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kevinforsyth.net
To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles
"A valuable contribution to the field of aerospace literature," this book includes an extensive overview of Delta history and development along with chapters on Atlas, Titan, Scout, Space Shuttle, and much more.
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Many other excellent books about spaceflight are recommended here.
23-Jan-99 | Delta flight 265 – Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2
Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 successfully launched aboard a Delta 7425 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral on 3 January, 1999. They are on course for arrival at Mars in less than 0 days.
MPL will soft-land at the Martian south pole to study climate history and composition of the polar ice cap. DS-2 consists of two micro-probes which will impact Mars and penetrate to a depth of up to one metre in order to analyse sub-surface soil. The Delta 7425 was extremely accurate, such that MPL’s first TCM burn on 21 January changed its velocity by about 16 m/s, mostly in order to remove a launch bias used to prevent the Star 48 third stage from impacting Mars.
20-Jan-99 | Web site news
History of the Delta Launch Vehicle is undergoing a slight expansion and reorganisation. The Schedule has been divided from the rest of the Flight Log for faster downloading. Meanwhile, the Flight Log is receiving the addition of spacecraft weights and orbital parameters for all flights. Corrections and comments are, as always, welcome.
04-Jan-99 | Globalstar schedule
Globalstar has scheduled a total of six flights on Delta rockets this year. This will make for a very busy schedule as the grand total will be 18 Delta II and 5 Delta III launches expected in 1999.
31-Dec-98 | NEAR asteroid orbit insertion fails, will try again later
Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) orbit of asteroid 433 Eros has been postponed to February 2000. The spacecraft suffered a rough start during its first rendezvous burn and subsequently tumbled, leaving controllers out of communication for about 25 hours. Quick recovery allowed the spacecraft to take photos of Eros as it passed within 4,100 kilometres (2,500 miles) of the asteroid. A course correction burn is scheduled for 3 January, allowing NEAR to return to Eros for another attempt at orbit in just 13 months. NEAR was launched by Delta 232 in February 1996.
31-Dec-98 | MPL vehicle fairing installed
Mars Polar Lander has been encapsulated within its standard (9.5-foot) fairing. Both sit atop a Delta 7425 launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex 17B, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Launch is scheduled for 3 January. Currently weather conditions are not favourable for this date, but they are expected to improve considerably in the days that follow. Like MCO and Delta 247 (ACE), this flight will carry a ‘videoroc’ aboard the first stage.
28-Dec-98 | MCO’s first TCM
MPL’s sister ship in the Mars Surveyor 1998 program, Mars Climate Orbiter, launched from Cape Canaveral at 13:45 EST on 11 December. It was successfully placed into solar orbit, is in excellent health, and will reach Mars on approximately 23 September to begin a full Martian year of observations to better understand the seasonal changes on that planet. The Delta 7425 was so accurate that MCO’s first TCM burn only changed its velocity by 19.1 metres per second (less than 43 mph), and most of that was in order to remove a launch bias used to prevent the Star 48 third stage from impacting Mars.
24-Dec-98 | MGS resumes aerobraking
Mars Global Surveyor (Delta 239) had a successful apoapsis burn on 23 September and has resumed aerobraking. This will continue until early February, when its orbit is nearly circular and has a period of two hours. (Latest info)
24-Dec-98 | Next launch
Next launch from Vandenberg AFB will be Argos P-91, the largest experimental satellite ever flown by the Air Force. Its launch date has slipped yet again (though this time by only 6 days) and it is currently scheduled to fly on 14 January.
18-Dec-98 | Excellent Delta assembly photos online
There is currently no finer online source for great Delta assembly photos than this Mars Surveyor 98 Images & Photos site.
14-Dec-98 | DS-1 tests continue
Deep Space 1 is in excellent health and completed a two week period of ion engine thrusting on 8 December. Tests are now focussing on a plasma experiment, and communications via an advanced technology power amplifier.
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