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Launch window: 7:20 p.m. local time (10:20 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will deploy the fourth Italian COSMO-SkyMed radar Earth-imaging satellite. The X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar payload on the spacecraft will be used for civil and military applications. The rocket will fly in the 7420-10 vehicle configuration. ULA will conduct this commercial launch for Boeing. Delayed from Oct. 29 due to issue with equipment for loading second stage hypergolics. Scrubbed on Oct. 31 due to heater problem in first stage engine section. Scrubbed again Nov. 1 due to gaseous nitrogen purge problem. Scrubbed Nov. 2 for second stage battery low voltage reading. Delayed to Nov. 5 due to collision avoidance cutout. See our Mission Status Center. [Nov. 3]
All United States expendable launch vehicles were to be phased out for the Space Shuttle, but in 1986 the Challenger accident restarted Delta development.[citation needed] The Delta II was specifically designed to accommodate the GPS Block II series of satellites. Delta IIs have successfully launched 125 projects (through August 2007), including several NASA missions to Mars.
Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
Oh yes...makes perfect sense...let's send the President, and his family, to the site of a nuclear accident to help with "containment"...you know...because that is the Presidents job.
I am thinking someone is having a good laugh pulling the legs of some of the more gullible ATSers
Originally posted by rogerstigers
reply to post by MadDogtheHunter
Why would a Delta II rocket take a sudden turn? I am not sure that that explains this picture, although the timing is right.
Originally posted by MadDogtheHunter
Hang on people, FOUND a link to what that launch was:
www.ocregister.com...
"The launch of a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base is set for 7:20 p.m. Friday, and the rocket's trail could be visible from Orange County....."
The satellites make global observations but focus on the Mediterranean, tracking the effects of natural disasters, erosion and pollution, as well as being used for “territorial security and strategic defense,” a statement from Vandenberg said.
by 1st. Lt. Ann Blodzinski 30th Space Wing Public Affairs 11/4/2010 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --
Vandenberg is scheduled to launch a Delta II rocket carrying the Thales Alenia Space-Italia COSMO-SkyMed Satellite Nov. 5 at 7:20 p.m. from Space Launch Complex-2 on North Vandenberg. The rocket launch, originally scheduled for Oct. 29, was most recently delayed due to a second stage low voltage battery issue that has been resolved and the rocket is ready for launch. This launch is the fourth and final completing the COSMO-SkyMed constellation. The Nov. 5 launch time is the most advantageous for the fourth satellite to be correctly inserted into the constellation. The overall objective of the COSMO-SkyMed program is global Earth observation, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Some applications include territorial surveillance; analyzing effects of natural disasters; coastal surveillance to assess erosion and sea/river pollution, monitoring of farming, forestry resources and urban buildings; mapping with a resolution on the order of one meter; and territorial security and strategic defense. The other three COSMO-SkyMed satellites were launched from Vandenberg in June 2007, December 2007 and October 2008. The Delta II launch vehicle will deliver COSMO-4 into a circular Sun-synchronous orbit, phased on the same orbital plane as COSMO-1, COSMO-2 and COSMO-3, where it will begin its mission of data observation and data recording for the needs of both the military and civilian communities. This launch is a partnership among the 30th Space Wing, United Launch Alliance, the Boeing Corporation, Thales Alenia Space-Italia, Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense. Col. Richard Boltz, 30th Space Wing commander, is the launch decision authority.