http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/02/delta-iv-rocket-raised-at-cape.shtml
ЦитироватьFriday, February 27, 2009
Delta IV Rocket Raised At Cape Canaveral
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket was erected at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station earlier this week as NASA geared up for the launch in April of a new hurricane-tracking satellite.
The Delta IV and its payload -- a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known by the acronym GOES-O -- are slated to blast off around April 28 from Launch Complex 37.
The payload is one of a new generation of weather satellites built by Boeing for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NASA is responsible for procuring and overseeing launch services for the spacecraft.
GOES satellites provide the familiar weather pictures seen on television newscasts around the country. They play a key role in tracking the development of hurricanes off the west coast of Africa and are used to track the course of tropical storms as they cross the Atlantic Ocean and threaten communities in the Caribbean Sea and along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Data from the satellites are crucial to forecasting projected paths of hurricanes and issuing advanced warnings that enable communities to board up and evacuate as cyclones approach.
NOAA and NASA in 1998 awarded a contract to Hughes Space and Communications -- now Boeing -- for the manufacture, launch and delivery in orbit of up to four advanced weather satellites as well as the delivery of associated ground systems elements.
The basic contract called for Boeing to build two spacecraft, but NOAA exercised an option for a third spacecraft soon after the original pact was signed. The first of the satellites -- GOES-N -- was successfully launched by Boeing on May 24, 2006 -- about six months before the formation of United Launch Alliance, which is a joint venture partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that merges the Delta and Atlas families of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs). ULA is a prime launch services contractor for federal government agencies that include NASA, NOAA, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office.
The GOES-O spacecraft to be launched in April is scheduled to be shipped to Cape Canaveral aboard an Air Force C-17 heavy-lift cargo aircraft next week. It will be transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville for final integration and testing before subsequent delivery to Launch Complex 37 for installation atop the Delta IV.
The third in the series of satellites -- GOES-P -- is in ground storage at a Boeing facility in El Segundo, California, and will undergo final thermal vacuum testing during the next several months.
That satellite currently is scheduled to blast off Dec. 16 aboard another Delta IV rocket at Launch Complex 37.
posted by Todd Halvorson at 12:57 PM
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/60555.jpg)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/60556.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/60557.jpg)(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/60558.jpg)
http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm
ЦитироватьGOES N, O, P, Q
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/7292.jpg)
GOES N [Boeing BSS]
In January 1998, Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc.(BSS), of El Segundo, Calif., was awarded a contract from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The contract includes the design, manufacture, integration and launch of two Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, GOES N and GOES O, with options for GOES P and GOES Q. The GOES program is funded and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Based on the highly successful BSS-601 spacecraft, the new satellites will provide more accurate location of severe storms and other weather phenomena, resulting in more precise warnings to the public. The three-axis BSS-601 body-stabilized spacecraft design enables the primary sensors to "stare" at Earth and thus frequently image clouds, monitor Earth's surface temperature, and sound Earth's atmosphere for its vertical temperature and water vapor distribution. Atmospheric phenomena can be tracked, ensuring real-time coverage of short-lived dynamic events, such as severe local storms and tropical hurricanes and cyclones, two types of meteorological events that directly affect public safety, property, and ultimately, economic health and development.
Boeing will furnish the communications subsystem with a search and rescue capability to detect distress signals from ships and airplanes, and will also furnish space environmental monitoring instruments and operator training. Ground station upgrades will be provided by Boeing's teammate Integral Systems Inc. BSS will also integrate three government-furnished instruments: and imager and sounder built by ITT Industries, Inc., and a solar X-ray imager built by Lockheed Martin.
The imager is a multispectral five-channel instrument that produces visible and infrared images of Earth's surface, oceans, cloud cover and severe storm developments. The multispectral sounder provides vertical temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere, augmenting data from the imager. Sounder data are also used in computer models which produce mid- and long-range weather forecasts. A new solar X-ray imager will monitor the sun's X-rays for the early detection of solar flares. This early warning is important because these solar flares affect not only the safety of humans in high-altitude missions, such as the Space Shuttle, but also military and commercial satellite communications. The GOES satellites also carry space environment monitoring instruments, built by Panametrics Inc., which monitor X-rays, extreme ultraviolet and particle emissions including solar protons, alpha particles, and electrons. These space environment monitoring instruments also include a magnetometer, built by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which samples the Earth's magnetosphere.
