Форум Новости Космонавтики

ЦитироватьNAVAREA IV 289/2018 (11,25,26)

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   142200Z TO 150241Z APR, ALTERNATE
   152200Z TO 160241Z APR IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-38N 080-37W, 28-41N 080-32W,
   28-37N 078-23W, 28-32N 078-23W,
   28-30N 079-10W, 28-31N 080-28W,
   28-32N 080-34W, 28-33N 080-35W,
   28-36N 080-36W.
   B. 28-06N 070-25W, 27-52N 068-22W,
      27-42N 068-22W, 27-57N 070-27W.
   C. 24-41N 050-24W, 23-45N 046-58W,
   23-33N 047-02W, 24-29N 050-28W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 160341Z APR 18.

( 090318Z APR 2018 )

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185659.jpg)James Dean‏Подлинная учетная запись @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean) 20 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/983776926065184769)

45th Space Wing confirms it is still preparing to support Saturday evening launch of AFSPC-11 on Atlas V 551.

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/961266425464836097/3tlAaozM_bigger.jpg)NASA Nate‏ @NASA_Nerd (https://twitter.com/NASA_Nerd) 7 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_Nerd/status/983676417618608128)

The Atlas V 551 configuration with 5 solid rocket boosters, 5 meter fairing and single engine Centaur upper stage will launch the Air Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM & the EAGLE satellite to orbit. Launch targeted for April 14th at 6:00pm EDT from SLC-41.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162428.jpg)

ЦитироватьCBAS Space Vehicle Completes Launch Base Testing
/ Published April 10, 2018

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, or CBAS, Satellite completed launch base testing March 15 in preparation for the payload's scheduled launch aboard the AFSPC-11 mission.

The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to launch the CBAS satellite and the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment (EAGLE) satellite on the AFSPC-11 mission aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V EELV from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in mid-April.

Спойлер

Managed by the Military Satellite Communications Directorate of the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, the CBAS Satellite is a military satellite communications spacecraft destined for geosynchronous orbit to provide communications relay capabilities to support our senior leaders and combatant commanders. The mission of CBAS is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links.

The Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center, located at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center of excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the Global Positioning System, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems, and space situational awareness capabilities.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьATLAS V TO LAUNCH AFSPC-11

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/220086.jpg)

[/li]
• Rocket: Atlas V 551
• Mission: AFSPC-11
• Launch Date: Saturday, April 14, 2018
• Launch Broadcast: Look for how you can watch live
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  

Mission Description: Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11 is a multi-manifested mission. The forward spacecraft is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (ESPA Augmented GEO Laboratory Experiment).

Launch Notes: AFSPC-11 will mark the 77th launch of the Atlas V rocket since its inaugural launch in 2002 and the eighth in the 551 configuration, which produces more than 2.5 million pounds of thrust off the launch pad. This mission will be ULA's 127th since the company was founded in December 2006.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (https://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch), twitter.com/ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) and instagram.com/ulalaunch (https://instagram.com/ulalaunch); hashtag #AtlasV.

Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go AFSPC-11!

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Это первый полёт Атласа непосредственно на ГСО?

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Это первый полёт Атласа непосредственно на ГСО?

Возможно ещё NROL-67 был.

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет: 
Возможно ещё NROL-67 был.

Цитировать

[/li]
• Launch Date: Saturday, April 14, 2018
  
• Launch Time: 7:13 p.m. EDT
  
• Launch Broadcast: Live launch coverage will begin at 6:53 p.m. EDT
  

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/185659.jpg)James Dean‏Подлинная учетная запись @flatoday_jdean (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean) 36 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/984414293411205120)

Atlas V targeting 7:13pm ET Saturday launch of AFSPC-11 from Cape Canaveral AFS. Full window not specified. Weather looks good Saturday evening, bad Sunday if backup date needed.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162623.jpg)

ЦитироватьAtlas V AFSPC-11 Mission Profile

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 12 апр. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьAFPSC-11 Mission Set to Launch
SMC Public Affairs Office / Published April 12, 2018

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/143345.jpg)

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. --
The AFSPC-11 mission is set to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, April 14.

A live feed will begin 20 minutes prior to the launch at 6:53 p.m. EDT and concluding approximately 45 minutes following launch. The launch broadcast can be viewed at http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/multimedia_webcast.shtml.

Спойлер

The AFSPC-11 mission team is led by the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center's Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.

The Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center, located at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center of excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the Global Positioning System, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems, and space situational awareness capabilities.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 9 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/984778706710228999)

#AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162680.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/984779759056908288)

Planning to roll a couple million pounds out to the pad today. Think good weather thoughts. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/984790697612984320)

The bird and payload are prep'ed and configured for roll. Weather looks good. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/984798644305125382)

A @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) Atlas 5 has started its journey from the Vertical Integration Facility to launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, in advance of liftoff Saturday evening on a satellite delivery mission for the US Air Force. https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/M1kW7qavlF)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162667.jpg)

ЦитироватьUpd ated: 04/13/2018 16:35 Stephen Clark

On the eve of launch with two U.S. Air Force satellites, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket set for rollout to its launch pad this morning at Cape Canaveral.

The rocket will make the 1,800-foot journey from ULA's Vertical Integration Facility to the Complex 41 launch pad beginning around 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

The 197-foot-tall Atlas 5 will make the trip on top of a mobile launch platform pushed by locomotives along rail tracks leading to the launch pad. The transfer should take less than an hour to complete.

The Atlas 5 is se t for liftoff during a launch window that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) Saturday and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday).

The rocket will carry the Air Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, or CBAS, spacecraft in the upper position inside the payload shroud. The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment satellite -- better known as EAGLE -- rides in the lower berth.

The CBAS satellite will "provide communications relay capabilities to support our senior leaders and combatant commanders," the Air Force said in a statement. "The mission of CBAS is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links."

EAGLE is host to several military experiments.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/984801458267631616)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125342.png) Rollin rollin rollin. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) is rollin. See that rocket rollin, let's go! (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/125343.png) @AFSpace (https://twitter.com/AFSpace) @AF_SMC (https://twitter.com/AF_SMC) @usairforce (https://twitter.com/usairforce)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162668.jpg)

Цитировать04/13/2018 17:50 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 is nearing its destination at pad 41, approaching the facility's Crew Access Tower, which will be used for astronauts boarding Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule when it begins flying people in late 2018 or early 2019. Photo credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now

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Цитировать04/13/2018 17:58 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket has arrived at Complex 41 after a trip from the Vertical Integration Facility. The Atlas 5's mobile platform followed rail tracks leading to the pad as two "trackmobile" vehicles pushed the stack.

Спойлер

Automatic couplers will connect the Atlas 5 to the launch pad's ground systems, and the Atlas 5 team will complete inspections, checkouts and other activities this afternoon. The agenda today also includes filling of the first stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel.

Liquid oxygen will be loaded in the first stage during the countdown tomorrow evening, along with liquid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen for the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage.

The latest forecast issued this morning indicates an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions during tomorrow's launch window, which opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT).

"On launch day, high pressure continues to migrate east as the aforementioned cold front advances into the Gulf Coast states in the morning and near the Florida Panhandle during the window," the Air Force wrote in an outlook issued Friday morning. "Moisture is limited early in the count trending up gradually by the evening hours with the warm southerly winds. Diurnal heating will aid in developing limited isolated showers over Central Florida. No thunderstorms are expected."

Forecasters predict gusty southeast winds Saturday evening, partly cloudy skies and isolated rain showers in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral. The temperature during the launch window will be around 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and the main weather concern for liftoff will be cumulus clouds.

If the launch is pushed back to Sunday, there is only a 20 percent chance of favorable weather, with widespread showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000149454500/c2e974df2f92ce57b2c8db329f5da805_bigger.png)Emre Kelly‏Подлинная учетная запись @EmreKelly (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly) 55 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/984875440065142785)

Update: Launch window for #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash) now runs from 1913 to 2111 ET (2313 to 0111 UTC).

ЦитироватьAtlas 5 rocket readied for high-altitude dual-satellite flight Saturday
April 13, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144330.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to pad 41 Friday. Credit: ULA

United Launch Alliance crews at Cape Canaveral are finishing final preparations for an Atlas 5 rocket launch Saturday evening to dispatch two U.S. military satellites directly to an orbital perch more than 20,000 miles over the equator.

Set for blastoff at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) Saturday, the Atlas 5 rocket will fly in its most powerful configuration, helped off Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad with five Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters and a Russian-made RD-180 main engine producing a combined 2.6 million pounds of thrust.

A military communications payload and a free-flying spacecraft hosting multiple Pentagon-funded experiments will ride the Atlas 5 rocket on a marathon six-hour mission to an altitude near geostationary orbit, the region over the equator where objects take advantage of orbital dynamics to hover over a fixed position on Earth.

Спойлер

The geostationary belt is populated by numerous data relay, missile warning and surveillance satellites operated by militaries and commercial companies.

Saturday's launch window extends until 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday), according to an Air Force spokesperson, and there is an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff in the official launch forecast issued by the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron.

An approaching cold front will worsen weather conditions over Florida's Space Coast on Sunday.

"On launch day, high pressure continues to migrate east as the aforementioned cold front advances into the Gulf Coast states in the morning and near the Florida Panhandle during the window," the Air Force wrote in an outlook issued Friday morning. "Moisture is limited early in the count trending up gradually by the evening hours with the warm southerly winds. Diurnal heating will aid in developing limited isolated showers over Central Florida. No thunderstorms are expected."

Forecasters predict gusty southeast winds Saturday evening, partly cloudy skies and isolated rain showers in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral. The temperature during the launch window will be around 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and the main weather concern for liftoff will be cumulus clouds.

If the launch is pushed back to Sunday, there is only a 20 percent chance of favorable weather, with widespread showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.

Ground teams transferred the Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad Friday morning. The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket rode a mobile launch platform fr om the Vertical Integration Facility to the Complex 41 launch pad, pushed by locomotives along rail tracks for the 1,800-foot (500-meter) journey.

