Spaceflight Now: Mission Report


BY JUSTIN RAY

September 21, 2000 -- Follow the countdown and launch of a U.S. Air Force Titan 2 rocket with the NOAA-L weather satellite. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.

Take a pad tour
Spaceflight Now visited the Titan 2 rocket's launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in August. We now present a virtual tour! START


Video vault
The Titan 2 rocket launches with the NOAA-L global weather satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as seen on NASA TV.
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An alternate launch pad camera shows the Titan 2 lifting off from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-4 West. .
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A video camera mounted to the fixed umbilical tower of the launch pad captures a spectacular view of the Titan 2 rocket roaring to life and lifting off.
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The first stage of the Titan 2 rocket shuts down and separates as the second stage ignites as seen by an infrared tracking camera.
  PLAY (238k, 27sec QuickTime file)
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Flight data file
Vehicle: Titan 2
Payload: NOAA-L
Launch date: Sept. 21, 2000
Launch window: 1022-1032 GMT (6:22-6:32 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

Snapshot
Patch
The Air Force mission patch. Photo: 2SLS

Pre-launch briefing
Launch timeline - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch.

Titan 2 - Description of the former ICBM missile converted to a space launch vehicle.

NOAA-L - A look at the NOAA-L weather satellite and its purpose in environmental research.