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

Автор tnt22, 09.11.2018 19:12:23

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tnt22

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 11:57 - 8 дек. 2018 г.

The MST is on the move! Roll is underway. The 32-story, 13-million-pound Mobile Service Tower supports the work platforms for the #DeltaIVHeavy.

tnt22

Цитировать12:27 p.m. PST (3:27 p.m. EST; 2027 UTC)

This is Delta Launch Control at T-minus 7 hours, 9 minutes (L-7 hours 39 minutes) and countdown. The mobile gantry at Space Launch Complex 6 has reached its park position, revealing the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket for the NROL-71 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office tonight.

tnt22

Цитировать12:38 p.m. EST (3:38 p.m. EST; 2038 UTC)

The Delta IV Heavy rocket has been powered up for its launch on NROL-71. Guidance system testing is getting started at this point in the countdown as we continue to press ahead toward a liftoff at 8:06 p.m. PST (11:06 p.m. EST; 0406 UTC).

tnt22

Цитировать1:52 p.m. PST (4:52 p.m. EST; 2152 UTC)_

The flight control operational test has started for the Delta IV Heavy rocket. This test is known as flight slews, which will perform gimbal checks of the rocket engine nozzles on the vehicle, in a state prior to cryogenic fueling.

tnt22

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 12:13 - 8 дек. 2018 г.

Weather has improved! We are at 70% chance of favorable launch weather for tonight's #NROL71 launch. #DeltaIVHeavy

tnt22

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 17:47 - 8 дек. 2018 г.

The launch carries a payload for @NatReconOfc and is designated NROL-71. The satellite, which will probably be codenamed USA 289 once on orbit, is expected to enter a 74 deg low Earth orbit. It is probably the first Block 5 CRYSTAL imaging satellite with a 2.4-m primary mirror

tnt22

Цитировать3:21 p.m. PST (6:21 p.m. EST; 2321 UTC) -- Countdown holding

This is Delta Launch Control at T-minus 4 hours, 15 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered the first of two planned, built-in holds that are scheduled in today's timeline. Each is 15-minute blocks of time that gives the countdown some margin to resolve issues or catch up on work could be running behind.

This particular hold serves as a margin before fueling operations begin. At the present time, however, all activities are on schedule and no significant problems are being addressed by the launch team.

The final hold occurs at T-minus 4 minutes.

tnt22

Цитировать3:34 p.m. PST (6:34 p.m. EST; 2334 UTC) – GO for fueling

A readiness poll of the launch team by Launch Conductor Dillion Rice, with concurrence of ULA Launch Director Lou Mangieri has authorized cryogenic tanking operations to begin as the countdown continues this afternoon. The Delta IV Heavy rocket will be loaded with approximately 465,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen over the next couple of hours.

tnt22

Цитировать3:36 p.m. PST (6:36 p.m. EST; 2336 UTC) -- Countdown resumes

This is Delta Launch Control at T-minus 4 hours, 15 minutes and counting. The next phase of today's launch countdown has been initiated on schedule as we continue to target 8:06 p.m. PST (11:06 p.m. EST; 0406 UTC) for liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket on NROL-71.

Preparatory steps for fueling are being kicked off, including liquid hydrogen storage tank pressurization and charging the helium bottles on the three common booster cores and second stage.

tnt22

Цитировать4:36 p.m. PST (7:36 p.m. EST; 0036 UTC) – Countdown stopped

This is Delta Launch Control at T-minus 3 hours, 15 minutes and holding. The launch team is troubleshooting an issue and has elected to stop the countdown until it is resolved before we move further into fueling operations.

tnt22

Цитировать4:49 p.m. PST (7:49 p.m. EST; 0049 UTC) – Fueling resumes

T-minus 3 hours, 15 minutes and counting. The launch team has resumed the countdown clocks and cleared the constraints against further fueling steps.

tnt22

Цитировать5:26 p.m. PST (8:26 p.m. EST; 0126 UTC)

The team has successfully resolved the earlier technical concern that briefly interrupted the countdown. Activities are proceeding for a liftoff tonight.

tnt22


tnt22

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 17:57 - 8 дек. 2018 г.

