Launch News NROL-49 atop Delta IV Heavy on Jan. 20, 2011

[Urwumpe]

With 99% certainty, without having seen the launch, I can say it is ice, that formed on the outside of the stages. It is a normal part of cryogen launchers, it takes a lot of effort to prevent such ice on the Space Shuttle.

 

[N_Molson]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking... but then it was not an IR camera.

 

[Gerdih]

It seemed more compact than ice

 

[Urwumpe]

It seemed more compact than ice

Ice is hard as steel and pretty dense.

 

[N_Molson]

Yeah, remember the Titanic was sunk by an iceberg

Still curious about the greyscale camera though. Some light amplification device ?

 

[Urwumpe]

Still curious about the greyscale camera though. Some light amplification device ?

Could also just be a high-speed engineering camera, these are also greyscale.

 

[DaveS]

Yeah, remember the Titanic was sunk by an iceberg

Still curious about the greyscale camera though. Some light amplification device ?

It is an IR camera mounted somewhere around the Santa Ynez mountains. Have seen similar video in old Shuttle videos of landings at EDW.

 

[orb]

Video replay of the launch

Video replay of the launch:

ULA webcast recorded by "spacearium"

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NASASpaceFlight: Delta IV Heavy launches on debut West Coast launch with NRO L-49.

Vandenberg Air Force Base: First Delta IV Heavy launches from Vandenberg.

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Click on image to enlarge​

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The first West Coast Delta IV Heavy Launch Vehicle was launched from Space Launch Complex-6 here Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, at 1:10 p.m. PST. The largest rocket ever to launch from the West Coast of the United States carried a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Lael Huss)​

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[SiberianTiger]

Very beautiful launch! And also, one at the first attempt. :thumbup:

Those DIV-Heavy are hell of machines. Congratulations, America! :tiphat:
(but still, we've grabbed our tiny "Space First" for this year :lol

 

[orb]

Photos from the launch

Spaceflight Now: Historic launch from the California coast (PHOTO GALLERY)

And some neat photos from ULA:

 

[SiberianTiger]

Caption: I love smell of Hydrogen in the morning! :thumbup:

 

[orb]

ULA released Delta IV Heavy NROL-49 Launch Highlights video (WMV), and the same to watch from YouTube (uploaded by collectSPACE):

Delta IV Heavy NROL-49 Launch Highlights (uploaded on YouTube by collectSPACE)

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Some additional photos of the launch in this article -

Mail Online: We have lift off... just: Massive 235ft rocket carrying a secret spy satellite replacement blasts off from California coast.​

TLE from Seesat-l:

                                                        163 X 1027 km
1 72001U          11020.92423331  .00988049  00000-0  77000-3 0    09
2 72001  97.9000 135.1447 0620000 185.0000 174.4842 14.90000000    08

 

[Gerdih]

:blink: the surface of one of the booster is burning at the firsts seconds of the launch due to the fire of the ignition, its normal?

 

[N_Molson]

Those pictures are fantastic. That's art ! :thumbup:

the surface of one of the booster is burning at the firsts seconds of the launch due to the fire of the ignition, its normal?

Bah, nothing serious, it's only the paint ; the wind of speed will soon extinguish the flames ! :lol:

 

[Urwumpe]

:blink: the surface of one of the booster is burning at the firsts seconds of the launch due to the fire of the ignition, its normal?

Yes, that is normal, the Delta IV wouldn't reach orbit without the slow loss of insulation mass. :rofl:

Actually, they just saved costs on the insulation, flame retarding insulation costs much more and weights a bit more.

 

[orb]

And there's one more photo gallery of the launch from Spaceflight Now:

Delta 4-Heavy launches from California (PHOTO GALLERY).​

 

[SiberianTiger]

:blink: the surface of one of the booster is burning at the firsts seconds of the launch due to the fire of the ignition, its normal?

If you had noticed the mission patch, you would not ask.

 

[orb]

Spaceflight Now: Delta 4-Heavy's hush-hush payload found and identified:

{...}

Ever since the Delta 4-Heavy rocket fired away from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the amateur observers have been hunting for the new satellite to figure out its identity. The conventional wisdom before the launch said the payload would fly into the Keyhole satellite constellation, and observations from the past few days proved the guess correct.

{...}

Latest TLE from SeeSat-L:

USA 224                                                 239 X 1005 km
1 72001U          11020.92423333  .00010870  00000-0  70000-4 0    03
2 72001  97.9000 135.1542 0547001 257.2536  95.0499 14.81439185    05

 

[Star Voyager]

Spaceflight Now: Delta 4-Heavy's hush-hush payload found and identified

Who didn't know this? It's a LV carrying a NRO payload from Vandenberg AFB going into a polar orbit. What else can we conclude from this perplexing mystery ?