ЦитироватьSeptember 20 - GPS IIF-3 (or -4?) - Delta-IV-M+(4,2) - Canaveral SLC-37B
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/navstar-2f.htm
ЦитироватьGPS-2F (Navstar-2F)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/18369.jpg)
GPS-2F [Boeing]
GPS-2F (Global Positioning System) or Navstar-2F (Navigation System using Timing And Ranging) satellites are the fourth evolution stage of the second generation of the GPS GPS satellites. Improvements included an extended design life of 12 years, faster processors with more memory, and a new civil signal on a third frequency. The first Block-IIF satellite is scheduled to launch in 2006
Boeing was contracted with options for up to 33 Block-IIF satellites in 1996, but in 2001 the contract was reduced 12 Block-IIF satellites. In July 2006, satellites 10, 11 and 12 were contracted.
The GPS-2F satellites do not need to carry an apogee kick motor, in contrast to the earlier generations, as the launch vehicles provide direct insertion into the GPS orbit. Originally the Delta-4M version was to be used for the Delta launches, but a mass growth of the satellites required a switch to the more powerful Delta-4M+(4,2) version. For Atlas launches, the Atlas-5(401) version is used.
Nation: USA
Type / Application: Navigation
Operator: USAF
Contractors: Boeing
Equipment: ?
Configuration: 3-Axis stabilized
Propulsion: ?
Power: 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime: 15 years
Mass: 1630 kg
Orbit: 20200 km
А Боинг упорно пишет четвёрку:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/launch/launch_sched.html
Цитировать1 GPS IIF-4 GPS U.S. Air Force 2012 Delta IV
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/rollout.html
ЦитироватьDelta 4 rocket rolls out to bolster GPS constellation
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: August 19, 2012
The Delta 4 rocket that will launch in October for the direct benefit of the world's population using the Global Positioning System was stacked on its Cape Canaveral pad last week.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/26545.jpg)
File image of rocket rollout. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
The United Launch Alliance-made vehicle is targeting an Oct. 4 blastoff to deploy the GPS 2F-3 navigation satellite, replacing a 19-year-old craft in the orbiting constellation that serves billions of military and civilan users across the planet.
Liftoff will be possible during a morning launch window extending from 8:10 to 8:29 a.m. EDT (1210-1229 GMT).
Riding horizontal aboard a 36-wheel, diesel-powered transporter, the bright orange and white rocket, stretching 170 feet long, emerged from the assembly hangar and took the brief trip down the road and up the pad's ramp to the Florida spaceport's Complex 37.
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, had been completed inside the Horizontal Integration Facility over the past couple of months.
After the vehicle arrived at the base of the pad, technicians went to work getting equipment ready to raise the rocket vertically. The erector system and its hydraulic pistons then lifted the rocket upright and set the vehicle atop the pad's launch table.
Later in the week, two solid-fueled strap-on boosters were mounted to the first stage to provide additional thrust at liftoff. The rocket will be flying in the Medium+(4,2) configuration.
The satellite payload was shipped to the Cape from Boeing's production factory in Los Angeles aboard a C-17 on July 9 to begin its own preparations for launch, including final testing, fueling and encapsulation in the rocket's nose cone. It will be hauled to the pad and hoisted atop the Delta 4 next month.
This will be the third satellite in the Block 2F series of GPS spacecraft with improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation and a longer design life. Boeing is building a dozen craft to upgrade the constellation's foundation over the coming years.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/12187.jpg)
A GPS 2F satellite is pictured at the manufacturing facility. Credit: Boeing
Known as the GPS 2F-3 satellite, this newest spacecraft will take the place of the GPS 2A-21 bird that was launched by a Delta 2 rocket on June 26, 1993 and began its remarkably long-lasting service life on July 21, 1993.
Given its advanced age, controllers have targeted it for replacement with this launch into the Plane A, Slot 1 position of the constellation. But the old craft won't be retired immediately, instead moving into an auxiliary role within the A-Plane of the network.
GPS satellites orbit about 11,000 nautical miles above the planet and emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their location in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. The constellation features six orbital planes with multiple satellites flying in each.
The first two Block 2F birds were launched by Delta 4 rockets in May 2010 and July 2011. The latest spacecraft should be operational about 30 days after liftoff.
"As each 2F satellite becomes operational, we continue the seamless transformation of the GPS constellation into an even more accurate, reliable and durable navigation resource for the U.S. military and the global civilian user community," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "Our efficient pulse-line manufacturing process, adapted from Boeing's commercial airplane production lines, also ensures that we deliver each spacecraft on time and on cost."
Today's GPS fleet is comprised of 31 satellites, including 10 Block 2A's made by Boeing, 12 Block 2R's and seven 2R-Modernized spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing's two Block 2F vehicles.
"The GPS constellation remains healthy, stable and robust with 31-operational satellites on-orbit providing precise position, navigation and timing information to users worldwide," an Air Force spokesperson said.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/payload/
ЦитироватьGPS 2F-3 satellite readied to launch
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Sept. 30, 2012
About three weeks before before its scheduled launch, the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite was encapsulated in the Delta 4 rocket's two-piece nose cone at Cape Canaveral's DSCS Processing Facility, then transported to Complex 37 a week later for hoisting into the mobile service gantry and placement atop the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket.
The bullet-shaped shroud protects the satellite during ascent through Earth's atmosphere during the first four-and-a-half minutes of flight and then gets jettisoned to uncover the craft after the threshold the space is reached.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27290.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27291.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27292.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27293.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27294.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27295.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27296.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27297.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27298.jpg)
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/preview.html
ЦитироватьIt's launch week for Delta 4 to upgrade GPS constellation
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 1, 2012
Shooting for a morning blastoff Thursday, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket and Global Positioning System satellite payload will undergo a final technical assessment today and their readiness review tomorrow before entering into countdown operations Wednesday night.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27299.jpg)
File image of Delta 4 atop pad for GPS launch. Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance
"A tremendous amount of work has been accomplished to date on this mission. There's hundreds of people on the satellite and launch teams that have been hard at work to ensure a successful launch and mission. I'm extremely proud of their efforts as they continue to work through the remaining mission-related tasks while maintaining a focus on mission success," said Col. Ron Fortson, the Air Force's mission director for the launch.
Liftoff is scheduled for 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT) at the start of a 19-minute launch opportunity. The window is timed to deliver the GPS 2F-3 satellite directly into Plane A of the navigation network 11,000 miles above Earth.
The Delta's flight will last three hours and 33 minutes from liftoff until spacecraft separation, firing its cryogenic upper stage in three different burns to reach an initial parking orbit and taking a two-step transfer route to reach the circular GPS orbit tilted 55 degrees to the equator.
GPS 2F-3 will replace an aging craft -- deployed 19 years ago -- in Plane A, Slot 1, incrementally upgrading the constellation with greater accuracy, better jam-resistance and a new civilian aviation signal, all features of the Boeing-build Block 2F series of spacecraft.
The aerospace company expects to have the satellite checked out and ready for handover to Air Force controllers in mid-November, said Jan Heide, Boeing's GPS program director.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27300.jpg)
An artist's concept of GPS 2F. Credit: Boeing
This will be the third of 12 Block 2F spacecraft being built to form the backbone of the GPS fleet for the next 15 years.
"The GPS 2F satellites continue our efforts to modernize our PNT (position, navigation and timing) service and provide new space-based capabilities and ensure improved accuracy and signal availability," said Col. Steve R. Steiner, chief of the GPS Space Systems Division at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.
"We are ready to launch this third GPS 2F satellite," he added.
ULA moved the Delta 4 rocket from its horizontal processing hangar to the launch pad in mid-August, erecting the two-stage vehicle atop Complex 37 and attaching a pair of solid-fuel boosters.
The GPS satellite arrived at the Cape in July from the Boeing factory in Los Angeles to undergo final testing, the loading of maneuvering fuel and encapsulation within the two-piece nose cone of the rocket. The payload was shipped to the pad and hoisted atop the Delta on Sept. 18 to begin the final push to launch.
See a photo gallery of GPS 2F-3's preparations.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27301.jpg)
Illustration shows the Delta 4 rocket elements for GPS launch. Credit: United Launch Alliance
The integrated systems test between rocket and satellite was conducted on Sept. 21, and technicians spent last week completing tasks like filling the hydrazine bottles on the second stage, installing and connecting ordnance and buttoning up various compartments on the rocket.
