Delta rocket to fly from California early Friday (Sighting Opportunity?)

Spaceflight Now ^ | 6-19-2008 | Justin Ray

[cabojoe]

A joint American and European oceanography satellite designed to continue a growing legacy of monitoring changes in sea levels and the impacts on the global climate awaits an overnight blastoff Friday morning from California.

[cabojoe]

Mission Status

Photo credit: Chris Miller/Spaceflight Now

[cabojoe]

More info on the satellite available here.

[TheZMan]

Your tax dollars at work!! WOO!

[KTM rider]

MUST PROVE GLOBAL WARMING NOW ! ! ! , as preface to usher in the new world order ASAP [/tin foil hat]

[TheZMan]

It just occurred to me... I sure hope that BIG ASS ROCKET uses green fuels and carbon offsets to help decrease it’s HUGE IMPACT on the ENVIRONMENT.

Squirrels everywhere are crying though, because it doesn’t. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_2

Makes sense. Flood the environment with more CO2 (among other things) so you can determine the effects of CO2 on ... the environment.

Surely you jest.

[concentric circles]

NASA TV - audio only for the time being, will add video as launch time, two hours from now, approaches. Or, from Monterey County to Orange County and 100 miles inland, go outside and look west.

[cabojoe]

Oh thanks! Video is live on Directv.

[Diver Dave]

Thanks for the info. from your links, launch has a southerly trejectory. I was hoping for northerly as I’m in Modesto.

A few years ago, I was driving home from the store and there was this awesome sight in the sky. Turned out to be the trailing from a rocket launch. Been waiting to get a glimpse and pix of another one since then.

Nonetheless, I’ll be outside hoping to see something off in the distance.

[cabojoe]

I’m no rocket scientist, but I’m pretty sure that the main engine runs on liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen which when combined produce water as exhaust. Not sure what the solid boosters put out.

[cabojoe]

Correction: First stage uses LOX and kerosene, so I don’t know what the exhaust would be.

[concentric circles]

Good luck! The Delta II first stage is very visible with 9 solid fuel engines, but, as you noted, it will follow a southward trajectory. More here - Viewing Vandenberg Rocket and Missile Launches.

[cabojoe]

0746:25 GMT (3:46:25 a.m. EDT; 12:46:25 a.m. PDT)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Delta 2 rocket with the Jason 2 satellite to observe the dynamics of Earth’s oceans. And the vehicle has cleared the tower.

[steelyourfaith]

What a waste of fuel, eh?

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[sportutegrl]

Now I know what I want to use my Delta FF miles on.

[Thermalseeker]

I wonder if there is time to stuff the Profit Algore into this rocket and blast him into outer space?