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Тематические разделы => Прикладная космонавтика => Тема начата: Liss от 14.05.2009 15:08:33

Название: AEHF-1 (USA-214) - Atlas V 531(AV-019) - Canaveral SLC-41 - 14.08.2010 11:07 UTC
Отправлено: Liss от 14.05.2009 15:08:33
Первый AEHF все еще на Земле, а второй уже проходит испытания на Lockheed Martin:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2009/041409_ss_aehf.html

ЦитироватьSUNNYVALE, Calif., April 14th, 2009 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE] has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing of the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) military communications satellite, a major program milestone that proves spacecraft performance and functionality in a complete test-like-you-fly environment...

Conducted between Jan. 26 and March 14 inside Lockheed Martin's Dual Entry Large Thermal Altitude (DELTA) chamber, the successful test verified Advanced EHF spacecraft functionality and performance in a vacuum environment where the satellite was stressed at the extreme hot and cold temperatures it will experience in space throughout its 14-year design life...
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: STS от 14.05.2009 14:24:45
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/60803.jpg)

Крупным планом: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/aehf-avweek.jpg
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: anik от 14.05.2009 20:56:08
AEHF-1 летит не 15 сентября 2009 года, а в феврале 2011 года (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=8184.msg396906#msg396906).
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Liss от 14.05.2009 22:58:50
ЦитироватьAEHF-1 летит не 15 сентября 2009 года, а в феврале 2011 года (http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=8184.msg396906#msg396906).
Ну чтобы по этой ссылке дойти до февраля 2011, надо еще постараться... Зря я Пьетробону поверил, однако :-(
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Agent от 12.06.2010 12:01:56
.... first Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft into orbit on July 30 from the Complex 41 launch pad. The morning's window extends from 8:05 to 10:05 a.m. EDT (1205-1405 GMT).

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/100610prep.html

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/12903.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/12904.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/12905.jpg)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 15.07.2010 01:04:16
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
ЦитироватьAug. 10     Atlas 5  •  AEHF 1
Launch window: 1121-1322 GMT (7:21-9:22 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 (AV-019) rocket will launch the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 2009 due to spacecraft readiness. Delayed from July 30 by payload fairing issue. [July 14]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 05.08.2010 19:14:26
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Launch.shtml
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/100805move.html
ЦитироватьAtlas 5 rocket to receive its satellite passenger today
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: August 5, 2010

An advanced satellite for relying secure U.S. military communications and the Atlas 5 rocket that will launch the craft into space next week are being brought together inside a Cape Canaveral assembly building today.

Already packed within the Swiss-made nose cone, the Air Force's first Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite made a middle-of-the-night departure from its processing hangar in Titusville for a trailer-ride to the rocket's Vertical Integration Facility at Complex 41.

Cranes will hoist the AEHF 1 spacecraft into position atop the rocket for attachment to the Centaur upper stage later in the day.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13559.jpg)   
File photo of a payload leaving Astrotech inside an Atlas 5 nose cone. Credit: NASA

The satellite had spent the past two months at the commercial Astrotech campus being checked out and fueled for flight. The final days of work there included encapsulating the 13,600-pound craft within the two-piece launch fairing and setting the payload aboard the transporter for its trip to join the Atlas 5 rocket.

In the early morning hours today, the satellite will be hauled across the river, up through the Kennedy Space Center and over to Complex 41 where the Atlas awaits on a mobile launching platform.

Once AEHF is installed, the fully stacked rocket will stand 197 feet tall. The United Launch Alliance vehicle features a Russian-designed main engine fed with refined kerosene and liquid oxygen, three strap-on solid propellant boosters, the liquid hydrogen-powered cryogenic Centaur and a composite payload shroud 16 feet in diameter.

"The Atlas 5-531 configuration with three solid rocket motors is one of the most powerful Atlas 5 vehicles we launch," said Bob Winn, ULA's AEHF 1 mission manager.

Liftoff had been targeted for August 12 at 7:14 a.m. EDT, but the launch could be sliding a day or two. Schedules became increasingly tight when the satellite's milestone move to the assembly building was delayed a few days, eating up the slack in the pre-flight timeline.

As of late Wednesday, the Air Force had not announced any official decisions on the launch rescheduling plans.

Between now and launch day, a combined test for the rocket and its payload will be conducted to verify systems are operating in sync for ascent.

Also upcoming is the review process to give the "go" for sending the Atlas 5 and satellite aloft. The Flight Readiness Review will assess the status of preparations and the subsequent Launch Readiness Review culminates in clearance for rolling the rocket out to the pad August 11 and beginning the countdown.

The daily launch window extends two hours each morning and shifts about four minutes earlier per day.

The Atlas flight sequence will last 51 minutes from liftoff until deployment of AEHF 1 from the booster. The craft will be delivered into a highly elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of 22,236 statute miles, a low point of 119 statute miles and inclination of 27 degrees.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13560.jpg)   
The AEHF 1 satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin

In the subsequent weeks and months, the satellite's own conventional and exotic ion propulsion systems will circularize the orbit to approximately 22,300 miles over the equator at 90 degrees West longitude for testing.

This maiden AEHF bird should be ready, if all goes well, to enter service early next year from an orbital location dictated by the needs at that time, officials said.

"AEHF will provide tactical and strategic support to a wide variety of Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force users," said Col. Michael Sarchet, commander of the Protected Satellite Communications Group at the Space and Missile Systems Center.

The U.S. military purchased a series of AEHF satellites for launches in the coming years to replace the aging Milstar communications spacecraft that link the national leadership and warfighters.

"AEHF is a very sophisticated satellite because it is built to provide the highest levels of protection for our nation's most critical users. Encryption, low probability of intercept and detection, jammer resistance and the ability to penetrate the electro-magnetic interference caused by nuclear weapons are essential features when communication can be of the highest priority," Sarchet said.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 05.08.2010 19:21:36
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
ЦитироватьAug. 12    Atlas 5  •  AEHF 1
Launch window: 1114-1313 GMT (7:14-9:13 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 (AV-019) rocket will launch the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 2009 due to spacecraft readiness. Delayed from July 30 by payload fairing issue. Delayed from Aug. 10. See our Mission Status Center. [July 26]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 05.08.2010 19:22:28
Буклет:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=21261.0;attach=241291  2,2 МБ
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 08.08.2010 20:47:33
Теперь не ранее 14 августа:
http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php
Цитировать8/14/2010, 1107-1306Z   AEHF 1
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 09.08.2010 16:14:59
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=21261.msg626510#msg626510
ЦитироватьMy sources says it was moved from the 12th to the 14th and there are no other delays.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: интересующийся от 12.08.2010 00:58:50
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/0810_ss_aehf.html
ЦитироватьLockheed Martin First Advanced EHF Satellite Encapsulated
Team Prepares Satellite in Atlas V Rocket Nose Cone for Launch
SUNNYVALE, Calif., August 10th, 2010 -- The first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite was encapsulated into the fairing in preparation for a mid-August liftoff aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Designed and built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., the AEHF will deliver survivable, protected, secure links to U.S. national leaders, air, land and sea forces, providing rapid, global coverage for the nation's strategic forces, the Air Force's space warning assets and operationally deployed military forces. The AEHF constellation will also serve international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

One AEHF satellite will provide greater total capacity than the entire Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will be five times improved. The higher data rates will permit transmission of tactical military communication such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.

The AEHF team is led by the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor and system manager, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the payload provider.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 12.08.2010 09:05:04
http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
ЦитироватьAug. 14     Atlas 5  •  AEHF 1
Launch window: 1107-1306 GMT (7:07-9:06 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 (AV-019) rocket will launch the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 2009 due to spacecraft readiness. Delayed from July 30 by payload fairing issue. Delayed from Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. See our Mission Status Center. [Aug. 9]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: интересующийся от 12.08.2010 22:20:45
Цитироватьhttp://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
ЦитироватьAug. 14     Atlas 5  •  AEHF 1
Launch window: 1107-1306 GMT (7:07-9:06 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 (AV-019) rocket will launch the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 531 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from July 2009 due to spacecraft readiness. Delayed from July 30 by payload fairing issue. Delayed from Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. See our Mission Status Center. [Aug. 9]
А вот подтверждение Локхида:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/0812_ss_aehf.html
ЦитироватьU.S. Air Force Ready to Launch First Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Built by Lockheed Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., August 12th, 2010 -- The U.S. Air Force's first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite, designed and built by a Lockheed Martin [NYSE] team, is ready to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Saturday, August 14. The launch window is 7:07 to 9:06 a.m. EDT.

The AEHF system will provide survivable, protected, assured, communications to the U.S. government, warfighters and international partners, including the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands. Building upon the success of the current five-satellite Milstar constellation, AEHF will provide 10 times greater total capacity and offer channel data rates six times higher than that of Milstar II satellites. The higher data rates permit transmission of tactical military communications such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data.