A data collection system on GOES receives and relays environmental data sensed by widely dispersed surface platforms such as river and rain gauges, seismometers, tide gauges, buoys, ships, and automatic weather stations. Platforms transmit sensor data to the satellite at regular or self-timed intervals, upon interrogation by the satellite, or in an emergency alarm mode whenever a sensor receives information exceeding a preset level.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0902/27goeso/
ЦитироватьDelta 4 rocket rolls out for the launcher's 10th mission
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: February 27, 2009
The Delta 4 rocket to launch an advanced U.S. weather satellite was rolled out to the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 this week.
Liftoff of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite O, or GOES O, is scheduled for April 28.
The spacecraft is the second in an updated series of weather observatories with sharper vision and extended life. The GOES program has a long history of providing the weather imagery seen daily during news broadcasts.
GOES O will be placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit by the Delta rocket, then maneuvered by its onboard engine into a circular geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. It will be thoroughly tested and then put into storage mode to await its eventual job of replacing an aging weather-watching spacecraft in the coming years.
Boeing built the satellite and is overseeing the launch under a commercial arrangement with the government.
A Delta 4 Medium+ vehicle will be used in launching the 6,900-pound GOES O. This particular "4,2" version of United Launch Alliance-built rocket features a four-meter payload fairing and two strap-on solid rocket boosters.
Initial assembly of the rocket, including mating of the cryogenic upper stage with the Common Booster Core first stage using a precision laser alignment system, was completed in the Horizontal Integration Facility over the past few months.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/7301.jpg)
A special motorized transporter moved the 165-foot-long rocket to the launch pad on Tuesday.
In preparation to raise the rocket vertically, the pallets in which the vehicle was cradled were tied down to the Fixed Pad Erector. The diesel-powered transporter used to drive the rocket to the pad then disengaged from the pallets and pulled away.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/7302.jpg)
The erector system and its hydraulic pistons lifted the rocket upright on Wednesday, putting the vehicle on the pad's launch table within minutes.
Once the rocket was set, workers unhooked the booster from the pallets. That allowed the erector, along with the pallets, to be lowered back to the ground.
Over the next two months at Complex 37, a full pre-launch test program and the final rocket assembly steps will be carried out, including attachment of the solid-fuel motors to the first stage and delivery of the payload to the pad.
GOES O will be flown from its Boeing factory in Los Angeles to the Cape next week to undergo checkouts and fueling in a processing facility.
The 60-minute launch window on April 28 opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2324 GMT).
It will be the second Delta 4 launch of the year. A Heavy successfully flew in January with a classified national security payload.
In all, GOES O will mark the 10th Delta 4 mission dating back to the 2002 debut.
Привезли собственно сам спутник:
(http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/small/2009-1936-s.jpg)
Навеска твердотопливных ускорителей на носитель:
(http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/small/2009-1914-s.jpg)
(http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/small/2009-1918-s.jpg)
(http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/small/2009-1919-s.jpg)
Взято из медиархива центра им. Кеннеди: http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=4
Из-за течи ЖК на первой ступени старт перенесли как минимум до середины мая.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0904/10goesodelay/
ЦитироватьWeather satellite launch delayed to repair rocket leak
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 10, 2009
A countdown simulation for the upcoming Delta 4 rocket launch carrying a next-generation weather satellite has uncovered a liquid oxygen leak on the booster's first stage, a problem that will delay liftoff at least a couple of weeks.
Officials announced Friday that the launch would slip from April 28 to mid-May as a result.
Standing atop pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Delta 4 underwent a full launch day rehearsal Wednesday. The mobile service tower was rolled back and the two-stage rocket was filled with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen while the launch team practiced the countdown procedures.
