NROL-71 - Delta IV-H [D-382] - Vandenberg SLC-6 - 19.01.2019, 19:10 UTC

[zandr]

http://militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=499935

На орбиту Земли выведен американский разведывательный спутник
 Вашингтон. 19 января. ИНТЕРФАКС - Тяжелая ракета-носитель Delta IV Heavy в субботу вывела на орбиту спутник в интересах Национального управления военно-космической разведки США, сообщила компания United Launch Alliance.
 Старт ракеты, который первоначально должен был состояться 8 декабря прошлого года и неоднократно переносился из-за технических проблем, был осуществлен компанией с пускового комплекса 6 на авиабазе ВВС США Ванденберг в штате Калифорния.
 United Launch Alliance является совместным предприятием корпораций "Боинг" и "Локхид Мартин", которое осуществляет запуски в интересах американского разведывательного сообщества.
 Сведения о секретном спутнике официально не раскрываются. Однако, по имеющимся данным, на эллиптическую полярную орбиту будет выведен очередной разведывательный спутник KH-11 Key Hole ("Замочная скважина" ) с оптико-электронной аппаратурой. Основная задача спутника заключается в передаче разведывательному сообществу США в реальном режиме времени изображений с ультравысоким разрешением.
 Теоретическая разрешающая способность аппаратуры спутника KH-11 составляет приблизительно 15 см. Его главное зеркало имеет диаметр 2,4 метра - такое же, как на американском космическом телескопе "Хаббл", который в свое время был создан компанией "Локхид Мартин" на основе разведывательного спутника KH-11. По размерам он также напоминает "Хаббл" и имеет длину 19,5 метров, диаметр - около 3 метров.
 На данный момент в составе американской орбитальной группировки уже имеются четыре спутника типа KH-11. По имеющимся данным, стоимость одного спутника составляет $2 млрд.

[tnt22]

ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 12:47 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Mission success! ULA's #DeltaIVHeavy launches the #NROL71 mission for the @NatReconOfc http://bit.ly/div_nrol71 

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 12:45 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

NROL-71 successful S/C Sep!

ARTICLE:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/ula-delta-iv-heavy-set-to-launch-nrol-71/ ...
- by William Graham.

@thejackbeyer

[tnt22]

https://www.ulalaunch.com/about/news-detail/2019/01/19/united-launch-alliance-successfully-launches-nrol-71-in-support-of-national-security

United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches NROL-71 in Support of National Security

Delta IV NROL-71 Mission Information Page
Photos: Delta IV NROL-71

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., (Jan. 19, 2019) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a critical payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) denoted NROL-71 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-6 on Jan. 19 at 11:10 a.m. PST. The mission is in support of our country's national defense.
 
"Congratulations to our team and mission partners for successfully delivering this critical asset to support national security missions," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs, "thank you to the entire team for their perseverance, ongoing dedication and focus on 100% mission success."
 
The Delta IV Heavy is the nation's proven heavy lift launch vehicle, delivering high-priority missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, U.S. Air Force and NASA. With its advanced upper stage, the Delta IV Heavy can take more than 14,000 pounds directly to geosynchronous orbit, as well as a wide variety of complex interplanetary trajectories.
 
The mission launched aboard a Delta IV Heavy, comprised of three common booster cores each powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine producing a combined total of more than 2.1 million pounds of thrust. The second stage was powered by an AR RL10B-2 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine.
 
NROL-71 is ULA's first launch in 2019 and 132nd successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006. 
 
ULA's next launch is the WGS-10 mission for the U.S. Air Force on a Delta IV rocket. The launch is scheduled for March 13, 2019 from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

With more than a century of combined heritage, ULA is the world's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 130 satellites to orbit that provide Earth observation capabilities, enable global communications, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, and support life-saving technology.

[tnt22]

NRO‏Подлинная учетная запись @NatReconOfc 13:15 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Launch Success: An NRO payload was successfully launched aboard a @ulalaunch #DeltaIVHeavy rocket from Space Launch Complex-6, Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California, at 11:10 a.m. PST, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. (ULA photo)




13:15 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

"We are very happy to have achieved another successful launch in support of our country's national security mission," said Colonel Matthew Skeen, USAF, Director, NRO Office of Space Launch.


13:15 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

"This launch, like the ones that have come before, represents years of hard work and dedication from our government and industry team members and serves as a true testament to the meaning of teamwork," Skeen said.


13:15 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

We thank each and every one of our team members for their commitment to helping place this critical space asset on orbit. @ulalaunch @30thSpaceWing @AFSpace @AF_SMC

[tnt22]

Ещё немного видео

ULA - Delta Heavy - NROL- 71 - Launched from SLC-6 at 11:10am.

