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Space

Alaskan Space Port Prepares for First Launch 64

Posted by michael from the space-port-has-a-nice-ring-to-it dept.
dlkf writes: "The Kodiak Launch Complex on the Alaskan coast, run by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation is scheduled, weather permitting, to send an Athena-1 booster with 4 NASA and Air Force science experiments into orbit tonight. If successful, Alaska will become just the fourth state (California, Florida and Virginia are the others) to send rockets into earth orbit. For more info, read this."
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Alaskan Space Port Prepares for First Launch More

Alaskan Space Port Prepares for First Launch

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  • Alaska? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dyolf Knip ( 165446 ) on Saturday September 22, 2001 @05:00AM (#2333809) Homepage
    Are they trying for polar orbits or what? I had thought the launch bonus you get from launching near the equator made it much less economical to head towards the poles.
    • A satellite in a polar orbit makes repeated passes over every part of the world, which is highly useful for photography etc. A satellite in elliptical orbit can swing very close to the Earth at apogee and do high resolution photography, and if the elliptical orbit is inclined slightly from polar (a Molniya orbit), the apogee eventually tracks the whole planet's surface. So geosynchronous orbits, while useful, are not the only ones worth doing. The Kodiak Island spaceport is in a good launch position for these types of orbits.

      The Alaska Aerospace website [akaerospace.com] is really interesting, and nice looking too.

    • experiments probably require orbit with high inclination. they are maybe studying atmosphere over arctic or are looking at aurora borealis. anyway launching it from alaska gives them inclination that they need.
    • Being near the equator is an asset when launching into low-inclination orbits, and a liability when launching into high-inclination orbits. Being near a pole is an asset when launching into polar orbits, but makes it nearly impossible to launch into low-inclination orbits.
  • Getting into the Space Race. Let us see if they get into the space travler business.
  • While I was reading the start of this article, I couldn't figure out why Alaska would be chosen as a launch site for a rocket, considering the 90% chance of weather too poor for launch. If, like the article says, it was chosen specifically for the deployment of the Starshine 3 satellite, I am very impressed with the dedication to the education of the nations (and the worlds) young people in space-science this shows. Hopefully, its projects like this that will kids interested while we gradually make our way to Mars and beyond.
    • Launch conditions on Kodiak Island are roughly the same as at Vandenburg, as the Alaska Aerospace site explains. This is because of warm ocean currents from Japan.

      Speaking of commitment to education, I sure wish more slashdotters would bother to read the articles, not just the postings, before reeling off comments. But what do I know.

    • The 90% chance of poor weather was just for this launch only. It did not reflect the weather conditions for future launches.
      • The 90% chance of poor weather was just for this launch only. It did not reflect the weather conditions for future launches.

        I went to high school in Kodiak. Now I live in Seattle and enjoy the sunny and warm weather and don't understand why my friends bitch about it being rainy and grey all the time.

        I doubt they're going to be using this launch facility much in the fall and winter.

        (Summertimes in Kodiak can be beautiful though -- if you want to visit go there in June -- nice weather and while the Sun will go down the sky will never get totally dark)

  • There's a picture [azinet.com] of the Starshine 3 sattelite at the AziNet site [azinet.com].
    Also, information on tracking both satellites is here [nasa.gov] at the NASA Starshine Observers page.
  • Ah well, maybe this upcoming "terrorist war" will have nice spinoffs: more research into intercontinental missiles which results in cheaper launches, research into life support systems to combat bio-weapons and maybe, just maybe a cure for stupidity found by accident (hey, I'm a dreamer!)

  • Then comes the stomach-falling sensation as the Athena upper stage flips around and fires its engine in a braking maneuver that will drop the orbit down to 290 miles (470 kilometers), where the NASA-sponsored Starshine 3 spacecraft is to be deployed

    Strange.. I would think this is a waste of fuel, and launching extra weight is expensive. Why not eject the lower sattelite first, and then move up to higher orbit?

  • ... or doesn't it count when you kill yourself [rocketguy.com] in the process?
  • Florida has the cape, California has Vandenberg AFB, and now Alaska has the Kodiak Launch Complex. What I'm wondering is; what is the name of the place in Virginia where they launched something into orbit?
    • I believe that it is Wallops Island in Virginia.