But the test, which is a standard exercise in the lead up to launch, revealed the liquid oxygen leak on the first stage. A NASA statement says a fill and drain valve could be the source of the leak.
The liquid hydrogen loading on the first stage was successfully completed, as well as filling of the upper stage with its cryogenic propellants.
Engineers are developing a plan to isolate and repair the leak, and another fueling test will be performed to ensure the problem has been resolved before resuming launch preparations, NASA said.
The earliest possible launch date, based on the work ahead of the team, would be May 12, the space agency's statement said. However, that's currently the planned day for shuttle Atlantis' liftoff on the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
"Launch is targeted to occur no earlier than May 12. The date will be adjusted accordingly based on the outcome of troubleshooting and readiness of the Delta 4, the status of space shuttle Atlantis on STS-125 and the availability of the Eastern Range," NASA said.
The GOES O weather satellite remains at the Astrotech complex in Titusville. On Tuesday, the craft was encapsulated in the two-piece fairing that serves as the rocket's nose cone.
The satellite's transfer to pad 37B for mounting atop the Delta 4 will be delayed until after the upcoming fueling test. NASA projects the earliest that the satellite could make its way to the pad is April 24.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite O is the second in an updated series of weather observatories with sharper vision and extended life. More details about the launch can be found in our earlier story.
Не ранее 13 мая в 2:24 ЛМВ:
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/launch/index.shtml
ЦитироватьNo earlier than May 12
Delta IV
GOES-O
Launch Time: 6:24 p.m.
Launch Window: 6:24 p.m. to 7:24 p.m.
Launch Complex: 37 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Mission: A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying a weather and climate observation satellite for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA).
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/launch/index.shtml
ЦитироватьMay 20
Delta IV
GOES-O
Launch Time: TBD
Launch Window: TBD
Уже июнь/июль, согласно http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
Не ранее 1 июля (http://fdfhome.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/fdf_activity.doc).
Хоть одна "Delta-IV" без многомесячных задержек смогла улететь? Шаттл и то регулярней летает.
И на эту ракету кое кто предлагает пересадить пилотируемый корабль :twisted:
Официально - не ранее 26 июня (http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html) (по EDT).
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/8509.jpg)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GOES-O/news/ready_launch_09-49.html
Цитировать06.16.09
GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA is preparing for the launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O (GOES-O) from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The GOES-O launch is targeted for June 26 during a launch window from 6:14 to 7:14 p.m. EDT.
"Launching GOES-O will contribute the data needed for accurate NOAA forecasts for severe weather, including hurricanes that threaten at least 35 million Americans living in areas vulnerable to land-falling hurricanes," stated Steve Kirkner, GOES program manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
GOES-O is the second spacecraft to be launched in the GOES N Series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. The GOES satellites continuously provide observations of 60 percent of the Earth including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations as well as a continuous and reliable stream of environmental information and severe weather warnings.
GOES-O joins a system of weather satellites that provide timely environmental information to meteorologists and the public. The GOES system provides data used to graphically display the intensity, path and size of storms. Early warning of impending severe weather enhances the public's ability to take shelter and protect property.
GOES-O will be launched on board a United Launch Alliance Delta IV (4, 2) launch vehicle under an FAA commercial license contracted out through Boeing Launch Services. The satellite will be turned over to NASA after a successful checkout is completed by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, El Segundo, Calif.
The current GOES operational system consists of GOES-12, operating as GOES East, and GOES-11, operating as GOES-West. GOES-13 is in an on-orbit storage mode nominally located at 105 west longitude. Once in orbit GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, checked out and then stored on-orbit and ready for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust their fuel.
NOAA manages the GOES program, establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA Goddard procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems built GOES-O.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/jun/HQ_M09-109_GOES_O.html
ЦитироватьJune 16, 2009
NASA Sets Coverage for Goes-O Launch on June 26
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, or GOES-O, is scheduled for a liftoff on Friday, June 26, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The one-hour launch window extends from 6:14 to 7:14 p.m. EDT. GOES-O is the second of three in the current series of geostationary weather and environmental satellites.