"AEHF represents a new era of global protected communications that will provide significantly improved, assured connectivity to a greater number of warfighters," said Mike Davis, Lockheed Martin's AEHF vice president. "The team has executed a smooth and efficient transition to the launch pad and we look forward to achieving mission success for our customer."

The AEHF team is led by the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor and system manager, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the payload provider.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 13.08.2010 16:16:42
Фотогалерея:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/preflight/
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13636.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13637.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13638.jpg)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 13.08.2010 16:18:16
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/status.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 13.08.2010 16:25:17
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/status.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 09:58:08
Кто возьмется расшифровать?

ЦитироватьAntennas:
1. 2 SHF Downlink Phased Arrays,
2. 2 Crosslinks,
3. 2 Uplink/Downlink Nulling Antennas,
4. 1 Uplink EHF Phased Array,
5. 6 Uplink/Downlink Gimbaled Dish Antenna,
6. 1 Each Uplink/downlink earth coverage horns

1. 2 передающие фазированные антенные решетки SHF-диапазона
2. 2 антенны межспутниковой связи(?)
3. 2 приемо-передающие антенны... эээ... "без боковых лепестков"?
4. 1 приемная фазированная антенная решетка EHF-диапазона
5. 6 приемо-передающих параболических антенн в карданных подвесах
6. 1 ...(?) приемо-передающая рупорная (?) антенна с глобальным покрытием
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 10:32:51
Надо полагать - так:

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13655.jpg)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 10:43:51
Ролик от Локхида: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/AEHF_COMBO_DISC1.mp4 (42.6 Мб)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 12:05:43
Фотогалерея:
http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/onthepad/

http://space.flatoday.net/2010/08/atlas-v-on-pad-for-saturday-launch-of.html#links

(http://i066.radikal.ru/1008/d7/6ea2d2c72a91.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YGHJ18yf3y0/TGVGH014AeI/AAAAAAAAAk4/HmD-gaRRSjQ/s1600/AEFH1_MLPRoll_1%5B1%5D.bmp)
(http://s44.radikal.ru/i103/1008/e5/4be904dea419.jpg) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YGHJ18yf3y0/TGVMCe7aElI/AAAAAAAAAlA/Ab7qGHXqa-g/s1600/AEFH1_MLPRoll_5%5B1%5D.bmp)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 12:15:42
http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/ascent.html
ЦитироватьAtlas/AEHF launch timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: July 28, 2010

T-00:02.7    Engine Start
The Russian-designed RD-180 main engine is ignited and undergoes checkout prior to launch.

T+00:01.1    Liftoff
The three strap-on solid rocket boosters are lit as the Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-019, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

T+01:56    Jettison SRBs
Having burned out of propellant approximately 25 seconds earlier, the spent solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean.

T+03:27    Nose Cone Jettison
The payload fairing that protected the AEHF 1 spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits.

T+03:33    Forward Load Reactor Jettison
The Forward Load Reactor deck that supported the payload fairing's structure to Centaur upper stage is released six seconds after the shroud's jettison.

T+04:17    Main Engine Cutoff
The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.

T+04:23    Stage Separation
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+04:33    Centaur Ignition 1
The Centaur RL10 engine ignites for the longer of the two upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and AEHF 1 spacecraft into a parking orbit.

T+14:08    Centaur Cutoff 1
The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned parking orbit. The vehicle enters a brief coast period lasting nearly 8 minutes before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+22:17    Centaur Ignition 2
The Centaur re-ignites over the equatorial Atlantic to accelerate the payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit from the parking achieved earlier in the launch sequence.

T+27:37    Centaur Cutoff 2
At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have delivered the AEHF 1 spacecraft into the targeted orbit with an apogee of 22,236 statute miles, perigee of 119 statute miles and inclination of 27 degrees.

T+51:00    Spacecraft Separation
The U.S. military's first Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AV-019 launch.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 12:37:48
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13657.jpg)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Frontm от 14.08.2010 15:05:13
1104 GMT (7:04 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 minutes. The Atlas first stage liquid oxygen replenishment is being secured so the tank can be pressurized for launch.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/status.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 15:05:36
Две минуты до старта.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 15:07:10
Улетела.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 15:12:26
Отделение первой ступени. РД-180 отработал.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 15:16:28
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/status.html
Цитировать1122 GMT (7:22 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 15 minutes, 30 seconds. The rocket is performing its turn to the proper position for the next engine firing.

1121 GMT (7:21 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 14 minutes, 11 seconds. MECO 1. Centaur's main engine has shut down following its first burn today, achieving a preliminary orbit around Earth. The rocket will coast in this orbit for about 8 minutes before the RL10 engine re-ignites.

1120 GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 13 minutes, 45 seconds. Centaur systems remain in good shape as the rocket nears orbit.

1120 GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 13 minutes, 15 seconds. Everything looking normal with one minute to go in this burn.

1119 GMT (7:19 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 12 minutes, 45 seconds. Centaur remains on course and looking good. The vehicle is speeding along at 16,825 mph.

1118 GMT (7:18 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 11 minutes, 20 seconds. RL10 engine parameters still look good.

1117 GMT (7:17 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 10 minutes, 15 seconds. About four minutes are left in this burn of Centaur.

1116 GMT (7:16 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 9 minutes, 40 seconds. The rocket is 171 miles in altitude, some 1,452 miles downrange and traveling at 14,751 mph.

1116 GMT (7:16 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 9 minutes. The RL10 continues to perform well, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

1115 GMT (7:15 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 8 minutes. All systems reported stable as the Centaur fires to reach an initial Earth orbit.

1114 GMT (7:14 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes, 15 seconds. Centaur is 161 miles in altitude, 915 miles downrange from the launch pad, traveling at 13,543 mph.

1113 GMT (7:13 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 6 minutes, 55 seconds. The rocket is performing a planned roll to improve the link with NASA's orbiting Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

1113 GMT (7:13 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 6 minutes, 5 seconds. The rocket is tracking right down the planned flight path.

1112 GMT (7:12 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 15 seconds. Now 125 miles in altitude, 490 miles downrange from the launch pad, traveling at 12,789 mph.

1112 GMT (7:12 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 5 seconds. Centaur engine readings look good as this burn gets underway.

1111 GMT (7:11 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 37 seconds. Centaur has ignited! The RL10 engine is up and running at full thrust for its first of two planned firings today.

1111 GMT (7:11 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 29 seconds. The Atlas 5's Common Core Booster first stage has been jettisoned, and the Centaur upper stage's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are being readied for engine start.

1111 GMT (7:11 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 19 seconds. BECO. Booster Engine Cutoff is confirmed as the RD-180 powerplant on the first stage completes its burn. Standing by to fire the retro thrusters and separate the spent stage.

1110 GMT (7:10 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 40 seconds. The two-halves of the Atlas 5 rocket nose cone encapsulating the AEHF 1 spacecraft have separated, exposed the satellite to space. Also jettisoned was the Forward Load Reactor, a two-piece deck that rings the Centaur stage to support the bulbous fairing during launch.

1110 GMT (7:10 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 15 seconds. The RD-180 main engine continues to fire normally, burning a mixture of highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen.

1110 GMT (7:10 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes. The rocket is 55 miles in altitude, some 99 miles downrange and traveling at 6,025 mph.

1109 GMT (7:09 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds. Reaction control system has been activated.

1109 GMT (7:09 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 3 seconds. Boosters one, two and then three have jettisoned. The Aerojet-made solid rocket motors have successfully separated from the Atlas 5, having completed their job of adding a powerful kick at liftoff.

1108 GMT (7:08 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 94 seconds. Solid rocket booster burnout has occurred. But the spent motors will remain attached to the first stage for about 23 seconds, until the Atlas 5 reaches a point where the airborne dynamic pressure reduces to an allowable level for a safe jettison.

1108 GMT (7:08 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 60 seconds. The launcher is departing Cape Canaveral to give the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite a 51-minute ride to orbit.

1107 GMT (7:07 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 45 seconds. Mach 1.

1107 GMT (7:07 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 40 seconds. The main engine is throttling down to 76 percent of rated thrust to ease the stresses on the vehicle in the lower atmosphere.

1107 GMT (7:07 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 15 seconds. Pitch, yaw and roll maneuvers are underway as the Atlas 5 lights up the early morning sky with its RD-180 engine and three solid rocket boosters.

