BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow the preparations and launch of the Air Force Titan 2 rocket carrying the Coriolis military spacecraft. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2003
1602 GMT (11:02 a.m. EST)

Finally winning the battle against weather and technical glitches that delayed the mission into the new year, a Titan 2 rocket successfully lofted the U.S. military's Coriolis research satellite into orbit Monday to mark the first space launch of 2003. Read our full launch story.

1550 GMT (10:50 a.m. EST)

It could take engineers a little while to sort through the data from Coriolis before spokespeople can report on the spacecraft's health. Again, all appears to have gone well in today's launch of the Titan 2 rocket.

1532 GMT (10:32 a.m. EST)

The Coriolis spacecraft is about to make a communications pass over the Thule ground station in Greenland. Controllers hope to establish contact with the satellite to confirm its health following today's launch.

We cannot call today's launch a success at this point because the Air Force has not made that declaration. However, there have been no reports of any problems today. The announcement of a good launch is expected after the ground team makes contact with Coriolis.

1518 GMT (10:18 a.m. EST)

T+plus 59 minutes. The launch team has called spacecraft separation. We'll stand by for official confirmation of a successful launch from the Air Force.

1517 GMT (10:17 a.m. EST)

T+plus 58 minutes. The burn is due to be complete.

1515 GMT (10:15 a.m. EST)

T+plus 56 minutes. The orbit raising maneuver should be underway at this time. However, data to confirm the burn as well as spacecraft deployment may not be available in real-time, officials say.

1512 GMT (10:12 a.m. EST)

T+plus 53 minutes. The Titan rocket stage is scheduled to be reorienting itself to the proper attitude for the upcoming orbit raising maneuver.

1504 GMT (10:04 a.m. EST)

T+plus 45 minutes. About 10 minutes remain until the attitude control system of the Titan 2 rocket's second stage is fired for 110 seconds to raise the low point of the orbit to a safe altitude. This initial orbit was targeted to have an apogee of 445 nautical miles and perigee of 118 nautical miles. The orbit raising maneuver is designed to increase perigee to 150 miles. That will set up for separation of Coriolis just under 14 minutes from now.

1459 GMT (9:59 a.m. EST)

T+plus 40 minutes. At this point, the vehicle should be passing back over water as it begins the trek north for the southeastern coast of Africa.

1449 GMT (9:49 a.m. EST)

T+plus 30 minutes. The rocket and attached payload should be cruising high above Antarctica. The vehicle is out of range from ground tracking sites, so engineers at Vandenberg do not have any live telemetry data during this coast period.

1438 GMT (9:38 a.m. EST)

T+plus 19 minutes. The Titan 2's second stage -- with Coriolis aboard -- is headed on a south-bound track above the Pacific Ocean. The duo will fly over Antarctica shortly before beginning a northward swing across Africa where the orbit raising maneuver and spacecraft deployment will occur to complete the launch.

1428 GMT (9:28 a.m. EST)

T+plus 9 minutes. Lockheed Martin confirms the initial portions of this launch have been successful.

1424 GMT (9:24 a.m. EST)

T+plus 5 minutes, 40 seconds. The Titan 2 rocket's second stage has shut down. The stage and attached Coriolis spacecraft will now coast for about 50 minutes before the Titan 2's attitude control system thrusters fire to raise the orbit. Deployment of Coriolis to complete the launch is expected at about T+plus 59 minutes.

1423 GMT (9:23 a.m. EST)

T+plus 4 minutes, 30 seconds. Less than one minute remaining in the second stage burn. No problems have been reported thus far in the flight.

1422 GMT (9:22 a.m. EST)

T+plus 3 minutes, 44 seconds. The payload fairing enclosing the Coriolis spacecraft atop the Titan 2 rocket has been jettisoned. The second stage continues to fire.

1421 GMT (9:21 a.m. EST)

T+plus 2 minutes, 40 seconds. The first stage of the Titan 2 shut down and the spent stage has separated. The rocket's second stage engine has now ignited to continue the trek to space for Coriolis.

1420 GMT (9:20 a.m. EST)

T+plus 90 seconds. One minute left in the first stage burn. No problems reported in the flight of Titan 2.

