SBIRS-GEO 2 - Atlas V 401 - 19.03.2013 21:21 UTC - Canaveral SLC-41

[Salo]

2104 GMT (5:04 p.m. EDT)
Upper level winds are good for launch today, ULA says.

2101 GMT (5:01 p.m. EDT)
Twenty minutes from liftoff. Weather is GO for launch.

2100 GMT (5:00 p.m. EDT)
Here's a look at some stats about today's mission. This will be:

    The 619th launch for Atlas program since 1957
    The 329th Atlas to occur from Cape Canaveral
    The 208th mission for the Centaur upper stage
    The 185th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
    The 37th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
    The 58th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
    The 12th Atlas 5 dedicated to the Defense Department
    The 31st Atlas 5 to occur from the Cape
    The 25th daytime Atlas 5 from the Cape
    The 29th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
    The 25th 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
    The 17th Atlas 5 to fly in the 401 configuration
    The fourth SBIRS program launch
    The third SBIRS program launch on Atlas 5
    The second SBIRS GEO spacecraft
    The third Atlas launch of 2013

2057 GMT (4:57 p.m. EDT)
The first stage liquid oxygen tank and Centaur's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks are topped at flight level.

2055 GMT (4:55 p.m. EDT)
All weather conditions remain GO at the current time. There is a cumulus cloud being watched to the northwest of the pad over the Shuttle Landing Facility, however it is not violating any launch rules at this time.

[Salo]

2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 seconds. "Go Atlas" and "Go Centaur" was just called by launch team during a final status check.

2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 40 seconds. Centaur's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks are stable at flight pressures.

2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 55 seconds. Range is green.

2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 1 minute. Now 60 seconds away from launching the SBIRS GEO 2 satellite that will bolster and upgrade the U.S. military's infrared surveillance system that continuously scans the world looking for enemy missile launches and sounding the alarm on impending threats.

2119 GMT (5:19 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 90 seconds. The rocket's safety system has been armed.

2119 GMT (5:19 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 1 minute, 45 seconds. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant topping to the Centaur upper stage is being secured.

2119 GMT (5:19 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 1 minute, 55 seconds. The launch sequencer has been commanded to start.

2119 GMT (5:19 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 2 minutes. The Atlas first stage and Centaur upper stage are now switching from ground power to internal batteries.

2118 GMT (5:18 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The first stage RP-1 kerosene fuel tank and the liquid oxygen have stepped up to proper flight pressure levels.

2118 GMT (5:18 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 minutes. The Atlas first stage liquid oxygen replenishment is being secured so the tank can be pressurized for launch.

2117 GMT (5:17 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 minutes, 50 seconds. The ground pyrotechnics are enabled.

2117 GMT (5:17 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 4 minutes and counting. Clocks have resumed for the final minutes of today's countdown to launch the Atlas 5 rocket with SBIRS surveillance satellite.

2116 GMT (5:16 p.m. EDT)
The GEO 2 spacecraft is running on internal power for launch.

2115 GMT (5:15 p.m. EDT)
ULA and the Air Force have given their respective final approvals to resume the countdown as scheduled.

2114 GMT (5:14 p.m. EDT)
Polling of the team by Atlas launch conductor just occurred. All systems are "go" for a liftoff today at 5:21 p.m. EDT.

2111 GMT (5:11 p.m. EDT)
Standing by for the final readiness check to be conducted. The launch team will be polled for a "go" or "no go" to proceed with the count.

2110 GMT (5:10 p.m. EDT)
The SBIRS GEO 2 satellite is switching to internal power for launch.

[Salo]

Улетела!

[Space Alien]

Полетела...

[Salo]

Есть отделение первой ступени!

[instml]

Улетающие взад створки ГО - просто фантастика  

[Space Alien]

instml пишет:
Улетающие взад створки ГО - просто фантастика  

Вот-вот... Ни разу такого еще не наблюдал  . 

 

[Space Alien]

Unofficial launch time 2121:00.219UTC.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26456.msg1028164#msg1028164

[Salo]

2133 GMT (5:33 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 12 minutes, 30 seconds. RL10 engine parameters still look good.

2132 GMT (5:32 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 11 minutes, 40 seconds. The rocket traveling at 14,540 mph.

2132 GMT (5:32 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 11 minutes, 30 seconds. About four minutes are left in this burn of Centaur.

2131 GMT (5:31 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 10 minutes. All systems reported stable as the Centaur fires to reach an initial Earth orbit.

2129 GMT (5:29 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 8 minutes. The RL10 continues to perform well, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

2128 GMT (5:28 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes, 45 seconds. The rocket is 179 miles in altitude, some 856 miles downrange and traveling at 12,129 mph.

2127 GMT (5:27 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 6 minutes, 30 seconds. Centaur performance right on target.

2126 GMT (5:26 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 45 seconds. The rocket is tracking right down the planned flight path.

2126 GMT (5:26 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 28 seconds. The rocket is 123 miles in altitude and traveling over 11,262 mph already.

2126 GMT (5:26 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes. Centaur engine readings look good as this burn gets underway.

2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 45 seconds. The rocket is tracking right down the planned flight path.

2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 28 seconds. The rocket is 123 miles in altitude and traveling over 11,262 mph already.

2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes. Centaur engine readings look good as this burn gets underway.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 25 seconds. Centaur has ignited! The RL10 engine is up and running at full thrust for its first of two planned firings today.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 14 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.

2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 5 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.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 50 seconds. The vehicle is accelerating at 5 g's.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds. Atlas is 42 miles in altitude, 89 miles downrange, traveling at 6,909 mph.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 25 seconds. The rocket now weighs only a quarter of what it did at liftoff.