Managers and engineers will gather today for the final technical assessment of the flight hardware, then move into the Launch Readiness Review tomorrow that culminates with the "go" to begin the countdown on Wednesday evening.
Retraction of the mobile service gantry to unveil the 206-foot-tall rocket occurs around 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, and the Terminal Count picks up at 1:40 a.m. EDT Thursday, with fueling operations starting a short time later.
"The team has worked tremendously hard to get us to this point, and following a couple of final reviews, we are ready to launch GPS 2F-3," said Jerry Jamison, United Launch Alliance's vice president of launch operations.
It will be ULA's 9th flight this year.
"Our GPS constellation remains healthy, stable and robust. We currently have 31 operational satellites on-orbit, all actively broadcasting position, navigation and timing information to users -- both civilian and military -- around the world," Steiner said.
"We do have a very robust constellation, but it is a mix of older and newer satellites."
This will be the third replacement GPS satellite carried aloft by the Delta 4 rocket since 2010.
The team has a backup opportunity available on the Eastern Range for Friday morning, with a window opening approximately four minutes earlier at 8:06 a.m. EDT.
Encapsulated in the rocket's nose cone, GPS 2F-3 hoisted atop Delta 4. Credit: United Launch Alliance
The Range has Saturday set aside for its reconfiguration from Delta to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which is scheduled for blastoff Sunday evening on the first operational commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. That launch has three attempts reserved on the Range, if needed.
The Range provides the necessary tracking, communications and safety services for Cape launches and needs time between flights of different boosters to reset equipment.
The Delta 4 will be taking its 21st flight and launching for the 9th time in the Medium+ (4,2) variant with a four-meter-diameter upper stage and payload fairing and two strap-on solid motors.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/track.html
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27302.jpg) (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/images/map_full.jpg)
Циклограмма:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/launchtimeline.html
ЦитироватьGPS 2F-3 launch timeline
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Sept. 30, 2012
T-0:00:05.5 Engine start
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27303.jpg)
The RS-68 main engine begins to ignite as the liquid hydrogen fuel valve is opened, creating a large fireball at the base of the rocket. The engine powers up to full throttle for a computer-controlled checkout before liftoff.
T-0:00:00.0 Liftoff
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27304.jpg)
The rocket's two strap-on solid rocket motors are lit, the four hold-down bolts are released and the Delta 4 lifts off fr om Cape Canaveral's pad 37B. The pad's three swing arms retract at T-0 seconds.
T+0:01:00.2 Max-Q
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27305.jpg)
The vehicle experiences the region of maximum dynamic pressure. Both solid motors and the RS-68 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine continue to fire as the vehicle heads downrange, arcing over the Atlantic along a 105-degree flight azimuth.
T+0:01:40.0 Jettison solid motors
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27306.jpg)
Having used up all their solid-propellant and experienced burnout six seconds ago, the two strap-on boosters are jettisoned from the Delta's first stage. The spent casings fall into the ocean.
T+0:04:05.6 Main engine cutoff
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27307.jpg)
The hydrogen-fueled RS-68 rocket engine completes its firing and shuts down to finish the first stage burn.
T+0:04:11.6 Stage separation
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27308.jpg)
The Common Booster Core first stage and the attached interstage are separated in one piece from the Delta 4's upper stage. The upper stage engine's extendible nozzle drops into position as the first stage separates.
T+0:04:26.1 Second stage ignition
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27309.jpg)
The upper stage begins its job to place the GPS 2F-3 satellite into space with the first of three firingsby the RL10B-2 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine.
T+0:04:36.5 Jettison payload fairing
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27310.jpg)
The four-meter diameter composite payload fairing that protected the GPS 2F-3 cargo atop the Delta 4 during the atmospheric ascent is no longer needed, allowing it to be jettisoned in two halves.
T+0:12:11.5 Upper stage shutdown
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27311.jpg)
The RL10 upper stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached satellite reach a parking orbit.
T+0:21:17.4 Restart upper stage
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27312.jpg)
After a 9-minute coast period, the upper stage is reignited to raise the apogee to the medium-Earth orbit altitude.
T+0:24:34.4 Upper stage shutdown
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27313.jpg)
At cutoff time for the second burn, the upper stage will reach the intermediate transfer orbit wh ere it coasts for the next three hours.
T+3:20:44.6 Restart upper stage
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27312.jpg)
The upper stage reaches the proper point in space and reignites the the RL10 engine to circularize the orbit.
T+3:22:22.5 Upper stage shutdown
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27313.jpg)
The powered phase of the Delta 4's mission to reach the GPS constellation concludes. The targeted circular orbit is 11,047 nautical miles with an inclination of 55 degrees.
T+3:28:53.0 Begin spin-up
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27314.jpg)
The next step in preparing for deployment of the payload is gently spinning up the stage like a top.
T+3:33:03.0 Separate spacecraft
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27315.jpg)
The GPS 2F-3 satellite is released into space from the Delta 4 rocket to upgrade the orbiting navigation network.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
ЦитироватьMONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012
Clouds and showers along the Space Coast will be potential problems for Thursday morning's launch attempt of the Delta 4 rocket and GPS satellite. Forecasters issued their initial outlook today and predict a 60 percent chance of acceptable launch conditions, with cumulus clouds, precipitation and the thickness of cloud cover all areas for possibly violating the weather criteria.
The launch weather team's forecast: "Florida peninsula will be located between upper level low pressure over the Gulf of Mexico and upper level high pressure over the western Atlantic. This will result in south-southwesterly flow aloft and deep layered moisture across the state. At the surface a weak surface trough dissipates while a high pressure ridge axis builds north and west across central Florida. Surface winds will become onshore, especially south of the Cape. Overnight and early morning offshore cloud cover and showers will likely be located over the near coastal waters with movement towards or parallel to the coast. Main concerns will be associated with the proximity of any cloud cover and precipitation. Similar conditions expected the following days."
The specifics for launch time on Thursday include scattered and broken decks of clouds, showers in the vicinity, easterly winds of 8 peaking to 12 knots, humidity of 94 percent and a temperature of 78 degrees.
Processing/spacecraft patch:
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27328.jpg)
Mission/launch patch:
(http://s16.radikal.ru/i190/1210/7d/3384f6cf1a3f.jpg) (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=29530.0;attach=459140)
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
ЦитироватьWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012
1800 GMT (2:00 p.m. EDT)
The United Launch Alliance team is resting ahead of the overnight countdown operations for the Delta 4 rocket carrying the Global Positioning System 2F-3 satellite.
"All is good," said Tony Taliancich, director of ULA's customer program office.
Workers will be reporting for duty at pad 37B tonight to perform final preparations to retract the mobile service gantry away from the booster at 10 p.m. EDT. Clocks will enter into the one-hour hold point at 12:40 a.m. EDT prior to picking up Terminal Count. Fueling begins around 2 a.m. EDT.
The weather forecast remains 60 percent favorable for the 19-minute launch window that opens at 8:10 a.m. EDT. Concerns for violating the cumulus cloud, precipitation and cloud thickness rules will be the areas to watch due to coastal showers.
The outlook includes scattered and broken decks of clouds, showers in the vicinity, southeasterly winds of 8 to 12 knots and a temperature of 78 degrees F.
1500 GMT (11:00 a.m. EDT)
The third new-generation satellite for the Global Positioning System and its Delta 4 rocket booster have been cleared for blastoff into the navigation network Thursday from Cape Canaveral.
The GPS 2F-3 spacecraft is targeting an 8:10 a.m. EDT launch from Complex 37. A 19-minute window extending to 8:29 a.m. EDT will be available if conditions prevent an on-time liftoff.
Managers gathered this morning for the Launch Readiness Review, which culminated with the consensus to proceed with picking up the countdown Wednesday evening.
We will have complete live coverage of the count and launch on this page.
And if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
Forecasters are predicting a 60 percent chance of favorable weather, with the concerns being thick clouds, rain and violations of the cumulus cloud rule.
"Overnight and early morning offshore cloud cover and showers will likely be located over the near coastal waters with movement towards or parallel to the coast. Main concerns will be associated with the proximity of any cloud cover and precipitation," Air Force meteorologists say.