1420 GMT (9:20 a.m. EST)

T+plus 65 seconds. Approaching maximum aerodyanmic pressure as the Titan 2 vehicle climbs through the atmosphere.

1419 GMT (9:19 a.m. EST)

T+plus 40 seconds. The Titan 2 rocket has rolled to the proper southerly heading to place Coriolis into orbit around Earth's poles.

1419 GMT (9:19 a.m. EST)

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Titan 2 rocket with the Coriolis spacecraft to measure ocean winds of Earth while tracking geomagnetic storms from the Sun. And the vehicle has cleared the tower!

1418 GMT (9:18 a.m. EST)

T-minus 30 seconds. The rocket's first and second stage pre-valves will open at this time. The vehicle's destruct system will be armed at T-minus 9 seconds. Titan 2 goes inertial at T-minus 5 seconds.

1418 GMT (9:18 a.m. EST)

T-minus 57 seconds. Commit sequence start.

The "Fire Engine" command to ignite the liquid-fueled first stage engine will occur as the countdown reaches zero. Once the engine thrust reaches about 77 percent, the explosives bolts holding the rocket to the four columns of the launch mount are detonated and the Titan 2 lifts off. The whole process takes less than four seconds.

1417 GMT (9:17 a.m. EST)

T-minus 90 seconds. The Western Range has reported its final "go" for launch.

1417 GMT (9:17 a.m. EST)

T-minus 2 minutes and counting. The rocket's flight termination system has been checked. No problems reported. The system would be used to destroy the vehicle if a problem occurred during the launch today.

1416 GMT (9:16 a.m. EST)

T-minus 3 minutes and counting. Launch will be occurring before sunrise along the Central Coast of California.

1415 GMT (9:15 a.m. EST)

T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The Air Force Launch Controller has performed the final "clear-to-launch" poll and "go" was the word given all around.

1414 GMT (9:14 a.m. EST)

T-minus 5 minutes. All systems remain "go" for launch of the Titan 2 rocket -- a former Cold War ICBM missile built in the 1960s and stationed in an Arizona silo from 1967 to 1982 -- and the Coriolis research satellite.

1412 GMT (9:12 a.m. EST)

T-minus 7 minutes and counting. The payload support systems and the Coriolis spacecraft are declared ready for launch.

1411 GMT (9:11 a.m. EST)

T-minus 8 minutes and counting. The final booster readiness check of the Titan 2 rocket has been completed with no problems identified.

1410 GMT (9:10 a.m. EST)

T-minus 9 minutes. Attitude control system pressures are being verified.

1409 GMT (9:09 a.m. EST)

T-minus 10 minutes. Today's flight will mark the first space launch of 2003 from anywhere on the globe.

1407 GMT (9:07 a.m. EST)

T-minus 12 minutes and counting. Final confirmation has been given from Lockheed Martin engineers in Denver that upper level winds are acceptable for the Titan 2 to launch through today. The launch is set to go at 1419 GMT.

1404 GMT (9:04 a.m. EST)

T-minus 15 minutes and counting. The final phase of today's countdown, known as Terminal Count, has started for launch of a U.S. Air Force Titan 2 rocket and the Coriolis satellite.

1357 GMT (8:57 a.m. EST)

T-minus 22 minutes. The Air Force Launch Controller Capt. Dan Wetmore has performed the "clear-to-proceed" poll and the "go" was given to enter Terminal Count at T-minus 15 minutes as planned. Liftoff remains set for 1419 GMT.

1353 GMT (8:53 a.m. EST)

T-minus 26 minutes and counting. The toxics computer models by Range Safety are confirmed acceptable for today's launch window. The models are run to determine where the toxics from the launch will drift based on the day's weather conditions.

1344 GMT (8:44 a.m. EST)

T-minus 35 minutes and counting. The Coriolis craft being launched this morning will serve as the orbiting platform for the Navy's Windsat microwave polarimetric radiometer and the Air Force's Solar Mass Ejection Imager. The Windsat payload aims to gather wind speed and direction measurements at or near the surface of Earth's seas, while the Solar Mass Ejection Imager will provide an early warning of coronal mass ejections from the Sun that impact Earth. To learn more about the vehicle, click here.

