United Launch Alliance launch of a Atlas V 531 Rocket
Launch Status: Go For Launch
Fri · Nov 13th, 2020
5:18 PM EST - 8:10 PM EST
United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch a Atlas V 531 rocket as part of the NROL-101 mission. The launch window for the Government/Top Secret mission is on Thu, Nov 12th, 2020, 5:18 PM EST from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, FL. The status of the launch is Green with a 50% chance for favorable weather conditions. Don’t miss this exciting rocket launch!
Mission: NROL-101
Classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
Location: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, FL
Rocket: Atlas V 531
-Atlas V with 5m Fairing, 3 SRB, 1 Centaur upper stage engine.
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandenberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.
Three of us rode to Titusville to watch this launch. This launch had been postponed/delayed many times over the past three months. Sometimes for weather; it is hurricane season and most times for technical problems. We had made six other trips to watch this launch. The Atlas V js a bigger rocket than the SpaceX falcon 9 and makes a spectacular show. Finally a successful launch right at sunset. It was spectacular sight. Un fortunately, I did not get any pics so I borrowed this one.
This ULA launch placed a military spy satellite in orbit.
The next launch was a SpaceX Falcon 9 historic launch. It had been postpone onece due to off shore winds.
SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 Block 5 Rocket----
Launch Status: Go For Launch
Sun · Nov 14=4th, 2020
7:27 PM EST
SpaceX is scheduled to launch a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket as part of the SpX USCV-1 (NASA Crew Flight 1) mission. The launch window for the Human Exploration mission is on Sat, Nov 14th, 2020, 7:49 PM EST from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL. The status of the launch is Green. Don’t miss this exciting rocket launch! Watch the launch video of the Falcon 9 Block 5 and experience th e excitement for yourself. B1061 will attempt to land on ASDS OCISLY after its first launch.
Crew
Soichi Noguchi
Mission Specialist – Japanese
Soichi Noguchi (野口 聡一 Noguchi Sōichi, born 15 April 1965 in Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was most recently in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the fifth Japanese astronaut to fly in space and the fourth to fly on the space shuttle.
Michael S. Hopkins
Commander – American
Michael Scott Hopkins (born December 28, 1968) is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and a current NASA astronaut. Hopkins was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He made his first spaceflight as a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-10M/Expedition 37/Expedition 38, from September 2013 until March 2014. He was the first member of his astronaut class to fly in space. As well as being the first member of his class to fly in space, he is set to become the first member of his class to return to space in 2019 as Commander of the first operational SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
Victor J. Glover
Pilot – American
Victor Jerome Glover is a NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. Glover is a Commander in the U.S. Navy who hails from Pomona, California and Prosper, Texas. He is an F/A-18 pilot and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Glover holds degrees from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, Air University and Naval Postgraduate School. He was a naval legislative fellow working on the personal staff of the Honorable John McCain supporting defense and foreign relations policy and oversight.
Shannon Walker
Mission Specialist – American
Shannon Walker is an American scientist and a NASA astronaut, whose first space mission was Expedition 24 on the International Space Station with take-off on 15 June 2010.[She is married to a fellow NASA astronaut, the Australian-born Andy Thomas. She is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots.
Mission
SpX USCV-1 (NASA Crew Flight 1)
SpaceX's first operational flight of manned Dragon 2 vehicle.
Location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center,
Rocket: Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has many pads, on the East Coast of the US they own SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral and LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center for their lower inclination launches. They also own SLC-4E at Vandenberg, California for their high inclination launches. Another site is also being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
B1061 will attempt to land on ASDS OCISLY after its first launch.
Will fly on SpaceX Crew-1.
Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY)
The second ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Atlantic Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS)-An au
tonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
Five of us regulars including my wife, Mabel, rode to our regular viewing spot in Titusville, There we met up with Frenchie from Ft Launderdale who is part of our group. Prior to the launch, we enjoyed a good dinner a Loyd Have Mercy restaurant. After dinner, we viewed a spectacular night launch.
xx
Launch Status: Go For Launch
Fri · Nov 13th, 2020
5:18 PM EST - 8:10 PM EST
United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch a Atlas V 531 rocket as part of the NROL-101 mission. The launch window for the Government/Top Secret mission is on Thu, Nov 12th, 2020, 5:18 PM EST from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, FL. The status of the launch is Green with a 50% chance for favorable weather conditions. Don’t miss this exciting rocket launch!
Mission: NROL-101
Classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
Location: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, FL
Rocket: Atlas V 531
-Atlas V with 5m Fairing, 3 SRB, 1 Centaur upper stage engine.
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandenberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.
Three of us rode to Titusville to watch this launch. This launch had been postponed/delayed many times over the past three months. Sometimes for weather; it is hurricane season and most times for technical problems. We had made six other trips to watch this launch. The Atlas V js a bigger rocket than the SpaceX falcon 9 and makes a spectacular show. Finally a successful launch right at sunset. It was spectacular sight. Un fortunately, I did not get any pics so I borrowed this one.
This ULA launch placed a military spy satellite in orbit.
The next launch was a SpaceX Falcon 9 historic launch. It had been postpone onece due to off shore winds.
SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 Block 5 Rocket----
Launch Status: Go For Launch
Sun · Nov 14=4th, 2020
7:27 PM EST
SpaceX is scheduled to launch a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket as part of the SpX USCV-1 (NASA Crew Flight 1) mission. The launch window for the Human Exploration mission is on Sat, Nov 14th, 2020, 7:49 PM EST from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL. The status of the launch is Green. Don’t miss this exciting rocket launch! Watch the launch video of the Falcon 9 Block 5 and experience th e excitement for yourself. B1061 will attempt to land on ASDS OCISLY after its first launch.
Crew
Soichi Noguchi
Mission Specialist – Japanese
Soichi Noguchi (野口 聡一 Noguchi Sōichi, born 15 April 1965 in Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was most recently in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the fifth Japanese astronaut to fly in space and the fourth to fly on the space shuttle.
Michael S. Hopkins
Commander – American
Michael Scott Hopkins (born December 28, 1968) is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and a current NASA astronaut. Hopkins was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He made his first spaceflight as a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-10M/Expedition 37/Expedition 38, from September 2013 until March 2014. He was the first member of his astronaut class to fly in space. As well as being the first member of his class to fly in space, he is set to become the first member of his class to return to space in 2019 as Commander of the first operational SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
Victor J. Glover
Pilot – American
Victor Jerome Glover is a NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. Glover is a Commander in the U.S. Navy who hails from Pomona, California and Prosper, Texas. He is an F/A-18 pilot and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Glover holds degrees from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, Air University and Naval Postgraduate School. He was a naval legislative fellow working on the personal staff of the Honorable John McCain supporting defense and foreign relations policy and oversight.
Shannon Walker
Mission Specialist – American
Shannon Walker is an American scientist and a NASA astronaut, whose first space mission was Expedition 24 on the International Space Station with take-off on 15 June 2010.[She is married to a fellow NASA astronaut, the Australian-born Andy Thomas. She is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots.
Mission
SpX USCV-1 (NASA Crew Flight 1)
SpaceX's first operational flight of manned Dragon 2 vehicle.
Location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center,
Rocket: Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has many pads, on the East Coast of the US they own SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral and LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center for their lower inclination launches. They also own SLC-4E at Vandenberg, California for their high inclination launches. Another site is also being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
B1061 will attempt to land on ASDS OCISLY after its first launch.
Will fly on SpaceX Crew-1.
Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY)
The second ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Atlantic Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS)-An au
tonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
Five of us regulars including my wife, Mabel, rode to our regular viewing spot in Titusville, There we met up with Frenchie from Ft Launderdale who is part of our group. Prior to the launch, we enjoyed a good dinner a Loyd Have Mercy restaurant. After dinner, we viewed a spectacular night launch.
xx