1107 GMT (7:07 a.m. EDT)
LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket and AEHF 1, advancing the satellite technology in the military's preeminent line of communications.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 15:24:51
Ждём второго включения.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 14.08.2010 16:01:48
Цитировать1224 GMT (8:24 a.m. EDT)
"Our number one priority is delivering mission success for our customer," said Mike Davis, Lockheed Martin's AEHF vice president. "The AEHF system will vastly improve battlefield communications, delivering secure, real-time, connectivity to a greater number of forces in the field, and their commanders anywhere on the globe. We look forward to successfully executing the next steps necessary to making this national asset operational for the warfighter."

"We are proud to be part of the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin team that has worked so hard to launch this capability vital to our warfighters," said Stuart Linsky, vice president, Protected SatCom Programs, for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.

1220 GMT (8:20 a.m. EDT)
"This morning's successful launch is testimony to the dedication, skill and operational excellence of the entire government-industry AEHF team," said Col. Michael Sarchet, commander of the Protected Satellite Communications Group at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

"For over 15 years, the Milstar constellation has served as the backbone of secure military communications, helping the military operate in a secure mode without concern of enemy interference. AEHF will significantly enhance our national security space architecture, and we eagerly anticipate providing this new capability to the warfighter."

1214 GMT (8:14 a.m. EDT)
Ground controllers are communicating with the AEHF 1 spacecraft and all systems are reported in good shape following the satellite's successful trip into orbit.

1201 GMT (8:01 a.m. EDT)
The next Atlas launch is scheduled for September 20 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. That flight will deploy a classified spy satellite payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

1200 GMT (8:00 a.m. EDT)
"ULA is proud to have played an important role in the successful launch of the first of three AEHF satellites for this critical constellation that will directly support the warfighter on the battlefield," said Jim Sponnick, United Launch Alliance's vice president for Mission Operations.

"This was a tremendous launch campaign highlighted by close teamwork between the U.S. Air Force, the ULA launch team and our many mission partners that made today's successful launch possible. We look forward to launching AEHF 2 in 2011."

1158 GMT (7:58 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 51 minutes, 6 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Centaur upper stage has deployed the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite into orbit follow today's launch from Cape Canaveral.

1157 GMT (7:57 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 50 minutes. One minute away from releasing the payload.

1155 GMT (7:55 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 48 minutes, 25 seconds. The thermal roll has been nulled out.

1154 GMT (7:54 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 47 minutes, 50 seconds. The vehicle is more than 2,900 miles in altitude.

1148 GMT (7:48 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 41 minutes. Deployment of the AEHF 1 spacecraft to complete today's launch sequence is expected at 7:58 a.m. EDT.

1147 GMT (7:47 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 40 minutes. Centaur is operating well with good battery voltages and tank pressures. Telemetry from the rocket is being routed back to the Cape via NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

1146 GMT (7:46 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 39 minutes, 20 seconds. The vehicle is soaring above the Indian Ocean as it climbs away from the planet. Currently 1,400 miles in altitude.

1143 GMT (7:43 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 36 minutes, 30 seconds. The upper stage continues in its thermal conditioning roll while quietly coasting in the parking orbit.

1141 GMT (7:41 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 34 minutes. The Centaur's orbit is much higher than originally advertised in press materials. The geosynchronous transfer orbit stretches from 138 statute miles at its lowest point to over 31,200 statute miles at its highest and inclined 22.2 degrees to the equator.

1138 GMT (7:38 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 31 minutes. Centaur has turned itself to the proper orientation for releasing the payload.

1136 GMT (7:36 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 29 minutes. Although the Centaur has finished firing, the rocket won't immediately deploy the payload. That milestone moment will wait about 23 minutes as the rocket crosses Africa and Madagascar, eventually flying within communications range of the Diego Garcia tracking station on an island in the Indian Ocean.

"As part of the mission success process that Lockheed Martin and the MILSATCOM folks are working to, they need to have assured telemetry coverage of that critical separation event. That will also enable us to get links for video, to have a forward-facing video view of the spacecraft separation," said Bob Winn, the ULA mission manager.

Release of the payload from the rocket to complete the launch is expected at T+plus 51 minutes.

1134 GMT (7:34 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 27 minutes, 43 seconds. MECO 2. Main engine cutoff confirmed. Centaur has completed its second burn of the morning.

1133 GMT (7:33 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 26 minutes, 30 seconds. Centaur is over 6,100 miles downrange from the launch pad, traveling at 21,635 mph.

1132 GMT (7:32 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 25 minutes, 45 seconds. About two minutes are left in the burn to reach the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit.

1131 GMT (7:31 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 24 minutes, 30 seconds. The engine is burning well. This is a planned five-and-a-half-minute firing by the Centaur's single Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine.

1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 23 minutes, 25 seconds. Bus and battery voltages, tank pressures and other system measurements look good.

1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 23 minutes, 10 seconds. Vehicle acceleration is smooth at 0.65 g's.

1129 GMT (7:29 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 22 minutes, 24 seconds. Ignition and full thrust! The Centaur's single RL10 engine has re-ignited to accelerate the AEHF payload into the planned deployment orbit.

1129 GMT (7:29 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 22 minutes. Centaur is getting pressurized again in preparation for the next engine burn.

1126 GMT (7:26 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 19 minutes. The flight path is taking the vehicle over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, just off the western coast of Africa.

1125 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 18 minutes, 30 seconds. Centaur's onboard systems are stable in this coast period continues.

1125 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 18 minutes. That first burn by Centaur inserted the rocket into an orbit with a high point of 796 statute miles, a low point of 104 statute miles and inclination of 27.66 degrees.

1123 GMT (7:23 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 16 minutes, 40 seconds. All vehicle parameters still reported normal.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 16:06:28
Трансляция была великолепна. Отчетливо был виден сброс створок ГО.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 16:15:22
MES2:

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13658.png)

MECO2

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13659.png)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 16:17:34
Отделение КА:

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13660.png)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13661.png)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13662.png)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Agent от 15.08.2010 07:00:32
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/13663.jpg)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 21:12:43
Чего-то для 7 утра Солнце низковато...  :roll:
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: чайник17 от 15.08.2010 08:42:36
Восход солнца в 6:53 утра
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 14.08.2010 23:25:49
Официально:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-launch-alliance-atlas-v-successfully-launches-first-aehf-mission-100681359.html

ЦитироватьUnited Launch Alliance Atlas V Successfully Launches First AEHF Mission[/size]
 

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket successfully launched the Advanced Extremely High Frequency-1 (AEHF-1) satellite for the Air Force at 7:07 a.m. EDT today from Space Launch Complex- 41.  The AEHF constellation of four satellites will provide 10 times greater capacity and channel data rates six times higher than that of the existing Milstar II communications satellites. AEHF-1 will be joined by the next two AEHF satellites to be launched during the next two years by ULA.

This launch marks the fifth mission overall and third Atlas V mission for ULA in 2010.  AEHF-1 represents the latest "one-at-a-time" mission success which has been accomplished 43 times since ULA was formed on Dec. 1, 2006.

"ULA is proud to have played an important role in the successful launch of the first of three AEHF satellites for this critical constellation that will directly support the war fighter on the battlefield," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations.  "This was a tremendous launch campaign highlighted by close teamwork between the U.S. Air Force, the ULA launch team and our many mission partners that made today's successful launch possible. We look forward to launching AEHF-2 in 2011."

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V 531 launch vehicle configuration. The mission used an Atlas V common core booster powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine, three Aerojet solid rocket motors, a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10A upper stage engine and a 5.4-meter diameter Ruag composite payload fairing.

ULA's next launch, currently scheduled for Sept. 20, is an Atlas V from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.  It is a National Reconnaissance Office mission in support of national defense.

ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., Harlingen, Texas, San Diego, Calif., and Denver, Colo.  Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

For more information on the ULA joint venture, visit the ULA Web site at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321).

SOURCE United Launch Alliance
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 16.08.2010 10:36:05
http://cybersecurity.ru/space/100362.html
ЦитироватьВ США запущен новый военный спутник

(07:58 ) 16.08.2010

В минувшую субботу в США был произведен запуск нового военного спутника. Ракета Atlas V, созданная в United Launch Alliance, запустила на орбиту вокруг нашей планеты новый аппарат AEHF-1 или Advanced Extremely High Frequency - 1. Согласно полученным данным, старт состоялся с 41-й стартовой площадки ВВС США на космодроме на мысе Канаверал во Флориде. Старт прошел в 15:07 мск, 14 августа. Военные называют минувший запуск "полностью успешным".

Новые спутники семейства AEHF должны будут в будущем заменить группировку аппаратов Milstar. Предназначены они для организации коммуникаций между военными. Поддерживаются как голосовые системы связи, так и защищенные системы передачи данных. Кроме того, у новых спутников есть обновленная система защиты от подавления сигнала.

Разработчики аппарата говорят, что AEHF позволят поддерживать связь между президентом страны и военными даже в случае ядерного удара по США.

