Suborbital spaceflight in 2008

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This article or section documents a current or recent spaceflight. Details may change as the mission progresses.

A number of Suborbital spaceflights are being conducted during 2008. These consist mostly of sounding rocket missions and missile tests, however also encompass other flights, including an ASAT firing. As of 16 May, 24 publicly announced sub-orbital spaceflights have been conducted, the first of which occurred on 11 January.

Contents 1 January 1.1 LIDOS 1.2 Jericho-3 test launch 1.3 SCIFER-2 1.4 Shaheen-1 test launch 1.5 HotPay-2 1.6 Standard Missile test 2 February 2.1 Kavoshgar-1 2.2 S-310 Ionosphere research mission 2.3 TEXUS-44 2.4 USA-193 intercept 2.5 TEXUS-45 2.6 K-15 Test 3 March 3.1 Agni-1 missile test 3.2 Mini-DUSTY 14 4 April 4.1 GT-196GM 4.2 SEE 4.3 Blue Sparrow test 4.4 Shaheen-II tests 5 May 5.1 Black Brant X-ray astronomy mission 5.2 First Mesquito launch 5.3 Agni-III test launch 5.4 Second Mesquito launch 5.5 MASER-11 5.6 GT-197GM 5.7 Trident test launches 6 See also 7 References

[edit] January

[edit] LIDOS

LIDOS was an American ultraviolet astronomy mission, conducted using a Canadian Black Brant IX, serial number 36.243, launched from LC-36 at the White Sands Missile Range. The launch occurred at 05:32 GMT on 11 January, making it the first recorded spaceflight launch of 2008. The mission was conducted by NASA for Johns Hopkins University, and reached an apogee of 315 kilometres. It was declared a success.^[1]

[edit] Jericho-3 test launch

On 17 January, the Israeli Air Force was reported to have successfully launched the first Jericho-3 missile from Palmachim, on a test flight.^[2]

[edit] SCIFER-2

SCIFER-2 was an American ionospheric and auroral research mission, launched from the Andøya Rocket Range in Norway. It was conducted by NASA using Black Brant XII 40.021. Research was conducted by Cornell University, and the Lynch Rocket Laboratory at Dartmouth College. Launch was delayed several times by high winds and poor scientific conditions, and finally occurred on 18 January at 07:30 GMT. The rocket reached an apogee of 1,460 kilometres during a successful flight.^[3]

[edit] Shaheen-1 test launch

On 25 January, a Shaheen-1 missile was test fired from Sonmiani by the Army of Pakistan. The test was declared a success.^[4]

[edit] HotPay-2

The British HotPay-2 ionospheric and auroral research mission was launched from Andøya at 19:14:00 GMT on 31 January. The mission was conducted by Andøya Rocket Range (ARR) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), on behalf of the University of Leeds. The successful research flight was conducted using a VS-30/Orion sounding rocket, which reached an apogee of 380.6 kilometres.^[5]

[edit] Standard Missile test

On 28 January, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and the United States Navy announced that a test launch of a Standard Missile 3, on an undisclosed date in the previous month had been conducted successfully. The launch occurred from the USS Desert Ship, a US Navy base at the White Sands Missile Range.^[6]

[edit] February

[edit] Kavoshgar-1

On 4 February, Iran conducted its second sounding rocket launch, and the maiden flight of the Kavoshgar-1 rocket, a derivative of the Shahab-3 missile. The launch occurred from a new space centre in Semnan Province. It is believed that the launch was a test of the Kavoshgar, which was being developed as a carrier rocket.

[edit] S-310 Ionosphere research mission

On 6 February at 09:14:40 GMT, JAXA launched an S-310 rocket from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Japan. The rocket was used to conduct research into the ionosphere.

[edit] TEXUS-44

TEXUS-44 was the 44^th flight of the European TEXUS microgravity research programme. It was launched from Esrange in Sweden at 11:30 GMT 7 February. A Brazillian VSB-30 sounding rocket was used, and the launch was conducted by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Swedish Space Corporation.

[edit] USA-193 intercept

Main article: USA 193

At 03:26 GMT on 21 February, a modified Standard Missile 3 was launched from the USS Lake Erie, stationed in the Pacific Ocean. The missile was fired at USA-193, a reconnaissance satellite which failed shortly after launch in December 2006. Acting as an anti-satellite weapon, the SM-3 was successful in destroying the satellite, by rupturing its hydrazine tank. Officially, the United States Government stated that they destroyed the satellite to prevent it falling over a populated area, however it was claimed that there were political motivations, such as proving that the United States had the capability to destroy a satellite in low Earth orbit, or to prevent the satellite from falling into the wrong hands, should it come down in a country not allied to the United States.

