Delta-IV Vandenberg launch

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

And all three morning launches are scrubbed, with tonight's launch not looking good either.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Blue Shift

My brother in law was there years ago launching mostly one off classified payloads. Every single one he was involved with blew up.

We were lofting Minuteman IIIs down to Kwajalein Atoll. I think we even hit it.

And flight number four is scrubbed. New launch time is Wednesday at 5:44 PST.

Launch time tonight has been pushed back a few minutes to 5:49. They're attempting to resolve a hydrogen gas buildup around the base of the rocket.

They have determined that the port engine area has an actual hydrogen leak and the rocket is currently in a No Flight Condition.

Launch is scrubbed. Next attempt is 5:31 tomorrow.

ULA is still trying to determine the cause of the elevate hydrogen levels around the #3 booster. The new launch window is no earlier than December 30th.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
ULA is still trying to determine the cause of the elevate hydrogen levels around the #3 booster. The new launch window is no earlier than December 30th.

Nice warm night to be out in the yard last night.

a reply to: Blue Shift

I'm starting to think they're never going to get this thing into orbit.

what is it moving up there? satellites? very heavy ones?

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Blue Shift

I'm starting to think they're never going to get this thing into orbit.

Gremlins.

a reply to: Blue Shift

I think it's me. Most of the nights they've tried to launch, I've been close enough to see it in Arizona.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So, go to Texas or something.

a reply to: Phage

I've tried to. Our normal run is Texas back to California, but every time they schedule the launch, they manage to hit when we're on the west end of the run.

The next launch attempt will now be no sooner than January 6th.

The next attempt will be Saturday, Jan 19th at 1105.

Count is at 3 minutes. There was a five minute delay.

Holy crap! It launched!

What exactly has been launched, to induce such a thread on ATS?

a reply to: wildespace

NRO reconnaissance satellite. They tried 4 times in December before finally launching today.

Get the feeling the real "Star Wars" just began?

a reply to: wildespace

Amateur satellite observers have been speculating that it is a new advanced electro-optical imaging satellite, a KH-11 follow-on, but it has an unusually high-inclination non-sun-synchronous orbit. Someone suggested it might be a new type of radar imaging satellite that wouldn't need to be sun-synchronous. Either way, it needed a Delta-IV Heavy to boost it into orbit. That means it was a heavyweight payload or it needed to be placed into a higher orbit than usual.

I got to visit the launch pad a couple times, and take pictures of the rocket undergoing final preparations. Standing more than 230 feet tall and weighing more than 14 tone, the Delta-IV-H is a mighty beast. My view of the launch itself was spectacular, too. The weather was perfect and I was only about three miles from the pad. Awesome.