Основным подрядчиком при изготовлении аппаратов этой серии стала американская Lockheed Martin, эта же компания предоставила и наземную инфраструктуру для управления спутниками.

Известно также, что кроме США в ограниченном режиме этими аппаратами будут пользоваться Нидерланды, Канада и Великобритания. Когда группировка спутников AEHF будет завершена, то она будет состоять из рабочих и резервных аппаратов. Кроме  коммуникационных возможностей, новые аппараты также обладают возможностями наведения на цель, передачи "живого" видео и ограниченными возможностями картографии.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: pragmatik от 16.08.2010 21:04:42
ЦитироватьОтделение первой ступени. РД-180 отработал.
Это уже какой пуск "страшно напряжённого" двигателя? статистика хорошая пока... тьф тьф 1000 раз, постучав по деревяжке. :)
Что-ж зенит то так подводит :( Кто знает,..какая разница в технологии подготовки баков Atlas V, и зенита?
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Брабонт от 20.08.2010 03:45:42
Аппарат получил индекс USA-214.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 20.08.2010 09:35:04
"Официальное" видео от ULA:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/Video/videos/AV/av_aehf1_lh.wmv
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 24.08.2010 10:42:36
http://www.spacenews.com/military/100823-aehf-orbital-maneuvers-delayed.html

ЦитироватьFirst AEHF Satellite's Orbital Maneuvers Delayed
By Turner Brinton

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is investigating an anomaly with the propulsion system on its first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) secure communications satellite and may alter its orbital maneuvering plan, the service announced Aug. 20.

    The satellite was launched Aug. 14, and an unspecified problem occurred when operators fired the spacecraft's thrusters to boost it to its designated testing orbit, Air Force Col. Dave Madden, the service's military satellite communications program director, said in a press release. The satellite and all its subsystems remain safe and stable, and engineers are considering possible changes the orbital boosting process, it said.

    The long-delayed AEHF constellation, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., will replace the military's existing Milstar fleet for handling the most critical U.S. military communications. Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver four AEHF spacecraft.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Dude от 25.08.2010 00:14:05
Какое обманчивое фото, можно подумать, что они А-135 стреляли или вообще, чем-то твердотопливным с большим T/W.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 30.08.2010 14:20:28
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100828/NEWS01/8280315/1006/Companies+to+raise+orbit+of+satellite
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 31.08.2010 14:28:15
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/100830orbit.html

http://www.spacenews.com/military/100830-aehf1-deployment-longer-than-planned.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 02.09.2010 23:28:31
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/100902inquiry.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 06.09.2010 11:25:11
SFN: First milestone reached on AEHF 1's long road to orbit (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/100905phase1.html)
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 06.09.2010 18:22:04
Официальная стенограмма с пресс-конференции 30 августа 2010 года - по теме сабжа.
http://www.losangeles.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100901-045.pdf
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 06.09.2010 18:54:02
Кстати, а кто может доходчиво объяснить - в чем смысл этих распорок (Forward Load Reactor) под 5-метровым ГО "Атласа-5"?
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 13.09.2010 18:18:11
На русском:
http://cybersecurity.ru/space/102691.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 17.09.2010 13:40:11
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/09/15/06.xml&headline=Japanese%20Company%20Working%20With%20USAF%20On%20AEHF
ЦитироватьJapanese Company Working With USAF On AEHF

Sep 15, 2010
 
By Amy Butler, Frank Morring, Jr.

Japan's IHI Aerospace is cooperating with the U.S. Air Force as it investigates the failure of its first Advanced Extremely High-Frequency (AEHF) satellite to reach orbit after an Aug. 14 launch, according to U.S. government sources.

IHI made the satellite's model BT-4 liquid apogee engine (LAE).

The engine failed during two firing attempts to raise the spacecraft's orbit shortly after launch. Air Force officials are now in the midst of a new effort to get the satellite into geosynchronous orbit after declaring the LAE useless for this mission (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 27, 31).

Air Force officials had declined to say who made the LAE, noting that the cause of the failure is still being investigated.

"We don't actually know what . . . is not allowing us to use the LAE engine," says one government official. "It could be the fuel system, the fuel itself, an installation procedure used by any number of contractor teams, a flawed software routine controlling the propulsion system, or any number of other things; it is far too soon to start speculating on a specific manufacturer's product at this time."

U.S. officials also want to be sensitive to the Japanese company's concerns, and they want to maintain a strong relationship to find the root cause and potentially implement fixes, if needed, in other LAEs for additional AEHF satellites.

AEHF is the next generation of protected military communications satellite. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on AEHF; Northrop Grumman is the payload provider.

Gen. Kevin Chilton, who oversees U.S. Strategic Command, says he is "not disappointed in AEHF," noting that he is confident the satellite will eventually reach its intended orbit. "I don't give up. I am very far from that," he said Sept. 13 at the annual Air Force Association conference near Washington. The service is "blessed" that the Milstar constellation, which now handles the mission, is performing well, he adds.

If the Air Force's orbit-raising process, which will use two other onboard thruster systems, goes well, the $2 billion satellite likely will reach operational status seven to eight months later than planned. With the use of the LAE, the satellite was slated to reach its orbital testing position in about 90 days.

A launch date for the second AEHF satellite has been tabled pending the mishap investigation.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 18.10.2010 16:28:04
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/101017hct.html
ЦитироватьPatience required as AEHF 1 recovery begins new mode[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 17, 2010

Moving into the next phase of its orbital rescue, the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite is warming up exotic electric thrusters to begin 10 months of propulsion-with-persistence that's needed to save the craft's life.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/12905.jpg)
An artist's concept of AEHF 1. Credit: Lockheed Martin

This first bird in the U.S. military's new series of ultra-secure communications satellites was afflicted by a major problem soon after the August 14 launch that rendered its primary maneuvering engine useless.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket successfully dispatched the craft into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of 31,200 miles, low point of 140 miles and inclination of 22.2 degrees. From there, the satellite's own Liquid Apogee Engine was supposed to fire three times to ascend into an intermediate orbit.

The electric propulsion system using Hall Current Thrusters then would finish shaping the orbit into a circular, geosynchronous altitude 22,300 miles high and inclined 4.8 degrees by December.

That was the plan. But a fault somewhere in the main propulsion system for the Liquid Apogee Engine meant the 100-pound-thrust motor couldn't generate acceleration.

Satellite-maker Lockheed Martin and the Air Force quickly scrambled to devise an alternate strategy using other ways to propel AEHF 1 into an operational orbit.

The emergency plan to salvage the satellite called upon the craft's tiny five-pound-thrust steering engines to begin lifting the orbit higher. They couldn't reach the altitude target the Liquid Apogee Engine should have achieved, but the so-called Reaction Engine Assembly thrusters would deliver a worthwhile step in the right direction.

By late September, AEHF 1 had performed a dozen firings that resulted in boosting the orbit's low point to 2,900 miles and reducing inclination to 15.1 degrees.

"I'm massively pleased with where we ended up," said Dave Madden, Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing program director at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

"We actually did significantly better, I'd say 10-15 percent better, than we thought we were going to do. As we kept doing it, we found better ways to optimize how we were pulsing those thrusters to optimize getting the maximum orbit raising out of them based on the fuel we were using. So each time we burned, we actually got better at our modeling on how to get the most out of what we were doing to minimize fuel usage."

After the Reaction Engine Assembly phase of the rescue was completed, the satellite's power-generating solar wings were unfurled and the Hall Current Thrusters were deployed.

"We're getting exactly the power out of the solar panels that we would expect to get. We're just working on the preps to go into the Hall Current phase," Madden said in an interview October 14.

The HCTs, produced by Aerojet, are 4.5-kilowatt units that use electricity and xenon to produce thrust for maneuvering satellites in space.

Unlike conventional chemical engines that deliver substantial boosts with each brief firing, the electric system needs the stamina to operate for exceptionally long periods of time to harness its whisper-like 0.06-pound-thrust into orbit-changing power.

The divergent systems have their advantages and drawbacks. Although typical engines can maneuver satellites rapidly, they use large amounts of heavy fuel that in turn require a bigger, more expensive rocket to carry the spacecraft. Electric propulsion gives up timeliness for efficiency since its xenon fuel weighs a mere fraction of conventional hydrazine, but you must have patience to reap the rewards.

"The beauty of them is for size, weight and power, it's an extremely efficient system - if time is okay," Madden said.

Commercial communications satellites built by Boeing began using small ion thrusters in the late 1990s. The company's Wideband Global SATCOM satellites for the U.S. military also employ them. NASA's Deep Space 1 and the Dawn space probes have relied on large ion engines for interplanetary propulsion as well.

