* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: TacSat-3 satellite

Blobrana · L

Countdown is on hold due to the weather.

Blobrana · L

T minus 2 hours, and counting.

Blobrana · L

The weather forecast indicates poor weather conditions for launch.

Minotaur I rocket Image (386kb, 850 x 1280)

Blobrana · L

T minus 3 hours 20 minutes, and counting.

Blobrana · L

NASA Rocket Launch Preview

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Blobrana · L

A satellite scheduled for launch from Virginia's Eastern Shore is designed to detect hidden enemy weapons and deliver their locations to U.S. combat troops, scientists testing the technology say.
The information would be especially suited to battle conditions in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, where the Obama administration is sending more troops.
If successful, the satellite could be developed for battlefield use in a year or two after its one-year orbit, according to scientists. It hopes to detect hidden tanks, buried explosives and other military equipment hidden by camouflage.

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Blobrana · L

The seven-day countdown began Tuesday for the scheduled rocket launch at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility--the first rocket launch of its kind at the facility in several years.
The 63-foot-tall Minotaur 1 rocket will lift off from a launch pad on Wallops Island at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 5.

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A Minotaur I rocket carrying a military satellite and two other payloads is set to launch Tuesday evening from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, officials said this week.
The launch is scheduled for between 8 and 11 p.m. EDT

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Blobrana · L

Providing up-to-the-minute data to the in-theatre commander can act as the tipping point to achieve success on the battlefield, and demonstrating that capability has been planned for the Tactical Satellite-3's upcoming, year-long mission.
Serving as the spacecraft's primary payload, the Advanced Responsive Tactically-Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer, or ARTEMIS, will deliver processed information to the warfighter on the ground within 10 minutes, following a single-pass collection opportunity on a specified target.

Source

The TacSat-3 mission is scheduled for launch on the evening of May 5th, 2009. The window runs through May 19th.

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