Once firmly on the launch pad, the Atlas 5 and its mobile platform were scheduled to be plugged into ground propellant and electrical supplies. Workers planned to load RP-1 kerosene fuel in the Atlas 5's first stage Friday afternoon in advance of Saturday's countdown, which will kick off shortly after 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT).

The ULA launch team will power up the Atlas 5 rocket, test its telemetry transmitters, guidance system and range safety mechanisms, and fill the launcher's Centaur upper stage with a cryogenic mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The first stage will also receive its supply of liquid oxygen, to be consumed with RP-1 fuel by the Atlas 5's RD-180 main engine.

The countdown will have two built-in holds, and the final pre-planned pause at T-minus 4 minutes will give engineers time to catch up on last-minute troubleshooting and complete a poll of the launch team for approval to enter the terminal countdown sequence.

In the final four minutes of the countdown, the Atlas 5 will switch to internal power and pressurize its propellant tanks. A final status check is planned in the last 30 seconds before liftoff.

The rocket's RD-180 main engine will ignite at T-minus 2.7 seconds, throttling up to 860,000 pounds of thrust before the Atlas 5's five strap-on solid rocket boosters fire to send the launcher into the sky.

Heading nearly due east, the Atlas 5 will surpass the speed of sound in 34 seconds. The rocket's five strap-on motors will empty their propellant casings and jettison in two groups beginning at T+plus 1 minute, 47 seconds.

The Atlas 5's Swiss-made nose cone and a load-bearing structure around the rocket's Centaur upper stage will separate around three-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. In the final phase of its burn, the RD-180 main engine will throttle back to lim it acceleration on the Atlas 5's satellite payloads, then switch off at T+plus 4 minutes, 33 seconds, in preparation for stage separation.

The Centaur stage's RL10C-1 main engine will ignite at T+plus 4 minutes, 49 seconds, for a six-minute firing to reach a preliminary low-altitude parking orbit. Two more RL10 burns are planned, with the second maneuver starting at T+plus 22 minutes, 57 seconds, followed by a lengthy five-hour coast before the Centaur stage reignites to maneuver into a circular orbit slightly above geostationary altitude.

The rocket's guidance computer will aim to reach an orbit approximately 24,200 miles (39,000 kilometers) over the equator, according to mission data released by ULA.

The Atlas 5's two satellite passengers — the Continuous Broadband Augmented SATCOM spacecraft and a satellite known by the acronym EAGLE — will deploy from the Centaur upper stage approximately six hours after liftoff.

Saturday evening's flight is the first time an unclassified Atlas 5 mission has placed geostationary payloads so close to their final orbital positions. Details of top secret missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government's spy satellite agency, have not been disclosed.

The high-altitude deployment is in contrast to the mission profile for most satellites heading to geostationary orbit. In those cases, launchers release their payloads in an elliptical transfer orbit, and the spacecraft must use it own propellant to raise its altitude and null out its inclination to arrive on station over the equator.

A direct trip to geostationary orbit requires a long-duration coast and an engine restart after six hours in space, a capability used by ULA on multiple Delta 4 rocket flights.

Saturday's flight, codenamed AFSPC 11, will be ULA's fourth of 2018, and the third by an Atlas 5 rocket, which has logged 76 missions since 2002. It will be the eighth launch from Cape Canaveral since Jan. 1, including launches by ULA's Atlas 5 and SpaceX's Falcon rocket families.

AFSPC 11 is the 28th Atlas 5 mission for a branch of the U.S. military, and the 46th Atlas 5 launch with a U.S. national security payload. It is the eighth time an Atlas 5 rocket has flown in the launcher family's most capable "551" version with five boosters, a five-meter fairing and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144315.jpg)
The mission patch for the AFSPC-11 mission set for launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Saturday. " The dial is turned to 11 to capture the spirit of the AFSPC-11 government launch team and its mission: maximizing efforts to meet Department of Defense requirements to support our senior leaders and combatant commanders with war-winning space capabilities, on time and on schedule," the Air Force says regarding the mission logo. Credit: U.S. Air Force

Two satellites are fastened inside the Atlas 5's nose cone for Saturday's launch

The upper payload is a military communications satellite named CBAS, short for Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM.

"CBAS is a military satellite communications spacecraft destined for geosynchronous orbit to provide communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders and combatant commanders," the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center said in a statement. "CBAS will augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links."

The Air Force kept the identity of the main payload on Saturday's launch secret until April 6. An Air Force spokesperson declined to identify the contractor that built the CBAS satellite (pronounced "sea bass"), and the military released no further details on the mission.

"The Air Force issued the contract per standard Department of Defense acquisition practices in cooperation with defense industry partners," the spokesperson said. "Per Department of Defense acquisition practices, details of the spacecraft source selection are not releasable."

The lower passenger is the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment satellite. The Air Force calls the nested acronym EAGLE for short.

Orbital ATK developed the EAGLE spacecraft by outfitting a structural adapter often used to connect small satellites to their launchers, adding solar panels, computers, rocket thrusters and instrumentation. The Air Force says EAGLE will a pathfinder for future missions, demonstrating a maneuverable satellite design that could help the military launch new capabilities at less cost.

Managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's space vehicles directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the EAGLE mission "hosts experiments designed to detect, identify, and attribute threatening behavior as well as enhance Space Situational Awareness," the Air Force said in a statement.

One of the experiments is a separating daughter satellite named Mycroft, apparently named for the older brother of the fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes. In one Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, Sherlock Holmes says Mycroft possesses observational and deductive abilities greater than his own.

The Air Force describes Mycroft as a "fourth-generation space situational awareness experiment." The service said the satellite will test technology that could be used by future missions to survey, catalog and inspect objects in geostationary orbit.

The Mycroft satellite, also built by Orbital ATK, "will explore ways to enhance space object characterization and navigation capabilities, it will investigate control mechansms used for flight safety, and it will explore the designs and data processing methods for enhancing space situational awareness," the Air Force wrote in a fact sheet on the mission.

Mycroft is a follow-up to the Air Force's ANGELS satellite, which launched into an orbit just above the geostationary belt in 2014 and ended its mission in November. ANGELS inspected the upper stage of its Delta 4 rocket soon after launch, then tested in-orbit surveillance, navigation and rendezvous operations for the rest of its mission.

According to the Air Force fact sheet, Mycroft will fly to a distance of around 21 miles (35 kilometers) from EAGLE, then re-approach the mother satellite to a range of about a kilometer, or 3,300 feet.

Mycroft will evaluate the region around the EAGLE satellite with an on-board camera, the Air Force said, and use its sensors and software to perform advanced guidance, navigation and control functions.

"The space domain is crucial today and will only increase in value moving into the future," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. "If the Air Force is to truly embrace space superiority then improving our ability to protect and defend vital space interests is of paramount importance."

The Air Force said engineers have completed "rigorous research and development" to ensure Mycroft can safely fly through the congested geostationary orbit region.

Mycroft weighs a few hundred pounds, and its main body is no bigger than a mini-refrigerator, with a deployable solar panel out the side.

The EAGLE satellite is scheduled to operate at last one year, and the Mycroft mission is expected to last 12 to 18 months, the Air Force said.

"Other experiments hosted on the EAGLE will detect, identify and analyze system threats such as man-made disturbances, space weather events or collisions with small meteorites," the Air Force wrote in a fact sheet released Friday. "Together, EAGLE and Mycroft help train operators and development of tactics, techniques and procedures during exercises or experiments to improve space warfighting."

[свернуть]

The launch team at Cape Canaveral planned to send the CBAS and EAGLE mission skyward April 12, but last week delayed the flight to Saturday to replace a valve.

ЦитироватьFive-Booster Atlas V Rolls out for Direct-to-GEO Launch with CBAS & EAGLE
 April 13, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-afspc-11-preview/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151827.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Daq3s_CVwAA-X3I.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

The most powerful version of ULA's Atlas V rocket rolled to its Florida launch pad on Friday to set the stage for liftoff in the early evening on Saturday on a direct climb into Geostationary Orbit to dispatch a pair of payloads for the United States Air Force.

Designated AFSPC-11, the mission features two stacked payloads under the rocket's five-meter payload fairing – the CBAS military communications satellite rides in the top position to deliver secure communications to combatant leaders while the EAGLE experimental platform in the lower slot sets out to release a small satellite and test new technologies for Space Situational Awareness and resilient satellite missions of the future.

Atlas V – sporting five Solid Rocket Boosters for maximum liftoff power – is targeting launch at 23:13 UTC on Saturday, 7:13 p.m. local time at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The direct-to-GEO mission will take nearly seven hours and require three upper stage burns, aiming for a drift orbit over Earth's equator from where the two payloads will maneuver to their classified operational locations. Weather is expected to be favorable for Saturday's 58-minute launch window before conditions deteriorate on Sunday and a range conflict looms on Monday with a Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NASA's TESS exoplanet telescope (http://spaceflight101.com/tess/).

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151839.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/CBAS-ULA.jpg)
Depiction of CBAS in ULA's Mission Booklet for AFSPC 11 – Credit: United Launch Alliance

Saturday's launch will be the 77th flight of the Atlas V rocket since its debut in 2002 and only the eighth of the 551 version which comes into play for high-performance missions, having sent the New Horizons and Juno probes to explore Pluto and Jupiter, and doing some heavy-lifting on five deliveries for the Multi-User Objective System of the U.S. Navy, one of three primary communications architectures operated by the U.S. military in Geostationary Orbit.

The primary purpose of the CBAS satellite (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/cbas/) launching on Saturday appears to be augmentation of the three existing systems, though not much is known about the spacecraft. The identity of the primary payload of the AFSPC-11 mission was only revealed earlier this month when the U.S. Air Force announced that the CBAS satellite had finished launch base testing ahead of launch atop an Atlas V rocket.

