We watched the launch from about 3 km away. Activity around the rocket, and vapor from the liquid-oxygen tanks, was easily visible. The burn began on schedule to the second. Flames erupted from the base of the rocket, then a large cloud of exhaust formed. The rocket lifted off quickly and sped up into the sky. I wasn't able to resist shouting "It's a bird!", which (my father told me 45 years ago) is what rocket engineers say when their creations leave the Earth. 7 seconds after ignition, we heard an earth-shaking rumble, punctuated by sharp cracks, as sound from the site finally reached us. The rocket tilted quickly, shed its first stage and proceeded to orbit.
The rocket is the new Zenith-2. This was characterized as an "eco-rocket" -- its fuel is kerosene and oxygen, much less toxic than the hydrazine used by the earlier Proton and Soyuz rockets. It has a slimmer profile, without the flaring strap-on boosters that made those look so Russian.
Russia assembles its rockets in a horizontal position, and carries them to the pad by rail, on cars equipped with special hydraulic cradles. At the pad, the cradle rotates and lifts the rocket into a vertical position, and holds it there during fueling. During the countdown the cradle drops back to the car, and the rocket supports itself: this seems precarious, but the forces are small compared with the G-forces during acceleration. Piloted by a very brave crew, the train pulls away from the rocket 4 min before liftoff.
The orbit was modified from a circular orbit a few hundred km above the earth, to an ellipse reaching nearly to the Moon, by the Frigat booster. This took place in the southern hemisphere, out of contact with Russian tracking stations; it must have been somewhat nerve-wracking for the controllers. In the event the burn worked perfectly, and only a couple of hours after the launch the spacecraft was on its final orbit; and we were eating lunch at the "Hunter's Cottage" in Baikonur.
Launching a space mission must be somewhat like raising a child. You work for 25 years, providing the best preparation you can imagine and afford; and then you launch this precious creation into a region of unknown dangers where you have little control. Differences include the fact that work on a spacecraft actually involves 8 hours of work a day, for which you are paid; and children can be called back for modification.
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