[Scan-DC] Wallops launch on Friday night

Thu Sep 5 20:06:37 EDT 2013

Our house in the USA is on the cliffs of Calvert county and we have an unobstructed view over the Bay towards the general direction of Wallops.

For night time launches from the Western side of the Bay, you are going to see nothing more than a tiny white speck of light heading upwards. No roaring flames of fire flashing in the sky. I mean it is still cool, but it's also easy to miss. This was the view I had out the window for a night launch of a Black Brant (which was much smaller). Just a speck of light heading upwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WzTljeSZY0

During day launches you get a contrail which is more impressive.

If looking for a place, consider Chesapeake Beach. 25 minutes from Andrews AFB on the water. Head to Brownies Beach on the south side of town. You'll be on the water and can look directly toward Wallops (SSE)

On Sep 6, 2013, at 8:00 AM, Joel Kahn <jrkahn at att.net> wrote:

> The GW Masonic memorial s closed so no go from the top, but you should be able to sit at the top of the steps facing the Metro Station and look SE.  There may be too much light there, though.
> 
> Joel R Kahn
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Kenny Lorber <kmlsubscription at gmail.com>
> To: "Clegg, Andrew W." <aclegg at nsf.gov> 
> Cc: "Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net" <Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net> 
> Sent: Thursday, September 5, 2013 6:31 PM
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] FW: Wallops launch on Friday night
> 
> 
> It would seem based on those images that the view from the Lincoln Memorial
> will also be decent. I was originally planning on heading down to St Mary's
> County, MD but the risk of a scrubbed launch is ever present in my mind.
> Though...with the size of this rocket it's a high risk high reward kind of
> thing. Is that GW Masonic Temple open that late? Google pegs their hours at
> until 4pm?
> 
> I'm hoping this is the start of Wallops and the Mid-Atlantic Regional
> Spaceport getting a lot more impressive launches. Exciting! Now if only I
> could settle on a place to watch this from...
> 
> I also considered a hotel at one of the beaches.
> 
> Thanks for the info!
> 
> -Kenny Lorber
> 
> 
> On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 3:09 PM, Clegg, Andrew W. <aclegg at nsf.gov> wrote:
> 
>> Some more info about Friday evening's planned launch from Wallops. This
>> comes from a colleague at USNO (the USNO will not be open for visitors!).
>> The referenced Web page has some neat Google Earth graphics of what the
>> launch will look like from various tourist sites around DC and other areas
>> (even the Richmond International Speedway - helllllyeh, y'all!)
>> 
>> Not sure about scanner frequencies. I would presume there will be spotter
>> planes and stuff up out near Wallops.
>> 
>> Happy viewing,
>> Andy
>> 
>> 
>> All:
>> 
>> On Friday night, Sept. 6 at 11:27 pm EDT NASA will launch an Orbital
>> Sciences/USAF Minotaur-V rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility on the
>> eastern shore.  The payload will be the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust
>> Environment Explorer), which will conduct research in lunar orbit this
>> fall.  The launch window is quite short, extending only until 11:31 pm EDT.
>>   If there's a scrub, they only have a brief time each night until Sept. 10
>> to launch before a month-long stand-down.
>> 
>> The Minotaur-V is a five-stage solid-propellant launcher based on the MX
>> "Peacekeeper" ICBM with a first-stage thrust of ~360,000 lbf (1,607
>> kilonewtons).  Based on the long-range forecast this should be quite
>> visible from the DC metro area as well as many locations along the east
>> coast.
>> 
>> We should see the ascending first stage rise above the east-southeast
>> horizon at about L+45 seconds.  Burnout of the first stage, staging, and
>> ignition of the second stage occurs between L+54 and L+57 seconds.  The
>> second stage burns out at ~L+110 seconds, followed by a brief coast phase
>> before third stage ignition at L+135 seconds.  The third stage burns for 62
>> seconds; when that motor is depleted the vehicle enters an extended
>> ballistic coast that will carry it below the horizon before fourth stage
>> ignition.  At its highest, the third stage will be a glowing orange dot
>> about 13° above the horizon.
>> 
>> My past experiences with Minotaur-I launches (which were based on the much
>> smaller Minuteman-II ICBM) lead me to believe that this one should be quite
>> spectacular, especially during the first/second stage burns.
>> 
>> Here's a link to Orbital's web page with basic facts and viewing
>> circumstances for the launch.  Needless to say, the roof of USNO's Building
>> 1 is an ideal place to watch it from, but the web page also shows several
>> more good viewing spots.  In addition to these, the east terrace of the
>> George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria is also very good.  If I'm
>> not here at USNO I will be watching it from there.
>> 
>> <http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/MissionUpdates/MinotaurV/index.shtml>
>> 
>> 
>> 
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