Posted on 04/29/2005 6:19:17 PM PDT by iso
0110 GMT (9:10 p.m. EDT Fri.)
With this successful delivery of the national security satellite payload into orbit aboard the final Titan from the Cape, a celebration is upcoming tonight.
"A lot of our VIPs and folks are gonna speak to the troops and thank them, kind of a farewell in that regard," said Ben Dusenbery, Lockheed Martin's director of Titan launch operations at the Cape.
0103 GMT (9:03 p.m. EDT Fri.)
"A great ending to a spectacular history," said Walt Yager, Lockheed Martin's vice president of the Titan program. This was the 168th Titan from the Cape.
Just one more rocket remains to fly -- a July 10th liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It will be the 200th West Coast Titan liftoff.
The program began flights of the Titan 1 ICBM in 1959 from the Cape.
0100 GMT (9:00 p.m. EDT Fri.)
"A very successful mission this evening," Lockheed Martin's spokesman in the launch center reports. "Congratulations to the entire team."
0059 GMT (8:59 p.m. EDT Fri.)
T+plus 9 minutes, 35 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Titan 4 rocket has released the top-secret National Reconnaissance Office satellite into space, completing tonight's ascent that ends five-decades of Titan launches from Cape Canaveral.
More information about that ?
Vistied my brother at Cape Kennedy in August of 1966. He had a place in Titusville. We had seen a Saturn 1B fly, so when there was a Titan-3C clauch we watched from his backyard. Had one of those little Kodak instamatics, and was clicking away, just as I ran out of film, boom,
Titan-3C all over the sky.
If I told you the truth, I'd have to kill you.
Here's another http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1392850/posts,
in addition to the link in post #15.
Then, of course, there's always www.space.com and www.spacedaily.com
Thanks .
If the payload was what I think it was, I worked on it some years ago.
It was a great night watching this event from Denver.
Ben and I were Electronic Technicians together at Vandenberg AFB in 1976/77.
Worked with Walt on the West Coast Shuttle when he was a Col., then later on the TIV Program here in Denver w Martin Marietta (later Lockheed Martin).
Great crew, Great Success!
N2O4 = Nasty Stuff...
"If I told you the truth, I'd have to kill you."
Actually, if I told you what I know they would kill me and then they would kill you.
;-)
Thanks to the Titans for keeping the peace and being a very reliable heavy lifter--you did your job well!!
Tres kewl.
Not as toxic as chlorine. Highly visible due to its red color, but not as toxic. The other component of the fuel for the Titan, UDMH (unsymetrical-dimethyl-hydrazine) will give you cancer if you even look at it.
Was in back yard in Port St. Lucie when I looked up and saw it with my wife and friends.
Way cool.
Not like a shuttle, but way cool. Not like a moon shot but way cool.
Since nothing was said beforehand, It was a govt. secret agency spy type stuff.
But way cool guy.
Walt Yager was my boss briefly in Titan when we were majors. But we were were in the program together for about 5 years.
http://spaceflightnow.com/
That's the last east coast launch of the Titan 4 and there's one more west coast launch tentatively scheduled in July and I'll be there getting Sideways with the rest of the crew.
http://spaceflightnow.com/
That's my fave. They let Justin into launch control so he gets the good story.
Anybody have an update on the Vandenburg launch date? I'd love to see it if possible. Any viewing area recommendations?
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