The launch time outlook includes scattered clouds at 2,000 and 8,000 feet, a broken deck at 15,000, showers in the vicinity, easterly winds of 8 to 12 knots and a temperature around 78 degrees F.
The forecast for Friday's backup launch opportunity looks about the same.
Boeing developed a dozen Block 2F satellites to sustain and further upgrade the Global Positioning System for the U.S. Air Force. The first was launched in May 2010 and the second went up in July 2011 to replace aging craft in the constellation.
They feature improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation, a longer design life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.
About three-and-a-half hours after liftoff Thursday, the Delta 4 rocket will deliver the satellite directly to the GPS constellation's altitude 11,047 nautical miles high. Ground controllers expect to have the new bird checked out and ready for use in about a month.
The GPS 2F-3 spacecraft takes over the Plane A, Slot 1 location of the network, which is divided into six orbital groupings with multiple satellites flying in each.
The craft replaces the long-lived GPS 2A-21 satellite launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral on June 26, 1993.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
Цитировать0702 GMT (3:02 a.m. EDT)
As today's countdown continuing to go very smoothly, the launch team is preparing to start fueling the Delta 4 rocket's upper stage. The "go" has been given to start the chilldown conditioning of the upper stage liquid hydrogen system.
0658 GMT (2:58 a.m. EDT)
The first stage liquid oxygen chilldown is complete. "Slow-fill" mode is beginning to load a small percentage of the tank. The process then speeds up to the "fast-fill" mode until the tank is nearly full.
0650 GMT (2:50 a.m. EDT)
No issues are being reported in the countdown as activities continue toward today's 8:10 a.m. EDT liftoff of the Delta 4 rocket and GPS 2F-3.
0648 GMT (2:48 a.m. EDT)
First stage liquid hydrogen tanking operation is switching fr om "slow-fill" to "fast-fill" mode.
0635 GMT (2:35 a.m. EDT)
And now the chilldown of Delta's first stage liquid oxygen system is starting. This preps the tank and pumping to guard against shock when the supercold oxidizer begins flowing into the rocket a short time from now.
0634 GMT (2:34 a.m. EDT)
Liquid hydrogen flow to the first stage is confirmed. Some 110,000 gallons of LH2 will fill the rocket's tank.
0630 GMT (2:30 a.m. EDT)
Check out the gantry rollback photo gallery taken by Justin Ray on Wednesday night.
0628 GMT (2:28 a.m. EDT)
The cold gas chilldown conditioning of the liquid hydrogen system has been accomplished. Liquid hydrogen propellant will begin to flow into the first stage in "slow-fill" mode. That is sped up to "fast-fill" after a small portion of the tank is loaded.
Chilled to Minus-423 degrees Fahrenheit, the liquid hydrogen will be consumed by the RS-68 main engine along with liquid oxygen during the first four minutes of the launch.
0602 GMT (2:02 a.m. EDT)
And fueling operations have begun. The hydrogen system's cold gas chilldown conditioning is underway.
0600 GMT (2:00 a.m. EDT)
A "go" has been given to start the cold gas chilldown conditioning of the first stage liquid hydrogen system. This is the precursor to actually filling the vehicle with propellant.
0559 GMT (1:59 a.m. EDT)
Interrogation checks are getting started on the C-band beacon used for tracking the vehicle during its flight downrange.
0540 GMT (1:40 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 hours, 15 minutes and counting! The Terminal Countdown begins now for today's flight of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket with the Global Positioning System 2F-3 satellite.
The count has a planned built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes lasting some 15 minutes, leading to liftoff at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT).
Technicians have finished all hands-on work at the launch pad and Complex 37 has been cleared of personnel in advance of fueling the rocket's two stages this morning. Pad systems and equipment stand ready for fueling activities, which should kick off shortly.
0537 GMT (1:37 a.m. EDT)
The launch team has been polled to verify all consoles are manned and ready to begin the Terminal Countdown when this hold ends at 1:40 a.m.
0530 GMT (1:30 a.m. EDT)
The call to "man stations" has gone out to the launch team in preparation for fueling operations and the Terminal Count.
0515 GMT (1:15 a.m. EDT)
Weather forecasters have improved the outlook for today's launch window, upping the odds of acceptable conditions to 70 percent. Clouds and showers are the main concerns.
Meteorologists are calling for scattered clouds at 3,000 and 8,000 feet, a broken deck at 15,000 feet, showers in the vicinity, good visibility, easterly winds of 5 to 10 knots and a temperature of 78 degrees F.
0440 GMT (12:40 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 hours, 15 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered a planned 60-minute built-in hold, a pre-planned pause designed to give the team time to catch up on any work that could be running behind schedule. Once the clocks resume ticking at 1:40 a.m. EDT, the Terminal Countdown phase of today's launch operation will begin.
0245 GMT (10:45 p.m. EDT)
The 330-foot tall mobile service tower has been retracted from the Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral's pad 37B for the morning's launch that will place the GPS 2F-3 satellite into Earth orbit.
The wheeled structure just moved along rail tracks to its launch position about the length of a football field away from the rocket. The 9-million pound tower shielded the Delta from the elements during the its stay on the pad, provided workers 360-degree access to the various areas on the vehicle and was used to attach the strap-on solid motors and the payload during the launch campaign. The tower is 90-feet wide and 40-feet deep.
Crews will spend the next couple of hours securing the complex for launch before leaving the danger area around the pad. All workers must be clear of the area for the start of hazardous operations in the countdown, which include fueling the vehicle later overnight.
The Terminal Countdown will begin ticking at 1:40 a.m. EDT, leading to the multi-hour process of loading the Delta 4's Common Booster Core first stage and the second stage with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants.
Testing of communications links between the rocket and Air Force Eastern Range will occur after fueling is accomplished. Steering checks of the first stage RS-68 engine and second stage RL10 powerplant are on tap in the last hour of the count.
A 15-minute build-in hold is slated for T-minus 4 minutes, during which time teams will go through final polling to grant clearance to launch. The Delta 4 will transition to internal power as the count resumes, ordnance will be armed and the propellant tanks pressurized as clocks target the main engine ignition time at T-minus 5.5 seconds.
Liftoff remains scheduled for 8:10 a.m. EDT, the opening of a 19-minute window that extends to 8:29 a.m. EDT (1210-1229 GMT).
If you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
And check out Spaceflight Now's Facebook page!
0218 GMT (10:18 p.m. EDT Wed.)
Tower rollback has begun!
0210 GMT (10:10 p.m. EDT Wed.)
All of the lightning advisories have been lifted and the tower should be moving shortly.
0015 GMT (8:15 p.m. EDT Wed.)
It is a rainy, stormy, lightning-filled night along the Space Coast wh ere the Delta rocket team awaits to get the mobile tower rolled back later this evening to begin the countdown for Thursday morning's launch of GPS 2F-3.
The crew was cleared from Complex 37 as a precaution for lightning, but expects to get permission shortly to resume work and roll on the planned timeline.
Watch this page for updates when the gantry gets moving and the Terminal Countdown commences overnight.
Цитировать1000 GMT (6:00 a.m. EDT)
Check out the gantry rollback photo gallery taken by Justin Ray on Wednesday night.
0940 GMT (5:40 a.m. EDT)
The newly revised weather forecast for the 8:10 a.m. EDT launch time has deleted the mid-level deck of broken clouds at 15,000 feet.
Meteorologists now calling for scattered clouds at 2,000 and 4,000 feet, showers in the vicinity, good visibility, easterly winds of 5 to 10 knots and a temperature of 78 degrees F.
The odds of favorable weather remain at 70 percent.
0937 GMT (5:37 a.m. EDT)
The upper stage liquid oxygen tank has entered the topping phase after the post-fueling tests were accomplished. That puts all four cryogenic fuel tanks aboard the Delta 4 rocket in topping mode.
0935 GMT (5:35 a.m. EDT)
The Delta 4 rocket stands fueled and ready for launch at 8:10 a.m. EDT today. The launch team is tracking no issues, weather conditions are green and the countdown remains on schedule.
0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. EDT)
Engineers are conducting the standard evaluation of the Delta 4 rocket's thermal insulation following the loading of supercold propellants into the vehicle.