NASA will provide television, Internet and photo coverage of the launch starting with a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center news center.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GOES-O/main/index.html
ЦитироватьGOES-O scheduled for launch Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, was scrubbed. Thunderstorms in the area prohibited launch violating weather constraints for a safe liftoff.
Launch managers opted for a 24-hour turnaround and rescheduled the GOES-O launch for Saturday, June 27. The launch window opens at 6:14 p.m. and extends one hour, to 7:14 p.m. EDT. Forecasters are calling for a 40 percent chance of favorable weather on launch day.
Красиво пошла, рекоменую посмотреть, кто не смотрит прямую трансляцию
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d342/
ЦитироватьDelta 4 deploys an advanced weather observatory
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
Posted: June 27, 2009
Running a day late because of stormy weather, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket boosted a new GOES weather satellite into space Saturday to serve as an orbital spare for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fleet of hurricane-tracking weather sentinels.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/8516.jpg)
The Delta 4 rocket launches from Complex 37. Credit: NASA-KSC
The Delta 4, equipped with two strap-on solid-fuel boosters, ignited with a rush of flame and smoke at 6:51 p.m. EDT and quickly climbed away from launch complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, arcing to the east and accelerating toward orbit.
"Three, two, one and liftoff of the Delta 4 rocket with GOES-O, enhancing quality and reliability of the weather satellite for the forecaster," said NASA launch commentator George DIller.
It was the 10th flight of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket since 2002 and the second of three launchings planned for this year.
A launch attempt Friday was called off because of thunderstorms and electrical activity near the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. More of the same was on tap today and forecasters initially predicted a 70 percent chance of a launch delay.
Thunderstorms rolled over the launch pad during fueling but conditions improved as the afternoon wore on and after a 37-minute delay to allow a storm cell to move past to the south, United Launch Alliance proceeded with the countdown.
The Delta 4's first stage performed normally, boosting the vehicle to an altitude of about 90 miles before falling away four-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
The rocket's second stage then lofted the spacecraft into an initial parking orbit before two additional firings needed to place the 7,000-pound GOES-O satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit with a high point of about 21,800 miles and a low point of 4,100 miles.
Spacecraft separation occurred as planned four hours and 21 minutes after launch.
On-board thrusters will be used to put the satellite in its final circular orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. That milestone is expected July 8 and if all goes well, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn the satellite over to the government on July 18.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system provides the hemispheric views familiar from television weathercasts. Observations of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast are provided by the GOES-12 satellite - critical for hurricane tracking - with GOES-11 providing similar coverage of the the West Coast and the central Pacific Ocean past Hawaii.
GOES-O will be known as GOES-14 once on station, joining the GOES-13 satellite, launched three years ago, as an orbital spare.
"GOES-O will provide another important operational asset to NOAA and will become part of the nation's infrastructure for both weather and environmental forecasting," said Steve Kirkner, GOES project manager at NASA.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/8517.jpg)
This illustration depicts the GOES spacecraft. Credit: Boeing
The latest GOES satellites feature an imaging system and a sounder that collects atmospheric data needed to predict surface and cloud-top temperatures, moisture content and ozone distribution. The imagers produce higher resolution pictures than earlier models, allowing forecasters to more accurately track small-scale features.
"The things we're looking for, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are very small in scale," said Joe Schaefer, director of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. "The increased resolution and accuracy that these satellites will present will help us pinpoint what's happening, and if we know what's happening, we can do a better job of making short-term and long-term forecasts of where it's going to be."
Along with saving lives, improved resolution can lower costs as well.
"There's an old rule of thumb that if we can evacuate fewer people for a hurricane, for every mile we don't have to evacuate that saves you a million dollars on average," said Tom Wrublewski, technical acquisitions manager for the GOES project. "That translates into savings for you and I ... and being able to know where tornados and other storms are."
Like all recent GOES satellites, the two newest models also include space environment sensors to measure energetic particles blown off by the sun, to monitor Earth's geomagnetic field and to look for X-ray and ultraviolet emissions from powerful solar flares that can disrupt communications.