Jay DeShetler

Опубликовано: 19 янв. 2019 г.

(0:15)

[Старый]

Орбита пока не известна?

[tnt22]

https://tass.ru/kosmos/6019094

20 ЯНВ, 01:00
Секретный спутник США успешно выведен в космос

Старт тяжелой ракеты-носителя Delta IV Heavy с аппаратом состоялся на базе ВВС США Ванденберг в 22:10 мск

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 20 января. /ТАСС/. Секретный спутник Национального управления военно-космической разведки (НУВКР) США успешно выведен в космос. Об этом сообщила в субботу на своем сайте компания United Launch Alliance (ULA).

"Поздравляем нашу команду и наших партнеров с успешной доставкой актива, имеющего критически важное значение для дальнейших миссий по обеспечению национальной безопасности", - отметил в распространенном заявлении вице-президент программы государственных и коммерческих полетов ULA Гэри Вентц.

Старт тяжелой ракеты-носителя Delta IV Heavy с аппаратом состоялся на базе ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния) в 22:10 мск. Как уточнила ULA, миссия стала 132-м успешным запуском с момента учреждения компании в декабре 2006 года, 38-м запуском Delta IV с 2002 года и 11-м запуском тяжелой модификации этой ракеты.

Следующий запуск носителя Delta IV запланирован на 13 марта и состоится с космодрома на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида).

[tnt22]

Старый пишет:
Орбита пока не известна?

По сабжу прогноз TLE на SatObs от Ted Molczan - http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Jan-2019/0097.html

Код Выделить Развернуть

apogee                                                   259 X 325 km
1 71907U          19019.80312496  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    00
2 71907  74.5000 117.3421 0049782 323.0000 181.3000 15.92677149    03
perigee                                                  259 X 325 km
1 71908U          19019.80312495  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    00
2 71908  74.5000 117.3671 0049782 110.0000  33.8000 15.92677149    06
apogee                                                   259 X 446 km
1 71909U          19019.80312494  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    00
2 71909  74.0000 118.1121 0138590 305.0000 199.5000 15.71434437    01
perigee                                                  259 X 446 km
1 71910U          19019.80312493  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    01
2 71910  74.0000 118.1471 0138590 115.0000  28.2000 15.71434437    08
apogee                                                   259 X 564 km
1 71911U          19019.80312492  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    01
2 71911  73.5000 118.9121 0224609 305.0000 199.6000 15.50949585    06
perigee                                                  259 X 564 km
1 71912U          19019.80312491  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    01
2 71912  73.5000 118.9321 0224609 125.0000  18.0000 15.50949585    03

Dr Marco Langbroek‏ @Marco_Langbroek 4 ч. назад

NROL-71 is on its way, placing a classified spy satellite into a 74-degree inclind Low Earth Orbit.

The Northern hemisphere has no optical visibility for a while to come, so for the moment it is down to our radio trackers.

[tnt22]

Jack Beyer‏ @thejackbeyer 14:53 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

4 out of 5 of my remote cameras worked. Here's some quick field edits! #DeltaIVHeavy #NROL71 @ulalaunch @NatReconOfc @NASASpaceflight






14:54 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Ignition!




14:59 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Go Delta!

[tnt22]

Дождался-таки!

Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 15:10 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

132

[tnt22]

Michael Baylor‏ @nextspaceflight 1 мин. назад

My close-up shot of Delta IV Heavy sending NROL-71 into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. #ULA #DeltaIVHeavy #NROL71

[tnt22]

Scott Tilley‏ @coastal8049 16:02 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Confirmation of #NROL71 payload is alive and operating on SGLS9 consistent with optical/SAR imaging missions.

Cees Bassa‏ @cgbassa 15:51 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

The classified satellite launched on #NROL71 four and a half hours ago passed over Europe just now and is transmitting at 2242.5MHz. This behaviour is very similar to previous electro-optical spy satellites. The Doppler curve is consistent with a 74 deg inclination orbit.

Dr Marco Langbroek‏ @Marco_Langbroek 16:07 - 19 янв. 2019 г.

Radio trackers have picked up the #NROL71 payload already. It indeed is in a 74-degree Low Earth Orbit.

[поц]

Cees Bassa‏ @cgbassa 21 мин.21 минуту назад


Еще




Why #NROL71 uses a 74 degree inclination is unclear. @Marco_Langbroek suggested that it might be related to the 106 degree inclination of the 5th FIA radar (https://bit.ly/2RGtrej ), as 180 deg - 106 deg = 74 deg. However, the precession rates of both orbits are wildly different.

Cees Bassa‏ @cgbassa 5 мин.5 минут назад


Еще




Time will tell if this elliptical orbit will describe future Doppler curves. It may not. Regardless, it's clear that an elliptical orbit is a better description that a circular one. This, combined with the ground locking, leads me to conclude that #NROL71 is an optical spy sat.