0921 GMT (5:21 a.m. EDT)
And the upper stage liquid oxygen filling has been completed, now heading into post-loading tests.
0912 GMT (5:12 a.m. EDT)
The first stage liquid oxygen system has been topped off and conditioned for flight.
0910 GMT (5:10 a.m. EDT)
Now entering into the final three hours of the countdown to launch of Delta 361.
0904 GMT (5:04 a.m. EDT)
And now putting the upper stage's liquid hydrogen system in topping mode.
0855 GMT (4:55 a.m. EDT)
The topping mode is starting for the first stage's liquid hydrogen tank.
0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT)
Loading of the upper stage liquid oxygen tank -- the last of the four vehicle tanks to fill -- is underway.
0819 GMT (4:19 a.m. EDT)
Post-filling tests on the first stage liquid oxygen system are complete. The tank is now entering topping mode.
0817 GMT (4:17 a.m. EDT)
Fast-fill loading of the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank has been accomplished as fueling proceeds very smoothly this morning at Complex 37.
0816 GMT (4:16 a.m. EDT)
After chilldown of the upper stage liquid oxygen system, loading the rocket's tank with 4,500 gallons will be performed. This is the last of the rocket's four cryogenic supplies to be filled in today's countdown to launch.
0810 GMT (4:10 a.m. EDT)
Now four hours till launch. The Delta 4 rocket's Common Booster Core first stage and upper stage are being loaded with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
Complex 37 has two giant sphere-shaped fuel tanks to store the cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The LOX tank holds 250,000 gallons and LH2 sphere about 850,000 gallons.
The cryogenics are fed from the storage tanks through pipelines to the pad. For the Common Booster Core, the propellants are routed up to the launch table upon which the rocket sits. Tail service masts, the large box-like structures at the base of the vehicle, feed the oxygen and hydrogen to the booster via separate umbilicals.
The upper stage receives its cryos from the middle swing arm that extends from the Fixed Umbilical Tower to the front-side of the rocket.
0800 GMT (4:00 a.m. EDT)
The "go" has been given for the upper stage liquid oxygen chilldown in advance of filling that tank.
0754 GMT (3:54 a.m. EDT)
The first stage liquid oxygen loading just finished. The tank has been loaded with its supercold oxidizer that is chilled to Minus-298 degrees F. Topping will be completed as the count rolls on.
0750 GMT (3:50 a.m. EDT)
The launch team is actively loading the upper stage's liquid hydrogen tank with 10,000 gallons of propellant for the RL10 engine.
0741 GMT (3:41 a.m. EDT)
The chilldown of the upper stage liquid hydrogen system is reported complete, clearing the way for loading the rocket's tank.
0738 GMT (3:38 a.m. EDT)
Fast-filling of the first stage liquid hydrogen reservoir is wrapping up. After post-filling checks and valve tests, the tank will be placed in topping mode.
0714 GMT (3:14 a.m. EDT)
First stage liquid oxygen tanking operation is switching from "slow-fill" to "fast-fill" mode. The rocket will be loaded with 40,000 gallons of supercold LOX.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/mst/
ЦитироватьTower retracted from Delta 4 rocket
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Oct. 4, 2012
The mobile service gantry rolls away from the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 for the mission to deploy the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27377.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27378.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27379.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27380.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27381.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27382.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27383.jpg)
Здесь трансляция будет:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Webcast.shtml
А здесь уже идёт:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
Цитировать1110 GMT (7:10 a.m. EDT)
The countdown is entering the final 60 minutes until the Delta 4 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral at 8:10 a.m. EDT. Here's a look at some stats about today's mission. This will be:
The 361st Delta rocket launch since 1960
The 21st Delta 4 rocket mission since 2002
The 17th Delta 4 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral
The 17th use of Delta 4 by the Air Force
The 9th Medium+ 4,2 configuration to fly
The 54th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
The 65th United Launch Alliance mission since 2006
The 14th Delta 4 under the ULA banner
The 9th ULA launch this year
The fourth launch of the Delta family in 2012
The 63rd GPS satellite to launch
The 52nd GPS launch on a Delta rocket
The third GPS Block 2F satellite
1105 GMT (7:05 a.m. EDT)
The launch team is kicking off the steering checks for the RS-68 main engine and RL10 upper stage engine, plus commanding tests with the solid rocket motors.
1055 GMT (6:55 a.m. EDT)
Check out this photo gallery showing the GPS 2F-3 satellite being encapsulated in the rocket's nose cone last month.
1040 GMT (6:40 a.m. EDT)
The launch team is entering the last 90 minutes of the countdown. With fueling of the Delta 4 rocket completed, this phase of the count is fairly quiet. Engineers are monitoring systems while the clocks tick down.
Everything continues to proceed on schedule at Cape Canaveral for liftoff at 8:10 a.m. EDT.
1028 GMT (6:28 a.m. EDT)
Radio frequency link checks between tracking facilities at the Cape and the launch vehicle are complete.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
(http://savepic.su/2609145m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2609145.htm)
Цитировать1203 GMT (8:03 a.m. EDT)
The final readiness polls of the launch team and mission managers have been completed. No technical problems are being worked and all rocket, spacecraft and ground systems are "go" for liftoff at 8:10 a.m. EDT.
1159 GMT (7:59 a.m. EDT)
Standing by for the launch team readiness check for continuing the countdown.
1155 GMT (7:55 a.m. EDT)
Now 15 minutes to launch! The launch team will be polled in the next few minutes to confirm all systems are "go" to press onward for 8:10 a.m. liftoff.
Assuming all systems remain go, clocks will resume ticking at 8:06 a.m. local time. During those final four minutes, the rocket will switch to internal power, ordnance will be armed, all four propellant tanks will be secured and the Range will announce a clear-to-launch.
At T-minus 14 seconds, the sparkler-like radial outward firing ignitors -- or ROFIs -- are started beneath the main engine nozzle. The Terminal Countdown Sequencer will grab control at T-minus 8.5 seconds to manage events in the crucial last seconds and oversee the rocket's status. The ignition sequence for the RS-68 powerplant follows at T-minus 5.5 seconds as the main hydrogen fuel valve is opened. As fuel floods through the engines, spectacular flame erupts at the base of the rocket as free hydrogen reaches the ROFIs.
The oxygen valve in the engine is opened at T-minus 2 seconds as the RS-68 begins roaring to life. The engine must rev up to full throttle -- 102 percent thrust level -- and undergo a rapid computer-controlled health check to ensure all parameters are met.
If any problem is detected before T-minus 40 milliseconds, the engine will shut down and the rocket prevented from lifting off.
A successful engine startup leads to T-0 as the four hold-down bolts that have been restraining the rocket to Earth finally detonate. The 20-story vehicle blasts off at 8:10 a.m. (1210 GMT) on the GPS 2F-3 navigation satellite deployment mission.
1151 GMT (7:51 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered the planned 15-minute hold leading toward the 8:10 a.m. EDT liftoff of the Delta 4 rocket.
This pause is designed to give the launch team the opportunity to catch up on any work running behind schedule and verify all is in readiness for the final moments of the count. A series of management polls will be conducted during the hold to give approval to proceed with the launch.
1147 GMT (7:47 a.m. EDT)
The launch team continues to report no constraints in the countdown.
1146 GMT (7:46 a.m. EDT)
The ULA launch team and management are guiding the countdown from the Delta Operations Center, located about 9,200 feet from the pad. The engineers overseeing the rocket and ground systems are located on the third floor and the Mission Directors Center room is on the fourth floor. Both rooms have a view of pad 37B and the Delta 4 rocket out their windows. Other rooms are also set up for engineering support.
The DOC was formerly built to support the Titan-Centaur program but was refurbished to support Delta 4.
1142 GMT (7:42 a.m. EDT)
A load relief file based on the upper level winds is being transmitted to the Delta 4 rocket's flight computer. This program informs the rocket on the wind conditions it can expect to see during ascent.
1140 GMT (7:40 a.m. EDT)
About three-and-a-half hours after launch, the Delta 4 rocket will deliver its satellite payload directly to the GPS constellation's altitude 11,000 nautical miles high.