"GOES-O is going to better ensure that we have continuous coverage in the decade ahead, it's going to improve our imaging, atmospheric sounding, and our near-Earth space weather environmental measurements that are essential to accurate weather and solar forecasts," said Wrublewski.
Along with improve hurricane tracking and forecasting, the new satellites will provide "clearer cloud top and wind products and also better detection of aerosols."
"We'll be better able to watch where those volcanic plumes are going and that is very important to airline pilots not to foul their engines," he said.
Engineers will check out the new satellite and calibrate its instruments over the next two months to make sure the spacecraft is functioning normally. The first visible-light full-disk image of the Earth is expected around July 28 and an X-ray instrument that will monitor solar flares will send down its initial test image Aug. 6.
Once checkout is complete, the satellite will go into storage mode near GOES 13 to await call up as needed. Projections indicate GOES-12 will begin running into fuel-shortage issues late this year, followed by similar issues with GOES-11. The new satellites have a 10-year design life.
"We don't really know when we're going to need it," said Marty Davis, an advisor to the GOES project. "We know the two operational satellites that are up there now are not perfect and are becoming less perfect as time goes on. So the next one to be operational will be GOES-13, which was launched three years ago. We don't think we'll have two spares for very long. The prediction is GOES-13 will be made operational by the end of the year."
А чего, задержка была по ракете?
ЦитироватьА чего, задержка была по ракете?
погода нелетная
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/
(http://s51.radikal.ru/i134/0906/b6/cd5ee6f99c3a.jpg)
(http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/uploaded_images/crb062709-delta-4--755474.jpg)
(http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/uploaded_images/crb062709-delta--767378.jpg)
(http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/uploaded_images/crb062709-delta-3--736483.jpg)
(http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/uploaded_images/crb062709-delta-2--718760.jpg)
Сравнивая с крайним запуском Зенита, РН с ТТУ уходят более "феерично" чем на ЖРД. Что для для телевизионщиков только в +.
То ли сноп огня, то ли тонкая струйка :)
Если смотреть издалека на общие контуры то ракета так похожа на Атлас-Е которым запускали первые Навстары...
Но какие же все "4-ки" закопчёные улетают.. ужась.. :roll:
Видео пуска:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0rPmIoJiU&feature=player_embedded
Спасибо Salo, классное видео! я то-правда видел.. но блин.. что-ж она так закоптилась за секунды (а то и меньше..)
я не знаю почему.. :roll: но мння что-то это заинтересовало.. Первая "4Н" сразу вспомнилась.. но та - еле отрывалась.. а эта-то - шустро.. :D
Посмотрите первые секунды старта. Весь низ ракеты в пылающем облаке водорода.
"4Н" помню секунды 3-4 висела.. но эта-то быстро..
(Где-то что-то подобное же уже обсуждалось.. (
Я очень извиняюсь перед многоуважаемым форумом за свой склероз..( , но что коптит у водорода в реакции с кислородом? )
Краска обгарает? так зачем тогда ракету красить..?
Пойду-ка я еще посмотрю разные "водородные" старты.. ;)
Это не краска. Это пенополиуретановая термоизоляция.
Ещё фото пуска:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d342/launch/
Цитироватьhttp://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d342/
ЦитироватьDelta 4 deploys an advanced weather observatory
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
Posted: June 27, 2009
Running a day late because of stormy weather, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket boosted a new GOES weather satellite into space Saturday to serve as an orbital spare for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fleet of hurricane-tracking weather sentinels.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/8516.jpg)
The Delta 4 rocket launches from Complex 37. Credit: NASA-KSC
The Delta 4, equipped with two strap-on solid-fuel boosters, ignited with a rush of flame and smoke at 6:51 p.m. EDT and quickly climbed away from launch complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, arcing to the east and accelerating toward orbit.
"Three, two, one and liftoff of the Delta 4 rocket with GOES-O, enhancing quality and reliability of the weather satellite for the forecaster," said NASA launch commentator George DIller.