[tnt22]

Delta IV Heavy NROL-71 Launch Highlights

United Launch Alliance

Опубликовано: 19 янв. 2019 г.

Lift off of a ULA Delta IV Heavy carrying a critical payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, NROL-71. The Delta IV Heavy lifted off from Space Launch Complex 6 on Jan. 19, 2019 at 11:10 a.m. PST.

(2:00)

[tnt22]

ULA - Delta IV Heavy - NROL-71 - 4K wide angle w/ high fidelity audio, wait for the end!

Jay DeShetler

Опубликовано: 19 янв. 2019 г.

(1:04)

[tnt22]

https://www.vandenberg.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1736580/delta-iv-heavy-nrol-71-successfully-launched/

Delta IV Heavy NROL-71 successfully launched
30th Space Wing Public Affairs / Published January 19, 2019

Спойлер

[свернуть]

Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Space Launch Complex-6 here, Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11:10 am PST. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michael Peterson/Released)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --
Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Space Launch Complex-6 here, Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11:10 am PST.

Col. Bob Reeves, 30th Space Vice Wing commander, was the space launch commander.

"Congratulations to the 30th Space Wing, United Launch Alliance and the National Reconnaissance Office for a successful mission," said Reeves. "The entire team worked diligently to ensure mission assurance, public safety, and mission success on the Western Range."

This mission was launched aboard a Delta IV Heavy configuration Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The EELV program was established by the U.S. Air Force to provide assured access to space for Department of Defense and other government payloads.

[tnt22]

пуска от 30-го КК (VAFB)

Vandenberg successfully launches Delta IV Heavy NROL-71
30th Space Wing Public Affairs
Jan. 19, 2019 | 1:05

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Team Vandenberg supported the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Space Launch Complex-6 here, Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11:10 am PST.

(1:05)

[tnt22]

НОРАД зарегистрировал объект запуска

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/01/19/delta-4-heavy-rocket-launches-u-s-spy-satellite-into-unusual-orbit/

Delta 4-Heavy rocket launches U.S. spy satellite into unusual orbit
January 19, 2019 | Stephen Clark


A Delta 4-Heavy rocket, comprising three hydrogen-fueled first stage boosters connected together, lifted off at 11:10 a.m. PST (2:10 p.m. EST; 1910 GMT) Saturday fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: United Launch Alliance

A top secret surveillance payload owned by the National Reconnaissance Office soared into space Saturday fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on top of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, entering an unusual orbit not previously used by the U.S. government's spy satellite fleet.

The mysterious spacecraft lifted off at 11:10 a.m. PST (2:10 p.m. EST; 1910 GMT) Saturday aboard the Delta 4-Heavy fr om picturesque Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg, a military base around 140 miles (225 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Running more than a month late after a series of scrubbed launch attempts in December, the 233-foot-tall (71-meter) rocket lit its three hydrogen-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne-built RS-68A main engines in a stepwise fashion in the final seconds of Saturday's countdown. After clearing a health and readiness check from the Delta 4's countdown control computer, the engines powered the launcher off the pad at the southern edge of the rugged military base overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The rocket headed south-southeast from the West Coast spaceport over the Pacific, following a trajectory that roughly paralleled the cost of Southern California, according to pre-flight hazard notices warning airplanes and ships to stay away from downrange drop zones for the Delta 4-Heavy's first stage boosters.

The rocket's twin side boosters shut down and jettisoned from the core stage around four minutes into the mission. The center core's RS-68A engine throttled up from a fuel-saving partial thrust mode to full thrust and fired until around T+plus 5 minutes, 36 seconds.

A few seconds later, the first stage core booster separated, giving way to the Delta 4's second stage powered by an RL10 engine, also burning hydrogen fuel and built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. Just after the mission's six-minute mark, the Delta 4's two-piece nose shroud separated in a clamshell-like motion after the rocket reached space, wh ere the payload's protective aerodynamic shield was no longer required.

At that point, ULA ended its live video broadcast of the flight at the request of the NRO, and the rest of the mission occurred under a veil of secrecy.

ULA issued a press release around 90 minutes after liftoff to confirm the successful conclusion of the mission, which was codenamed NROL-71.

Спойлер

"Congratulations to our team and mission partners for successfully delivering this critical asset to support national security missions," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs, in a post-launch press release. "Thank you to the entire team for their perseverance, ongoing dedication and focus on 100 percent mission success."

This was the first of up to seven ULA flights on the books this year, and the 132nd ULA mission since the company formed in 2006 with the merger of the Atlas and Delta rocket programs developed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. All of the launches in the ULA era have been successful.