Ground controllers expect to have the new bird checked out and ready for use by the end of the year, the Air Force says. The new GPS 2F-3 spacecraft will take over the Plane A, Slot 1 location of the network, replacing a satellite that just was deployed in the summer of 1993.
"As the GPS 2Fs become operational, they are ensuring that the Air Force can meet the current and future needs of both military and civilian users," said Col. Bernie Gruber, director of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Global Positioning Systems Directorate.
Boeing is building a dozen Block 2F satellites for the Air Force.
"Boeing has worked alongside the Air Force for many years to continuously sustain and improve the GPS constellation," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "This new fleet of 12 GPS 2Fs will form the core of the GPS constellation for the next decade."
1133 GMT (7:33 a.m. EDT)
The Air Force launch weather officer has given his final planned briefing to mission managers in the countdown. There are no constraints currently and the outlook appears good for 8:10 a.m. EDT. The odds of acceptable launch conditions have improved to 80 percent.
The latest tweaks to the launch weather forecast now calls for scattered clouds at 2,000 and 4,000 feet, showers in the vicinity, southeasterly winds of 5 to 10 knots and a temperature of 80 degrees F.
The odds of acceptable launch weather remain at 80 percent.
1127 GMT (7:27 a.m. EDT)
The flight slews and commanding tests for the vehicle steering systems are complete and satisfactory. The first stage Common Booster Core, the strap-on solid rocket motors and upper stage engine steering checks were run through a pre-launch test pattern.
1125 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 30 minutes and counting. The countdown is headed to the T-minus 4 minute point where a 15-minute hold is planned. Liftoff is targeted for 8:10 a.m., which is the opening of today's 19-minute launch window to reach the desired location within the GPS constellation for replacing an aging satellite.
1120 GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT)
It is a beautiful sunrise here on the Space Coast! Countdown operations have gone very well overnight.
1 минута
Полетела :wink: ...
(http://savepic.su/2561022m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2561022.htm)
В такой день пуск! Символично!
Сброс ГО
(http://savepic.su/2575345m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2575345.htm)
(http://savepic.su/2584561m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2584561.htm)
На переходной орбите уже...
Редкая Дельта улетает с первого раза. :lol:
Видео пуска
http://youtu.be/62LrwX-2u5k
Точное время отрыва 12:10:00.242 UTC.
Вроде запуск успешный. Подробностей пока нет.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29530.msg960914#msg960914
ЦитироватьUnconfirmed good S/C Sep! There were whispers of some concern early (see L2), but it's ended well, that's the main thing!
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html
Цитировать1627 GMT (12:27 p.m. EDT)
Officials report spacecraft separation of GPS 2F-3 from the Delta 4 rocket. Now awaiting the various post-launch releases from ULA, the Air Force and satellite-builder Boeing.
1600 GMT (12:00 p.m. EDT)
We are still waiting on official information to pass along about the ultimate outcome of the launch and health of the GPS 2F-3 satellite.
1547 GMT (11:47 a.m. EDT)
Now four minutes after the expected spacecraft deployment time. Still awaiting on word.
1533 GMT (11:33 a.m. EDT)
The third and final burn by the Delta 4 rocket's cryogenic upper stage should have just occurred. However, we have no word at this time on how the mission is progressing.
А как же ТДРС?
(http://savepic.su/2620215m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2620215.htm) (http://savepic.su/2604855m.jpg) (http://savepic.su/2604855.htm)
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/
ЦитироватьGPS gets another upgraded satellite for constellation
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 4, 2012
Upgrading the Global Positioning System one launch at a time, a modern bird soared to space Thursday to replace a long-surviving navigation satellite deployed 19 years ago, a durable craft of the past that doubled life's expectations and will give way to current advancements.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27409.jpg)
Delta 4 soars after sunrise this morning. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
See photo gallery
Following an overnight countdown that saw United Launch Alliance load its Delta 4 with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen rocket fuel at Cape Canaveral's Complex 37, clocks hit the targeted blastoff time at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT).
The pad's three swing arms pulled away as the 206-foot-tall, orange and white launcher thundered skyward atop 1.2 million pounds of thrust from its cryogenic main engine and twin strap-on solid motors.
The rare morning launch was precisely timed to deliver the GPS 2F-3 satellite into the orbiting constellation three-and-a-half hours later. Performance measurements observed during the ascent, however, prompted whispers and wondering about the vehicle's upper stage throughout the morning.
After a tense wait to hear official confirmation of rocket's final maneuvering, deployment of the spacecraft and the ultimate outcome for the mission, word of success and a sigh of relief verified that the GPS satellite had arrived in the proper orbit.
Telemetry obtained during the launch will be thoroughly analyzed in the rigorous post-flight review process, but ULA and its Air Force customer both stressed that the Delta's launch achieved the correct altitude for the payload to begin its 12-year mission life.
"Congratulations to the entire team on today's successful launch of the GPS 2F-3 satellite," Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president for mission operations, said in the post-launch press release. .
It was only the third GPS replacement launch in the past three years, as the Air Force stewards manage the delicate balance of extracting the entire usefulness of existing spacecraft while introducing enhanced capabilities when the newest satellites go up.
"One of the really great things about our GPS satellites is that they've consistently exceeded their design life. In fact, our oldest GPS 2A that's still operating on-orbit is actually of drinking age!" said Col. Steve R. Steiner, chief of the GPS Space Systems Division at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.
"The steady, measured launching of these GPS 2Fs is in line with making sure we have a steady constellation that is robust and doesn't have any performance hits over time."
A billion users around the globe rely on GPS every day, whether they know it or not. From the overt navigation assistance in transportation to the less obvious role in providing accurate timing stamps on banking transactions, the system developed to support U.S. military forces and their guided munitions has blossomed in the commercial marketplace.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27300.jpg)
An artist's concept of GPS 2F. Credit: Boeing
When the GPS 2F-3 satellite is checked out and becomes operational later this year, it will assume the role filled by the GPS 2A-21 spacecraft that has been in service since July 21, 1993.
That old craft was deployed by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral on June 26, 1993, during the heydays of launching GPS satellites at a fast and furious rate.
The bigger Delta 4 took over with the next-generation GPS satellite series in 2010 with the first of the Block 2F craft and followed that up with another success last year carrying 2F-2.
The launch rate throttled back to meet the needs of the constellation, calling up rockets only when aging satellites needed replacing. But that tempo is expected to start picking up again.
"We do expect to see an increase in the one-launch-per-year (rate) starting in the next year and beyond," Steiner said.
But instead of waiting for in-space failures of aged satellites, the Air Force "does smart planning of launches to ensure we are resilient," Steiner added.
"We plan (launches) based on reliability and how old the ones we have on-orbit are, so even if something hasn't failed yet, we do make plans to be resilient to any dips or drop outs."
Projections show GPS 2F-4 launching next May aboard an Atlas 5 rocket and GPS 2F-5 following next November aboard another Delta 4 from Cape Canaveral. But the true needs of the constellation next year coupled with the availability of spots on the cramped military launch schedule will drive final scheduling.
"This is an operational decision, based on the operational needs across the Department of Defense," Steiner said.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27410.jpg)
A GPS 2F satellite in the California factory. Credit: Boeing
Boeing has three more 2Fs already finished and waiting in storage for launch opportunities, three further birds that should finish construction by year's end and the final three that will complete assembly by next summer, according to Paul Rusnock, Boeing's vice president of government space systems.
"As each 2F satellite becomes operational, we continue the seamless transformation of the GPS constellation into an even more accurate, reliable and durable navigation resource for the U.S. military and the global civilian user community," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "Our efficient pulse-line manufacturing process, adapted from Boeing's commercial airplane production lines, also ensures that we deliver each spacecraft on time and on cost."
GPS satellites fly about 11,000 miles above the planet and emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Populating the operational constellation began on Valentine's Day 1989.
Today's GPS fleet is comprised of 31 satellites, including 10 Block 2A's made by Boeing, 12 Block 2R's and seven 2R-Modernized spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing's two Block 2F. The oldest still in operation is nearing its 22nd orbital birthday.
"We do have a very robust constellation, but it is a mix of older and newer satellites," Steiner said.
The Air Force is in the midst of further advancing the GPS network by deploying a new breed of satellite, produced by Boeing, that features improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation, a longer design life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.