It was the 10th flight of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket since 2002 and the second of three launchings planned for this year.
A launch attempt Friday was called off because of thunderstorms and electrical activity near the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. More of the same was on tap today and forecasters initially predicted a 70 percent chance of a launch delay.
Thunderstorms rolled over the launch pad during fueling but conditions improved as the afternoon wore on and after a 37-minute delay to allow a storm cell to move past to the south, United Launch Alliance proceeded with the countdown.
The Delta 4's first stage performed normally, boosting the vehicle to an altitude of about 90 miles before falling away four-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
The rocket's second stage then lofted the spacecraft into an initial parking orbit before two additional firings needed to place the 7,000-pound GOES-O satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit with a high point of about 21,800 miles and a low point of 4,100 miles.
Spacecraft separation occurred as planned four hours and 21 minutes after launch.
On-board thrusters will be used to put the satellite in its final circular orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. That milestone is expected July 8 and if all goes well, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn the satellite over to the government on July 18.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system provides the hemispheric views familiar from television weathercasts. Observations of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast are provided by the GOES-12 satellite - critical for hurricane tracking - with GOES-11 providing similar coverage of the the West Coast and the central Pacific Ocean past Hawaii.
GOES-O will be known as GOES-14 once on station, joining the GOES-13 satellite, launched three years ago, as an orbital spare.
"GOES-O will provide another important operational asset to NOAA and will become part of the nation's infrastructure for both weather and environmental forecasting," said Steve Kirkner, GOES project manager at NASA.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/8517.jpg)
This illustration depicts the GOES spacecraft. Credit: Boeing
The latest GOES satellites feature an imaging system and a sounder that collects atmospheric data needed to predict surface and cloud-top temperatures, moisture content and ozone distribution. The imagers produce higher resolution pictures than earlier models, allowing forecasters to more accurately track small-scale features.
"The things we're looking for, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are very small in scale," said Joe Schaefer, director of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. "The increased resolution and accuracy that these satellites will present will help us pinpoint what's happening, and if we know what's happening, we can do a better job of making short-term and long-term forecasts of where it's going to be."
Along with saving lives, improved resolution can lower costs as well.
"There's an old rule of thumb that if we can evacuate fewer people for a hurricane, for every mile we don't have to evacuate that saves you a million dollars on average," said Tom Wrublewski, technical acquisitions manager for the GOES project. "That translates into savings for you and I ... and being able to know where tornados and other storms are."
Like all recent GOES satellites, the two newest models also include space environment sensors to measure energetic particles blown off by the sun, to monitor Earth's geomagnetic field and to look for X-ray and ultraviolet emissions from powerful solar flares that can disrupt communications.
"GOES-O is going to better ensure that we have continuous coverage in the decade ahead, it's going to improve our imaging, atmospheric sounding, and our near-Earth space weather environmental measurements that are essential to accurate weather and solar forecasts," said Wrublewski.
Along with improve hurricane tracking and forecasting, the new satellites will provide "clearer cloud top and wind products and also better detection of aerosols."
"We'll be better able to watch where those volcanic plumes are going and that is very important to airline pilots not to foul their engines," he said.
Engineers will check out the new satellite and calibrate its instruments over the next two months to make sure the spacecraft is functioning normally. The first visible-light full-disk image of the Earth is expected around July 28 and an X-ray instrument that will monitor solar flares will send down its initial test image Aug. 6.
Once checkout is complete, the satellite will go into storage mode near GOES 13 to await call up as needed. Projections indicate GOES-12 will begin running into fuel-shortage issues late this year, followed by similar issues with GOES-11. The new satellites have a 10-year design life.
"We don't really know when we're going to need it," said Marty Davis, an advisor to the GOES project. "We know the two operational satellites that are up there now are not perfect and are becoming less perfect as time goes on. So the next one to be operational will be GOES-13, which was launched three years ago. We don't think we'll have two spares for very long. The prediction is GOES-13 will be made operational by the end of the year."