CBAS stands for "Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM" and is a geostationary communications satellite designed for communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders and combatant commanders. "The mission of CBAS is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links," the Air Force said when announcing CBAS as primary AFSPC-11 payload.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151828.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/0ESPAStar_hi.jpg)
EAGLE in Space – Image: Orbital ATK

Neither the satellite's manufacturer nor any operational details like its payload, operating frequencies and desired position in Geostationary Orbit were disclosed to the public in the run-up to launch.

Affixed between Atlas V's Centaur upper stage and CBAS is EAGLE – a multi-purpose platform (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/eagle/) designed as a high-performance system for technology demonstration and operational missions in the form of hosted payloads and separable satellites. Built by Orbital ATK and hosting at least five Air Force Research Lab-sponsored payloads, EAGLE stands for "Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment (EAGLE)."

Orbital ATK's ESPAStar platform takes the ESPA adapter system as a basis and adds power generation, propulsion, attitude control, data storage and communications infrastructure that can be shared by up to six hosted payloads installed around the ESPA ring. EAGLE, to public knowledge, hosts one separable satellite and four attached payloads primarily dedicated to the evaluation of systems for Space Situational Awareness – an area of focused development due to efforts underway by multiple countries to come up with the technology to study and potentially manipulate resident objects in orbit.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151840.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/ESPASat1.jpg)
ESPASat Platform (MYCROFT likely similar) – Image: Orbital ATK

To be deployed from EAGLE is the MYCROFT satellite, understood to be a follow-on mission to the 2014 ANGELS demonstration of an agile satellite capable of flying up to another object in space and collecting information on it using different sensors. The payloads to remain attached to EAGLE include a Hypertemporal Imaging Experiment tasked with blending imagery obtained of targets in different wavelength bands over a period of time to extract a maximum of information; an Inverse Synthetic Aperture Ladar will demonstrate the use of this technology to produce ultra-high resolution imagery of other objects in space to eventually replace electro-optical imaging systems used on today's inspection satellites.

EAGLE also hosts a small-sized space weather monitoring package designed to measure all primary space environment effects that impact the operation of a satellite while another demonstration evaluates the components of a "resilient" spacecraft platform for a future tamper-proof satellite.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151831.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11CBAS-Insignia.jpg)
AFSPC 11 Mission Insignia – Credit: U.S. Air Force

Currently the most powerful in ULA's Atlas V arsenal, the 551 version offers a total payload upmass of 3,812 Kilograms for a direct Geostationary Injection. EAGLE weighs at most 1,848 Kilograms, leaving between 1,960 and 3,100 Kilograms for CBAS. Both payloads and any separable satellites will likely receive USA designations and amateur satellite trackers are expected to be the only source of information on their orbital activities.

Meteorologists expect generally favorable conditions for Saturday's launch window with an 80% chance of acceptable weather, cumulus clouds being the only concern. For Sunday's backup slot, odds worsen significantly to only a 20% chance of favorable conditions as a cold front will push from the Florida Panhandle into Central Florida by late Sunday evening, bringing the potential for strong thunderstorms, gusty winds and clouds. Skies are expected to clear rapidly after the frontal boundary passes and conditions on Monday/Tuesday are expected to be very favorable for launching rockets. Atlas V is booked on the range for Saturday and Sunday while Falcon 9/TESS has the range on Monday and Tuesday.

Having gone through clean readiness reviews earlier in the week, the AFSPC-11 mission was cleared to the launch pad and Atlas V emerged from its integration facility around 10 a.m. local time on Friday to move to the pad at Cape Canaveral's SLC-41 for the typical one-day on-pad campaign. Teams expect to load the first stage booster with Rocket Propellant 1 later on Friday before buttoning up the launch facility for the start of a lengthy countdown operation on Saturday.
 

Atlas V Countdown & Flight Profile

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151825.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/39587832860_8d3fef391d_o.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

Atlas V countdown operations begin around seven hours before the opening of the day's launch window when the launch team reports to console at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center for the activation of the two-stage rocket for a multi-hour checkout operation to ensure all systems are ready to support the mission. Approaching L-4 hours, the Launch Team puts the Atlas V through a series of communication checks on its S- and C-Band Systems and also goes through Flight Termination System testing before applying the purge flow to the vehicle in advance of propellant loading.

Coming out of a planned hold at T-2 hours, Atlas V enters the complex procedure to load the two stages with cryogenic propellants. Over the course of an hour and a half, 185,500 liters of Liquid Oxygen will be pumped into the Common Core Booster first stage while the upper stage receives 15,700 liters of the -183°C oxidizer plus 48,100 liters of -253°C Liquid Hydrogen. The first stage receives its dose of Rocket Propellant 1 before the countdown.

>> Atlas V Countdown Timeline (http://spaceflight101.com/atlas-countdown-timeline/)

When clocks reach T-4 Minutes, the countdown enters its second built-in hold for final polling of the launch team prior to pressing into Terminal Count. This hold can be extended in case of technical issues or uncooperative weather, taking advantage of the mission's 58-minute launch window.

As clocks start ticking down from T-4 Minutes, final vehicle configurations such as ordnance arming, flight termination system arming, propellant tank pressurization, transfer to internal power, and flight control system reconfigurations will be made as part of the Automated Sequence to place the vehicle in its launch configuration.

Standing over 60 meters tall, Atlas V will come to life at T-2.7 seconds when its two-chamber RD-180 engine will soar to a launch thrust of 390 metric ton-force. As the five boosters ignite, Atlas V will jump off the pad with a liftoff thrust of 1.25 Million Kilogram-force creating an initial thrust to weight ratio of 2.15. Less than four seconds after liftoff, Atlas V will start its roll and pitch program to align itself with its precise ascent path to the east.

>> Atlas V 551 Launch Vehicle Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/atlas-v-551/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151824.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/27034809898_0cfe066df7_k.jpg)
Photo: ULA (MUOS 2)

The five Aerojet-Rocketdyne Solid Rocket Boosters will push Atlas V beyond the speed of sound by T+35 seconds and the vehicle will encounter Maximum Dynamic Pressure 46 seconds into the flight; RD-180 will be operating at reduced thrust during this phase of the flight.

Each burning 41 metric tons of packed propellant, the five SRBs will tail off at the 94-second mark, though Atlas will keep holding onto them for another 13 seconds to ensure they separate in favorable aerodynamic conditions and impact at a safe distance to the coast.

The boosters will separate in two groups, spaced by 1.5 seconds, and Atlas V will continue onward relying on the RD-180 engine alone. Thrust on the engine will climb to 422 metric ton-force as the vehicle escapes the dense atmosphere and the five-meter payload fairing will drop away three minutes and 31 seconds into the mission to reveal the dual-payload stack.

Passing the four-minute mark, RD-180 will gradually reduce thrust to keep the acceleration acting on the structure at manageable levels before shutting down at T+4:33.5.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151832.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Ground-Track.jpg)
Image: United Launch Alliance

Six seconds later, pyrotechnics will cut the structural connection between the stages and retrorockets will fire to discard the spent first stage while Centaur readies for ignition. Assuming control of the flight, Centaur will be tasked with a three-burn mission profile – first lifting the stack into a Low Earth Parking Orbit, re-starting over the equator to raise the high point of the orbit to the desired injection altitude and then coasting all the way to the apogee of the orbit for the critical circularization burn.

Firing up its 10,400-Kilogram-force RL-10C engine, Centaur will complete a six minute and one-second burn to inject the stack into a preliminary parking orbit for a coast phase of twelve minutes. While coasting, Centaur will traverse the Atlantic Ocean and arrive over West Africa when re-lighting on the mission's second burn at T+22 minutes and 57 seconds. This five-minute and 49-second burn is designed to lift the apogee of the resulting orbit to an altitude of over 35,000 Kilometers and position it over the equator on the opposite side of the planet.

>> Launch Profile (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/launch-profile/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151826.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/AFSPC11-PLF-Jettison.jpg)
Image: ULA

Centaur will then settle in for an extended coast phase of five hours and six minutes designed to allow the upper stage to climb all the way to the high point of the transfer orbit so that the third burn could act as circularization and inclination-reduction maneuver. This burn is planned to start at T+5 hours, 34 minutes and 46 seconds and last two minutes and 36 seconds to lift the stack into a perfectly circular orbit and reduce the orbital inclination to zero in order to place the two satellites into a drift orbit near the Geostationary Belt.

The two satellites are expected to separate from the Centaur upper stage before T+6 hours and 57 minutes – the exact timing is not being disclosed to the public due to the semi-classified nature of the AFSPC-11 mission, though separation some 35,300 Kilometers above Borneo would not be visible with conventional means anyway. Mission success will be confirmed by ULA or the U.S. Air Force before CBAS and EAGLE head into obscurity to carry out their missions out of public view.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 rolled out for Air Force mission
April 13, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

A United Launch Alliance arrived at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad Friday morning after rolling out of its vertical hangar with three U.S. Air Force satellites designed to provide communications to military leaders and test new in-orbit inspection and surveillance technology.

These photos show the 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket emerging from the Vertical Integration Facility on top of its mobile launch platform. Special locomotives called "trackmobiles" pushed the rocket along tracks toward the launch pad.

Спойлер

The 1,800-foot (550-meter) journey took less than an hour, and ground crews planned to connect the Atlas 5 to the launch pad's electrical and fluid supplies, then load the rocket's first stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel Friday afternoon.

Liftoff on the AFSPC 11 mission is set for 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) Saturday. The launch window extends to 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday).