"The first two of these 12 GPS 2F satellites are on-orbit and are meeting all of our mission requirements. The atomic clocks on board are providing the best accuracies ever for the GPS constellation," Steiner said.
Boeing is building the dozen Block 2F craft to form the constellation's foundation for the next 15 years.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27411.jpg)
Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
"With each GPS 2F launch and deployment, we are contributing to the sustainment and modernization of the network. It's a privilege and a thrill to be part of this absolutely critical global utility," said Jan Heide, Boeing's GPS program director.
The space system features six orbital planes with multiple satellites flying in each. This latest sustainment craft will be maneuvered into Plane A, Slot 1 of the network, with the old bird currently in that position sliding aside to begin an auxiliary role within the A-Plane.
The roots of GPS are firmly entrenched with the U.S. military, which developed the satellites to guide warfighter with unparalleled exactness. Nearly every piece of military equipment uses GPS' precision timing and navigation capabilities.
"GPS continues to provide vital capabilities to our nation's military operations, our global information infrastructure, emergency response, transportation, telecommunications and a host of other commercial applications in every day life," Steiner said. "Our commitment is to ensure this capability continues to deliver this precise PNT (position, navigation and timing) across the globe."
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/causeway/
ЦитироватьDelta 4 rocket launches GPS 2F-3
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Oct. 4, 2012
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasts off at 8:10 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 on the mission to deploy the Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27412.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27413.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27414.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27415.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27416.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/27417.jpg)
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/PhotoGallery/Photo_gallery.shtml
ЦитироватьА как же ТДРС?
ТДРС транслирует сразу журналистам http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ ? :)
Сегодня, в 12:10 утра) на мысе Канаверал состоялся запуск ракеты-носителя Delta IV, несущей на борту спутник GPS Block IIF-3. Отделение спутника от ракеты-носителя произошло в 16:27(по Всемирному времени).
Новый спутник, построенный корпорацией Boeing, предназначен для улучшения качества навигационного покрытия, как для гражданских, так и для военных пользователей. Кроме того, спутник поддерживает новый сигнал L5.
GPS Block IIF-3, также известный под названием SVN65, будет установлен в орбитальный слот 1, плоскость А. Ему назначен код опознавания PRN24. Сейчас этот слот занят спутником серии Block IIA, под названием SVN39, с кодом PRN09. SVN39 является одним из старейших спутников созвездия, он был запущен 26 июня 1993 года. Позднее он будет отведён с орбиты и освободит место для нового спутника.
http://gps-club.ru/gps_news/detail.php?ID=83859
http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_10_05_2012_p05-01-503315.xml
ЦитироватьThird GPS IIF Satellite In Orbit
By Amy Butler
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/66992.jpg)
October 05, 2012
The third Global Positioning System IIF satellite was boosted into orbit Oct. 4, becoming the 32nd GPS satellite in the Pentagon's constellation.
The GPS IIF series incorporates a new L5 civil signal used for safety operations and search-and-rescue, provides twice the signal accuracy over heritage satellites and carries an on-orbit reprogrammable signal processor. Boeing built the satellite for a 12-year design life, and it is slated to be turned over to the U.S. Air Force for testing in November after initial on-orbit checkout, says Paul Rossnock, vice president of government space systems for Boeing.
The launch took place at 8:10 a.m. (EDT) on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV (4,2 configuration) rocket fr om Cape Canaveral. The rocket boosted the satellite into orbit 11,000 mi. over Earth.
Operators observed a data anomaly from the Delta IV RL-10B2 upper stage, according to Jessica Rye, United Launch Alliance spokeswoman. The satellite reached its proper orbit and signal acquisition was successful. But officials will analyze the anomaly to determine what happened, if a fix is needed and whether that could affect other launches.
The spacecraft includes a fix to the xenon bulb in the cesium clock designed to address a problem found on the second IIF satellite operating in orbit. "The issue that arose with the IIF-2 cesium clock involved trapped air that, when combined with vacuum and high power, caused an event that resulted in a pump failure," according to Paula Shawa, a Boeing spokeswoman. "This pump failure necessitated higher-than-desired clock maintenance from the ground crew, so it was decided instead to switch to a rubidium clock." The zenon bulb sets the frequency standard for the clock, Russnock says.
"A manufacturing change was made to the remaining units and installed on vehicles to mitigate any on-orbit risk," Shawa says. The fix is to put a higher pressure bulb onto future satellites, Russnock says.
The Pentagon is purchasing 12 GPS IIF satellites. Those after IIF-3 are being purchased through fixed-price contracts. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the GPS IIF program costs about $2.6 billion, significantly more than the originally estimated price. Boeing has crafted a "pulse production" line at its El Segundo, Calif., facility to manufacture the satellites more efficiently. "With the pulse line, we have dramatically improved performance in the ability to get these things built," Russnock says. When asked if the GPS IIF program is profitable after its challenges, he said it is "stable."
GPS III
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin is continuing development work on the next-generation GPS III constellation. The company shipped the propulsion core for the A2100-based first GPS III satellite last week to the Denver facility wh ere it will be integrated with other satellite components. The first power-on event for GPS III satellite 1 is slated for November, says Keoki Jackson, vice president of the navigation systems area for Lockheed Martin.
A production-representative pathfinder satellite already has been largely assembled, with electronics and the complete antenna panel. "We want to make sure we don't learn anything for the first time on space vehicle one," Jackson says. The inclusion of a pathfinder satellite, which will not fly, has contributed to a 70% reduction in cycle time to produce test scripts and procedures and a 33% reduction in the labor hours needed to install hardware for the first flyable satellite.
In April, the pathfinder will be shipped to Cape Canaveral so that operators there can run it through the prelaunch process for practice.
The first satellite is slated for launch availability in May 2014, with the second expected to launch about nine months later.
GPS III is being designed to a 15-year in-orbit life, and this satellite includes three rubidium clocks rather than the troublesome cesium design.
Delta 4 rocket overcomes engine issue during launchPosted: October 6, 2012
ЦитироватьGenerating less than its normal 25,000 pounds of thrust because of a still unknown problem, the upper stage engine on the Delta 4 rocket had to fire for longer periods of time Thursday morning before ultimately delivering the GPS payload into the right orbit, overcoming the adversity to achieve success.
Delta 4 rocket-maker United Launch Alliance and RL10B-2 engine provider Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have convened a review panel to look into the telemetry recorded during the ascent and determine what caused the low-thrust condition.
Officials say it is too soon to know what, if any, impact the situation will have on plans to launch an Atlas 5 rocket with the Pentagon's X-37B miniature space shuttle using a Centaur upper stage equipped with a similar-yet-different RL10 powerplant Oct. 25.
"Though the GPS 2F-3 mission was a complete success, ULA fully understands the challenges of launch and will thoroughly investigate and implement appropriate actions to reliably deliver our customer's critical capabilities to the orbital positions required," Jim Sponnick, ULA's vice president of missions operations, said in a press release Friday night.
Thursday's voyage of the 20-story rocket set sail at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT) from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station topped with the Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.
A pair of strap-on solid-fuel boosters provided extra power for the first 95 seconds of flight, assisting the cryogenic first stage in climbing away from Earth.
The RS-68 main engine finished its burn about four minutes after liftoff and separated, leaving the upper stage with the RL10B-2 to deploy its extendible carbon-carbon nozzle and ignite.
The mission sequence planned three burns of the upper stage, initial reaching a low-altitude parking orbit, then a highly elliptical transfer orbit and eventually achieving a circular orbit in line with the GPS constellation 11,000 nautical miles up.
That first burn was supposed to last nearly 8 minutes. However, it ran around a half-minute longer than expected as a consequence of the lower-than-planned thrust output, to reach the parking orbit of roughly 213 by 88 nautical miles, tilted 41.6 degrees to the equator.
The rocket coasted over the central Atlantic for about 9 minutes before restarting the engine to run for a scheduled three minutes -- but went about a minute beyond the anticipated duration -- to inject itself into an orbit with a high point of 11,001 nautical miles, a low point of 129 nautical miles and inclined 43.3 degrees.
Precise numbers on the actual burn durations and exactly how long the firings went overtime were not immediately available to the press Saturday.
There was no official indication that the launch was in trouble as it unfolded live. Behind the scenes, however, there were worries about the engine's performance.