      See The Wallops Flight Facility Home Page [nasa.gov].

    • Wallops Island, Virginia

      Latitude 37.8o N Longitude 75.5o W

      Wallops Flight Facility became America's third space launch site in 1961 with the launch of the Explorer 9 balloon on an solid-fuel Scout rocket. Today, WFF is a part of Goddard Space Flight Center. Although the facility is still available, the Scout rocket was retired in 1994. Some 19 rockets have reached orbit from Wallops, most recently in 1985. Today, WFF conducts NASA's sounding rocket program using Super Arcas, Black Brant, Taurus-Tomahawk, Taurus-Orion and Terrier-Malemute rockets. About 30 launches are made annually. An orbital attempt was made in 1995, but the commercial Conestoga rocket failed. Virginia Space Flight Center is a commercial launch facility on the south end of Wallops Island.
  • Always exciting to see America making the business of space exploration/exploitation less science fiction and more of a economic reality.

    I was just wondering if another excellent reason to launch rockets from Alaska was to periodically give seizures to the tracking facilities in China, North Korea and well even good ol' Russia.

    For instance, perhaps a half a second before launch does the commander in chief for the Pacific navy call them and say, "HEADS UP!" And then a second after they confirm it was civilian planed launch call back and say, "PSYCH! Heh heh... lighten up wussies!"?¾}0A
    Because I think I approve of that.
    • Well, seeing as that it was known to the public that the launch was taking place, I would imagine that foreign defense departments would know about it ahead of time. That and they probably have satelites monitoring activity at the launch pad to make sure they know whats being launched even if the public doesnt.
  • They will launch a disco ball in orbit, that will bother all the photo-astronomers in the world, "for the childrens".
    As if there are no natural stars, and existing satellites ar not bright enough. I don't see how such a disco ball will teach more things to childrens...
    And they plan to launch more... sigh...
    Between that and light pollution of cities, will we loss our superb natural stars ???

  • northern lights?
  • I don't know why they put the launch site here, I do know it p*ssed off a lot of people. Originally it was supposed to be a commercial launch site, but so far it has only been military launches. And the military is now looking at taking the whole project over. The weather here is pretty nasty. We've been having horizontal rain, with 30-knot winds for the last few days, and as winter gets closer, it will get much worse. We will get below freezing temps and winds up to 110-knots. I'm just glad I work inside :)
  • The first rocket range in Alaska is at Poker Flats [alaska.edu]. Poker Flats hasn't launched any orbital rockets, but they have launched a good many ``sounding rockets'' which carry instrument packages into the upper atmosphere.

    The range is operated by the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute [alaska.edu], which studies Space Physics and Aeronomy [alaska.edu] among other things.

    One of the neatest things about having a rocket range affiliated with the University is that students can design and launch a suborbital rocket in the ASRP [uaf.edu].

  • Not to put too fine a point on it, but Kodiak [alaskaone.com] is an island about 87 miles off the mainland coast of Alaska, and while it has plenty of coastline, it isn't exactly "on the Alaskan coast," although I suppose you could argue that as an island Kodiak has plenty of coastline. It was the capital of the Russian settlement in Alaska from 1783 to 1799, long before U.S. westward expansion into the Oregon territory and California.

    If you take a picture of the launch, will it be a Kodiak Moment?
  • California, Florida, and Virginia are the only states to launch rockets into orbit? Did someone overlook the rather large spaceport in Houston?
  • I'm sure we have tested ICBMs from more than those states.
  • This is the same mission as the Budget Satellite [slashdot.org] story covered back in August.
  • I'm really curious as to why they're actually building a launch site there. The advantage that comes from launching near the equator is huge. Intead of trying to launch from no relative movement to the earth, you already got a speed boost from the rotation of the earth itself if you're on the equator. It's just gonna cost a lot more for fuel (which adds more fuel to make up for the weight of the extra fuel... which adds more fuel, etc).
  • Not orbit, but space.... REALLY!

    On 1/29/1971, a rocket was launched into space from the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula!

    http://www.gt.org/keweenaw-rocket-base/index.htm l

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