight Facility on December 16, 2006. Photo Credit: NASA

Called the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE), the mission involves launching a four-stage Minotaur I rocket carrying a satellite to collect scientific data that will be used to help with the development of future missile defense technology efforts.

The primary payload is the Track Sensor Payload that will collect images of the exhaust plume from two rockets to be launched later this year from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The secondary payload is a laser communications terminal that will be used to evaluate the utility of laser communications for missile defense applications as part of a U.S./Germany cooperative scientific activity.

The space launch vehicle will follow a southeast trajectory downrange over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Bermuda and past the east coast of South America as it achieves a trajectory to low earth orbit.

Source: NASA - Wallops Flight Facility - News

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 23 2007, 11:44 AM

NFIRE Mission Information

Last Updated: April 23, 2007 6:00 a.m.

Launch Update

The launch of the Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Missile Defense Agency’s Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite has been postponed until no earlier than 2:48 a.m., Tuesday, April 24.

The launch on April 23 was postponed due to an issue involving ground support equipment and could not be resolved to meet the launch window.

The mission will be using the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s launch pad on the south end of Wallops Island.

Source: NASA - Wallops Flight Facility - Missions

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 24 2007, 11:01 AM

NFIRE Mission Information

Last Updated: April 24, 2007 5:50 a.m.

Launch Update

The Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Missile Defense Agency’s Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite was launched at 2:48 a.m., Tuesday, April 24.

Source: NASA - Wallops Flight Facility - Missions

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 24 2007, 11:09 AM

MINOTAUR ROCKET SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES FROM NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY

The NASA/Wallops press release is reproduced below:

For Release: April 24, 2007

Keith Koehler
Telephone: 757-824-1579
Keith.A.Koehler.1@gsfc.nasa.gov

RELEASE NO: 07-05

MINOTAUR ROCKET SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES FROM NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY

WALLOPS ISLAND -- An Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket was successfully launched at 2:48 a.m. EDT today from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Va.

The four-stage rocket carried the Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite.

This was the second Minotaur 1 launch from Wallops in just over four months. The previous mission on Dec. 16, 2006, carried the Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat-2 satellite.

“This launch again demonstrates the unique capabilities of the Wallops Flight Facility, which includes the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, to efficiently support the placing of satellites into Earth orbit. NASA is particularly appreciative of the support provided by the US Coast Guard, US Fish & Wildlife, Virginia Marine Resource Commission, and state and county security and emergency preparedness organizations.” said Dr. John Campbell, Director of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility.

“Working with the Air Force, MDA, and their contractors, the preparation for this launch and the launch itself went very smoothly,” Campbell said. “We are pleased to have supported this mission.”

The next Minotaur 1 rocket launch from Wallops is currently scheduled for December 2007.

For information about the NASA Wallops Flight Facility and its mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/wallops

-end-

Source: NASA/Wallops Press Release 07-05 (Word Document)

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 24 2007, 08:39 PM

The Orbital press release is reproduced below:

Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket Carrying U.S. Missile Defense Agency's NFIRE Satellite
- Flight Is the Seventh Consecutive Successful Minotaur I Space Launch --
-- Mission Completes Third Minotaur-Family Launch In Last Four Months --

(Dulles, VA 24 April 2007) -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Near Field InfraRed Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Air Force. The mission originated earlier today from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. At approximately 2:47 a.m. (EDT), the rocket's first stage ignited, beginning the mission into low-Earth orbit. Approximately 9 minutes later, the Minotaur I deployed the NFIRE spacecraft in its targeted orbit of approximately 250 km (135 nautical miles) by 450 km (245 nautical miles) above the Earth's surface at an inclination of 48.2 degrees to the equator.

Today's mission was the second Minotaur I launch from the MARS facility, following the initial mission conducted just over four months ago on December 16, 2006. The mission was the seventh flight of the Minotaur I space launch vehicle (SLV), and the 13th overall launch of the Minotaur program since 2000, all of which have been successful.

"We are very pleased to once again provide reliable, on-schedule launch services for the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC)," said Mr. Ron Grabe, Orbital's Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Launch Systems Group. "We are now focused on the three upcoming Minotaur launches in the second half of this year, including two Minotaur II long-range target vehicles scheduled for MDA flights this summer from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and another Minotaur I mission scheduled to be launched from Wallops late in the year carrying the Air Force's TacSat-3 spacecraft."

The overall launch service and management for the Minotaur I vehicle was provided by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's, Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Most of the Minotaur launch vehicle hardware originally intended for the NFIRE launch vehicle was used to integrate and launch the TacSat-2 spacecraft in December 2006. Therefore, Orbital built and integrated a new launch vehicle to support NFIRE in less than 11 months from contract initiation until launch.

