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Astra Space's "Rocket 3.0" to orbit soon!
Hello All,
A “secret” satellite launch may occur in a few days at Alaska’s Kodiak launch site (see: https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/...ch-from-alaska/ ), when Astra Space’s https://astra.com/ (their “Welcome” video is spectacular!) “Rocket 3.0” lifts off (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_Space *and* https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...0i3.PyZNPm7Mqr0 ).
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#2
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I read about them a couple days ago. Not much info on the rocket at the time.
BTW, who all read "Ad Astra" when you saw the thread title?
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I love sanding. |
#3
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Quote:
Their operations at our Kodiak launch facility here--including their previous suborbital shots--have all been very hush-hush, with the launch NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen and Mariners) being almost the only information released to the public. As with the little-described rocket-boosted, sub-scale spaceplane test (similar in type to the rocket-boosted aircraft & missile model tests that Wallops did a lot of in the 1940s and 1950s) conducted by UP Aerospace at their SpaceLoft rockets' New Mexico launch site for one of the large aerospace firms (I forget which) a few years ago, the Kodiak facility also honors its clients' requests--when they make them--for discreteness. In a way, they act in a manner rather like that of Swiss banks, which protect their account holders' identities when asked.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#4
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I watched a video on YouTube about them by Scott Manley. I found it interesting that the rocket was shipped and could be prepped in a typical shipping container. It seemed to me that they could be shipped and ready to launch from numerous sites (or theoretically from anywhere they could set up the launch pad) to achieve whatever orbit was necessary for their cargo.
It almost smelled of a clandestine military operation gone public.
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Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS Starport Sagitta Rockets email bherman@sagittarockets.com NAR # 97971 SR What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.? Let us know at the Cantina Sagitta Cantina We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E. |
#5
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Link to live feed here, going live in 19 hours:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wzagx8kC7s
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I like the unusual, the off beat, the avant-garde. No 3/4 FNC for me! |
#6
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Scrubbed for today.
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I like the unusual, the off beat, the avant-garde. No 3/4 FNC for me! |
#7
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The LIVE countdown and launch coverage of Astra Space's "Rocket 3.0" (today, Sunday, March 1) will begin in 63 minutes on SpaceFlightNow.com--it can be seen there (see: https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/...-status-center/ ) and on YouTube (at the link posted by BARGeezer) *here* : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wzagx8kC7s . Also:
Here (see: https://www.youtube.com/results?sea...ley+Astra+Space ) are Scott Manley's videos about the company and their launch vehicle. Incidentally, "Rocket 3.0", like Rocket Lab's Electron, also uses electric pump-fed kerolox rocket engines (of the company's own design), and the vehicle is a descendant of an earlier, built-but-not-flown, air-launched (from an F-15E) microsat launcher called SALVO (see: https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/astra.htm and [SALVO]: https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau/salvo.htm & https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...Ha-LD_4Q4dUDCAs ), and: *IF* it's clear to the south at launch time (a very "iffy" proposition, as it's 9° [with a "Feels Like" index of 5°], with light snow and fog right now), I ^may^--depending on the sky brightness, the Sun's position in the sky, and how bright and large the vehicle's exhaust flame and any smoke or contrail are (plus its angular elevation from here, depending on the orbit they're shooting for)--be able to see it ascending if there's a clear patch of sky in that direction. Luckily, my apartment building has large south-facing windows in the Social Rooms on most of its five floors. Also: When the first orbital launch out of Kodiak occurred on September 30, 2001 (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena_I ), I was easily able to follow the four-satellite Kodiak Star mission's ascending Athena I launch vehicle as it rose to the south. However, it was much larger than Astra Space's "Rocket 3.0," and its solid propellant Castor 120 first stage and Orbus 21D second stage both created dense, grayish-white smoke trails that were easy to see (and it was a nice, clear, sunny, and reasonably warm--for Alaska, which I'm acclimated to--afternoon).
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#8
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Scrubbed again.
Rescheduled for 3/2.
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I like the unusual, the off beat, the avant-garde. No 3/4 FNC for me! |
#9
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Quote:
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#10
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Fast forward on the "live" DARPA feed to the 2:30 mark for an explanation of the scrub: weather issues. Next launch window on Monday.
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I like the unusual, the off beat, the avant-garde. No 3/4 FNC for me! |
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