CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Another commercial satellite capable of taking detailed, close-up pictures of the Earth's surface was successfully placed in a polar orbit Thursday.
The OrbView-3 spacecraft took its ride to space in the nosecone of an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket on a mission staged from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
The satellite delivery mission began about 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) when the winged Pegasus rocket took off from a Vandenberg runway, riding the belly of the company's L-1011 jumbo jet, dubbed Stargazer.
The Stargazer mothership then flew to a point about 62 miles (100 kilometers) away, flying south over the Pacific Ocean, and dropped the Pegasus rocket at 2:53 p.m. EDT (1853 GMT) from an altitude of 39,000 feet (11,890 meters).
Five seconds later the winged first stage ignited its solid-fueled main engine and began a 10-minute climb to orbit.
All three solid-fueled stages worked well, according to reports from Orbital Sciences.
Because spacecraft separation took place over the Pacific Ocean out of sight of a ground station, company officials could not immediately declare the launch phase of the mission a success.
After circling the planet once, the OrbView-3 spacecraft's signal was picked up by a ground station in Alaska and officials reported everything was working fine."It looks like the Peagasus launch vehicle performed well again, on this it's 20th success in a row," said Orbital Sciences spokesman Barry Beneski. "It also appears the OrbView-3 satellite is doing well very early in its mission."
The satellite will now take several days to maneuver itself to its final circular orbit 292 miles (470 kilometers) high and inclined 97 degrees.
Built by Orbital Sciences, the OrbView-3 satellite will be operated by Orbital Imaging Corp (ORBIMAGE).
The digital imaging system on the spacecraft is designed to take black and white pictures that can see details as small as one meter, or color pictures with a resolution of four meters.
The pictures ORBIMAGE might take depend on the needs of its commercial or government customers. Potential consumers range from civic leaders interested in city planning to news media covering military conflicts.
OrbView-1 was launched in April 1995, while OrbView-2 followed in August 1997. A September 2001 launch from Vandenberg of a Taurus rocket carrying OrbView-4 failed.
The OrbView-3 mission marked the 34th flight of the Pegasus rocket.
Officials hope to launch one more Pegasus this year -- a joint NASA and Canadian Space Agency science mission staged that is now targeted to fly from Vandenberg on Aug. 2.
advertisement