NFIRE is a low-Earth orbiting, 494 kg (1,089 lbs) satellite with an onboard Track Sensor Payload (TSP) and TESAT Laser Communications Terminal (LCT) as the primary payloads. The spacecraft is part of MDA's Kinetic Energy Boost-Phase research program. NFIRE will gather near-field, high-resolution phenomenology data that will assist in the development of boost-phase intercept systems. The spacecraft has a two-year design life, during which various data collection missions will be conducted, including gathering data during the flight of launch vehicles during their boost phase. As part of this testing, the next two Minotaur II target vehicles will be launched from Vandenberg later this year.

The launch of the Minotaur II NFIRE target vehicles will demonstrate new technologies for the Minotaur family of launch vehicles that are applicable to responsive launch capabilities, such as will be needed to support Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) and other rapid-response launch requirements. Because of the complexities of the upcoming missions, the Minotaur II vehicles will have specific trajectory information uploaded only 90 minutes prior to launch, as may also be necessary for some ORS space launch missions.

Minotaur I launches have put a total of 25 satellites into orbit. This is the seventh consecutive successful launch of the Minotaur I vehicle since January 2000, and there have been six successful Minotaur II launches during that same period as well. Over the next three years, Minotaur rockets are currently manifested to conduct another six launches.

About Orbital's Minotaur Product Line

Orbital's Minotaur product line was developed under the U.S. Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP). The initial five-year OSP contract was competitively awarded to Orbital in 1997 and the company also won the follow-on 10-year OSP-2 contract in 2003. The Minotaur I space launch vehicle design used in today's NFIRE launch is the original member of Orbital's Minotaur family of launch vehicles, which includes both space launch vehicle designs and long-range suborbital vehicles for missile defense and other specialized launch missions.

The Minotaur vehicles are the only proven launch vehicles currently capable of supporting the Department of Defense's evolving ORS launch requirements. This capability was demonstrated during the TacSat-2 launch in December 2006. Even though it was the first launch from Wallops' MARS facility and the first flight of a new fairing configuration, the mission was performed in less than seven months from contract initiation to launch.

The TacSat-2 mission also demonstrated the ability of Minotaur vehicles to stand on alert awaiting orders to launch when the original launch date was slipped five days after the vehicle was in a launch-ready posture. The Minotaur vehicles are also specifically designed to be capable of launching from all U.S. spaceports, including government and commercial launch sites in Alaska, California, Florida and Virginia. Due to the minimal amount of specialized infrastructure that is required to support Minotaur launches, they can also be employed at other U.S. launch sites.

The Minotaur I space launch configuration combines Orbital's commercial launch vehicle technologies, including upper stage rocket motors, structures, avionics and other elements, with government-supplied lower-stage rocket motor stages to create responsive, reliable and low-cost launch systems for U.S. Government-sponsored spacecraft. It can place up to 1,300 lbs into low- Earth orbit.

The Minotaur family of launch vehicles utilizes standardized avionics and subsystems, mature processes and experienced personnel to make them reliable and cost effective. In addition to the Minotaur I space booster, Orbital's Minotaur product line also includes:

Minotaur II TLV - A three-stage suborbital rocket used as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and related missions. There have been six successful Minotaur II missions, the most recent being a target launch for MDA on March 20, 2007. Two additional launches are scheduled this year, both of which are intended to be observed by the NFIRE spacecraft as it passes overhead in orbit;
Minotaur III TLV - A three-stage suborbital rocket, Minotaur III can deliver suborbital technology demonstration payloads of up to 6,500 lbs. or serve as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and similar missions;
Minotaur IV SLV - A heavier-lift four-stage space launch vehicle using retired Peacekeeper rocket motors, capable of launching U.S. Government-sponsored satellites weighing up to 3,800 lbs. into low-altitude orbit. The first Minotaur IV mission is currently under contract to launch the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) satellite for the U.S. Air Force. Two Minotaur IV vehicles are also manifested in a suborbital configuration to launch Hypersonic Test Vehicles for DARPA; and
Minotaur V SLV - An enhanced-performance version of the Minotaur IV space launch vehicle that may be used to launch government satellites into higher-energy orbits for missions related to space exploration and other activities beyond low-Earth orbit.

About Orbital

Orbital develops and manufactures small rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-orbit, geosynchronous-orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also offers space-related technical services to government agencies and develops and builds satellite-based transportation management systems for public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators.

More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com

Source: Orbital press release

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 26 2007, 01:39 PM

Minotaur 1 - NFIRE Launch Images

Click images for higher resolution

Source: NASA - Wallops Flight Facility - Missions

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