Rocket Launch 2009

Date: 16 November 2009

Mission: Diamond Ring Flight Test

Launch Vehicle: Diamond Ring

Launch Sites: Dragon X Space Agency Launch Complex - EFTP 0019

Launch Window: 3.45pm ~ 4.00pm (TBD)

Description: Launch Space X's Payload Transportation Rocket (PTR) for its first flight test. Diamond Ring is the PTR rocket that will be used to launch payload in the future by using the UPRS and the PRS systems.

LAUNCH PAD:

The Space X's PTR rocket, Diamond Ring is launch from its own launch pad, Removable Launch Pad (RLP) 1A at Dragon X Space Agency. All rockets launch are controlled by Dragon X Space Agency Launch Operation Center (LOC).

LAUNCH:

When Diamond Ring is launch from its RLP 1A, the Fraction One Booster (FOB) is used to launch the rocket high. Then after the FOB is cut down, the Payload Protection Probe (PPP) will separated the FOB and payload. If the rocket is using the Unprobe Rocket System (UPRS), the payload will be released in the air after the PPP had separated the FOB. If the rocket is using the Probe Rocket System (PRS), the PPP will touchdown onto the ground safely by using its parachute after separated the FOB. Then, the payload will be released after a few minutes after touchdown.

Longest Solar Eclipse Of The 21st Century

One one - thousand, 2 one - thousand, 3 one - thousand, 4 one - thousand...

Continue counting and don't stop until you reach 399 one - thousand.

Did that feel like a long time? Six minutes and 39 seconds to be exact. That's the duration of this week's total solar eclipse -- the longest of the 21st century.

The event begins at the crack of dawn on Wednesday, 22 July 2009, in the Gulf of Khambhat just east of India.Morning fishermen will experience a sunrise like nothing they've ever seen before. Rising out of the waves in place of the usual sun will be an inky-black hole surrounded by pale streamers splayed across the sky. Sea birds will stop squawking, unsure if the day is beginning or not, as a strange shadow pushes back the dawn and stirs up a breeze of unaccustomed chill.

Most solar eclipses produce this sort of surreal experience for a few minutes at most. The eclipse of July 22, 2009, however, will last as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds in some places, not far short of the 7 and a half minute theoretical maximum. It won't be surpassed in duration until the eclipse of June 13, 2132.
From the Gulf of Khambhat, the Moon's shadow will race east across India, China, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.

The path of totality cuts across many large cities. The shadow will linger over Shanghai, the largest city in China, for six full minutes, giving 20 million residents a lengthy and stunning view of the sun's ghostly corona. Other large cities in the path of totality include Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hefei, and Hangzhou. The population of each numbers in the millions, making this possibly the best-observed solar eclipse in human history.

The eclipse is extra-long because of a lucky coincidence, made possible by the elliptical shape of planetary orbits. On July 22nd, Earth happens to be near its farthest point from the sun. A small sun means the Moon can cover it longer. At the same time, the Moon will be near its closest point to Earth. A large Moon covers the sun longer, lengthening the eclipse even more.

The leisurely pace of the eclipse could have a transformative effect on witnesses. Total eclipses have been known to turn ordinary folk into life-long "eclipse-chasers" willing to spend thousands of dollars and travel tens of thousands of miles to feel the Moon's cool shadow and behold the sun's pale atmosphere just one more time. A few extra minutes of wonder will intensify this effect to an unknown degree.

Live webcasts of the eclipse--not the next best thing to being there, but the only substitute available to many readers--may be found at the website of the San Francisco Exploratorium. Broadcasts commence at 9 p.m. EDT on July 21st (0100 UT on July 22nd).

Let the counting begin.

Observing Lunar Eclipse In 2009

Roughly two or three times a year, the Full Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth, and we have a lunar eclipse. The eclipses last for a few hours, not the whole night; and of course they can only be seen when the Moon is up, which is always at night during a Full Moon. Whether or not you can see a particular eclipse depends on whether or not it's nighttime in your part of the world when the eclipse occurs.

From 2004 through 2019, there will be 32 visible lunar eclipses. Fifteen of them will be total - the Moon will pass completely into the "umbra" of the Earth's shadow, the part where the Sun is totally blocked off by the Earth. The other eclipses can be classified as umbral, where at least part of the Moon passes into the umbra; and penumbral, where at least part of the Moon have some of the Sun's light blocked off by the Earth, but no part is in complete shadow. A person standing on the Moon during a penumbral eclipse would see the Earth block off part of the Sun, but not all of it.

THE START OF AN ECLIPSE:

The first thing to look for as the eclipse begins is a subtle darkening, a gradual dimming, at the eastern edge of the Moon, somewhere near Oceanus Procellarum. The eye won't see early parts of the eclipse, when the Moon first passes into the penumbra. It generally take about half an hour before the eastern edge of the Moon has become dark enough for you to notice. A rule of thumb is that the Moon moves at the rate of about its own diameter per hour. Thus, by the time you notice the darkening near the eastern limb,it's actually about half into the shadow and the center of Moon is just beginning to enter a partial eclipse. For this reason, eclipse that are less than 50% penumbral are not listed in our table; they simply are not worth losing much sleep over.

If the eclipse is an umbral one, then a least part of the Moon will see the Sun completely blocked by the Earth. The boundary between the umbra and penumbra, through not razor sharp, is easy to detect.

Local Date: 31 December 2009 ~ 01 January 2010

Type: 8.0% Umbral

Best Visible From: Europe, Africa, Asia


NOTICE:

For each Lunar Eclipse we list the general area on the Earth where the eclipse is best visible, and what type of Lunar Eclipse it will be. For example, on the night of 04 July 2001 ~ 05 July 2001 in Hawaii (which is 05 July 2001 ~ 06 July 2001 in Japan and Australia) 40% of the Moon passes into the Earth's deep shadow; this eclipse occurs when it is nighttime in Hawaii, Japan and China but is not visible from Europe.

"Pacific" includes Australia and New Zealand; "Americas" include both North and South America. Continents are listed west to east: the residents of the first continent listed can see the eclipse in the evening, while the eclipse will occur closer to sunrise for those in the last continent listed.