Nimiq 5 Blog
+ End of Another Successful Mission
After the very smooth and successful launch of Nimiq 5
yesterday, the remaining members of the mission team
celebrated with an excellent banquet. The kitchen staff have
outdone themselves again. The mission team will use the rest
of the weekend to pack-up, with the backhaul Antonov on
Saturday and the close out of the offices on Sunday morning.
Monday morning sees everyone to Moscow. We will miss all of
the friends we have a made and renewed over the last six
weeks as we head back to our homes in various parts of the
United States and the world.
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+ Nimiq 5 Mission Success!
We have had a successful mission with the Proton M Breeze M
rocket, carrying the Nimiq 5 satellite built by Space
Systems Loral for Telesat. We have had confirmation that the
satellite separated from the vehicle on schedule at 12:34 AM
EDT, or 04:34 GMT, 9 hours and 15 minutes after liftoff.
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+ Nimiq 5 Third and Fourth Burn Completion
We have confirmed that the Breeze M upper stage has successfully completed its 3rd & 4th burns, as well as jettisoning its additional propellant tank. The vehicle is now in a 5-hour coast period, during which we will have nothing to report. The 5th burn is scheduled to start around 12:12 AM EDT, or 04:12 GMT. Separation of the Nimiq 5 spacecraft is scheduled to follow the 5th burn completion by about 15 minutes.
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+ Nimiq 5 Second Burn Completion
As the Breeze M upper stage of our Proton M rocket continues
its climb into space with the Nimiq 5 satellite, we have
received confirmation that the 2nd burn of the upper stage
occurred and shut down as scheduled.
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+ Nimiq 5 First Burn Completion
We have received confirmation of completion of the first
burn. The vehicle is now scheduled to be out of range for
about an hour, after which we will hear confirmation of the
second burn.
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+ Nimiq 5 Stage Separations
We had a successful liftoff about 12 minutes ago of our Proton M Breeze M rocket, which is carrying the Nimiq 5 satellite. The three stages of the Proton vehicle have performed as planned, and it is up to the Breeze M upper stage to complete the mission. The upper stage has begun its first burn, which is scheduled to last around 7 minutes.
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+ Nimiq 5 LiftOff!
We have liftoff! of the Proton M Breeze M rocket and the Nimiq 5 satellite.
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+ Ready to Launch
With less than three days before launch, the launch vehicle has been fully integrated, the Breeze M fuelled, and the integrated launch vehicle rolled out to Pad 39. Monday graced us with beautiful skies for the verticalization of the ILV. The whole team trooped out to witness this amazing feat of engineering, as well as to get a group photo in front of the erected launcher. The management has done their interviews for the launch broadcast, logistics is getting everything organized for the backhaul on Saturday, the countdown rehearsal is underway and the final integrated launch pad tests are taking place. The checklist is being checked and everything is in order. We look forward to the blessing of the rocket and arrival of the VIP group on Thursday, leading up to a launch at 01:19:19 on Friday local Baikonur time.
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+ Goodbyes and a Barbeque
The spacecraft and adapter have been mated to the Breeze M,
the payload fairing has encapsulated the orbital unit
(spacecraft, adapter and upper stage), the logos have been
signed and the resulting ascent unit (AU) has been
transported by train from Hall 101 to Hall 111. As this is
written, the AU is being mated to the remaining three stages
of the launch vehicle. The combined unit (the integrated
launch vehicle or ILV) will go through final electrical
tests and then, at the end of the week, will be transported
to the Breeze M fueling area for fueling this weekend.
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+ Avocados and Fuel Loading
It has been an exciting weekend at the launch base. We were
rewarded with the arrival of the avocados, brought in from
Moscow by a team member a half an hour before we started
serving. As well as recognizing our wonderful support staff,
“Mexican Night” was also a celebration of the birthdays
of three of our Pinkerton staff members and ILS’s own
Mission Manager. The food was wonderful; thank you to
everyone who helped cook!
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