Posted on 11/21/2013 4:54:58 AM PST by Madison Andrew
The launch time of the rocket Minotaur I rocket was between 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm as it depended on the weather conditions and the atmospheric conditions during the time of launch. The schedule of backup launch days was planned on Nov. 26.
The launch of this rocket was intended to be visible to observers from an array of locations such as Indiana, north of Maine, Canada and South and north of Florida if the weather was fine. The Minotaur I rocket took off after 45 minute delay owing to a downrange tracking station issue and carried exactly 29 satellites aboard which is the first time in rocket history. Of these satellites, one was built by the students of Thomas Jefferson High school. Another satellite that was hitched in to orbit by stage 4 Minotaur 1 rocket is the so called, “PhoneSat” that was built by NASA.
The launch of this rocket, Minotaur I rocket takes place just a day after NASA launched its rocket to Mars, which was an unmanned one. The MAVEN or The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission would be detecting the changes in the temperature of Mars and the atmosphere that is prevailing there at present. This rocket would also detect the effect of solar radiation in the red planet.
The clear skies were lit up instantly as the rocket passed on, as there were bits of clouds here and there. Cold temperature of the season and slight breeze made the mood much better during the night.
(Excerpt) Read more at themoneytimes.com ...
Minotour 5 launch in Sept. from Wallops had a fire trail 5 times longer and 5 times wider.Saw it from South Jersey and it rivaled the Shuttle launches I’ve seen.
They must have had an eighth-grade intern write this story.
I agree. The prose is pretty bad.
...looks like they missed.....
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
We could not see this 1. There were clouds, but my husband’s co-workers said all they saw was like a bright planet. (They all have vested interest, as their work projects are wrapped up in these launches.)
The launch the other month was awesome. Too bad it was too late at night for our son to watch. This launch was a bust for him.
It was really fantastic.
I coach a competitive robotics team. We had about 75 kids take a break from making robots to go out and watch the launch. It was cool for them but nothing compared to the space shuttle launch I watched.
The Minotaur 1 is a relatively small rocket based on the Minuteman II ICBM.
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