Re: Prelaunch Elset for 9 Nov 97 Iridium launch

3432P@VM1.CC.NPS.NAVY.MIL
Tue, 4 Nov 97 14:22:24 PST 

There's some conflicting information about the next Iridium launch from
Vandenberg Air Force Base...

VAFB Public Affairs at http://www.vafb.af.mil/pa/index.htm is reporting
Nov 7 between 17:40-18:10 PST (Nov 8 01:40-02:10 UT).

Florida Today Online says Nov 7 17:40:02 PST, with a 5 second launch window.

The VSOHP Iridium page reports Nov 9 00:34 UT.

Brian Webb's VAFB launch schedule says Nov 8 17:34 PST (Nov 9 01:34 UT).

The discrepency between VSOHP and Brian's is probably due to the changeover
from Daylight Savings Time (UT -7) to Standard Time (UT -8), but the others
are a day earlier at a slightly different time.

While on the subject of Iridium launches, here's the launch timeline
for September's Iridium Vandenberg launch, as excerpted from
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta2/glance.htm

hrs:min:sec
0:00:00     Liftoff
0:00:32.6   Mach 1 (738 mph)
0:00:45.8   Maximum dynamic pressure
0:01:04     Six solid rocket motors (SRM) burnout
0:01:05.5   Three SRMs ignite
0:01:26     Jettison three SRMs
0:01:27     Jettison three SRMs
0:02:09.7   Three SRMs burnout
0:02:11.5   Jettison three SRMs
0:04:20.7   Main Engine Cutoff (MECO)
0:04:34.2   Second Stage Ignition
0:04:43.5   Jettison fairing
0:10:10.9   Second Stage Cutoff (SECO 1)
0:58:20     Restart Second Stage
0:58:34.2   SECO 2
1:02:30     Deploy SV1
1:12:30     Deploy SV2
1:16:40     Deploy SV3
1:21:40     Deploy SV4
1:25:00     Deploy SV5

I couldn't find the timeline for this week's Iridium launch, but I suspect it
would be very similiar to the one above.  I hope that the Boeing website will
be updated soon to include the Media Kit for the upcoming launch.

The Mission Book for the August launch is an interesting read that includes
diagrams of the flight profile, oribital traces, and an annotated drawing of
an Iridium satellite.  There's a link to it on the VSOHP Iridium page, but
I may as well mention it here too:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta2/iridiumbook.htm

If anyone has one of those detailed ILAM reports we've seen here occasionally,
please share it with the group.  I'm sure there's a lot of interest, and we
would be grateful if someone would post information on how to obtain ILAM
reports.

Craig Cholar