Read our full story (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/atlas-5-rocket-readied-for-high-altitude-dual-satellite-flight-saturday/) for details on the mission.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144262.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144261.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 30 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/984921473394470912)

RP1 tanking complete. Pgo holding at 80%. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 39 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/985149528641748994)

Everything is looking good for tonight. Going to be a long night. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162739.jpg)

Цитироватьна сайте ULA

next-launch-Atlas-V-AFSPC-11 (https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch-Atlas-V-AFSPC-11)

или

на ТыТрубе

youtube.com/watch?v=YbOg_4rrJxc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbOg_4rrJxc)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 17 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/985170130018676737)

Good morning launch fans! Overnight pics of the #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) with AFSPC-11. Hands up if you'll be watching tonight's launch at 7:13pmEDT; live broadcast at 6:53pmEDT. http://bit.ly/av_afspc11  (https://t.co/jdQqJepcrv)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162750.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186343.jpg)Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/985179411589758977)

Weather has not yet been updated by the @45thSpaceWing (https://twitter.com/45thSpaceWing) for tonight's #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) launch of #afspc11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/afspc11?src=hash). But it's current raining with thick clouds moving through the area. Still, we're ~8ish hrs from the opening of the launch window. @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)

ЦитироватьOn the pad: Atlas 5 rocket in position for third flight of 2018
April 14, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

These photos captured on the eve of launch show a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket standing on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, ready for blastoff on the U.S. Air Force's AFSPC 11 mission with three satellites on-board.

Спойлер

Liftoff is set during a launch window Saturday that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday). The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, is shown in these photos Friday at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad.

The AFSPC 11 mission will be the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the third Atlas 5 launch of 2018.

A military communications satellite named CBAS, or Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, is the forward payload in the Atlas 5's upper shroud. A spacecraft named EAGLE, which contains several military experiments including a separating subsatellite named Mycroft, is in the aft position inside the Atlas 5 payload fairing.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144306.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144307.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144311.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144313.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144314.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144302.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144303.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144304.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144305.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144231.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144257.jpg)
Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

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Credit: United Launch Alliance

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьLaunch timeline for Atlas 5's AFSPC 11 mission
April 14, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to loft three military satellites for the U.S. Air Force on a mission codenamed AFSPC 11. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a six-hour flight to a near-geostationary orbit.

Спойлер

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, is set for liftoff during a launch window Saturday that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday).

The AFSPC 11 mission will be the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the third Atlas 5 launch of 2018.

A military communications satellite named CBAS, or Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, is the forward payload in the Atlas 5's upper shroud. A spacecraft named EAGLE, which contains several military experiments including a separating subsatellite named Mycroft, is in the aft position inside the Atlas 5 payload fairing.

The artist's concepts posted below show generic payload illustrations used on previous missions.

Read our mission preview story (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/atlas-5-rocket-readied-for-high-altitude-dual-satellite-flight-saturday/) for details on the launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFbD3bOyNso (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFbD3bOyNso)

T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144292.jpg)
After igniting its RD-180 main engine at T-minus 2.7 seconds, the Atlas 5 rocket fires its five solid rocket boosters and rises away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, with approximately 2.6 million pounds of thrust.

T+0:00:34.4: Mach 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144293.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket exceeds the speed of sound, flying on a launch azimuth of 89.9 degrees.

T+0:00:45.9: Max-Q

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144294.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.

T+0:01:47.0: Jettison SRBs

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144295.jpg)
Having burned out of propellant approximately 20 seconds earlier, the five spent Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters are jettisoned once dynamic pressure conditions are satisfied.

T+0:03:31.0: Payload Fairing Jettison

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144296.jpg)
The Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing, made in Switzerland by Ruag Space, is jettisoned in a clamshell-like fashion once external heating levels drop below predetermined limits after climbing through the dense lower atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor deck that connected the payload fairing's structure to the Centaur upper stage is released five seconds after the shroud's jettison.

T+0:04:33.5: Main Engine Cutoff

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144153.jpg)
The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.

T+0:04:39.5: Stage Separation

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144165.jpg)
The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.

T+0:04:49.5: Centaur Ignition 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144161.jpg)
The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and the AFSPC 11 payloads into an initial parking orbit.

T+0:10:50.7: Centaur Cutoff 1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144158.jpg)
The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a 12-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+0:22:57.4:  Centaur Ignition 2

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144162.jpg)
Producing 22,900 pounds of thrust, the Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the payload into a highly elliptical transfer orbit from the parking altitude achieved earlier in the launch sequence. This burn lasts nearly six minutes.

T+0:28:46.3: Centaur Cutoff 2

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144159.jpg)
The second Centaur firing places the AFSPC 11 payloads into an elliptical transfer orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles above Earth, beginning a five-hour coast period for the mission's final orbital adjustment maneuver.

T+5:34:46.2: Centaur Ignition 3

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144163.jpg)
After a three-hour coast, the Centaur's RL10 engine reignites for a roughly two-and-a-half minute firing to raise the AFSPC 11 payloads' perigee, or orbital low point, and reduce its inclination to 0 degrees over the equator.

T+5:37:22.4: Centaur Cutoff 3

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144160.jpg)
The powered phase of flight is concluded as the Centaur reaches the planned circular near-geostationary orbit at an altitude of approximately 24,233 miles (39,000 kilometers). The Centaur stage then begins re-orienting itself for deployment of the AFSPC 11 payloads.

T+6:57:24.3: Spacecraft Separation Window Closes

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144178.jpg)
The window for deployment of the AFSPC 11 mission's two main payloads — the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM satellite and the EAGLE spacecraft — closes and the Atlas 5 mission ends.

[свернуть]

Цитировать04/14/2018 20:43  Stephen Clark

The countdown has started for this evening's launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with three U.S. Air Force satellites.

Спойлер

The countdown sequence, nearly seven hours long, will include two built-in holds. A final poll during the second built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes will give authorization to begin the terminal countdown.

Liftoff is set for 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) at the opening of a 118-minute launch window.

The first tasks for the Atlas 5 launch team will involve powering on the rocket for pre-flight testing. Then the team will move into preparations on the Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant systems. A test of the Atlas 5's guidance system, first stage propulsion and hydraulic checks, internal battery testing, verification of the readiness of the rocket's GPS metric tracking system and a test of the launcher's S-band telemetry transmitters are also planned in the early stages of the countdown.

The launch team will be polled for approval to begin fueling the rocket during a pre-planned hold at T-minus 2 hours. Once the team gives the "go" for fueling, liquid oxygen will be pumped into the Centaur upper stage, followed by liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5 first stage. The step-by-step propellant loading procedure will conclude with super-cold liquid hydrogen fuel flowing into the Centaur.

[свернуть]

Цитировать04/14/2018 21:57 Stephen Clark

A steering check of the RD-180 main engine's gimbal system has started. Once that test is complete, the launch crew at Complex 41 will remove the cover to the launch pad's flame duct.

Цитировать04/14/2018 22:22 Stephen Clark

Checks of the Atlas 5's GPS tracking antennas are complete.

Цитировать04/14/2018 22:35 Stephen Clark

Internal battery checks have been completed, and the flame duct cover and handrails have been removed on the mobile launch platform in preparation for launch.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/985241984964157440)

The Atlas 5 launch countdown remains on track for liftoff at 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT) from Cape Canaveral. No technical or weather issues are currently being discussed by the launch team (Photo credit: @SFNAlex (https://twitter.com/SFNAlex)). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/M1kW7qavlF)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162771.jpg)

Цитировать04/14/2018 22:50 Stephen Clark

Guidance and flight control tests are complete, and flight control countdown preps have started.

Цитировать04/14/2018 23:03 Stephen Clark

The latest weather briefing to the Atlas 5 launch team indicates there remains an 80 percent probability of favorable conditions at Cape Canaveral during this evening's launch window.

If the Atlas 5 is unable to launch today, weather worsens significantly tomorrow with a 90 percent chance of conditions violating the rocket's launch weather criteria as a cold front brings heavy thunderstorms through the area.

Цитировать04/14/2018 23:14 Stephen Clark

Atlas booster hydraulic preps are reported complete. Weather balloons are also being launched at Cape Canaveral to measure high-altitude conditions such as upper level winds.

Цитировать04/14/2018 23:26 Stephen Clark

Range holdfire checks are complete.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/985257309126451200)

The Atlas 5 countdown is in a pre-planned hold at T-minus 2 hours as the United Launch Alliance team prepares to begin loading cryogenic propellants into the rocket. Liftoff remains set for 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/M1kW7qavlF)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 8 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/985260659330945024)

The Atlas 5 launch team has been polled. All stations confirmed "go" to proceed with the countdown and begin loading cryogenic liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen into the rocket. Launch from Cape Canaveral is set for 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT) (Photo by @SFNAlex (https://twitter.com/SFNAlex)). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/M1kW7qavlF)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162779.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186390.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/985260922490015744)

T-2 Hours & COUNTING. Countdown clocks have resumed as #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) enters cryogenic tanking procedures, starting with the pressurization of the Stage 1 RP-1 tank to an intermediate pressure, LOX cross-country line chilldown and Helium loading on both stages.

Цитировать04/15/2018 00:05 Stephen Clark

Liquid oxygen is now flowing into the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. About 4,150 gallons of the cryogenic propellant, chilled to minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit, will be burned by the Centaur's single Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine along with the liquid hydrogen to be loaded aboard later in the countdown.

Three burns by the Centaur's RL10 engine over a nearly six-hour span are planned on tonight's mission to inject the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM payload and the ESPA Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment, or EAGLE, satellite into a near-geostationary orbit around 24,000 miles over the equator.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186390.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 33 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/985264458720272385)

Collision avoidance cut-outs restricting portions of today's nearly two-hour launch window are being submitted to the launch team at this time to ensure #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) flies clear of any resident space objects.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/985266950862327808)

Polling is all Go for Cryo. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать04/15/2018 00:28 Stephen Clark

T-minus 1 hour, 30 minutes and counting. Chilldown conditioning of the systems for the first stage liquid oxygen tank has been accomplished. The launch team just gave a "go" to begin loading super-cold liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5's first stage.

Цитировать04/15/2018 00:50 Stephen Clark

Chilldown conditioning of the Centaur liquid hydrogen system has been completed. The ULA launch team has been given approval to begin pumping the cryogenic fuel into the Centaur upper stage, which will receive around 12,300 gallons of liquid hydrogen.