Так долго рассказывать какой хороший новый спутник, новые инструменты, более высокое разрешение, возможность спасать много жизней и экономить миллионы баксов...
А в конце заявить, мол мы пока не будем его использовать, а задвинем на запасную орбиту, и на подобной орбите уже висит тоже новый(уже относительно) подобный спутник который не используется более 3х лет. А сами, как и раньше, будем старьем пользоваться...
а слабо перейти на новый спутник, а старый перепродать "развивающимся странам" ?
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d342/status.html
ЦитироватьWEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009
The nation's new weather observatory successfully completed a series of altitude raising maneuvers to reach geostationary orbit early Wednesday, just 10 days after its launch from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta 4 rocket.
The craft is the latest weather satellite designed to fly 22,300 miles above the planet and constantly track conditions for meteorologists from orbital vantage points over the eastern and western sides of the Americas.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite was built and launched under the name of GOES O. But following NOAA tradition of renaming its satellites upon reaching orbit, the craft became GOES 14 on Wednesday morning.
Some five firings of the satellite's liquid-fueled engine circularized the orbit after being deployed by the Delta 4 rocket in an elliptical transfer orbit. The craft's current position is above the equator at 89.5 degrees West longitude.
The power-generating solar array will be unfurled Thursday. Handover of control from satellite-maker Boeing to NASA is scheduled in the coming days.
The space agency plans months of instrument activation work and extensive testing that's expected to last through December. If all goes well, GOES 14 will be given to NOAA for use in the network of weather-watching satellites.
"Reliable satellite coverage helps us see severe weather as it develops," said Mary E. Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service. "With more than a thousand tornadoes touching down in the United States each year, and hurricanes a serious risk to residents along the Gulf and East coastlines, it's critical (GOES 14) is in orbit and ready when needed."
"The imagery and data we get from GOES is key to our ability to continuously monitor and diagnose weather in the tropics," said Bill Read, director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami. "Continued improvements in the type and quality of GOES data will contribute to improvements in tropical cyclone forecasts."
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=999
ЦитироватьEL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 17, 2009 -- Boeing [NYSE] today announced that GOES-14 (formerly GOES-O), the second satellite in a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites built by Boeing for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has completed on-orbit testing and been accepted into service. NOAA will use GOES-14 to accurately predict storms and monitor weather conditions across approximately 60 percent of the planet, including the United States.
"Since the launch of our first GOES weather satellite in 1980, Boeing has provided a combined 35 years of on-orbit service to meteorologists who rely on the GOES satellites for crucial weather information," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "The acceptance of GOES-14 is another example of our collaboration with NASA and NOAA to ensure that we continue to deliver the advanced capabilities that they require."
Boeing and NASA conducted approximately five months of on-orbit testing on GOES-14 from the NOAA Satellite Operations Control Center in Suitland, Md., after the satellite's June 27 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. GOES-14 successfully completed a series of postlaunch milestones, including launch and orbit-raising data reviews, a contingency operations readiness review, and testing and verification of the instruments and communications services.
GOES-14 now joins GOES-13 (formerly GOES-N) as a backup satellite for the two-satellite GOES constellation. The two spacecraft are ready to become NOAA's primary operational satellites. NOAA's current plans call for GOES-13 to become the operational east satellite during spring 2010 and begin providing critical data for the next hurricane season.
On Dec. 16, Boeing shipped the third satellite in the GOES N-P series, GOES-P, from the company's satellite integration and test complex in El Segundo to Cape Canaveral, where it will undergo final preparations for launch early next year. GOES-P will be launched aboard a Delta IV rocket procured from United Launch Alliance through Boeing's commercial launch business, Boeing Launch Services. The launch is planned for Feb. 25 from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 37.
The GOES N-P series of satellites supports more accurate prediction and tracking of severe storms and other weather phenomena, resulting in earlier and more precise warnings to the public. Like their predecessors, GOES N-P will support NOAA and NASA scientists collecting and analyzing real-time environmental data, as well as rescuers responding to calls for help through a communication subsystem that includes a search-and-rescue capability to detect distress signals from land, sea and air.