Posted on 09/25/2007 6:51:42 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Switched to Raygun Test Site
Payload separation! DAWN is on her way. Good luck!
Spacecraft state of health report at 1300 EDT presser as ascertained by Goldstone Deep Space Network.
Mission Control says the desired orbit has been nailed.
Messenger is headed to Mercury, but it is not easy getting there. Sometimes someone suggests shooting something/someone into the sun, but it is easier to blast out of the solar system altogether. Plus, when you get to Mercury your solder joints will melt.
Messenger is headed to Mercury, but it is not easy getting there. Sometimes someone suggests shooting something/someone into the sun, but it is easier to blast out of the solar system altogether. Plus, when you get to Mercury your solder joints will melt.
I slept thru the whole thing. :-)
ap
It depends on where the Earth and Ceres are in their orbits at launch and at arrival. Everything is still moving the whole time, which is why orbital dynamics is tough work. :)
This photo provided by United Launch Alliance shows the Dawn spacecraft sitting atop of a Delta ll rocket as it blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. NASA's Dawn spacecraft rocketed away Thursday toward an unprecedented double encounter in the asteroid belt. (AP Photo/United Launch Alliance, HO)
Thursday September 27, 10:07 am ET
ATK Solid Motors Used To Launch Heavy Payload On Delta II Vehicle
MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK - News) propulsion and composite technologies supported the successful launch of the United Launch Alliance’s Delta II rocket carrying NASA’s Dawn spacecraft that will use an ion propulsion system to visit and orbit the asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
Nine GEM-46 solid propulsion strap-on boosters manufactured in ATK’s Salt Lake City, Utah facility provided augmented thrust for the launch while the STAR 48B rocket motor, manufactured in Elkton, Maryland, acted as the third-stage rocket motors. ATK’s Clearfield, Utah facility produced the composite cases for the GEM-46 boosters using an automated filament winding process developed and refined through its 40-year-heritage in composite manufacturing.
Six of the boosters ignited at lift-off with the first-stage main engine and provided over 824,000 pound maximum thrust for the launch vehicle. Just over one minute later, the remaining three boosters ignited to provide an additional 427,000 pound maximum thrust. The spent motors were jettisoned from the rocket as it continued its ascent.
Following burnout and separation of the GEM-46 boosters and the rocket’s liquid second stage, an ATK-produced STAR(TM) 48B third-stage rocket motor fired approximately 55 minutes into flight to provide the final velocity increment needed by the spacecraft to begin its journey.
ATK is a $4 billion advanced weapon and space systems company employing approximately 16,500 people in 21 states. News and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070927/aqth093.html?.v=20
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