STS-130 Endeavor Launch Support

From our good friends at Hearsat and Nils in Germany:

"for this Sunday the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-130 is scheduled. Over the last two days there's been quite some TALCOM traffic heard from the Support Nets.

The two C-130 (Herky 658 and Herky 657) departed from Ramstein AFB today and both landed saftely in Zaragoza, Spain this afternoon. Evenutally one of them will be moved to either Istress or Moron AFB, 2nd TAL sits tomorrow.

Yesterday good comms between the usual round of units, including Angel 1/2,
Herky 658/657, Cape and Wolfden (Ramstein)."

Nils did not pass along a freq, but they normaly hand out on a 261.575 MHz downlink.

Space Shuttle Launch Attempt Logs

Here is what was monitored on Monday during the last launch attempt of STS-127. They are gassing up again this morning and another launch attempt will occur this evening with a liftoff set for 6:03:10 p.p. EDT.

Frequencies monitored:
46.6500 CCAFS (JTF AIR, JOLLY)
118.6250 / 239.0500 CCAFS - Skid Strip Tower
121.5000 / 243.0000 Guard (CAPE TOWER with CG 2128 / airspace violation calls)
121.7500 KSC - NASA Ground
123.1000 Coast Guard Air (RELAY 1 - CLEARANCE 1 air-air)
126.6500 KSC - Weather
128.5500 / 284.0000 KSC - NASA Tower
133.4750 Miami Center - Melbourne (passed by CAPE CONTROL as contact for HURRICANE)
133.7500 Patrick AFB - Tower
133.8000 / 264.8000 CCAFS - Cape Control
134.0500 Orlando App (passed by CAPE CONTROL)
138.4500 am / 349.6000 CCAFS - DoD CAPE (JTF AIR; VARIETY)
141.3000 am / 294.6000 CCAFS - VARIETY 1 (VARIETY; CAPE LEADER)
156.8000 Coast Guard Ch-16
157.0500 Coast Guard Ch-21A DOLPHIN air-air
157.0750 Coast Guard Ch-81A Range Control
157.1500 Coast Guard Ch-23A Station Port Canaveral
157.1750 Coast Guard Aux Ch-83 Bairs Cove
165.3125 Coast Guard CG-121 (P25) Station Port Canaveral
235.4000 NASA air-air
255.5000 Patrick AFB 920th RQW RESCUE OPS (JOLLY air-air)
260.9000 HUNTRESS
269.3000 Miami Center - Melbourne
282.8000 CCAFS (JTF AIR)
311.0000 Patrick AFB 920th RQW (KING-JOLLY AR boom)
321.0000 Patrick AFB 920th RQW KING OPS
343.7000 Miami Center - Melbourne
360.1500 Langley AFB 1st FW HARASS air-air
411.4500 KSC - Direct 7

Callsigns:
CAPE CONTROL - CCAFS MRU (ground unit)
CAPE LEADER (ground unit)
CLEARANCE 1 (CG 2128)
COAST GUARD 2128 (HU-25D, CGAS Miami)
COAST GUARD 6565 (MH-65C, CGAS Savannah; is one of the DOLPHIN helos)
DOLPHIN 1-2 (MH-65C)
FORWARD OBSERVER AIR
GASMAN 02 (KC-135R, 106th ARS)
HARASS 33-34 (F-15C, 71st FS)
HARASS 35-36 (F-15C, 71st FS)
HOUSTON VOICE (ground unit)
JTF AIR (ground unit; mentions of Satcom problems; monitoring BFT's, Blue Force Trackers)
JOLLY 1 (HH-60G, tail 233)
JOLLY 2 (HH-60G, tail 358)
JOLLY 3 (HH-60G, tail 231)
JOLLY 4 (HH-60G, tail 232)
KING 1
KING 2
KING 3 (KC-130J, BH 6472)
NASA 912 (T-38N)
NASA 923 (T-38N)
NASA 945 (G-2; weather flight)
NASA 955 (T-38N; weather flight)
PARRISH 1 (ground unit)
RELAY 1 (Cherokee, N615FT)
SEARCH 1 (UH-1H, N416NA)
SEARCH 2 (UH-1H, N419NA)
SEARCH 3 (UH-1H) (passed N418NA yesterday)
TEFLON 08 (KC-135R, 108th ARS)
TEFLON 09 (KC-135T, 171st ARW)
VARIETY 1 (ground unit)
WARSHIP 28 (mentioned by JOLLY 3)
WEATHER COORDINATOR (ground unit)

CAP Points:
APOLLO CAP
ATLAS CAP (AR track)
POLARIS CAP (alternate AR track)

Space Shuttle Milsat Launch Support Net Up

Nils in Germany has reported via the Hearsat newsgroup that the NASA Space Shuttle Launch Support Net is up on Milsat on 261.700 MHz getting ready to support the STS-127 (Endeavor) launch on Saturday. They are using the same frequency that was used during the last mission to service the Hubble telescope.

Herky 251/252 have been heard working Wolf Den (JPRC Ramstein, Germany). JPRC stands for Joint Personnel Recovery Center.

You can read more about this group and their operations in an article that appeared back on May 12 regarding their support of the Atlantis mission to work on Hubble.

See http://www.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123149326

Rescue unit to support space shuttle launch tonight

Aircraft maintainters from the 943rd Maintenance Squadron prepare to load a HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter onto a C-17 Globemaster III March 7 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Two helicopters were loaded onto the C-17 from McChord Air Force Base, Wash, and deployed to Patrick AFB, Fla., to augment the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Twenty reservists from the 943rd Rescue Group are supporting this mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

by Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzcyzny, 943rd Rescue Group Public Affairs

Members of the 943rd Rescue Group here deployed March 7 to Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., to support the upcoming Space Shuttle Discovery launch mission.

The Air Force Reserve rescue group deployed two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, nine maintainers and four pararescuemen to augment its parent unit, the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB for the scheduled March 11 space shuttle launch.

The Space Shuttle Discovery is set for liftoff March 11 at 9:20 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The Discovery crew is set to fly the S6 truss segment and install the final set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The S6 truss will complete the backbone of the station and provide one-fourth of the total power needed to support a crew of six on the International Space Station.

The helicopters were loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster III March 7 at Davis-Monthan AFB and then flown to Patrick AFB. The C-17 was from McChord AFB, Wash. The reservists are scheduled to return to Davis-Monthan AFB April 3.