But it's the electric thrusters on AEHF 1, which are different and haven't flown before, that ultimately hold the key to saving the mission. The satellite cannot reach its intended orbit and operate for a full 14- year life using only conventional hydrazine with its tiny Reaction Engine Assembly thrusters.

Activities underway the past few weeks have focused on readying the HCTs for their extensive usage.

"To be able to utilize them, we have to go through a series of checkouts and conditioning of some of the components," Madden said.

"I would have loved to have seen us just jump right into HCT operations, turn them on and go. But knowing it's a new, first-of-a-kind system, we have to methodically work our way through this and get ourselves on our way."

Controllers have been commanding the thrusters on and off for short bursts, slowly working towards longer and longer burn times.

"Components in the system absorb moisture when they are at atmosphere. So we have to burn that stuff off because it causes perturbations in operations if we don't burn it off first. Right now, we're going through this phase called conditioning of the HCTs and making sure we have the incremental steps right to bring them into operation," Madden said.

"When we get done with doing that, hopefully in a week, a week-and-a-half, if the conditioning goes well, then we will go into a full 10-hour burn a day for probably about seven months."

The satellite's present elliptical orbit takes nearly 17 hours to complete a full revolution around the planet. The HCTs will burn for 10 straight hours per orbit every day through next spring.

This critical seven-month period will increase the altitude at the orbit's low point, or perigee, and reduce the orbital inclination closer to the equator.

"What we are going to do in the first seven months is push out the perigee, then bring down inclination. So the heavy lifting is in the first seven months. Then what we're going to be doing in the last three months is circularizing and aligning it," Madden said.

That subsequent three-month phase in late spring and early summer does what the original pre-launch plan for the HCTs envisioned by burning the thrusters non-stop to reduce the orbit's high and low points into a circular 22,300-mile, geosynchronous altitude where the satellite can match Earth's rotation.

"We're anxious to get into this seven-month phase so we can get into more of a rhythm with the vehicle," Madden said.

Despite the crisis that prompted the heroics to recover the satellite's mission, the Air Force remains confident the craft will achieve the correct orbit and have enough residual fuel for operations to fulfill its 14-year life to relay communications between the president, military commanders and troops on the battlefield.

"We have adequate hydrazine left over from the last burn to be able to do full operations, and all of our projections associated with the xenon that we have available for the Hall Current Thrusters (show) we will have adequate xenon available when we get on-orbit to also sustain a 14-year life or longer," Madden said.

After the cumulative 10 months of HCT thrusting concludes next summer, the satellite will be parked over the equator at 90 degrees West longitude for activation and testing of its communications package. Once that is accomplished, flight controllers will slide the craft east or west in geosynchronous orbit based on where the military needs the craft.

"The operators are trying to decide after we get to 90 degrees what final location that they want us put the satellite and what's the exact inclination they want to us to put it at. But right now all indications are we can go anywhere they want us to go and we can support any inclination they want and do that for a 14-year life.

"We just have got to get through this phase of getting our HCTs checked out," Madden said.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 18.10.2010 16:41:32
Первый опыт выведения с ГПО на ГСО с помощью ионных двигателей. Не было бы счастья, да несчастье помогло.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 20.10.2010 13:35:44
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/101019aehf2.html
ЦитироватьMain engine probably not to blame for AEHF 1 trouble[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 19, 2010

As investigators narrow the list of potential culprits in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite's main propulsion system problem, the Air Force has decided to delay launching the follow-up spacecraft and rearrange its upcoming Atlas rocket manifest.
 
The AEHF 1 satellite was carried aloft August 14 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, beginning a new era for secure military communications.

But the original plan of maneuvering the spacecraft toward geosynchronous orbit was aborted after the satellite's onboard Liquid Apogee Engine failed to accelerate AEHF 1 during two attempted burns on August 15 and 17.

The system detected that the proper boost wasn't being generated and immediately terminated the operations. Engineers have since created a rescue plan that's being implemented to use AEHF 1's smaller thrusters, but it will take nearly a year to accomplish.

The on-going investigation into the misfire indicates the main engine wasn't the cause of the problem and that the fault resides somewhere else in the overall propulsion system.

"I will tell you that I have high confidence it was not the engine itself and that it was part of the propulsion system that we think we are going to end up looking closely at," said Dave Madden, Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing program director at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

"I don't want to speculate on the answer because right now we're going through some red team reviews. But right now I feel very, very confident that the IHI engine that we use was not the cause of this issue," Madden said in an interview October 14.

The engine, built by the Japanese aerospace firm IHI, is capable of producing 100 pounds of thrust while burning hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide. It was supposed to fire three times to propel AHEF 1 into an intermediate orbit after launch.

The second and third satellites in the AEHF series are undergoing pre-flight testing at the Lockheed Martin factory in Sunnyvale, California. Madden says the AEHF 1 investigation thus far isn't prompting any significant changes to the satellites before they are launched.

"We are not expecting any major redesigns to Vehicles 2 or 3 associated with this issue," Madden said. "I think it's going to be more (like) some tests and visual inspections that we have to do."

Looking at specific components on AEHF 2 and AEHF 3 or constructing special tests for the satellites will determine if they are trouble-free.

"My inclination is the only changes that it'll probably require is we'll probably have to do some testing to verify that we don't a similar condition because there's a couple potential root causes they're looking at and some of them exonerate themselves very well because it has to do with workmanship-type issues," Madden said.

The Air Force foresees the AEHF 1 investigation being wrapped up shortly.

"We all would have preferred not to have to deal with this issue and would have had a good firing of the engine. But it turns out it doesn't appear it was the engine itself that caused the problem, that it had something to do with the propulsion system," Madden said.

"We have a number of root causes that we are looking at, that we're going to try and close on in the next couple of weeks and we should be done with that and be able to move forward."

The AEHF 2 satellite had been slated for launch atop another Atlas 5 rocket next February. But the complex maneuvering of AEHF 1 using its tiny thrusters to achieve the correct orbit won't be finished until next summer and its communications payload can't be activated for testing until after that.

Given the AEHF 1 recovery schedule, Madden decided it was prudent to keep AEHF 2 on the ground until the first satellite passes the in-space testing.

"What I expressed to the senior leadership is I don't feel comfortable launching the second Advanced EHF until the first Advanced EHF gets to orbit and we can check out the payload," Madden said.

"We don't want to end up in a situation where we launch two satellites and we got some issue with the (communications) hardware of the first one that we haven't been able to verify. Obviously our confidence is extremely high that we don't have a problem, but I would feel much better checking it out before I launch the second satellite."

That decision automatically delays the AEHF 2 launch an entire year because of the Atlas 5 rocket's full schedule at Cape Canaveral. Complicating matters that prevent AEHF 2 from jumping into the lineup in late 2011 are two time-critical planetary probes that must launch during very specific windows.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Андрей Суворов от 22.10.2010 14:05:49
ЦитироватьПервый опыт выведения с ГПО на ГСО с помощью ионных двигателей. Не было бы счастья, да несчастье помогло.

Вообще-то, второй. Первый был Artemis, кажется... Хотя там схема довыведения была ну очень специфичной. Как и сейчас, по результатам аварии, только не основной ДУ спутника, а верхней ступени Ариан-5.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 03.02.2011 00:01:25
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2011/02/02/02.xml&headline=Lockheed%20Examining%20Sats%20For%20Contamination
ЦитироватьLockheed Examining Sats For Contamination[/size]
Feb 2, 2011
 
By Amy Butler

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Lockheed Martin officials are confident the suspected cause of a liquid apogee engine failure on the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite — the introduction of foreign object debris (FOD) in the manufacturing process — will not pose a problem for other satellites built on the A2100 bus.

The company has been conducting "exoneration" exercises for other A2100-based satellites in various stages of manufacturing, including the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System, the Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) series, other AEHF spacecraft, and the Japanese Broadcasting Satellite Corporation System series, says Kevin Bilger, vice president of global communications for Lockheed Martin Space Systems here. These satellites are worth billions of dollars and took years to build.

The exoneration exercises are required to ensure that FOD was not introduced into the fuel or oxidizer lines for the propulsion systems of these satellites during manufacturing.

FOD in the oxidizer line is thought to have caused the failure of the liquid apogee engine (LAE), made by IHI Aerospace, on the first AEHF satellite shortly after launch Aug. 14, according to Bilger. "We have most probable cause as FOD," he says. "In our business, you never have a smoking gun, but we have been able to replicate what we think the most probable cause is in the laboratory."

AEHF is estimated to have cost the government more than $2 billion. Though the LAE failed, operators are using two of four onboard Hall Current Thrusters to slowly raise the perigee of the satellite. It is slated to reach orbit in the summer, months later than planned (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 31, 2010).

