Ariane V – Third time’s the Charm

The first launch was scheduled for 2:41 PM Phoenix time (21:41 UTC) on Wednesday, 23 June 2010. It was scrubbed due to a pressure drop in a tank in the first stage. A second was scheduled for Thursday, 24 June, beginning at 2:41 PM Phoenix time. The countdown reached T-17 seconds, when a hold occurred. The count was recycled to T-7 minutes, while systems were checked. An hour passed and the count resumed, only to reach T-16 seconds when another hold occurred. That scrubbed the launch, as the window expired. The problem involved pressurization in the first stage. The third launch attempt was then scheduled for Saturday, again at 2:41 PM Phoenix time. This time, everything went well. Two satellites were successfully launched: Arabsat-5A weighed 4,939 kg. at launch. It was built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space within the scope of a turnkey contract with satcom operator Arabsat, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Astrium provided the Eurostar E3000 platform and was responsible for satellite integration, while Thales Alenia Space supplied the payload. Arabsat-5A will provide telecommunications and TV broadcasting services in the Middle East and North Africa. Positioned at 30.5 degrees East, it has a design life exceeding 15 years. COMS, the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite, weighed 2,460 kg. at launch and is fitted with three payloads. In addition to its meteorological observation and ocean surveillance missions, its orbital position over the Korean peninsula will enable it to provide broadband multimedia communications services. Program prime contractor Astrium built COMS under co-operative efforts with Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) using a Eurostar E3000 platform, fitted with a meteorological imaging system and an ocean observation payload. The Ka-Band telecommunication payload was developed by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea and was supplied by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Yonhap News reports that the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) represents Korea’s first Geo Stationary Orbit (GSO) weather satellite. At a cost of nearly $300 Million, the satellite required eight years for design and construction.

Main Engine Start Image Credit: Arianespace TV	Liftoff Image Credit: Arianespace TV
Ariane V Ascent with Arabsat-5A and COMS Satellites Image Credit: Arianespace TV	Jettison of the Payload Fairing Image Credit: Arianespace TV

Space Tourism – Taking Off?

Two magazines arrived in my mailbox last week. Both had “Space Tourism” as their cover story. one was Ad Astra (Summer 2009), the quarterly magazine of the National Space Society. The other was Aviation Week (September 7, 2009). On their cover, both magazines had photographs of Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two, built by Scaled Composites in Mojave, California. While the Virgin Galactic / Scaled Composite venture (at $200,00 per flight) is the best known, there are a lot of other private spacecraft in development. XCOR – Augustine Commission member, Jeff Greason is CEO of XCOR. Their Lynx vehicle will carry one pilot and one passenger to an altitude of 38 miles (61 km). Total flight time is around 30 mijnutes from takeoff to landing. Propulsion is a liquid oxygen / kerosene rocket engine (Lynx 5K18). The Lynx Mark 2 is designed for 68 miles (110 km). Cost is $95,000 per flight. Rocketplane Global – Having spent in excess of $24 million on their XP suborbital space plane, the financial mess has made it difficult to raise capital. Chuck Lauer, CEO, said that more than $100 million of additional costs would be needed to get to first flight. Blue Origin – Jeff Bezos’ company has been conducting test flights of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle since 2006. “Flight opportunities in 2011 may be availablefor autonomous or remotely-controlled experiments on an un-crewed flight test”, according to the website. Talis Enterprise – Testing of the BlackSky prototype is scheduled for 2010. Maximum altitude is 28 miles (46 km). A larger six passenger craft, Enterprise, is scheduled to begin flying passengers in 2013. Cost is estimated to be between $30,000 and $50,000 per flight. EADS Astrium – The winged space plane for suborbital tourism has been put on hold, pending the current economic situation. Space Adventures – Having announced plans in 2006 to build a suborbital vehicle, the company is focusing instead on trips to the ISS aboard Russian Soyuz space craft. Armadillo Aerospace – Having already won the Level 1 $350,000 prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, John Carmack (DOOM and Quake) and his company are in the lead to capture the Level 2 prize of $1,000,000. However, they have announced that a deal to build a suborbital tourism vehicle will not happen.

Image: Dave Fischer used by permission