"We are very happy to have achieved another successful launch in support of our country's national security mission," said Air Force Col. Matthew Skeen, director of the NRO office of space launch, in a statement. "This launch, like the ones that have come before, represents years of hard work and dedication from our government and industry team members and serves as a true testament to the meaning of teamwork."


The Delta 4-Heavy fires away from Vandenberg. Credit: United Launch Alliance

The identity, purpose and orbit of the payload launched Saturday have been kept secret by the NRO, which owns the U.S. government's spy satellite fleet, supplying imagery and data to intelligence agencies and the military.

But expert observers who carefully track satellite activity surmise the spacecraft likely entered an orbit several hundred miles above Earth, at an inclination of around 74 degrees to the equator, based on information in the public domain about the rocket's course after launch, and the location in the Pacific Ocean wh ere the Delta 4's upper stage was expected to deorbit and re-enter the atmosphere.

The Delta 4-Heavy rocket, the largest vehicle in ULA's inventory, had only flown twice from Vandenberg before Saturday — once in 2011 and another time in 2013. Those missions are believed by analysts to have delivered new Keyhole, or KH-11, electro-optical reconnaissance satellites to orbit.

When the NRO announced the next Delta 4-Heavy mission from Vandenberg, observers expected the rocket to loft a new optical imaging satellite to join the others in higher-inclination sun-synchronous orbits tailored for regular, repeatable observations of strategic sites, military installations and other targets of interest to U.S. intelligence agencies.

The KH-11 satellites are essentially bus-sized telescopes peering down on Earth, with primary mirrors measuring 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) across, the same size as the mirror on the Hubble Space Telescope. The ultra-sharp, very-high-resolution imagery produced by such satellites is believed to be unparalleled, and the spy craft relay their observations to the ground via the NRO's dedicated network of communications satellites.

The Delta 4-Heavy missions in 2011 and 2013 deployed gap-filler KH-11-type satellites to continue supplying the government with reconnaissance imagery after the NRO canceled a contract with Boeing for a replacement line of optical imaging craft as part of the Future Imagery Architecture program.

Keyhole satellites before 2011 launched on Titan rockets from Vandenberg.

The NRO eventually sel ected Lockheed Martin — the same company that built the past generation of KH-11 satellites — to construct at least two new-generation spacecraft, introducing new technology and other upgrades into the spy satellite constellation.

The new electro-optical surveillance satellites, sometimes called KH-11 Block 5, have the same 2.4-meter mirror diameter as the earlier Keyhole-type Earth-imaging platforms, according to past public statements by government officials.

[свернуть]

The direction of Saturday's launch toward the south-southeast, first revealed in advance of the Delta 4-Heavy's first launch attempt last month, threw a wrinkle in analysts' predictions about the payload's identity. The unexpected orbit targeted by the Delta 4-Heavy raised speculation that the rocket might carry a radar imaging satellite, or perhaps a stealthy payload designed to evade tracking from the ground.

But Ted Molczan, a leader in the global community of hobbyists who expertly monitor satellite movements, still believes the most likely candidate for the payload launched Saturday is the first in the U.S. government's new line of sharp-eyed optical imaging birds.

"I have long expected NROL-71 to launch the first Block 5 KH-11, and that has been the consensus among others who have expressed their opinion," Molczan wrote in an online forum wh ere the satellite tracking community discusses their observations.

There are no other known hefty satellites in the NRO's pipeline that require the Delta 4-Heavy's lift capability, and the timing of the launch is consistent with when a new program formally started in 2012 could be ready for flight, Molczan wrote.

The NRO also began launching modernized data relay satellites in 2016, a step taken just before the first launch of each new generation of Keyhole-type satellites dating back nearly 30 years, according to Molczan.

He added that the "radical change" in orbit maybe explained by desire or need by intelligence agencies "for imagery taken under more varied illumination conditions than occur with a (sun-synchronous orbit)."

Satellites in sun-synchronous orbits view their imaging targets at the same time every day, under the same solar lighting conditions. Viewing from a different orbit would allow imaging with the sun at different angles, enabling the satellites to spot changing shadows and other characteristics.

Marco Langbroek, an archaeologist who also tracks satellites in the Netherlands, suggested the NROL-71 payload could be a radar satellite, which typically fly in orbits with big tilts against the equator, but not in sun-synchronous orbit.

Trackers around the world will attempt to locate the satellite with visual and radio observations to compare its behavior with the NRO's other spy craft.

Observers in Europe said they detected radio signals fr om the new satellite a few hours after launch Saturday, which confirmed the satellite was in a low Earth orbit inclined 74 degrees to the equator, as predicted.

"NROL-71 appears to be the first in a new block of 'something,'" Langbroek wrote on his website