The propulsion system for AEHF-1 was built at Lockheed Martin's facility at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in 2006. "During the manufacturing process, somehow [FOD] was introduced," Bilger says. "The only known enemy to satellites is man. So, the longer you have them on the ground, the more opportunities there are for errors." AEHF had a long buildup time owing to development issues and delayed delivery of encryption equipment from the National Security Agency.

Though the various A2100-based satellites share a similar core propulsion system, they do not all have the electric Hall Current Thrusters that are now raising AEHF-1's orbit. This underscores the need to eliminate the risk of an FOD problem because not all models have other onboard resources for propulsion.

First to go through the exercise was the initial Sbirs satellite, GEO-1, which is slated for launch April 30. Lockheed Martin officials are now focusing on AEHF-2.

In each case, officials examine X-ray films taken of the propulsion system, including fuel lines, and all of the paperwork generated in the satellite manufacturing process. "As a result of our review, we made changes in our process," Bilger says.

In the summer, Lockheed Martin will pressurize and test the fuel and oxidizer lines on AEHF-2 to validate their confidence that FOD is not present. "The actual test is not that long," Bilger says. "But it is the test setup, it is the monitoring — getting all of the equipment and the electronics in place — and then looking at that data itself" that will require some time. AEHF-2 is slated for launch Jan. 30, 2012.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Космос-3794 от 25.02.2011 01:29:48
Чистящее вещество в топливной магистрали, которая не была должным образом промыта, является наиболее вероятной причиной отказа двигательной системы на борту AEHF -  Richard McKinney, deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space programs.

http://www.spacenews.com/military/news-briefs.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 11.06.2011 11:37:25
http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/110610-fromwires-aehf-plan-recoups-cost.html
ЦитироватьFri, 10 June, 2011 | Submitted by: Los Angeles Times | in commentaries
AF Modifies AEHF Orbit-Raising Plan and Recoups Anomaly Cost [Los Angeles Times][/size]

         "LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — U.S. Strategic Command has approved Air Force Space Command's modification of the orbit-raising plan designed to transfer the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency space vehicle to its geosynchronous orbit.  Furthermore, the Air Force has secured consideration from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to recoup anomaly costs through productivity improvements.

         "To further optimize fuel usage during the orbit-raising process, the timeline for orbit-raising has been extended from Aug. 31 to Oct. 3, 2011, enabling a more efficient Hall Current Thruster burn strategy. This extension does not affect the initial operational capability date and provides additional fuel reserves to support potential future contingency operations.

         "To address the costs associated with the modified orbit-raising plan, SMC and Lockheed Martin SSC have agreed to a $15 million reduction in available award fee and a contract restructure that incentivizes cost performance by the contractor team that will offset anomaly investigation and recovery costs. This restructure is consistent with ongoing DoD initiatives to improve weapon system affordability.

         "Shortly after launch Aug. 14, 2010, an anomaly in its bi-propellant propulsion system thwarted the satellite's baseline plan to achieve its operational orbit.  A joint SMC/Lockheed Martin team quickly developed a work-around plan enabling the satellite to reach its operational orbit.  The satellite is expected to achieve full mission life and capability.  The orbit-raising process for AEHF SV-1 using the Hall Current Thruster propulsion system is proceeding well.  As of June 6, AEHF SV-1 perigee altitude had been increased to 28,187 km and the inclination reduced to ~6.2 degrees.  AEHF's HCTs are built by Aerojet of Redmond, Wash.

         "AEHF is a joint service satellite communications system that will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. The AEHF System is the follow-on to the Milstar system, augmenting and improving on the capabilities of Milstar, and expanding the MILSATCOM architecture.  AEHF is developed by the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate, which develops, acquires and sustains space-based global communications in support of the President, Secretary of Defense and combat forces."
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Петр Зайцев от 15.08.2011 06:47:44
На Spaceslight Now написали, что дескать в топливопроводе был забыт кусок ветоши. А как они узнали? Неужели в AEHF 2 нашли такой же?!

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/110814oneyear.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 15.08.2011 23:36:22
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/110814oneyear.html
ЦитироватьOne year later: Air Force craft still fighting adversity[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: August 14, 2011

Launched from Cape Canaveral a year ago Sunday, the first satellite in the U.S. military's next-generation secure communications network continues its arduous journey to reach the correct orbit.
 
A manufacturing mishap prevented the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite's main propulsion system from firing once the craft reached space, prompting ground controllers to devise emergency plans for salvaging the mission.

Burning its exotic electric thrusters daily for the past 10 months, AEHF 1 has reached an orbit of 22,000 by 27,400 miles inclined 5.1 degrees to the equator, according to hobbyist satellite observers who continue to keep tabs on the craft's trek.

It should achieve the desired circular orbit with a 4.8-degree inclination on October 3, allowing payload activation and testing to begin in preparation for entering service at long last.

It has been a painstaking effort to save the spacecraft's life by working around the main engine problem and still climbing to the necessary orbital perch where it can match Earth's rotation to cover a large swath of planet.

The Lockheed Martin-built satellite was carried aloft on August 14, 2010 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. But the original plan of maneuvering the spacecraft toward its operational orbit was aborted after the satellite's onboard Liquid Apogee Engine failed to accelerate AEHF 1 during two attempted burns on August 15 and 17.

The system detected that the proper boost was not being generated and immediately terminated the burns. According a Government Accountability Office report issued this summer, investigators probing the problem determined that debris mistakingly left inside the craft was the culprit.

The report cited "blockage in a propellant line that was most likely caused by a small piece of cloth inadvertently left in the line during the manufacturing process."

The Atlas 5 rocket successfully put the craft into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of 31,060 miles, low point of 170 miles and inclination of 22.1 degrees.

The satellite's main engine was supposed to produce 100 pounds of thrust while burning hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide during three firings to propel AHEF 1 into an intermediate orbit after launch.

The satellite's novel electric propulsion system using Hall Current Thrusters then would finish shaping the orbit into a circular, geosynchronous altitude about 22,300 miles high and inclined 4.8 degrees within 100 days of liftoff.

But with the Liquid Apogee Engine knocked out, the team designed a plan to use the craft's tiny five-pound-thrust steering engines to begin lifting the orbit higher. They would not reach the altitude target the Liquid Apogee Engine should have achieved, but the so-called Reaction Engine Assembly thrusters did deliver a dozen firings that resulted in boosting the orbit's low point to 2,900 miles and reducing inclination to 15.1 degrees.

The satellite's power-generating solar wings then unfurled and the Hall Current Thrusters were deployed. The 4.5-kilowatt HCT units that use electricity and xenon to produce thrust for maneuvering satellites in space.

But instead of simply finishing the altitude maneuvers as originally envisioned, the HCTs have been required to perform a much larger share of the work to position the satellite into a useful orbit.

The drawback for the electric system is the patience required to accumulate the whisper-like 0.06-pound-thrust into orbit-changing power over many months.

They burned about 12 hours per day from late-October through this June. Near-continuous firings have been underway this summer.

Despite the extra-long wait to get the satellite into the proper orbit, the Air Force says the satellite will have enough remaining fuel to function for its full 14-year service life.

This and future AEHF spacecraft will replace the aging Milstar satellite fleet to provide faster communications simultaneously to more users through modernized technology.

One AEHF spacecraft has more capacity than Milstar's five-satellite constellation combined and its faster data rates will benefit tactical military communications, enabling higher quality maps, targeting data and live video to be transmitted without being detected by the enemy.

AEHF was envisioned to keep communications flowing between the military and civilian leadership in any extreme wartime environment, giving the U.S. information superiority.

Assuming the AEHF 1 on-orbit activation and checkout goes well later this year, the Air Force plans to launch the AEHF 2 satellite atop another Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral next April.[/size]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Sharicoff от 10.10.2011 22:18:36
Подползает...

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/111009.html

AEHF 1 (USA 214) 1486.2 мин. 4.48° 37518 х 36005 км
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Liss от 27.10.2011 15:41:47
Говорят, чудо-зверушка доползла до стационара и укрепилась в районе 68°з.д.:

ЦитироватьMike McCants reports that AEHF 1 (10039A / 36868) reached synchronous orbit on 2011 Oct 25, near longitude 68 W, one of the operational Milstar/AEHF locations. Based on observations overnight, he provided the following elset, with the caution that eccentricity and argument of perigee remain uncertain:

1 36868U 10039A   11298.86959040 0.00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    09
2 36868   4.4100 278.5854 0002000 241.0264 118.9823  1.00270000    04

No doubt this is a time of celebration for the team of USAF, Aerospace Corporation and Lockheed Martin personnel who have worked for the past 14 months to overcome the loss of the spacecraft's liquid apogee engine, initially by using its hydrazine attitude control thrusters, followed by thousands of hours of hall current thruster firings over 12 months.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: instml от 02.11.2011 13:05:29
AEHF-1 Satellite Arrives at Its Operational Orbit After 14-Month Journey
Цитировать10/28/2011 -  LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The U.S. Air Force's first Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite completed a 14-month journey to reach its intended operational position in geosynchronous orbit, Oct. 24.