1339 GMT (8:39 a.m. EST)

T-minus 40 minutes and counting. Activities are still going smoothly at Vandenberg for today's liftoff. There are no technical problems being reported and weather conditions are favorable.

1334 GMT (8:34 a.m. EST)

T-minus 45 minutes and counting. The rocket flying today is the Titan 2 -- a converted Intercontinental Ballistic Missile built by Lockheed Martin. To learn more about the vehicle, click here.

1325 GMT (8:25 a.m. EST)

The weather officer just confirmed that all conditions are currently within limits for launch.

1319 GMT (8:19 a.m. EST)

T-minus 1 hour. The countdown is progressing quietly as the launch team monitors systems in preparation for the 1419 GMT liftoff of Titan 2. Again, the launch time was pushed back one minute to avoid passing too close to an object already in orbit.

There will be a final weather briefing upcoming in a half-hour. The Terminal Countdown will commence at T-minus 15 minutes.

1305 GMT (8:05 a.m. EST)

T-minus 1 hour, 14 minutes and counting. Officials at Vandenberg say upper level winds are acceptable for launch this morning. Winds aloft forced yesterday's launch opportunity to be scrubbed. There are no reports of any significant problems. So this sixth try to launch the Coriolis spacecraft could be the charm.

1249 GMT (7:49 a.m. EST)

Countdown clocks are now entering the final 90 minutes for today's planned 1419 GMT launch of the Titan 2 rocket and Coriolis spacecraft from the SLC-4W pad on South Vandenberg Air Force Base along California's Central Coast.

The launch team has just been given approval to begin first stage oxizider tank pressurization and the tracking and flight safety checks of the Titan 2 rocket.

The countdown is being controlled by the team located in the Space Launch Complex 4 Launch Operations Building. This blockhouse is located just 1,300 feet from the SLC-4W pad where the Titan 2 stands poised for its blastoff today.

Air Force Launch Controller Capt. Dan Wetmore is overseeing the blockhouse crew, commanding and controlling countdown activities and passing information up the chain of command to the Air Force Launch Director Lt. Col. Dave Thompson who makes the ultimate management decisions. During the final readiness poll in the countdown, the Launch Controller will verify the rocket, satellite payload and facilities are "go" for launch, then gives concurrence to the Launch Director to proceed to liftoff if no problems are reported.

The Launch Director and other senior Air Force officials are stationed in Vandenberg's Building 7000, which is located several miles away. The final launch decision authority rests with the Spacelift Commander of the Air Force's 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg.

1216 GMT (7:16 a.m. EST)

T-minus 2 hours, 3 minutes and counting. The count is running again after a one minute hold to accommodate today's new launch time of 1419 GMT (9:19 a.m. EST; 6:19 a.m. PST). The one-minute delay in liftoff is necessary since orbital tracking data shows a potential collision with an object already in space if launch were to occur at 1418 GMT as originally planned. Today's available launch window extends to 1433 GMT.

1215 GMT (7:15 a.m. EST)

T-minus 2 hours, 3 minutes and holding. The countdown clock has been paused for one minute in order to synch up with today's new target launch time of 1419 GMT (9:19 a.m. EST; 6:19 a.m. PST).

1209 GMT (7:09 a.m. EST)

NEW LAUNCH TIME! Liftoff today had been planned for 1418 GMT at the opening of the 15-minute launch window. However, a collision avoidance period, or COLA, will prohibit launch at that moment. So officials have reset the target launch time to 1419 GMT. The countdown will be stopped for one minute at 1215 GMT.

1138 GMT (6:38 a.m. EST)

T-minus 2 hours, 40 minutes and counting. So with the winds cooperating for mobile service tower retraction this morning, the two weather-related hurdles remaining for the launch team will be having acceptable winds at the pad for liftoff and favorable conditions at high altitudes.

Weather balloons are being sent up periodically to gauge the speed and direction of the winds aloft so engineers can determine if the rocket will be able to withstand the conditions during flight. The upper level winds forced yesterday's launch attempt to be scrubbed.

This is the sixth try to launch the Titan 2 rocket, designated G-4, and the Coriolis spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Coriolis features instruments to measure ocean winds for the Navy and track geomagnetic storms as they travel from the Sun to Earth for the Air Force.

