Officials have scheduled the next launch attempt of a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle carrying the ARGOS satellite for the U.S. Air Force for
Tuesday, Feb. 23, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The one-hour
launch window opens at 2:10 a.m. PST.
The launch was scrubbed Saturday morning after a momentary spike in
one of the two power sources to the first stage electronics package
was observed. The Boeing team isolated the cause to the first stage
center body which houses the power and control box and the first stage
electronics package. Technicians replaced both the power and control
box and electronics package and are performing revalidation tests on
the hardware and wiring.
The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted
satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
The launch will be broadcast live beginning at 2 a.m. PST and ending
after spacecraft separation, approximately one hour and 40 minutes later.
The satellite coordinates are Ku-band: GE 3, transponder 19 at 87 degrees
West. Uplink frequency is 14380 horizontal, Downlink frequency 12080
vertical.
Argos as SpaceDaily
Previous Launch Logs For Argos
Technical Glitch Snare Argos Delta Launch
Vandenberg AFB – February 12, 1999 –
Officials scrubbed this morning’s launch attempt of a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle carrying the ARGOS satellite for the U.S. Air Force.
The launch was scrubbed after a momentary spike in one of the two
power sources to the first stage electronics package was observed.
The Delta team is analyzing the data from the vehicle to determine
what steps need to be taken prior to the next launch attempt.
A new launch date will be announced early next week. Please check
the Boeing Launch Hotline for updated information. The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
High Wind Stands Down Delta
Vandenberg AFB – February 12, 1999 – The launch of a
Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II expendable launch vehicle carrying the
ARGOS spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force has been postponed.
The launch was scrubbed at 3:12 a.m. PST this morning due to upper
level wind constraints. The Delta launch team is proceeding with plans for a Saturday, Feb. 13, launch. The launch window opens at 2:19 a.m. PST.
A live broadcast of the launch will begin at 2:10 a.m. PST, and last
until spacecraft separation, approximately one hour and 40 minutes
after lift-off. Satellite coordinates are: Ku-band, GE 3, transponder 19, located at 87 degrees West. Downlink frequency is 12080 horizontal, uplink
frequency is 14380 vertical.
The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted
satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
Argos Is Go For Friday Delta Launch
Vandenberg AFB – February 10, 1999 – The next launch attempt of a Boeing Delta II carrying the ARGOS spacecraft for
the U.S. Air Force will be Friday, Feb. 12 from Vandenberg Air Force
Base, Calif. The one-hour window opens at 2:19 a.m. PST. The Delta II is scheduled to carry the Boeing-built Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite along with the Danish Orsted and South African SUNSAT satellites into sun-synchronous and near, sun-synchronous orbits.
A live broadcast of the launch will begin at 2:10 a.m. PST and last
until spacecraft separation, approximately one hour and 40 minutes
after liftoff. Satellite coordinates are: Ku-band, GE 3, transponder
19 located at 87 degrees west. Downlink frequency 12080 horizontal,
uplink frequency 14380 vertical.
Range and Weather Concerns Ground Argos
Vandenberg AFB – February 8, 1999 – Officials here have cancelled Monday morning’s launch attempt of the U.S. Air Force ARGOS spacecraft due to predicted inclement weather in the local area. Weather will preclude launching the Boeing Delta II through Tuesday. The Air Force and Boeing launch team will continue to monitor the weather and range availability to establish a new launch date. The Boeing Delta II is scheduled to carry the Advanced Research and Global
Observation Satellite along with the Danish Orsted and South African SUNSAT into sun-synchronous and near, sun-synchronous orbits. Once the launch team establishes the new launch date, it will be released along
with the corresponding broadcast information
Range Concerns Ground Argos
Vandenberg AFB – February 7, 1999 – Officials have scrubbed an early Sunday morning launch of a Delta 2 that will carry ARGOS – a technology satellite for the U.S. Air Force – due to down range concerns for where nozzle covers for the solid rocket motors could impact. Officials are reviewing the situation for another attempt Monday morning, but the second attempt for the StarDust Delta 2 launch at Cape Canaveral could take precedence.
Delta Cleared For Argos Launch Sunday
Huntington Beach – February 4, 1999 – Following an investigation into the Jan. 28 engine shutdown of a Delta II during a launch attempt of the ARGOS satellite, the Boeing launch team determined that a propellant valve on vernier engine number two failed to open on command. This caused the engine shutdown and initiation of the autosafe mechanism on the launch vehicle.
The valves on both vernier engines have been removed and replaced and the launch team is preparing for a Feb. 7 launch attempt. The 30-minute launch window opens at 2:39 a.m. PST.
The first stage of a Delta II has a main engine and two vernier engines. Vernier engines are small rocket motors that allow the vehicle to be steered during flight. During the engine start sequence, the two vernier engines are required to ignite prior to ignition of the main engine. The main engine and two vernier engines were automatically shut down at approximately T-0 when it was detected that one of the vernier engines had failed to ignite. All vehicle safing systems performed as designed and expected.
The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, Orsted and SUNSAT. These scientific satellites will be the first launched by Denmark and South Africa, respectively. There was no impact to any of the spacecraft systems as a result of the on-pad abort of the launch.
There will be a live broadcast of the launch beginning at 2:30 a.m. PST through spacecraft separation on: GE 2C, transponder 6, located at 85 degrees west, uplink frequency 6045 (vertical), downlink frequency 3820 (horizontal).
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