The AEHF team will now start an approximately four-month detailed test and checkout phase of all spacecraft systems before the Space and Missile Systems Center transfers satellite command authority to Air Force Space Command's 14th Air Force in early 2012.

Shortly after launch August 14, 2010, the AEHF-1 orbit-raising plan was modified as a result of an anomaly with the bi-propellant propulsion system, which was intended to place the spacecraft near its operational orbit. A joint team of Air Force, Lockheed Martin, The Aerospace Corporation, and Aerojet engineers responded to the anomaly, planning and executing a sophisticated campaign of approximately 500 burns which entailed two phases: one phase using hydrazine thrusters and the other using the Hall Current Thruster electrical propulsion system. The revised orbit-raising plan safely delivered AEHF-1 to its intended orbit while maintaining its required 14 years of mission life.

"I am extremely proud of the entire AEHF team for its ability to apply engineering excellence, superior teamwork and remarkable creativity to accomplish this very important milestone in the Program," said Dave Madden, director of SMC's MILSATCOM Systems Directorate. "The next chapter for AEHF-1 - on-orbit test and checkout - is even more important as the satellite transitions to its operational mission of delivering protected communications to Department of Defense users and our international partners."

AEHF is a joint service satellite communications system that will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. The AEHF System is the follow-on to the Milstar system, augmenting, improving and expanding the MILSATCOM architecture.

AEHF is developed by the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. The MILSATCOM Systems Directorate plans, acquires and sustains space-based global communications in support of the president, secretary of defense and combat forces. The MILSATCOM enterprise consists of satellites, terminals and control stations and provides communications for more than 16,000 air, land and sea platforms.
http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story.asp?id=123277770

Фотка http://www.afspc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070612-O-9999B-549.jpg
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: ОАЯ от 14.11.2011 06:54:19
Из http://www.pcweek.ru/themes/detail.php?ID=134978
Спасти рядовой спутник
07.11.2011
Заработал в штатном режиме американский военный спутник связи AEHF-1, ... 8,129 Мбит/с...
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 22.11.2011 07:54:00
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2011/11/21/08.xml&headline=Checkout%20Of%20AEHF%20Paves%20Way%20For%202012%20Launch
ЦитироватьCheckout Of AEHF Paves Way For 2012 Launch[/size]

Nov 21, 2011
 
By Guy Norris

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Air Force says activation of its Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite continues to progress well, and the launch of two more jam-proof satellites is now on track for 2012.

Although launched in August 2010, the AEHF satellite took 14 months to reach orbit on Oct. 24, 2011, after debris in the propulsion system prevented the spacecraft's liquid-fueled booster engine from placing the satellite in its correct apogee.

"It's in orbit and has been in checkout since then," says the commander of Air Force Space Command, Gen. William Shelton. "All the payload systems and antenna have deployed properly, although I was concerned after that long a cold soak. Yet everything is performing as expected."

The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB intends to transfer responsibility for the satellite to the 14th Air Force early next year. With the planned launch of AEHF-2 in April 2012, the Air Force says preparations also are underway to deploy AEHF-3 in December 2012 and AEHF-4 in April 2017.

Shelton, who spoke at the Air Force Association's Global Warfare Symposium here, also said that the initial Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) GEO-1, which shares the same Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite bus design as the AEHF series, also is performing well after a prolonged checkout following its launch in May.

Although Shelton says the overall checkout process "took too long in my mind," he notes that the precautionary approach to activating the first-of-a-kind capabilities of the new-generation missile warning satellite was correct. "You have to make sure you do it right," he declares.

Launch of Sbirs GEO-2 is currently penciled in for spring 2013, the Air Force says.[/size]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Salo от 08.12.2011 01:23:46
http://www.spacenews.com/contracts/111205-lockheed-aehf-anomaly-analysis.html
ЦитироватьWed, 7 December, 2011
Lockheed Gets $312 Million for AEHF Anomaly Analysis[/size]
By Rachel Bernstein

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $312 million contract for on-orbit anomaly analysis on the service's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) secure satellite communications system, the Defense Department announced Dec. 5.

    The cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification covers "on-orbit anomaly resolution and investigation" as well as system testing, sustainment and other functions, the Pentagon said.

    Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., is prime contractor on the AEHF program, whose first satellite, AEHF-1, took more than a year longer than expected to reach its operating orbit due to an onboard propulsion system failure that occurred shortly after its August 2010 launch. The glitch forced Lockheed Martin and the Air Force to devise a new orbit-raising plan using backup thrusters; the satellite reached geosynchronous orbit Oct. 3 and is now undergoing testing.

    The Air Force penalized Lockheed Martin with a $15 million reduction in its contract award fee June 10 as a result of the delay. The Air Force said Lockheed was at fault for not properly flushing out one of the satellite's fuel lines, which resulted in an engine ignition failure.

    Air Force spokeswoman Christina Greer said she could not immediately comment on the anomaly resolution contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2014.

    Lockheed Martin spokesman Stephen Tatum deferred questions about the contract to the Air Force.

    Lockheed Martin is under contract to build three AEHF satellites, and was authorized late last year to begin ordering parts for a fourth. In its budget request for 2012, the Air Force asked Congress to authorize the purchase of a fifth and sixth satellite expected to cost a combined $3.1 billion over the next several years.[/size]
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: instml от 04.01.2012 16:19:01
The fight to save AEHF 1 produces remarkable rescue
ЦитироватьAs the new year is ushered in, flight controllers are continuing with the detailed checkout of the U.S. military's newest ultra-secure communications satellite after a miraculous recovery saved the craft's life.

Launched August 14, 2010 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 booster and expected to reach geosynchronous orbit 100 days later, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency 1 satellite's main engine failed to fire during two attempts to begin raising the altitude from the rocket's dropoff point.

It's a standard practice for launchers to place communications satellites into highly elliptical transfer orbits, then allow the spacecraft themselves to finish the job by maneuvering into the circular geosynchronous orbits 22,300 miles above the planet where they match Earth's rotation and appear parked over one spot of the globe.

The Atlas 5 rocket successfully put the craft into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with a high point of 31,060 miles, low point of 170 miles and inclination of 22.1 degrees.

The satellite's main engine was supposed to produce 100 pounds of thrust while burning hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide during three firings to propel AHEF 1 into an intermediate orbit after launch.

The satellite's novel electric propulsion system using Hall Current Thrusters then would finish shaping the orbit into a circular, geosynchronous altitude about 22,300 miles high and inclined 4.8 degrees by late November 2010.

But attempts to burn the Liquid Apogee Engine (LAE) in the days after launch produced no acceleration and were immediately aborted by the spacecraft.

Dave Madden, director of the Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, recalls those tense days as the team huddled to oversee maneuvers.

"The first time we fired the LAE and it failed I really wasn't worried that much at all because we see that kind of thing a lot of times. In general, I tell my guys when something fails, the satellite is smarter than we are and it's probably telling us something we don't realize and we're trying to do something it shouldn't do. So the first time I just assumed it was something we did wrong -- and the data generally supported that.

"So when we fired it the second time and it shut itself off even quicker than the first time, the first thing that went through my head was 'we lost the vehicle.' We were going to be stuck in this orbit.

"Then two minutes later the engineer in me kicked in and I took a deep breath and said OK, what do we need to do to make the vehicle safe? Let's organize our thoughts. How are we going to going to get the vehicle to orbit? Let's put the team together, circle the wagons, build a fishbone and try to figure out what we need to get done, and then, last phase, look at what caused this anomaly because we may have different options later on if we can understand the anomaly better."

According a Government Accountability Office report issued last summer, investigators probing the problem determined that debris mistakingly left inside the craft was the culprit. The clogged plumbing would mean the engine was forever deemed unusable.

The report cited "blockage in a propellant line that was most likely caused by a small piece of cloth inadvertently left in the line during the manufacturing process."

Valued at over $1 billion and the first in a new series of nuclear-survivable spacecraft that would ensure American leadership with communications in the most hellish scenarios of war imaginable, the AEHF 1 would be a total loss if it remained stranded in the transfer orbit.

Faced with the prospect of failure, the team got creative to draw up a Plan B to salvage the spacecraft and somehow get it maneuvered into the proper orbit.

The best option was using the craft's much smaller hydrazine thrusters to lift the orbit a bit, then rely on the exotic electric thrusters in a way never planned -- firing them for days, weeks and months as their whisper-like push eventually accumulated to propel AEHF 1 where it was supposed to go.