04/15/2018 00:50 Stephen Clark

The chilldown sequence to thermally condition the Centaur stage's Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine has started.

Цитировать04/15/2018 00:53 Stephen Clark

Good evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a few miles from the Atlas 5 launch pad. Ground winds are a bit brisk, but weather conditions are nearly ideal for an Atlas 5 launch today at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT).
(https://24liveblog.tradingfront.cn/event/05ac75e63f1e11e8bb04620c60b9b1ba/20180414215319_055107.jpg?random=1523742794101)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186390.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 1 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/985279783247499269)

One hour until the launch window opens for today's #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) / #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash) mission for the U.S. Air Force. All countdown events have been hitting their marks so far, cryo load is in its final stages before all tanks will have reached topping.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186390.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 55 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/985279911832313867)

Entering the last hour of the countdown, #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) will repeat Flight Termination System open-loop checks and the flight control system will be prepared for launch by purging history data, setting up the fault detection system and uploading the final flight software version.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29831.jpg)William Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/985280366989725696)

A5/AFSPC: But the broadcast is expected to end shortly after payload fairing separation at T+3:31

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186396.jpg) Trevor Mahlmann‏ @TrevorMahlmann (https://twitter.com/TrevorMahlmann) 8 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/TrevorMahlmann/status/985280270835138560)

This #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash) launch is going to be gorgeous when it goes. Not a cloud in the sky!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162775.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67530.jpg)Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 27 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/985282491396313088)

The 1.3-million-pound Atlas 5 rocket is now fully loaded with liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, kerosene and solid propellants for liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT) on a US Air Force satellite delivery mission (ULA photo). Live coverage: https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ... (https://t.co/M1kW7qavlF)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162776.jpg)

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:28 Stephen Clark

45 minutes until launch. Here are some statistics on tonight's mission:

[/li]
• 659th launch for Atlas program since 1957
• 362nd Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
• 248th mission of a Centaur upper stage
• 225th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
• 487th production RL10 engine to be launched
• 25th RL10C-1 engine launched
• 83rd flight of an RD-180 main engine
• 101st-105th AJ-60 solid rocket boosters flown
• 77th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
• 28th U.S. Air Force use of an Atlas 5
• 63rd launch of an Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral
• 3rd Atlas 5 launch of 2018
• 113th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
• 127th United Launch Alliance flight overall
• 69th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
• 91st United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral
• 49th ULA launch for U.S. Air Force
• 25th 500-series flight of the Atlas 5
• 8th Atlas 5 to fly in the 551 configuration
• 90th launch from Complex 41
• 63rd Atlas 5 to use Complex 41
• 8th launch overall from Cape Canaveral in 2018
  

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:31 Stephen Clark

Today's Atlas 5 mission will last around six hours, using three burns by the rocket's Centaur upper stage to place the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM and EAGLE satellites into a circular orbit at an altitude of roughly 24,200 miles over the equator.

Спойлер

This evening's flight is the first time an unclassified Atlas 5 mission has placed geostationary payloads so close to their final orbital positions. Details of top secret missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government's spy satellite agency, have not been disclosed.

The high-altitude deployment is in contrast to the mission profile for most satellites heading to geostationary orbit. In most cases, launchers release their payloads in an elliptical transfer orbit roughly a half-hour after liftoff, and the spacecraft must use on-board propellant to raise its altitude and null out its inclination to arrive on station over the equator.

A direct trip to geostationary orbit requires a long-duration coast and an engine restart after six hours in space, a capability used by ULA on multiple Delta 4 rocket flights.

Today's flight, codenamed AFSPC 11, will be ULA's fourth of 2018, and the third by an Atlas 5 rocket, which has logged 76 missions since 2002. It will be the eighth launch from Cape Canaveral since Jan. 1, including launches by ULA's Atlas 5 and SpaceX's Falcon rocket families.

AFSPC 11 is the 28th Atlas 5 mission for a branch of the U.S. military, and the 46th Atlas 5 launch with a U.S. national security payload. It is the eighth time an Atlas 5 rocket has flown in the launcher family's most capable "551" version with five boosters, a five-meter fairing and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.

[свернуть]

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/985284111026696192)

Cryo loading complete. Topping off. Mighty Atlas is carbo loaded and champing at the bit. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:37 Stephen Clark

The CBAS and EAGLE spacecraft are switching to their internal battery power supplies at this time./QUOTE]

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:39 Stephen Clark

ULA's launch conductor reports the Atlas 5 team is currently working no issues in the countdown.

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:42 Stephen Clark

The fuel fill sequence for the RD-180 main engine is starting, and final testing of the Atlas 5 rocket's flight termination system is complete. Final preparations of the rocket's flight control system are also reported complete.

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:45 Stephen Clark

The final pre-launch weather briefing continues to indicate no major weather threat to tonight's launch.

Цитировать04/15/2018 01:54 Stephen Clark

T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The countdown today's final built-in hold. During this 15-minute pause, the launch team and ULA management will be polled to ensure all consoles are ready for the terminal countdown.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29898.jpg)ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/985290599355076613)

Weather is within launch commit criteria and there is a 90% chance of favorable weather. (Thx @45thSpaceWing (https://twitter.com/45thSpaceWing)!) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) AFSPC-11

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/985293032428732416)

Steering profile loaded. RD180 fill. Board remains green. #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186040.jpg)Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 10 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/985295274485706753)

LAUNCH! ULA Atlas V 551 launches with AFSPC-11! Follow Along Live: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=44719.80 ... (https://t.co/PUQqYOoarg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162766.jpg)

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162767.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162768.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162765.jpg)

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьLaunch of Heavy Atlas V 551 Rocket with the AFSPC-11 Mission for US Air Force

Space Videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdF5d0UwSJJunRcRVzP1uDg)

Опубликовано: 14 апр. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьLaunch of Atlas V 551 Rocket with AFSPC-11

Space Videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdF5d0UwSJJunRcRVzP1uDg)

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/974075647554449409/A25zvOpw_bigger.jpg)Jared-Base | AFSPC-11‏ @baserunner0723 (https://twitter.com/baserunner0723) 3 мин.3 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/baserunner0723/status/985299267530174464)

#AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash) @murphypak (https://twitter.com/murphypak) @BeckePhysics (https://twitter.com/BeckePhysics) @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) @Cosmic_Carol (https://twitter.com/Cosmic_Carol) @Astro_Zach (https://twitter.com/Astro_Zach) @WeAreGoFL (https://twitter.com/WeAreGoFL) @NightCapApp (https://twitter.com/NightCapApp) @ExploreSpaceKSC (https://twitter.com/ExploreSpaceKSC) @murphypak (https://twitter.com/murphypak) @WaywardPlane (https://twitter.com/WaywardPlane) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162769.jpg)

ЦитироватьAtlas V AFSPC-11 Live Launch Broadcast (April 14)

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Трансляция началась 47 минут назад

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186361.jpg)William Churchill‏ @kudrios (https://twitter.com/kudrios) 18 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/kudrios/status/985297400293154816)

Short loop of #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) rocket launch from #GOES16 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOES16?src=hash) visible imagery showing exhaust cloud @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dax6m-2U8AEfYdU.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dax6m-2U8AEfYdU.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dax6m-2U8AEfYdU.mp4) 0:02)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186390.jpg)Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live (https://twitter.com/S101_Live) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/S101_Live/status/985302166205292544)

Centaur should be shutting down at this point after a 5-minute 49-second burn to enter a GTO-type orbit with an apogee over 35,000 Kilometers in altitude. The critical circularization & plane change maneuver to achieve a Geostationary Drift Orbit is planned at 4:47 UTC. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash)

ЦитироватьMuscly Atlas V Rumbles off fr om Florida on Direct Geostationary Delivery with CBAS & EAGLE
 April 14, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/atlas-v-launches-afspc-11-mission/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151833.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch1.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

The most powerful version of ULA's Atlas V rocket – sporting five Solid Rocket Boosters for maximum thrust off the pad – soared into sunset on Saturday after blasting off fr om Florida's Cape Canaveral with a pair of U.S. Air Force Satellites. Riding under the five-meter fairing of the climbing rocket was a very different pair comprising a secretive military communications satellite going by the name of CBAS and an experimental platform called EAGLE, setting out to demonstrate cutting-edge technology for the collection of space surveillance data.

Atlas V leapt off its Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch pad at 23:13 UTC on Saturday, 7:13 p.m. local time. Flying in its 551 configuration for the eighth time, Atlas V departed the Space Coast in a hurry – accelerating beyond the speed of sound in just 35 seconds, shedding the five boosters before the T+2 minute mark and dropping its Swiss-made payload fairing into the Atlantic at the three-and-a-half minute mark. Another minute later, the job of the RD-180-powered first stage was done and the Centaur upper stage assumed control for an all-night ascent mission.

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151834.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch2.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

CBAS and EAGLE are booked for a direct flight to Geostationary Drift Orbit – creating a complex mission with a duration of nearly seven hours and requiring three main engine burns by the trusted Centaur upper stage, conducting its 248th mission on Saturday.

Centaur's first two burns were to lift the vehicle into a Parking Orbit and then into an elliptical transfer orbit before the upper stage settled down for a five-hour coast phase to the peak of the egg-shaped orbit. The critical circularization burn is planned at 4:47 UTC on Sunday and the two payloads will be on their way by 6:10 UTC, though the exact timing of their release is withheld fr om the public due to the semi-secret nature of the mission.

Saturday's mission was only known by its Air Force Space Command number – AFSPC-11 – when showing up on launch manifests and the identity its payloads was kept under wraps until shortly before launch, though the use of an Atlas V 551 rocket piqued the interest of outside observers as one of the most powerful U.S. launch vehicles currently in operation.