A three-hour quiet coast period then began as the rocket motor and attached payload traveled away from Earth toward the high-mark of the orbit for one final firing.
The third burn raised the orbit's low point and increased the inclination to ascend into the GPS network, then Delta released the satellite cargo into an approximate 11,047-nautical-mile perch tilted 55 degrees to the equator.
Officials indicate the final burn produced the necessary boost to finish shaping the orbit for GPS 2F-3. Whether this firing also suffered the low-thrust condition or not has not been confirmed.
But the satellite arrived in space exactly where it was intended to fly despite the engine situation that, remarkably, was not a detriment to the launch's end result.
"The Delta 4's robust system design, flight software, vehicle margins and propellant reserves enabled the successful outcome for this mission," ULA said in a statement to reporters Friday night.
"The unexpected signature was seen during second stage performance as evidenced by a reduced thrust level of the RL10 engine. The onboard inertial guidance and flight control systems compensated for the lower thrust conditions and the Delta second stage delivered the satellite to the proper orbit."
The investigation team assembled by ULA and PWR will have oversight from major customers, the press release said. The panel will work to determine what caused the low-thrust and identify what actions should be taken to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.
Fed with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the RL10B-2 is the latest in a long line of upper stage engines dating back a half-century. The original version of the RL10 debuted successfully on an Atlas rocket in 1963 and has been part of Centaur for more than 200 space missions.
The RL10 has dispatched robotic expeditions to every planet in our solar system, plus multiple missions to the moon and countless military spacecraft and commercial communications satellites in orbits around Earth.
This latest RL10 variant was introduced in 1998 as part of Boeing's Delta 3 program, which served as a stepping-stone to the Delta 4 rocket and development of its cryogenic upper stage.
The engine has been fired in space 23 times to date.
Its specs include a nominal thrust of 24,750 pounds, mass of 664 pounds, an overall length of 13.6 feet, including 7 feet just for the nozzle extension and a specific impulse of 465.5 seconds.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/rl10.html
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/launch/
(http://s019.radikal.ru/i623/1210/6a/37226845b803.jpg) (http://s019.radikal.ru/i637/1210/0b/56330f512476.jpg) (http://s45.radikal.ru/i108/1210/f5/4748c9a0d963.jpg) (http://s43.radikal.ru/i101/1210/5f/7a2344d0b17b.jpg) (http://s019.radikal.ru/i631/1210/54/254e4a698886.jpg) (http://s47.radikal.ru/i115/1210/5c/7bd3114c7d9f.jpg) (http://s53.radikal.ru/i139/1210/b7/c88a17eeda32.jpg) (http://s56.radikal.ru/i153/1210/50/f202bb9a9e24.jpg)
(http://s43.radikal.ru/i099/1210/94/ebfa55ec7ced.jpg) (http://s017.radikal.ru/i400/1210/ec/8a78516a117f.jpg) (http://s017.radikal.ru/i408/1210/09/37c793e89a0d.jpg) (http://s004.radikal.ru/i207/1210/d7/824a239e107c.jpg) (http://s019.radikal.ru/i602/1210/47/7ee500495ddc.jpg) (http://s017.radikal.ru/i431/1210/6b/b29e8bb1f222.jpg) (http://s017.radikal.ru/i401/1210/a1/2981bda57275.jpg) (http://s55.radikal.ru/i147/1210/13/a62172638b5c.jpg)
(http://s56.radikal.ru/i153/1210/0b/93776d97e8f7.jpg) (http://s50.radikal.ru/i128/1210/0a/87e080235804.jpg) (http://i068.radikal.ru/1210/38/65ff06c213f7.jpg) (http://s60.radikal.ru/i167/1210/3c/9354c4d4475d.jpg) (http://s60.radikal.ru/i170/1210/77/2852924bda4e.jpg) (http://s019.radikal.ru/i637/1210/f2/c890a81827e7.jpg) (http://s50.radikal.ru/i128/1210/96/74423956ecf2.jpg) (http://s61.radikal.ru/i174/1210/dc/daebad74ee82.jpg)
(http://s56.radikal.ru/i151/1210/b1/dbc2f2761567.jpg) (http://s52.radikal.ru/i136/1210/2d/8a53eefb4936.jpg) (http://s51.radikal.ru/i131/1210/ef/9947c269d9a1.jpg) (http://s51.radikal.ru/i131/1210/dd/5c5cf93e0176.jpg) (http://s44.radikal.ru/i104/1210/66/3e2d0491d80d.jpg) (http://s55.radikal.ru/i150/1210/99/c453166a3c31.jpg) (http://s48.radikal.ru/i121/1210/e8/4838e78d62bc.jpg) (http://i070.radikal.ru/1210/c7/37f9a4da9d9e.jpg)
(http://s019.radikal.ru/i642/1210/b4/af212bde343e.jpg) (http://s019.radikal.ru/i637/1210/b8/263593d8e9c1.jpg)
Go GPS!
GPS-IIF-3 с 8 октября начал транслировать навигационные сигналы
http://www.gpsworld.com/gps-iif-3-launch/
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/121012-shelton-investigation-delta-anomaly.html
ЦитироватьFri, 12 October, 2012
Shelton Orders Investigation of Delta 4 Anomaly
By Titus Ledbetter III
WASHINGTON — U.S. Air Force Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, has ordered an "accident investigation board" to review an upper-stage thrust anomaly that occurred during the successful Oct. 4 launch of a GPS satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket, the service announced Oct. 11.
Meanwhile, ULA said Oct. 5 that the scheduled Oct. 25 launch of the Air Force's X-37B reusable military spaceplane is on hold while ULA and upper-stage maker Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne investigate the cause of the anomaly. The robotic X-37B is slated to launch atop ULA's Atlas 5 rocket, whose RL-10 upper stage is similar to the one used on the Delta 4.
Denver-based ULA, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, said telemetry showed lower-than-expected performance of the Delta 4's RL-10 upper stage during the GPS 2F launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The rocket's guidance system and flight computers compensated for the lower thrust, delivering the Boeing-built navigation satellite to its proper orbit with the help of reserve fuel, ULA said.
ULA and the Air Force must determine the cause of the glitch before they can proceed with the launch of the X-37B on what will be that program's third flight to date, the ULA press release said. Details of the so-called Orbital Test Vehicle-3 mission are classified.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., builds different versions of the RL-10 for the Delta 4 and Atlas 5, the workhorse launch vehicles of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The results of the Air Force-ordered investigation will be presented to Shelton before being made public, the service said.
http://www.glonass-ianc.rsa.ru/GPS/
Новый спутник GPS IIF-3 работает в системе. В GPS теперь 31 КА, по 5 в пяти плоскостях, и 6 в пятой плоскости.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/investigation.html
ЦитироватьInvestigation finds Delta 4 rocket engine issue
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: December 9, 2012
The Delta 4 rocket's cryogenic upper stage engine persevered through a fuel leak and the resulting low-thrust condition by autonomously engaging techniques that kept the mission on track to successfully launch a Global Positioning System satellite in October.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/82973.jpg)
Animation of the upper stage firing. Credit: United Launch Alliance
The dramatic ascent began at 8:10 a.m. EDT Oct. 4 fr om Cape Canaveral's Complex 37, roaring into the morning sky on the combined power of the RS-68 main engine and twin solid motors.
It was a flight being conducted by United Launch Alliance for the U.S. Air Force to deliver a next-generation GPS navigation satellite into orbit where it would replace an aging, 19-year-old craft.
But four-and-a-half minutes into the launch, after the first stage had shut down and separated, the trouble began as the RL10B-2 engine on the upper stage extended its nozzle and fired to life.
When the powerplant was igniting and reached its peak chamber pressure, a leak started above the narrow throat portion of the thrust chamber, setting off a series of ramifications that would endure over the next three hours as the vehicle made its climb to the GPS constellation.
The mission sequence planned three burns of the upper stage, initially reaching a low-altitude parking orbit, then a highly elliptical transfer orbit and eventually achieving a circular orbit in line with the GPS network 11,000 nautical miles up.
Throughout those burns, however, the engine was feeling the effects of the leak by producing less thrust than expected, firing longer than planned to compensate and having to adjust its trajectory.
