Atlas V Launch Vandenberg 10-18-09

I captured the color footage and sound from six miles southeast of the launch site with a very shaky digital point and shoot camera. I synchronized this with the Nasa launch footage that had no sound. This was the first launch I've experienced and one of the most surprising aspects was the enormously loud and deep sputtering of the Atlas rocket engine (even from six miles away). Use some good speakers or even a decent pair of headphones and crank it up when you view this video and you'll get a fair approximation of the sound experience.
Vandenberg successfully launched the Atlas V rocket Oct. 18 at 9:12 a.m. The rocket took off from Space Launch Complex-3 carrying a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program payload.
This was Vandenberg's second Atlas V launch and the first Air Force payload to be lifted from Vandenberg aboard an Atlas V.
Atlas V is part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle family. The program, which began in the 1990s with the goal of making government space launches more affordable and reliable, resulted in the development of two launch systems, Delta IV and Atlas V.
The DMSP satellites monitor the meteorological, oceanographic and solar-terrestrial physics environments for the Department of Defense. Each DMSP satellite has a 101 minute, sun-synchronous near-polar orbit at an altitude of 830 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. DMSP sensors collect images across a 3,000 kilometer swath, providing global coverage twice per day.
Once operational, the DMSP payload will be managed by the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration satellite control center in Suitland, Md., with support from the 6th Space Operations Squadron, an all Air Force Reserve unit stationed out of Schriever AFB, Colo.

Category:

Science & Technology

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