Enlisting the help of five SRBs, Atlas V 551 is usually called up when heavy lifting or high-energy deliveries are required. Its previous assignments were sending the New Horizons and Juno probes off to explore Pluto and Jupiter and to lift the U.S. Navy's MUOS fleet which rank among the heaviest communications satellites currently in operation.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151830.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/40556736865_b29b5418e4_k.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

The task of AV-079 – the 77th Atlas V – was a direct-to-GEO delivery of two sizeable payloads – CBAS, the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/cbas/)riding in the top position and EAGLE, the ESPA Augmented Geostationary Laboratory Experiment, installed between CBAS and the Centaur upper stage. The presence of EAGLE on the AFSPC-11 mission had been rumored for some time but the identity of CBAS as top passenger was only revealed on April 6 with just over a week to liftoff.

In the announcement of CBAS as one of this mission's payloads, the U.S. Air Force said the satellite is designed for communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders and combatant commanders in an augmenting function to existing military satellite communications (milsatcom) capabilities. The satellite will offer a combination of functions: serving as a relay point for military communications and delivering continuous military data broadcasting.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151839.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/CBAS-ULA.jpg)
Depiction of CBAS in ULA's Mission Booklet for AFSPC 11 – Credit: United Launch Alliance

Specifics like who built the satellite and in which frequency bands it operates were not disclosed in the run-up to Saturday's launch. CBAS likely weighs between 1,960 and 3,100 Kilograms based on the known direct-to-GEO performance of the Atlas V 551 and the mass range for EAGLE.

The U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Directorate currently operates two major communications architectures in Geostationary Orbit. The Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) System, currently operating nine satellites, serves as the backbone of military communications by delivering open and encrypted X- and Ka-Band links for a wide variety of applications from remote-controlling of UAVs to voice communications with individual soldiers. AEHF, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellites, provide secure and high-capacity communications to remote and handheld terminals to serve warfighters during all levels of conflict.

Wh ere CBAS will fit into the picture remains to be seen and will likely hinge on the skills of amateur satellite trackers as mission details like operational location in Geostationary Orbit are unlikely to be made public by the Air Force.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151828.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/0ESPAStar_hi.jpg)
Image: Orbital ATK

Somewhat more is known about EAGLE, riding into orbit affixed between Centaur and CBAS as the first flight of Orbital ATK's ESPAStar platform. (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/eagle/) Taking an ESPA payload adapter as a basis, Orbital ATK added provisions for power generation, propulsion, attitude control and data handling which can be shared by the payloads installed around the ESPA ring. These can either be separable satellites taking advantage of the craft's precise injection capabilities or these can also be hosted payloads sharing the ESPAStar platform for maneuvering, pointing and data downlink for the duration of their mission.

EAGLE – to best public knowledge – carries at least one separable satellite, designated Mycroft, and four attached payloads primarily geared toward the exploration of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and threat-detection technology. SSA has been a particular focus area in recent years as a number of countries have been actively pursuing missions capable of gathering information on the satellites of others, some with the potential of manipulating another nation's space assets.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151831.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11CBAS-Insignia.jpg)
AFSPC 11 Mission Insignia – Credit: U.S. Air Force

One particular technology demonstration on EAGLE that may build the foundation for future SSA missions is an Inverse Synthetic Aperture Ladar – combining synthetic aperture technology from radar missions with laser-based imaging from LIDAR sensors to obtain an ability of collecting highly resolved images of a resident space object beyond the optical capabilities of a conventional telescope. EAGLE also hosts a Hypertemporal Imaging Space Experiment that aims to demonstrate the use of blending imagery of a target obtained in various wavelength bands over regular time intervals to extract a maximum of information on the properties of that target – useful for intelligence-gathering of Earth- and space-based targets.

Two other attached payloads riding on EAGLE will demonstrate a small package measuring space weather parameters to assist in fault attribution and recovery while an Air Force Research Lab satellite platform demonstration will test out systems for a future resilient satellite.

Mycroft, weighing in at no more than 130 Kilograms, is understood to be a follow-on mission to the ANGELS demonstration that ran from 2014 to 2017 and used a small maneuverable satellite to test out uncooperative rendezvous systems, navigation algorithms and 'inspection' sensors to aid SSA efforts. According to the Air Force, Mycroft will separate from EAGLE at some undisclosed time in the mission, retreat to a distance of 35 Kilometers and then re-rendezvous with its parent spacecraft to test out different rendezvous sensors and processing systems as well as an imaging platform for collecting data on other satellites in orbit.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151829.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/39641686150_1625411019_o.jpg)
Photo: United Launch Alliance

The launch of CBAS and EAGLE required a special breed of rocket, capable of threading a fine line between brute force and precision as a direct-to-GEO injection is among the most complex missions for a launch vehicle – requiring a powerful rocket possessing the performance for injecting a sizeable satellite into an equatorial orbit nearly 36,000 Kilometers in altitude but also counting on the upper stage to remain functional after five hours of battling extreme temperatures and radiation.

Direct-to-GEO missions are a rare occurrence as satellites bound for GEO are typically delivered into an elliptical transfer orbit from wh ere they must circularize their orbits over the equator under their own engine power to reach a point wh ere their velocity is interlocked with that of Earth and keeps them centered over the same location at all times.

Of ULA's 126 missions performed before Saturday, only around a dozen or so were direct injections into GEO – most of them were for secret government business involving heavily classified satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office. In fact, Saturday's mission was the first not-fully-classified direct GEO injection performed by Atlas V.

>> Atlas V 551 Specifications & Tech Overview (http://spaceflight101.com/spacerockets/atlas-v-551/)

A smooth seven-hour countdown set the stage for Saturday's liftoff with the sun low in the west at launch time, not a cloud in the sky and Atlas V standing over 60 meters tall atop its Atlantic-side launch pad, weighing in at over 570 metric tons – broken down in 205 t of explosive solid propellant, 305 t of volatile liquid rocket fuels, 58 t of rocket dry mass and only 3.5 t for the two payloads.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151837.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch5.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

Atlas V came to life at T-2.7 seconds when the Russian-built RD-180 engine started breathing fire and soared to a launch thrust of 390 metric-ton-force. Upon ignition of the five AJ60 Solid Rocket Boosters, Atlas V jumped off its launch pad with a total thrust of 12,200 Kilonewtons, nearly 1,250 metric-ton-force pushing the vehicle up toward clear afternoon skies over Florida's Space Coast.

The rocket balanced vertically through the help of thrust vector control within the two-chamber main engine and the boosters, starting the process of pitching and rolling onto its due-easterly departure path within four seconds of liftoff. Aligned with an 89.9-degree azimuth, Atlas V crossed the speed of sound at T+35 seconds and the RD-180 throttled back as the vehicle encountered maximum dynamic pressure eleven seconds later.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151835.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch3.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151836.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch4.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

The five boosters, having helped accelerate Atlas V to more than four times the speed of sound, burned out at the T+94 second mark after each consumed 41 metric tons of propellant. Atlas V held them for another 13 seconds after burnout to ensure separation occurred in favorable aerodynamic conditions, dropping the 17-meter long SRBs toward a safe splashdown in the ocean. With the boosters gone, Atlas V continued flying east-south-east under the power of its RD-180 main engine, guzzling down 1,150 Kilograms of rocket-grade Kerosene and Liquid Oxygen every second.

RD-180 was throttled back again for the separation of the 20.7-meter long payload fairing halves three minutes and 31 seconds into the mission when Atlas V had escaped the discernible atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor around Centaur also dropped away as Atlas V shed no-longer-needed weight before throttling up again to a peak vacuum thrust of 422 metric ton-force.

A gradual reduction of thrust began as the mission passed T+4 minutes and Atlas V had lost the majority of its launch mass, requiring the RD-180 to step off the gas in order to maintain a maximum acceleration of 4.6Gs. BECO – Booster Engine Cutoff was confirmed at T+4 minutes and 34 seconds.

The 32.5-meter long Common Core Booster was discarded by means of pyrotechnic separation devices and retrorockets that pushed it clear of the Centaur upper stage and its RL-10C engine. Ten seconds after staging, Centaur fired up its Hydrogen-fueled engine to push the stack into orbit with a thrust of 10,400 Kilogram-force. The mission entered a deliberate news blackout at this point, though the planned events of the night's mission were provided beforehand:

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151838.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Launch6.jpg)
Photo: ULA Webcast

Centaur's initial burn was planned to last six minutes and one second to place the stack in a Low Earth Parking Orbit for just 12 minutes of coasting – designed to allow Centaur to traverse the Atlantic and conduct its second burn centering the equator so that the high point of the resulting elliptical orbit would the positioned over the equator on the opposite side of the planet. The RL-10 was to re-start at T+22 minutes and 57 seconds on a five-minute and 49-second burn tasked with raising the orbit's apogee to over 35,000 Kilometers and shaving a few degrees off its inclination.

Upon completion of the second burn, Centaur was to settle in for a five-hour coast phase – a quiescent mission phase that appears to be uneventful from an outside perspective but represents the major challenge of a direct-to-GEO mission. Over the course of the lengthy coast, Centaur uses tapoff gas from its tanks to keep the cryogenic propellants settled inside the tanks while the Hydrazine reaction control engines fire to manage the vehicle's body rates and rotate it to even out solar exposure. Added provisions for Centaur's lengthy climb included extra batteries and Helium pressurization to keep its brains fed with power and the tanks at the proper pressures.

>> Launch Profile (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/launch-profile/)

The third burn of the mission is planned at T+5 hours and 34 minutes – expected to last two minutes & 36 seconds and tasked with raising the orbit's perigee and flatten out the orbital inclination to achieve a perfectly circular orbit above Earth's equator, drifting relative to the Geostationary Belt.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/151832.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/wp-content/uploads/sites/221/2018/04/AFSPC11-Ground-Track.jpg)
AFSPC-11 Mission Ground Track – Image: United Launch Alliance

The two satellites are expected to separate from the Centaur upper stage before T+6 hours and 57 minutes – the exact timing is not being disclosed to the public due to the semi-classified nature of the AFSPC-11 mission, though separation some 35,300 Kilometers above Borneo would not be visible with conventional means anyway. Mission success will be confirmed by ULA or the U.S. Air Force before CBAS and EAGLE head into obscurity to carry out their missions out of public view.

