VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – On the ramp of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a Boeing 737 aircraft waits to accompany Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 aircraft when it takes off with NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and Pegasus XL rocket. The L-1011 will head for the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. The 737 will fly ahead of the L-1011 as a pathfinder. Launch vehicle engineers are aboard in the unlikely event their expertise is needed. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch Oct. 19. The Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-08pd3078

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the early morning hours on NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft taxis onto the runway. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson are practicing landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 12:29 p.m. Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-06pd2031

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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – On the ramp of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a Boeing 737 aircraft waits to accompany Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 aircraft when it takes off with NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and Pegasus XL rocket. The L-1011 will head for the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. The 737 will fly ahead of the L-1011 as a pathfinder. Launch vehicle engineers are aboard in the unlikely event their expertise is needed. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch Oct. 19. The Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-08pd3078

description

Summary

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – On the ramp of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a Boeing 737 aircraft waits to accompany Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 aircraft when it takes off with NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and Pegasus XL rocket. The L-1011 will head for the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. The 737 will fly ahead of the L-1011 as a pathfinder. Launch vehicle engineers are aboard in the unlikely event their expertise is needed. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch Oct. 19. The Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

date_range

Date

08/10/2008

place

Location

34.75086, -120.52053

create

Source

NASA

link

Link

https://images.nasa.gov/

Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

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