[edit] TEXUS-45

TEXUS-45, the 45^th TEXUS microgravity research mission, was launched from Esrange in Sweden at 06:15 GMT on 21 February. A Brazillian VSB-30 rocket was used for the mission, which was conducted by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Swedish Space Corporation on behalf of the European Space Agency

[edit] K-15 Test

On 26 February, at 07:28 GMT, India test-fired a K-15 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the INS Kalinga, in the first K-15 test launch to be conducted underwater.

[edit] March

[edit] Agni-1 missile test

At 04:45 GMT on 23 March, the Indian Navy test fired an Agni-1 missile from Launch Complex 4 at Wheeler Island.

[edit] Mini-DUSTY 14

Mini-DUSTY 14 was a microgravity research mission launched on 28 March using an Indian RH-200 sounding rocket. The launch and mission were conducted by Andøya Rocket Range, and the launch occurred from their facilities in Norway.

[edit] April

[edit] GT-196GM

Glory Trip 196GM (GT-196GM) was the first test of a Minuteman III missile to be conducted for nearly a year, due to a series of delays. The launch, from LF-09 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base occurred at 08:01 GMT on 2 April. It was conducted by the United States Air Force.

[edit] SEE

SEE was an Ultraviolet Astronomy mission launched from LC-36 at the White Sands Missile Range, using a Black Brant IX rocket. The serial number of the rocket was 36.240. Launch occurred at 16:58 GMT on 14 April. The launch was conducted by NASA for the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of the University of Colorado.

[edit] Blue Sparrow test

On 15 April, an Israeli Blue Sparrow missile was test launched. The missile was fired from an F-15 aircraft, and flew a trajectory designed to imitate that flown by Iranian Shahab missiles. Later launches will be used to test Arrow missiles, designed to shoot down enemy missiles.

[edit] Shaheen-II tests

On 19 and 21 April, two Pakistani Shaheen-II missiles were launched from an undisclosed launch site, believed to be Sonmiani.

[edit] May

[edit] Black Brant X-ray astronomy mission

At 05:30 GMT on 1 May a Black Brant IX, serial number 36.223 was launched by NASA, from LC-36 at the White Sands Missile Range, on an x-ray astronomy mission for the University of Wisconsin.

[edit] First Mesquito launch

On 6 May, between 18:00 and 20:00 GMT, the maiden flight of the Mesquito rocket, serial number 12.065, was conducted by NASA from LC-2 at the Wallops Flight Facility. The flight was reported to be successful.

[edit] Agni-III test launch

An Indian Agni-III missile was launched on a test mission from LC-4 at Wheeler Island, at 04:26 on 7 May. The test was reported to be successful.

[edit] Second Mesquito launch

About 24 hours after the maiden flight, the second Mesquito, 12.066, was launched from the same launch pad at the Wallops Flight Facility. The launch occurred early in the launch window, and was reported to have failed, due to a loss of control shortly after burnout of the solid rocket motor, and the loss of stabilisation fins during descent.

[edit] MASER-11

MASER-11 was an European sounding rocket mission, launched by a VSB-30 rocket at 04:00 GMT on 15 May 2008. The launch occurred from Esrange in Sweden, was conducted by the Swedish Space Corporation, and reached an apogee of 252 kilometres.^[7]

[edit] GT-197GM

Glory Trip 197GM (GT-197GM) was the second test of a Minuteman III missile to be conducted in 2008. The launch, from LF-10 at Vandenberg AFB occurred at 10:04 GMT on 22 May. It was conducted by the US Air Force. The flight was a long range test, aimed at Guam rather than the usual target, Kwajalein Atoll. Instrumentation was carried for the US National Nuclear Security Administration. The test was reported to have been successful.

[edit] Trident test launches

On 21 May, Lockheed Martin announced that two Trident II missiles had been tested successfully earlier in the month. The launches were claimed to have broken a record for consecutive successful launches, with 122 such launches since 1989. Trident launches are typically conducted in pairs on the same day. The missiles were fired from the submarine USS Nebraska, submerged in the Pacific Ocean.

[edit] See also

• 2008 in spaceflight

[edit] References