Saturday's mission marked the third Atlas V launch of 2018. The next mission of the workhorse launcher is set for May 5 from Vandenberg, California withNASA's InSight lander (http://spaceflight101.com/insight) headed to Mars for a comprehensive study of the planet's interior. The next east coast Atlas V is not planned until late August when Boeing's Starliner crew spacecraft is scheduled to conduct its first test flight – a date that can be considered tentative at best.

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186350.jpg)Julia‏ @julia_bergeron (https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/985317303431639042)

I spy five boosters and an Atlas making a delivery run. It's amazing what you can capture watching a launch 13.5 miles away from your back yard. Thank you for the evening entertainment @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162781.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/186350.jpg)Julia‏ @julia_bergeron (https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/985318460283588610)

The point of view from home makes it seem like the VAB and LC-41 are neighbors. Mighty Atlas cleared the pad in quite a hurry tonight.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162783.jpg)

ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 rocket blasts off for U.S. Air Force
April 14, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

An Atlas 5 rocket rumbled into space Saturday evening after lifting off from Cape Canaveral with multiple U.S. Air Force communications and tech demo satellites, and brilliant clear skies made for ideal viewing conditions shortly before sunset.

Спойлер

Powering off the launch pad with 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) with the U.S. Air Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM satellite and an experimental payload-carrier named EAGLE.

The Atlas 5 rocket aimed to place its satellite passengers into a circular orbit more than 24,000 miles (about 39,000 kilometers) above the equator, a trip that was expected to take around six hours.

These photos captured from multiple viewing points around Cape Canaveral show the 197-foot-tall (60-meter) Atlas 5 taking off in its most powerful configuration, with five solid rocket boosters adding to the thrust of the launcher's RD-180 main engine.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144298.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144347.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144396.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144348.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144299.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144397.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144349.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144297.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144350.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144351.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144300.jpg)
Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144352.jpg)
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144398.jpg)
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II/Spaceflight Now

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Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/985379807541256193)

AV-079 should now have made its third Centaur burn and be in the target orbit 3000 km above GEO. We don't know when spacecraft separation is planned for, but probably quite soon.

ЦитироватьВ США запустили ракету-носитель Atlas V с двумя военными аппаратами
НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 15 апреля. /ТАСС/. Американская компания United Launch Alliance в субботу осуществила с космодрома на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида) запуск тяжелой ракеты-носителя Atlas V с двумя аппаратами военного назначения. Трансляция запуска ведется на сайте (https://www.ulalaunch.com/) компании.
Старт был дан в 19:13 по времени Восточного побережья США (в 02:13 мск в воскресенье).
С 2002 года это 77-й пуск Atlas V. "Через одну минуту и 40 секунд после пуска полет проходит нормально", - сообщили в компании.
CBAS предназначен для наращивания возможностей существующей группировки американских военных спутников связи. Как пояснила ULA, данный аппарат сконструирован для последовательной передачи данных через ретрансляционную линию связи таких спутников.
EAGLE, по словам компании, представляет собой экспериментальную платформу, предназначенную для демонстрации маневренности космического аппарата, способного выводить до шести различных грузов на геостационарную орбиту. Данный аппарат оснащен технологическими наработками, призванными находить аномальные явления в космосе и составлять характеристику потенциальных столкновений с малыми космическими телами.
ULA была основана в 2006 году. Она является совместным предприятием авиационных гигантов Boeing и Lockheed Martin.

Цитироватьtnt22 пишет:
 http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/atlas-v-launches-afspc-11-mission/

ЦитироватьMuscly Atlas V Rumbles off fr om Florida on Direct Geostationary Delivery with CBAS & EAGLE

Цитироватьобратный синтетический апертурный ладонь, сочетающий синтетическую апертурную технологию от радиолокационных миссий с лазерной визуализацией датчиков LIDAR для получения возможности собирать высокоразрешенные изображения резидентного пространства объект за пределами оптических возможностей обычного телескопа. EAGLE также представляет собой экспериментальный эксперимент по гиперпространству, который направлен на демонстрацию использования смешанных изображений цели, полученной в различных диапазонах длин волн, через регулярные интервалы времени для получения максимальной информации о свойствах этой цели, полезной для сбора разведывательных данных, и космических целей.

Цитировать(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/692443836736507904/4I0Bh5oX_bigger.jpg)AF SMC‏ @AF_SMC (https://twitter.com/AF_SMC) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/AF_SMC/status/985398337292644352)

Congratulations to the #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash) integrated team and all mission partners on a successful launch!
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162798.jpg)

Спойлер

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162797.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/162799.jpg)

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Цитировать04/15/2018 09:22 Mission success confirmed Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance has confirmed a successful conclusion to tonight's mission in a post-flight press release.

The Atlas 5 rocket's Centaur upper stage apparently delivered the U.S. Air Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM (CBAS) and EAGLE experimental payload carrier to an orbit slightly above the geostationary belt some 24,200 miles (39,000 kilometers) over the equator.

Спойлер

The flight marked the 77th successful Atlas 5 mission since the rocket's debut in August 2002.

"Today's launch is a testament to why the ULA team continually serves as our nation's most reliable and successful launch provider for our nation's most critical space assets," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs. "I want to thank the entire ULA team, and the phenomenal teamwork of our mission partners."

The Centaur upper stage conducted three firings on tonight's mission for the direct injection into a near-geostationary orbit. ULA ended its live broadcast of the mission moments after the Centaur ignited on its first burn, at the request of the U.S. Air Force.

The next Atlas 5 mission is set for May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with NASA's InSight lander heading for Mars.

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ЦитироватьUnited Launch Alliance Successfully Launches AFSPC-11 Mission for the U.S. Air Force
Atlas V AFSPC-11 Mission Overview (https://www.ulalaunch.com/docs/default-source/launch-booklets/av_afspc11_mob.pdf)

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (April 15, 2018 ) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on April 14 at 7:13 p.m. EDT. AFSPC-11 is a multi-payload mission. The forward payload is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Experiment).

Спойлер

"Today's launch is a testament to why the ULA team continually serves as our nation's most reliable and successful launch provider for our nation's most critical space assets," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. "I want to thank the entire ULA team, and the phenomenal teamwork of our mission partners."

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 551 configuration vehicle, which includes a 5-meter large Payload Fairing (PLF). The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the five AJ-60A solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage.

This is the 77th launch of the Atlas V rocket, ULA's 4th launch in 2018 and the 127th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.
ULA's next launch is the InSight mission for NASA on an Atlas V rocket. The launch is scheduled for May 5 at Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the Nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 125 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com (https://www.ulalaunch.com/home), or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (https://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch), twitter.com/ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) and instagram.com/ulalaunch (https://instagram.com/ulalaunch).

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Цитироватьzandr пишет:
Гуглпоревод
ясности не добавляет.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 3 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/985467896288591872)

127

ЦитироватьAtlas V AFSPC-11 Launch Highlights

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 15 апр. 2018 г.

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the AFSPC-11 mission for the U.S. Air Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on April 14, 2018. AFSPC-11 is a multi-manifested mission. The forward spacecraft is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (ESPA Augmented GEO Laboratory Experiment).

ЦитироватьPhotos: Strongest Atlas V Rocket Races into Clear Afternoon Skies on U.S. Air Force Mission
 April 14, 2018 (http://spaceflight101.com/photos-strongest-atlas-v-rocket-races-into-clear-afternoon-skies-on-u-s-air-force-mission/) 

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 23:13:00 UTC on April 14, 2018 with the Air Force Space Command 11 mission comprising the CBAS military communications satellite and EAGLE experimental platform. Utilizing the most powerful Atlas V version currently available, the mission was set for a complex three-burn, seven-hour flight profile to dispatch the two payloads directly into a Geostationary Drift Orbit.

Спойлер

>> Read our Launch Recap (http://spaceflight101.com/afspc-11/atlas-v-launches-afspc-11-mission/)

All Photos: United Launch Alliance

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154309.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/39657481080_718879d829_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154311.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154311.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154307.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/27595061948_e6cb078f7e_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154310.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/41423251522_dc49e4b3a2_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154314.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/41466098861_d95182e7e1_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154313.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/41466095331_a9584b352b_o.jpg)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/154312.jpg) (http://spaceflight101.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/41466092431_e7498b9a26_o.jpg)

[свернуть]

Цитироватьtnt22 пишет: 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8rZSSZfcSM

ЦитироватьMulti-satellite payload hoisted into high-altitude orbit by Atlas 5 rocket
April 15, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144279.jpg)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifts off at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) Saturday. Credit: United Launch Alliance

A package of communications and tech demo satellites for the U.S. Air Force rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into an orbit more than 20,000 miles over the equator after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Saturday evening.

The dual-payload mission required the most capable version of ULA's Atlas 5 rocket, a hot-rod launcher with five solid-fueled strap-on motors to add an extra boost during the fiery liftoff at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad.

Спойлер

Riding 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the Atlas 5 surpassed the speed of sound in less than 30 seconds as it arced toward the east over the Atlantic Ocean, leaving an exhaust plume in its wake contorted by a column of upper level winds. The five solid rocket boosters, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, dropped away just shy of the mission's two-minute point, and the Atlas 5's Russian-made RD-180 main engine continued chugging a mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen for four-and-a-half minutes.

The Atlas 5's bronze first stage dropped away, leaving the Centaur upper stage's RL10C-1 engine to ignite for the first of three maneuvers to initially reach a parking orbit, then raise its altitude to deploy the mission's two main payloads high above the equator.

The rocket was programmed to deploy the Air Force's Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, or CBAS, satellite first. The CBAS satellite — pronounced "sea bass" — is a military communications relay station designed to keep commanders in contact with senior government leaders, according to the Air Force.

CBAS rode in the forward, or upper, position inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload shroud. Another satellite, an experimental multi-payload carrier known by the acronym EAGLE, was fastened below the CBAS spacecraft during launch, and was expected to separate from the Centaur upper stage second.