New launch time! Tonight's targeted liftoff time has been adjusted to 8:15pm PST (11:15 pm EST; 0415 UTC) #NROL71 #DeltaIVHeavy

tnt22

Цитировать12/09/2018 05:27
 Stephen Clark

Liquid oxygen loading into the Delta 4-Heavy's first stage boosters is complete, and final topping of has started. Liquid oxygen continues flowing into the second stage after a short interruption to investigate a ground system issue.

tnt22

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/12/08/photos-delta-4-heavy-poised-for-launch-with-u-s-spy-satellite/
ЦитироватьPhotos: Delta 4-Heavy poised for launch with U.S. spy satellite
December 8, 2018Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands 233 feet (71 meters) tall at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, ready for liftoff Saturday night carrying a top secret U.S. government spy satellite into orbit.

The triple-core rocket measures 53 feet (16 meters) wide with its three first stage boosters bolted together. Fully fueled for launch with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the Delta 4-Heavy will weigh 1.6 million pounds. Its three first stage Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engines will produce 2.1 million pounds at full thrust.

Saturday's launch is set for 8:15 p.m. PST (11:15 p.m. PST; 0415 GMT Sunday night) from the SLC-6 launch pad, a facility originally developed in the 1960s for the U.S. Air Force's canceled Manned Orbiting Laboratory program, then modified as a West Coast launch site for the space shuttle, before those plans were scrapped.

Work to prepare the SLC-6 launch pad — with its fixed umbilical tower, mobile service tower and mobile assembly shelter structures — for the Delta 4 rocket began in 2000, and the first Delta 4 rocket launched from Vandenberg in 2006.

Saturday night's mission is codenamed NROL-71 by the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government's classified intelligence-gather satellites. The NRO has not released any information about the spacecraft aboard the Delta 4-Heavy, which can loft up to 51,950 pounds (23,560 kilograms) of payload mass to a 120-mile-high (200-kilometer) low Earth orbit inclined 90 degrees to the equator.

The Delta 4-Heavy is ULA's biggest rocket, and the beefiest version of the Delta 4 rocket has launched 10 times to date. The NROL-71 mission will be the 11th flight of a Delta 4-Heavy, and the 38th mission overall for the Delta 4 family since November 2002.

These photos show the mobile service tower at SLC-6 retracting into launch position during Friday's countdown, which was scrubbed due to a technical issue, and again Saturday before a second launch attempt.
Спойлер

An overview of Space Launch Complex-6 showing the mobile assembly shelter (left) and the mobile service tower (right) covering the Delta 4-Heavy rocket. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 7. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance


The mobile service tower retracts into position for launch during a countdown Dec. 8. Credit: United Launch Alliance
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tnt22

Цитировать12/09/2018 06:06 Stephen Clark

The Delta 4 is now fully fueled after the filling of the upper stage's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. The Delta 4-Heavy weighs 1.6 million pounds, and its three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engines will generate 2.1 million pounds of thrust to power the launcher skyward at 8:15 p.m. PST (11:15 p.m. EST; 0415 GMT).

tnt22

Цитировать12/09/2018 06:09 Stephen Clark

Final preps of the Delta 4-Heavy's flight control system have started.

tnt22


tnt22

Цитировать12/09/2018 06:18 Stephen Clark

Less than one hour until launch. Here are some statistics on tonight's mission:
    [/li]
  • 382nd Delta rocket launch since 1960
  • 38th Delta 4 rocket mission since 2002
  • 11th Delta 4-Heavy configuration to fly
  • 58th, 59th and 60th main engine from RS-68 family launched
  • 16th, 17th and 18th RS-68A main engine flown
  • 8th Delta 4 rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • 3rd Delta 4-Heavy launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • 12th classified Delta 4 for the National Reconnaissance Office
  • 132nd United Launch Alliance mission since the company's formation in 2006
  • 9th ULA launch this year
  • 4th launch of the Delta family in 2018
  • 3rd Delta 4 launch in 2018
  • 10th launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2018