Sea Launch Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 Mission Album

	January 3 - The Odyssey Launch Platform sails toward the launch site on the Equator. The Launch Platform nominally draws 22 feet of draft, but when it gets to the launch site, it ballasts to approximately 90 feet of draft. There is a heel and trim system used to control the levelness of the platform. It does so by pumping mass quantities of water fore and aft and side to side. This system compensates for the mass of the rocket and transporter erector moving to the launch pad, and back into the hangar before launch. At launch, the fully fueled rocket with the spacecraft weighs about one million pounds at liftoff. The platform pitches about a half a degree. The reaction mass of the plume is deflected by a flame bucket directly beneath the launch pad. The bottom of the bucket is about 12 feet above sea level when the platform is ballasted to launch depth.
	When underway, there is the appearance of a large, fast moving river running turbulently between the pontoons.
	The team on the Sea Launch Commander gets down to work in preparation for launch. Ruth Miranda, project engineer, at her desk.
	Scott Dieter, director of advanced systems, is surrounded by paperwork in his office.
	Bob Roggendorf, ground support equipment technician, and Larry Trotter, photo optics specialist, take a break from repairing a video camera. Return to Current Launch Page