The Atlas 5's guidance computer aimed for a circular orbit roughly 24,200 miles (39,000 kilometers) over the equator, slightly above the geostationary orbit region populated by numerous telecom, reconnaissance and early warning satellite. The rocket reached its intended orbit after commanding the Centaur stage's RL10 engine on a six-hour flight to the mission's target altitude, with the final upper stage burn nulling out the payload's orbital inclination to 0 degrees.

The long-duration mission, the first such direct Atlas 5 flight to a near-geostationary orbit disclosed by ULA, kept officials awake into early Sunday, Florida time, to confirm a successful conclusion to the launch.

ULA declared success shortly after 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Sunday in a press release, wrapping up the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket since its debut in August 2002.

"Today's launch is a testament to why the ULA team continually serves as our nation's most reliable and successful launch provider for our nation's most critical space assets," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs. "I want to thank the entire ULA team, and the phenomenal teamwork of our mission partners."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144319.jpg)
The Atlas 5's RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters propel the rocket off the launch pad Saturday. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Saturday's launch for the Air Force was codenamed AFSPC 11, and many details about the payloads aboard the rocket remained secret until the final days before liftoff.

The Air Force kept the identity of the main payload on the launch secret until April 6, when officials revealed the CBAS satellite's communications relay function.

"CBAS is a military satellite communications spacecraft destined for geosynchronous orbit to provide communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders and combatant commanders," the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center said in a statement. "CBAS will augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links."

An Air Force spokesperson declined to identify the contractor that built the CBAS satellite, and the military released no further details on the mission.

The lower passenger is the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment satellite. The Air Force calls the nested acronym EAGLE for short.

Orbital ATK developed the EAGLE spacecraft by modifying a ring-like structure often used to connect small satellites to their launchers, adding solar panels, computers, rocket thrusters and instrumentation to the adapter. The Air Force says EAGLE will a pathfinder for future missions, demonstrating a maneuverable satellite design that could help the military launch new capabilities at less cost.

Managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's space vehicles directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the EAGLE mission "hosts experiments designed to detect, identify, and attribute threatening behavior as well as enhance space situational awareness," the Air Force said in a statement.

One of the experiments is a separating daughter satellite named Mycroft, apparently named for the older brother of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. In one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, Sherlock Holmes says Mycroft possesses observational and deductive abilities greater than his own.

The Air Force describes Mycroft as a "fourth-generation space situational awareness experiment." The service said the satellite will test technology that could be used by future missions to survey, catalog and inspect objects in geostationary orbit.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/144341.jpg)
File photo of an ESPASat-class satellite similar to Mycroft. Credit: U.S. Air Force/Orbital ATK

The Mycroft satellite, also built by Orbital ATK, "will explore ways to enhance space object characterization and navigation capabilities, it will investigate control mechansms used for flight safety, and it will explore the designs and data processing methods for enhancing space situational awareness," the Air Force wrote in a fact sheet on the mission.

Mycroft is a follow-up to the Air Force's ANGELS satellite, which launched into an orbit just above the geostationary belt in 2014 and ended its mission in November. ANGELS inspected the upper stage of its Delta 4 rocket soon after launch, then tested in-orbit surveillance, navigation and rendezvous operations for the rest of its mission.

According to the Air Force fact sheet, Mycroft will fly to a distance of around 21 miles (35 kilometers) from EAGLE, then re-approach the mother satellite to a range of about a kilometer, or 3,300 feet.

Mycroft will evaluate the region around the EAGLE satellite with an on-board camera, the Air Force said, and use its sensors and software to perform advanced guidance, navigation and control functions.

"The space domain is crucial today and will only increase in value moving into the future," said Maj. Gen. William Cooley, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory. "If the Air Force is to truly embrace space superiority then improving our ability to protect and defend vital space interests is of paramount importance."

The Air Force said engineers have completed "rigorous research and development" to ensure Mycroft can safely fly through the congested geostationary orbit region.

Mycroft weighs a few hundred pounds, and its main body is no bigger than a mini-refrigerator, with a deployable solar panel out the side.

The Air Force owns four operational satellite sleuths in Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program. The GSSAP satellites flying around the same region as Mycroft and ANGELS more than 22,000 miles over the equator, feeding data on numerous foreign and commercial spacecraft movements positions to military officials.

The EAGLE satellite is scheduled to operate at least one year, and the Mycroft mission is expected to last 12 to 18 months, the Air Force said.

"Other experiments hosted on the EAGLE will detect, identify and analyze system threats such as man-made disturbances, space weather events or collisions with small meteorites," the Air Force wrote in a fact sheet released Friday. "Together, EAGLE and Mycroft help train operators and development of tactics, techniques and procedures during exercises or experiments to improve space warfighting."

The Air Force will also use the EAGLE mission as a training tool for engineers and satellite controllers.

Another experiment on EAGLE will evaluate the performance of a "hypertemporal" imager that combines data in infrared, ultraviolet and visible light, a capability the Air Force says will allow analysts to extract more information from image scenes.

Two more separable payloads are also abroad the EAGLE satellite, according to information provided during ULA's launch webcast. No details about their missions were released.

The next Atlas 5 mission is set for May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with NASA's InSight lander heading for Mars.

Another launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for Monday evening, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will loft NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey satellite, an orbiting observatory that will search for planets around other stars.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAFSPC-11 launches on a ULA Atlas Rocket - UP CLOSE VIEWS

AmericaSpace (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYgjjg_-fyQwR-XgQ0JAXQ)

Опубликовано: 15 апр. 2018 г.

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Кто-нибудь наблюдает ПН на орбите?

ЦитироватьAerial Views of Atlas V AFSPC-11

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 23 апр. 2018 г.

Drone footage taken as ULA's Atlas V 551 rocket prepares to launch the AFSPC-11 mission from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission launched on April 14, 2018.

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 60 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/990678781135290368)

The USAF Mycroft satellite and another, secret, ESPASat have been ejected from the EAGLE satellite launched on Apr 14, and cataloged as USA 285 and USA 286

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/29931.jpg)Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 19 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/991101916565225472)

A mission so complex that this type of trajectory is rarely attempted. Here's how we did #AFSPC11 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFSPC11?src=hash)

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/163447.jpg)

Цитировать(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/67516.jpg)Jonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 55 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/995391699965894656)

Space-Track has cataloged USA 287, presumably a third small ESPASat-payload ejected from the EAGLE satellite in 39000 km orbit

ЦитироватьAFRL Dispatching Satellite to Examine Unresponsive Smallsat
10/18/2019
​​—RACHEL S. COHEN

(http://airforcemag.com/Features/PublishingImages/2019/October%202019/eaglelaunch%20(1).jpg) (http://airforcemag.com/Features/PublishingImages/2019/October%202019/eaglelaunch%20(1).jpg)
​A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the AFSPC-11 mission for the Air Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., on April 14, 2018. The launch carried the experimental small satellite Mycroft into orbit. Courtesy photo via ULA.​

One experimental Air Force satellite on Oct. 20 will begin inspecting another that stopped talking to the ground in March, the Air Force Research Laboratory said in an Oct. 17 release.

The rendezvous marks the first time AFRL has launched a mission to check on and resolve a spacecraft's problems on orbit in real time.

AFRL's Small Satellite Space Surveillance System (S5), built by Colorado-based Blue Canyon Technologies, launched Feb. 22 to test out new space situational awareness approaches. But researchers have not been able to communicate with the mute S5 since March.

"Operators confirm that the spacecraft is alive and maintaining solar power by tracking the sun, but without communications, S5 cannot perform its experiments," according to the release.

Without humans in the neighborhood to check on S5, AFRL must rely on Mycroft. The smallsat launched in April 2018 to conduct SSA and satellite inspection experiments. Its missions also include learning about and improving autonomous navigation as well as how satellites can meet up with and work on other spacecraft.

"Mycroft satellite operators will initiate a series of maneuvers to rendezvous with S5" in geosynchronous orbit, AFRL said. "Mycroft will inspect the S5 satellite and provide operators with verification of the fully-deployed solar array and of the sun-pointing orientation. Mycroft will then examine the exterior of the S5 spacecraft to search for damaged components such as the solar array and antennas."

S5's checkup will last several weeks. AFRL said it will transition operations to Air Force Space Command later this year.

ЦитироватьСМИ: военный спутник США осмотрит неисправный аппарат-разведчик на орбите
10:03 22.10.2019

МОСКВА, 22 окт - РИА Новости. Спутник-инспектор Mycroft, принадлежащий ВВС США, осмотрит на орбите малый американский разведывательный космический аппарат S5, у которого возникли проблемы, сообщил специализированный сайт airforcemag.com (http://airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/October%202019/AFRL-Dispatching-Satellite-to-Examine-Unresponsive-Smallsat.aspx).

Спутник Mycroft был запущен в космос в апреле 2018 года и предназначен для инспекции аппаратов на геостационарной орбите (круговая орбита высотой 35 тысяч 786 километров, на которой работают спутники связи и ретрансляции).

Как отмечает сайт со ссылкой на исследовательскую лабораторию ВВС США, спутник Mycroft проинспектирует аппарат S5, также принадлежащий ВВС США. Он был выведен на орбиту в феврале 2019 года и предназначен для разведки космической обстановки.

Сообщается, что в марте связь с S5 была потеряна, однако он жив и сориентирован на Солнце для получения электропитания. Поэтому ВВС США приняли решение отправить к S5 спутник Mycroft, который осмотрит его солнечные батареи и антенны на предмет повреждений.

В апреле в отчете о мировых системах противокосмической обороны, выпущенном американским фондом "За безопасный мир" (Secure World Foundation), сообщалось, что американские военные спутники-шпионы GSSAP на геостационарной орбите многократно близко и скрытно подлетали к российским и китайским военным и гражданским космическим аппаратам для их инспекции.