"With the fuel leak, the thrust was lower than nominal, and the Delta 4 closed loop guidance system measured this in real time and revised the trajectory that was being flown and also the burn durations to achieve the required orbital conditions and other requirements," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president of mission operations.
"Also, the fuel leak in the thrust chamber resulted in a slight offset to thrust direction fr om the engine. The launch vehicle control system adapted to this by adjusting the engine gimbal angle to compensate for the slight offset in the thrust."
Despite all of that, the rocket's resilience allowed the launch to achieve success in the face of adversity, hauling the 3,400-pound GPS satellite exactly where the cargo wanted to go.
"We were later informed by our GPS customer that this was the most accurate placement of the three GPS 2F spacecraft that have been launched, which enabled a short on-orbit checkout period following the launch," Sponnick said.
Using the margins in the rocket's fuel supply and calling upon the flight software to handle the off-nominal situation, the rocket kept clawing onward on each of its three burns.
"The three burn durations ranged from 20 to 36 seconds longer than nominal predictions. Various parameters are targeted for each burn, and the flight results generally did meet our expectations. The final orbit was quite precise," Sponnick said.
The first burn was supposed to last nearly 8 minutes to put the vehicle into a low-altitude parking orbit. The rocket coasted over the central Atlantic for about 9 minutes before restarting the engine to run for a scheduled three-minute firing to inject itself into an elliptical orbit with a high point near the GPS constellation's altitude 11,000 nautical miles, while leaving the low point around 130 nautical miles.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/82974.jpg)
Animation of the upper stage firing. Credit: United Launch Alliance
On the ground, mission managers realized they had a problem on their hands but were not quite sure how the ascent was going to turn out. A worst-case scenario was the upper stage running out of fuel before getting to the proper orbit, casting fears of a "bad day."
The rocket was in the midst of a quiet, three-hour coast as the rocket motor traveled away from Earth toward the high-mark of the orbit for one final firing.
"While we knew in real-time about the lower than expected engine performance, we were not able in the lim ited time to perform detailed analyses that would be needed to accurately quantify the propellant leak. As a result, we had rough analyses ranging from predictions of a nominal final orbit to some conservative worst-case analyses showing that there might not be adequate performance to achieve the required final orbit," Sponnick recalls.
The third burn ignition time arrived and the RL10 again restarted, giving all of the propulsion needed to fully circularize the orbit by raising the low point up to the GPS network's altitude.
"The thrust in the first burn was approximately 5 percent below nominal, and it stepped down several percent more in each of the second and third burns. During each of the three burns, the thrust levels were constant," said Sponnick.
Three-and-a-half hours after leaving the launch pad, Delta released the satellite cargo into an approximate 11,047-nautical-mile perch tilted 55 degrees to the equator, marking a full mission success.
"It was a relief to the team that there was plenty of propellant margin and the final orbit was accurately achieved," Sponnick says.
And, in fact, there was "pretty substantial margins" still left in the tank when the mission was completed. Analysis now shows more than 1,000 pounds of propellant remaining, which would have enabled approximately 30 seconds of additional burn time, is necessary, Sponnick says.
Fed with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the RL10B-2 is the latest in a long line of upper stage engines dating back a half-century. The original version of the RL10 debuted successfully on an Atlas rocket in 1963 and has been part of Centaur for more than 200 space missions.
The RL10 has dispatched robotic expeditions to every planet in our solar system, plus multiple missions to the moon and countless military spacecraft and commercial communications satellites in orbits around Earth.
This latest RL10 variant was introduced in 1998 as part of Boeing's Delta 3 program, which served as a stepping-stone to the Delta 4 rocket and development of its cryogenic upper stage.
The engine has been fired in space 23 times to date.
Its specs include a nominal thrust of 24,750 pounds, mass of 664 pounds, an overall length of 13.6 feet, including 7 feet just for the nozzle extension and a specific impulse of 465.5 seconds.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23628.jpg)
An upper stage of the Delta 4 rocket. Credit: NASA
Coupling the Delta 4 with the relatively light-weight GPS 2F satellite provided a bit greater margin for the launch than other rocket and payload combinations.
"There are missions that would not have reached their prescribed orbit with the kind of performance degradation that occurred in the last launch," Sponnick says. "That illustrates why we must thoroughly investigate and implement corrective actions for an anomaly such as this."
Investigators used extensive analysis and the reconstruction of flight data to find the leak location and when it began. But the ongoing inquiry continues to work through the credible "candidate causes" to determine why the leak happened.
The team had 2,000 measurements from the GPS launch that were analyzed in great detail and technicians performed tests on production engines to aid the investigation and crossover assessments. More than 500 "candidate causes" have been thoroughly assessed in the process of zeroing in on a small number of credible physical causes.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne produces the RL10B-2 engine and the RL10A-4 powerplant used by the Centaur upper stages on Atlas 5 rockets. Although the two engines have their differences, they do share commonality through the evolution of the venerable RL10.
The list of "candidate causes" of the leak includes some pertaining only to the Delta 4 version and others that have "crossover" implications that could touch Atlas as well. Those potential causes common to both vehicles have been put to the test against the Atlas engine that will power Tuesday's launch of the X-37B spaceplane, known as Orbital Test Vehicle Flight 3, and officials Friday formally cleared that RL10A-4 for flight.
"For each cause that has potential crossover to the RL10A-4 engine, comprehensive flight clearance assessments have been performed for the OTV 3 mission," said Sponnick. "Wh ere applicable, specific mitigating actions have been implemented -- such as detailed visual and borescope inspections of the engine and launch vehicle systems."
The Atlas 5 rocket will be wheeled to the launch pad Monday for a targeted blastoff Tuesday at 1:03 p.m. EST, weather permitting. See our Mission Status Center.
It will get the Atlas family back in action, which paused its manifest in light of the RL10 situation and delayed the X-37B mission from the targeted late October launch.
The Delta 4 rocket had planned mid-January for its next mission will carry the Wideband Global SATCOM 5 military communications satellite to orbit. That vehicle's engine has undergone the same visual inspections that the X-37B launcher did, and some additional work on the Delta is being evaluated before it is cleared for flight. A new launch date is pending.
Atlas plans to launch NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite K on Jan. 29 from Cape Canaveral and return to its original schedule with the Feb. 11 flight from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the next Landsat remote-sensing spacecraft.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=31289.msg1050143#msg1050143
ULA presser:
United Launch Alliance Clears WGS-5 Mission for May 22 Launch
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (May 10, 2013) – United Launch Alliance (ULA) has cleared the launch of the WGS-5 mission, after a thorough flight clearance process was executed following a flight data anomaly that occurred on the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch on Oct. 4, 2012.
"This will be the first Delta IV launch following the low engine performance that was identified on the successful Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch last October," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. "Although the GPS IIF-3 spacecraft was accurately placed into the required orbit, ULA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) and our U.S. Air Force teammates embarked on an investigation to determine why the upper stage engine performance was lower than expected. ULA completed a flight clearance assessment recently for the WGS-5 mission and our Air Force customer also assessed and approved flight clearance for this Delta IV mission."
The ULA/PWR investigation concluded that a fuel leak within the upper stage RL10 engine system was the direct cause of the lower than expected engine performance on the GPS IIF-3 launch. To prevent a recurrence of this sort of fuel leak, the engine and vehicle systems have been very thoroughly inspected and also launch vehicle hardware modifications and changes to how the engine is operated during launch were implemented.
"I thank our customer community and senior technical advisors for working with us throughout this very extensive investigation and flight clearance process," said Sponnick. "Given the comprehensive investigation that included extensive analyses and engine testing, along with the mitigating actions that have been implemented, we have concluded that the risks have been mitigated and that it is safe to proceed with the WGS-5 launch."
Engine testing that was performed to support this ULA investigation replicated fuel leaks like those observed in the GPS IIF-3 launch. The mitigations that have been implemented include extensive engine and launch-vehicle inspections to ensure that there is no damage and that there are no foreign objects that could cause problems for the operation of the engine system during launch. Additionally, launch vehicle hardware modifications and operational changes have been implemented to mitigate risks for the WGS-5 mission and future launches. The hardware modifications include the addition of in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system. The operational changes to reduce risk include changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned in-flight to prepare for the first engine start following the booster phase of flight.