The 3-hour launch window opens at 7:03 p.m. PST, but officials are aiming for liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 7:13 p.m. PST.

The Orbital Suborbital Program Space Launch Vehicle, a combination of rocket motors from the Minuteman II and Pegasus XL launch vehicles, is part of an Air Force effort to use surplus Minuteman II components for sub-orbital and orbital spacelift in support of U.S. Government requirements. This program is managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center Test and Evaluation Directorate located at Kirtland AFB, N.M.

The goal of this launch is to validate the OSP Space Launch Vehicle's spacelift capability. To determine the mission's success, SMC personnel will evaluate data measuring the successful separation of the payloads and detailing whether the payloads were deployed in the correct orbit.

Currently having more than 350 Minuteman II ICBMs in storage, SMC/TE is working with the vehicle contractor, Orbital Sciences Corporation, to demonstrate a reliable, economical and efficient way to put these missiles to good use.

The OSP Space Launch Vehicle can operate with two fairings allowing for the launch of oversized payloads. Using a multi-payload adapter, the vehicle is capable of launching several payloads of up to 750 lbs to a 400-nautical mile, sun-synchronous orbit. This is roughly 1.5 times the Pegasus XL capability.

The payloads for the upcoming launch are integrated to the Joint Air Force Academy Weber State University Satellite, or JAWSAT, multi-payload adapter. The four payloads are the U.S. Air Force Academy's FalconSat, Arizona State University's ASUSAT, Stanford University's OPAL satellite and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment. Also attached to the multi-payload adapter are two experiments: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Plasma Experiment Satellite and Weber State University's Attitude Controlled Platform.

Originally set to launch Jan 14, launch officials encountered trouble two minutes before launch (7:25 p.m. PST) with the Flight Computer Automatic Sequencer. The Auto Sequencer is a ground computer program that controls the final sequence of events prior to launch. The launch team evaluated the problem and determined that the tasks performed by the Auto Sequencer could be performed manually.

At 9:15 p.m. PST the countdown was resumed. However, at 9:37 p.m. PST the mission was once again aborted due to low power in the on-board avionics power bus batteries. Because the three-hour launch window had almost expired, there were no further attempts to launch. Officials have since perfected the manual launch sequence operations and re-conditioned the batteries to full capacity.

The second OSP Space Launch Vehicle launch is scheduled for the spring, carrying the Air Force Research Laboratory's MightySat II.1 payload.

Spaceport Systems International is under contract to provide launch site and launch control facilities as well as range support for both launches. The launch set for Wednesday will be SSI's first launch.

Webcast of Launch

Scheduled for launch on December 7, 1999 the JAWSAT Multi-Payload Adapter (MPA) space-frame will deploy four independent satellites, including:

• ASUSAT from Arizona State University
• Opal, a satellite from Stanford University
• The United States Air Force Academy's Falconsat satellite
• An Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment from the Air Force Research Laboratory under contract to L'Garde, Inc.

JAWSAT will also support two other experiments that will remain attached to its MPA frame:

• PEST, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Plasma Experiment Satellite Test
• Weber State University's Attitude Controlled Platform (ACP)
  

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SPACEDAILY

Californian Space Port Opens For Business
Vandenberg - January 26, 2000 -
Spaceport Systems International (SSI), a limited partnership of ITT Industries, Inc. and California Commercial Spaceport, and the first privately-owned commercial spaceport in the United States, today ushered in a new age for the commercial space industry by providing range and launch services for the first successful space launch of a converted Minuteman II/ Pegasus XL upper stages spacelift vehicle.