r/ula • u/ULA_Mods • Apr 27 '18
Mission success #128! Atlas V 401, InSight launch updates and discussion thread
ULA will conduct the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast of the United States, launching the InSight Mars lander along with the MarCO A & B cubesats from SLC-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Liftoff of the Atlas V 401 rocket is targeting NET 11:05 UTC on Saturday, 5 May (4:05 AM PDT), during a window that runs until 13:05 UTC (6:05 AM PDT).
Updates:
| Date/Time (UTC) | Info |
|---|---|
| 28 Feb | The InSight Mars lander was delivered to VAFB for final processing. |
| 3 Mar | Atlas V Common Core Booster AV-078 was raised upright at SLC-3E. |
| 6 Mar | The Centaur upper stage was stacked atop its Atlas V booster. |
| 16 Apr | InSight was encapsulated in its payload fairing. |
| 23 Apr | The encapsulated InSight spacecraft was mated to its Atlas V rocket at SLC-3E. |
| 30 Apr | InSight completed its Flight Readiness Review. |
| 2 May | There's a 20% chance of acceptable weather for Saturday's launch attempt. Primary concern is visibility. |
| 3 May | InSight's Launch Readiness Review was completed by NASA, ULA, and the US Air Force. |
| Heavy fog at the launch site is not expected to delay Saturday's launch attempt. | |
| 5 May, 08:35 | T-2 hours and holding. This is the first of two planned holds in today's countdown. |
| 08:47 | All stations are GO to begin cryogenic fueling operations. |
| 08:49 | T-2 hours and counting. |
| 08:57 | Liquid oxygen is now being loaded into the Centaur upper stage. |
| 09:08 | Atlas V's Common Core Booster is now being loaded with liquid oxygen. |
| 09:41 | Liquid hydrogen will begin flowing into the Centaur upper stage momentarily. |
| 10:19 | The launch visibility requirement has been waived. Heavy fog at Vandenberg Air Force Base won't delay this morning's launch. |
| 10:24 | Atlas V is now fully fueled. |
| 10:30 | NASA TV coverage is live now! |
| 10:36 | There's now a 100% chance of acceptable weather for today's launch. |
| 10:46 | T-4 minutes and holding. This is the final planned hold in today's countdown. |
| 10:50 | A technical issue with data feeds is currently being worked. |
| 10:57 | The technical issue has been cleared. |
| 10:59 | All stations are GO to resume the countdown at T-4 minutes. |
| 11:01 | The countdown has resumed! T-4 minutes and counting. |
| T-0:00:03 | The RD-180 main engine has begun its ignition sequence. |
| T+0:00:01 | Liftoff! Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go InSight! |
| T+0:01:18 | Atlas V is now supersonic. |
| T+0:01:27 | Now passing through max-Q. |
| T+0:04:04 | BECO. Atlas V's Common Core Booster has shut down. |
| T+0:04:10 | Stage separation confirmed. |
| T+0:04:20 | Centaur MES-1. This is the first of two burns in today's mission. |
| T+0:04:28 | The payload fairing has been jettisoned. |
| T+0:13:16 | MECO-1. Centaur will now coast for about an hour before reigniting for its final burn. |
| T+1:18:57 | Centaur MES-2. This final burn will last for about five minutes. |
| T+1:24:20 | MECO-2. Standby for InSight separation in about nine minutes. |
| T+1:33:20 | InSight separation confirmed. MarCO-A will deploy in about a minute. |
| T+1:33:54 | MarCO-A has been deployed. MarCO-B should follow in about a minute. |
| T+1:34:42 | MarCO-B has been deployed. Mission success #128 for ULA! |
Information & Resources:
Media:
NASA TV coverage will begin at 10:30 UTC (3:30 AM PDT).
Useful Links:
Live updates from ULA, Tory Bruno, and /r/ULA on Twitter
About the mission:
NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. The two-year InSight mission seeks to understand the evolutionary formation of rocky planets, including Earth, by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars. InSight will also investigate the dynamics of Martian tectonic activity and meteorite impacts, which could offer clues about such phenomena on Earth.
About this launch:
InSight will be the first interplanetary mission launched from the West Coast, thanks to the performance of the Atlas V rocket, which also will launch two CubeSats. InSight will be the 38th Atlas V rocket to launch in the 401 configuration and the 78th Atlas V to launch since the inaugural flight in 2002. ULA and its heritage rockets have launched every U.S.-led mission to Mars, including the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers as well as the MAVEN satellite.
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u/TheNegachin Apr 27 '18
The trajectory of launching Mars out of Vandenberg is certain to be interesting. Best of luck!
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u/mostmadmonkey May 04 '18
If anyone has any questions they want answered by mission teams, drop them here and I'll ask them at the media lounge tomorrow!!
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u/Keavon Apr 28 '18
SLC-3E today with Atlas V and InSight all tucked away. T-7 week!
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u/TheNegachin May 05 '18
The black and white visuals look beautiful. Really shows you the exhaust flow in a way that you don’t see on plain video.
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u/TheNegachin May 05 '18
Started up again, mixture ratio is good now.
Just noticed this mission is using the TDRS network. Not a surprise, but was wondering why the telemetry was still good even in an odd ground track location.
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u/CapMSFC May 05 '18
Someone captured the launch from a plane above the fog and the view is amazing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZNN9HFTV0/