Today's launch window extends from 1418 to 1433 GMT.

1127 GMT (6:27 a.m. EST)

The mobile tower is now in the park position for launch. The tower is slowly moved while it is close to the vehicle, allowing personnel scattered around the structure to ensure there are no obstructions or safely concerns to the rocket. But once away from the Titan 2, the tower is quickly rolled the remaining distance to the parking location.

1121 GMT (6:21 a.m. EST)

T-minus 2 hours, 57 minutes. The mobile service tower is now clear of the rocket as it wheels back to the launch position. Workers will park the tower about 180 feet away from the vehicle and secure it in place as the countdown continues.

1106 GMT (6:06 a.m. EST)

With allowable wind conditions at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-4 West, the "go" has been given to start rolling the 200-foot tall mobile service tower away from the Titan 2 rocket for today's attempt to get the much-delayed mission off the ground. Liftoff remains scheduled for 1418 GMT (9:18 a.m. EST; 6:18 a.m. PST).

1057 GMT (5:57 a.m. EST)

The launch weather officer reports winds at the pad are currently from the southeast at 12 knots. The forecast shows winds could gust as high as 21 knots. By launch time at 1418 GMT, the winds are expected to be easterly at 10 to 15 knots.

1030 GMT (5:30 a.m. EST)

Since the winds at the launch pad are currently a bit strong but expected to ease, crews have been told to press ahead with other securing work at the complex not related to actually rolling back the mobile service tower. This plan will get all of the pre-launch work accomplished this morning while allowing the tower to be retracted later once the winds have diminished.

1024 GMT (5:24 a.m. EST)

T-minus 3 hours, 54 minutes and counting. The standard launch weather update for this point in the countdown has been given. Meteorologists are now saying there is a 40 percent chance of acceptable conditions today, with wind a dual concern for rolling back the mobile service tower and "launch drift".

The forecast for the backup launch opportunity on Tuesday is now calling for only a 30 percent chance of allowable mobile service tower roll winds.

0210 GMT (9:10 p.m. EST Sun.)

Launch Weather Officer Lt. Paul Lucyk has issued his T-minus 12 hour forecast, which calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions. The main concern will be winds too high to safely roll back the mobile service tower from around the rocket.

The percentage does not take into account the upper level winds since that is a vehicle constraint against the rocket's structural capability and controls and not considered a weather issue.

"Vandenberg remains under the influence of high-pressure stretching from the eastern Pacific through the Great Basin. The upper level low dropping through the Great Basin continues to move to the southwest. This low is sliding down the windward side of the Rockies through Utah and into Arizona. Coupled with very high surface pressure in the northern Great Basin, this will tighten the pressure gradient for Vandenberg by 0600 GMT, but early model runs indicate a loosening gradient after 0600 GMT. This is a more optimistic look for tower roll winds but will still cause some concern.

"Expect winds at tower roll from the northeast at 14-18 knots with gusts to 22 knots decreasing to 10-15 knots with gusts to 18 knots through T+90 minutes. Skies will be clear and visibility will continue to be unrestricted. Low temperatures at ground level will be near 48 deg F and 54ft temperatures will be near 55 deg F.

"Peak upper level winds on the 6 Jan, 0000Z balloon were from the north at 100 knots near 40,000 feet. The upper level wind forecast calls for northerly winds at T-0 with maximum near 40,000 ft in the 85-95 knot range."

The launch time conditions on Monday call for clear skies, visibility of 12 to 15 miles, north-to-easterly winds from 020 to 070 degrees at 14 to 18 knots, gusting to 22 knots and a temperature of 52 to 57 degrees F as measured at the 54-foot level.

For Tuesday, there is a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather.

"The upper level low over Arizona continues to move west allowing winds to increase for Monday afternoon and Tuesday. The forecast for tower roll is favorable however; average T-0 winds will shift becoming more southerly in the 20-25 knot range with gusts to 30 knots. Expect mostly clear skies with some high clouds to the east as the Arizona low moves west. Upper level winds will be northeasterly in the low levels and northerly above 25,000 feet. Maximum upper level winds will be in the 60-70 knot range near 30,000 feet."

Read our earlier Mission Status Center coverage.