Radiation Belt Storm Probes Launched

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Radiation Belt Storm Probes Launched

Successful Liftoff; Flight Enters Coast Phase

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:19:27 AM GMT

NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes are on their way into orbit following their successful liftoff aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex-41 at 4:05 a.m. EDT following a remarkably smooth overnight countdown that saw good weather and no technical problems.

Following successful burns of the Atlas V first stage and Centaur upper stage, the flight has entered a coast phase that's expected to last about 56 minutes.

You can follow the flight online with NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv or NASA's Launch Blog at http://www.nasa.gov/...unch_blog.html.

Source

Edited August 30, 2012 by Waspie_Dwarf
fixed broken link.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Spacecraft Separation Coming Up After Final Centaur Burn

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:15:21 AM GMT

NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes have almost made it to orbit following their successful liftoff aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The vehicle's Centaur upper stage will complete one final burn before positioning itself to release Spacecraft A, the first of the two probes to be deployed. After the first spacecraft separation, the Centaur will shift into position for deployment of Spacecraft B.

The vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex-41 at 4:05 a.m. EDT following a remarkably smooth overnight countdown that saw good weather and no technical problems.

You can follow the flight online with NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv or NASA's Launch Blog at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/rbsp/launch.

Source

[Waspie_Dwarf]

RBSP Spacecraft A Deployed

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:26:45 AM GMT

Spacecraft separation! The first of NASA's two Radiation Belt Storm Probes is on its own in Earth orbit following a successful deployment from the Centaur upper stage. The Centaur is shifting into position for deployment of Spacecraft B.

The RBSP spacecraft launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V spacecraft at 4:05 a.m. EDT following a remarkably smooth overnight countdown that saw good weather and no technical problems.

The vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex-41 at 4:05 a.m. EDT following a remarkably smooth overnight countdown that saw good weather and no technical problems.

You can follow the flight online with NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv or NASA's Launch Blog at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/rbsp/launch.

Source

[Waspie_Dwarf]

RBSP Spacecraft Separation Complete

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:36:33 AM GMT

Both of NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes are on their own in Earth orbit after a successful liftoff and ascent this morning. The spacecraft launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 4:05 a.m. EDT after a smooth countdown at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The probes were released from the rocket's Centaur upper stage one at a time and sent off into different orbits, kicking off the two-year mission to study Earth's radiation belts.

Source

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Launch of RBSP

The RBSP mission begins with a thundering liftoff from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral AFS on Aug. 30, 2012.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Karlis]

Twin craft head for heart of Earth's magnetic storm

Cape Canaveral looks eerie at night - particularly when spotlights are dancing off the pre-dawn haze. These lights announced the launch of NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes, on their way to become the first spacecraft to directly study the bands of charged particles encircling the Earth. Read more