It was an unprecedented rescue campaign, like no other in recent memory for Air Force spacecraft. But after 14 months and nearly 500 maneuvers, AEHF 1 finally reached a circular geosynchronous orbit on Oct. 24, 2011.

"The tremendous demonstration of engineering excellence, superior teamwork and remarkable creativity truly is what saved this vehicle," said Madden.

The craft unfurled its antenna wings in the final days of October before commencing four months of in-orbit testing that is expected to last through March.

"After successful on-orbit test and checkout, we'll transfer the satellite command authority from the Space and Missile Systems Center to the 14th Air Force," Madden said.

Despite the extra maneuvers and long wait to get the satellite into a usable orbit, officials still expect to get the full 14 years of mission life out of the bird once it enters operations later in 2012.

"We believe the strategy we used to get it into orbit, the fuel we used and how we did it still allows the vehicle to get a full, at least 14-year mission life, if not significantly longer," said Madden.

Terminals in use with the Army, Navy and Air Force are exercising improved data rate communication connections that AEHF will bring to the warfighter. Other testing is verifying the backwards compatibility of the spacecraft with legacy gear from the Milstar satellite program that this next-generation AEHF satellite series will replace. Also on tap is integrating the AEHF 1 into Milstar's global network that rings the planet.

The checkout includes 76 specific tests and 374 objectives to confirm AEHF 1 is fully ready for handover to Air Force mission controllers that will place the craft into operations.

"What the team did was really an exciting thing...and saving this mission is probably the most significant thing I've seen," said Madden, who has spent a 30-year career working in the military space program.

"As the follow-on to Milstar that provides the assured, survivable, protected communications, we had a critical mission that has to be met. Providing this space-based capability to the president, top military commanders and our international partners is probably one of the most important missions the United States supports for nuclear deterrent communications."

And with AEHF 1 now progressing along, officials have given approval to ship the AEHF 2 satellite from Lockheed Martin's manufacturing plant in Sunnyvale, Calif., to Cape Canaveral in early-to-mid February to begin final preps for blastoff atop an Atlas 5 rocket on April 27.

"Because we were able to understand the anomaly on Vehicle 1, (it) enabled us to verify that we don't have that problem on Vehicle 2 and 3," Madden said. "That's why the anomaly analysis was so important, now we're able to go back into the fuel lines and we've verified we don't have anything similar that we saw on Vehicle 1."

The Air Force also recently inked a $227 million deal with industry to begin buying parts to build the structures and communications payloads for the AEHF 5 and 6 satellites. Buying the two craft together saved $42 million versus purchasing them separately, Madden said. Full production contracts for the spacecraft are still to come.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/120103rescue.html
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: PIN от 06.01.2012 17:47:03
Еще немного подробностей

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2012/January%202012/0112space.aspx

Первый после Artemis случай, насколько понимаю.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Pol от 04.03.2012 08:37:49
http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=331906905

March 03, 2012

Lockheed Martin... AEHF SV-1 All A Go

Lockheed Martin [NYSE] has successfully completed on-orbit testing for the...
...first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications space vehicle (SV-1). The AEHF system will provide vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. AEHF SV-1 was launched on Aug. 14, 2010 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and reached geosynchronous orbit on Oct. 24, 2011 following successful execution of a work-around orbit-raising plan.

The satellite has now completed on-orbit testing that included establishing communications networks between combinations of EHF terminals at the backward compatible Milstar data rates as well as at the new AEHF extended data rates. On-orbit testing began with SV-1 then progressed with SV-1 networked with the Milstar constellation. Completion of this key milestone paves the way for the satellite to be turned over to the 14th Air Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

One AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire Milstar constellation currently on-orbit. Individual user data rates will be five times improved, providing transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition to its tactical mission, AEHF also will provide the critical survivable, protected, and endurable communications to the National Command Authority, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.

The AEHF team includes the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the payload provider.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23115.jpg)
Shown here is an artist rendering of an Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite, courtesy of Lockheed Martin.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Pol от 28.03.2012 15:21:31
Человеческий фактор....

http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=506529579

March 19, 2012

U.S.A.F... Clogged AEHF-1 Rescued

Merryl Azriel of http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/ reports that 14 months after human error stranded...
...U.S. military Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite (AEHF-1) in the wrong orbit and at risk of exploding, the satellite was finally placed in its correct orbit in October of 2011. A successful test completed on February 29th prepared the AEHF-1 for operations, just two months before the second AEHF satellite is scheduled to launch. "This rescue effort was definitely a very sophisticated and highly technical masterpiece," said Col. Michael Lakos, chief of the Military Satellite Communications Division at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.

It all started a couple days after AEHF-12s August 2010 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket. The satellite successfully reached it's parking orbit. But the main engines that are needed to circularize the satellite's orbit refused to work—they kept shutting off. The shut off is a safety feature instituted when a satellite detects a fault in the engines. The question was: what fault?

Experts determined that the fuel line must be blocked. But the attempts to engage the engines had resulted in filling the lines with fuel, thereby putting the satellite at risk of explosion and making it hazardous to attempt another engine fire. Luckily, AEHF-1 has two additional propulsion systems, albeit much less powerful, designed for use in stationkeeping adjustments, not major changes in trajectory. However, by applying small propulsive adjustments hundreds of times over 14 months, ground crews were able to slowly coax the satellite into its proper orbit. The major challenge was keeping it intact in the interim. The satellite had to dodge space debris three or four times and deploy its solar shields much earlier than intended—putting them at risk of degradation from radiation exposure in the van Allen belts.

The fault for the blocked fuel line was eventually attributed to a piece of cloth that had been placed over the line during manufacturing to protect it from contamination, but was never removed. "If I had to find the top 10 strange ones, that one would make my list," said defense analyst Marco Caceres, who tracks rocket and satellite failures as part of his work for the Teal group, an aerospace and defense analysis firm. The Air Force has implemented additional checks for the remaining 5 satellites to be launched as part of the AEHF constellation and docked manufacturer Lockheed Martin $15 million for the mistake.
Название: AEHF -- 14.08.2010 -- Atlas V531 (AV-019)
Отправлено: Pol от 28.03.2012 15:23:43
http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1220460240

March 19, 2012

U.S.A.F.'s 4th Space Operations Squadron... Huge Step Forward — Safe + Secure

Recently, the men and women of the 4th Space Operations Squadron, in partnership with the Space and Missile Systems Center's Protected SATCOM Division, have...
...taken huge steps to ensure protected, survivable satellite communication for years to come. Initial payload contact was made October 29th, marking the start of on-orbit testing of the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite, the newest addition to the Milstar/protected communication satellite family. This initial contact with AEHF was important because, for the first time, it involved 4 SOPS operators and the primary ground system 4 SOPS will use to command and control, the AEHF Satellite Mission Control Subsystem.

The new capabilities of this satellite enhance secure communications both here at home and down range. This new technology, orbiting more than 22,000 miles above the earth, will boost secure global communications bandwidth by a factor of 10. A comparison would be updating from a dial-up internet connection to a broadband line. Instead of just basic data and voice, AEHF has the ability to stream large bandwidth information with the same security provided by the current Milstar constellation. To perform this feat, AEHF will introduce a new Extended Data Rate bandwidth capability, which encompasses both the current Low Data Rate and Medium Data Rate bandwidths along with the higher bandwidths beyond the capability of the current Milstar constellation.
Along with this addition to the Milstar constellation comes new capabilities here. Currently there are three new Advanced Ground Mobile (AGM) command and control centers at various locations. These mobile facilities can command and control the entire constellation as a standalone operations floor if needed during a wartime environment. To ensure the survivability of these platforms, they are housed inside trailers that can be driven or flown to any location on Earth at a moment's notice to ensure continued control of the constellation.

Since October, 4 SOPS and SMC/MCA personnel, along with their contractor partners Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman, have been working around the clock to ensure AEHF will seamlessly fit into the Milstar constellation and provide warfighters with unprecedented secure communication capabilities. These tests are proving AEHF is a perfect fit and valuable addition to the current constellation. One significant test validated AEHF's ability to integrate into the Milstar constellation's complex cross-link network. This network allows data to pass from satellite to satellite without the need for ground stations to relay the data. Another successful test AEHF completed proved its ability to perform over-the-air rekey. This critical capability ensures that communications passed between our warfighters remains protected from the enemy.

First contact and the numerous tests successfully completed since that important day are significant milestones representing the culmination of years of planning and development. These milestones are especially important, considering the satellite travelled more than 14 months to reach its final orbit location following a thruster anomaly after its August 2010 launch. The entire team to include, 4 SOPS, SMC/MCA and their industry partners continue to work tirelessly to bring AEHF online for the warfighter and we are excited about the capabilities this new satellite will bring to the fight.