[X] My Assistant

[hal_9000]

Atlas 5/ASTRA 1KR Launch

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6201184353787535479

[BPCooper]

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And here are the photos I got for SFN:

http://www.launchphotography.com/ASTRA_1KR.html

It was a nice launch, but certainly unique with that one SRB!

[Bob Shaw]

Ben:

Bloody 'ell! Unique isn't the word for it - it looks about as sensible as a three-legged dog trying to pee against a lamp-post! And it worked? Wow!

Seriously, imagine the mechanical stresses, or the way the main engine myst have had to gimball from even before liftoff, or the trouble they'd have had if it hadn't, or... ...I'm amazed they got insurance (or maybe they just charged the ASTRA folk a bit less for the fun of (potentially) launching the record-breaking pinwheel!).

Bob Shaw

[ugordan]

Seriously, imagine the mechanical stresses, or the way the main engine myst have had to gimball from even before liftoff, or the trouble they'd have had if it hadn't

Actually, this wasn't all that remarkable from the steering point of view. The SRB boosters are set up so their thrust passes through the center of mass of the entire vehicle. This way, the SRB booster imparts no rolling/tumbling torques, only a slight sideways movement of the rocket. In terms of RD-180 gimbals, they probably had much more control authority here than for example the New Horizons 5 SRB configuration since here the RD-180 had a greater fraction of the total thrust.

Ben, as usual, your photos are outstanding, leaving me only to wish you provided some higher resolution views to marvel at!

[BPCooper]

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Thanks!

They said the RD-180 only had to steer half a degree off to account for the SRB (out of eight degrees it could swivel maximum). Pretty good, as always for Atlas.