2124 GMT (5:24 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes. RD-180 is performing well as the rocket climbs away from the planet.

2123 GMT (5:23 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds. Reaction control system has been activated.

2123 GMT (5:23 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes. The rocket is tracking on course.

2122 GMT (5:22 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 1 minutes, 45 seconds. The RD-180 main engine continues to fire normally, burning a mixture of highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen.

2122 GMT (5:22 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 95 seconds. Maximum dynamic pressure.

2122 GMT (5:22 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 85 seconds. Mach 1.

2122 GMT (5:22 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 60 seconds. One minute into the ascent. It will take 43 minutes for the two-stage rocket to deploy the Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous 2 satellite into the desired orbit.

2121 GMT (5:21 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 40 seconds. Good engine performance is reported from the rocket as the booster's thunder crackles across the Cape.

2121 GMT (5:21 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 15 seconds. The vehicle has cleared the towers at Complex 41 on 860,000 pounds of thrust from the RD-180 main engine.

2121 GMT (5:21 p.m. EDT)
Main engine start, release and LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket and the SBIRS GEO 2 missile warning satellite, improving the nation's safety net in space. And the vehicle has cleared the tower!

[Salo]

2138 GMT (5:38 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 17 minutes, 30 seconds. That first burn by Centaur ins erted the rocket in to the correct orbit an orbit with a high point of 658 statute miles, a low point of 109 statute miles and inclination of 26.77 degrees.

2137 GMT (5:37 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 16 minutes, 45 seconds. Centaur is performing a one-degree roll during this coast for thermal conditioning.

2137 GMT (5:37 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 16 minutes. The rocket is performing its turn to the proper position for the next engine firing.

2136 GMT (5:36 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 15 minutes, 24 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 9 minutes before the RL10 engine re-ignites.

2136 GMT (5:36 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 15 minutes. Orbital velocity has been achieved.

2135 GMT (5:35 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 14 minutes, 30 seconds. Everything looking normal with one minute to go in this burn.

2134 GMT (5:34 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 13 minutes, 35 seconds. Centaur is 171 miles in altitude, 2,130 miles downrange from the launch pad, traveling at 15,992 mph.

2134 GMT (5:34 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 13 minutes. Centaur remains on course and looking good.

[Space Alien]

Повтор  

[Salo]

[Salo]

2201 GMT (6:01 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 40 minutes. Deployment of the SBIRS GEO 2 spacecraft to complete today's launch sequence is expected at 6:04 p.m. EDT.

2158 GMT (5:58 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 37 minutes. The vehicle has crossed Africa. It's now soaring above the Indian Ocean while climbing away from the planet. Currently 900 miles in altitude.

2156 GMT (5:56 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 35 minutes. The concept of having infrared satellites orbiting Earth to detect and provide early warning of a nuclear attack on the U.S. dates back to 1960s. Today's launch of the Air Force's SBIRS GEO 2 satellite will take the next step in improving and modernizing the constellation of observatories that serve as the nation's safety net.

"That's still the primary mission. Folks think of that as a Cold War mission, but the reality is it's a dangerous world still today and these infrared-detectable missiles are even more numerous in type and capability than they have ever been," said Col. Jim Planeaux, director of the Infrared Space Systems Directorate at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

GEO 2 is built by Lockheed Martin with scanning and staring sensors to provide wide and narrow views of the globe below the spacecraft.

"They work a little bit like night vision goggles in that infrared is very visible to anything that is much warmer than its surroundings. Things like missiles and very bright events are extremely visible in the infrared. So the sensor is tuned and set up so that it's highly sensitive to that radiation," Planeaux said.

"These sensors are like a big eyeball. They have a telescope that let the light in, focuses it on the focal plane, which is a lot like your retina of the eyeball, that is tuned to the infrared frequencies, then that shows up a very detectable signature when anything bright is happening down on the Earth. There's also mechanisms inside the sensor that allow very agile movement to look at different points on the Earth through scanning mirrors."

The satellite should be checked out and certified for missile warning alert duty by the end of this year.

"We really hope it never has to do its primary mission -- to warn the president and secretary of defense if there is an attack on the United States homeland," Planeaux said.

2155 GMT (5:55 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 34 minutes, 30 seconds. Centaur is operating well with good battery voltages.

2153 GMT (5:53 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 32 minutes. Although the Centaur has finished firing, the rocket won't immediately deploy the payload. That milestone moment will wait about 15 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 for live telemetry coverage of the critical event.

Release of the payload from the rocket to complete the launch is expected at T+plus 43 minutes.

2151 GMT (5:51 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 30 minutes. The Centaur's orbit is right on target with an apogee of approximately 22,233 statute miles, perigee of 115 statute miles and inclination of 22.2 degrees.

2149 GMT (5:49 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 28 minutes, 8 seconds. MECO 2. Main engine cutoff confirmed. Centaur has completed its second burn of the day.

2148 GMT (5:48 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 27 minutes, 10 seconds. Engine performance still reported nominal.

2147 GMT (5:47 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 26 minutes, 15 seconds. About two minutes are left in the burn to reach the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit.

2146 GMT (5:46 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 25 minutes, 45 seconds. The engine is burning well. This is a planned four-minute firing by the Centaur's single Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine.

2146 GMT (5:46 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 25 minutes, 10 seconds. Bus and battery voltages, tank pressures and other system measurements look good.

2145 GMT (5:45 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 24 minutes, 55 seconds. Centaur is accelerating at 0.82 g's.

2145 GMT (5:45 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 24 minutes, 12 seconds. Ignition and full thrust! The Centaur's single RL10 engine has re-ignited to accelerate the SBIRS GEO 2 payload into the planned deployment orbit.

2144 GMT (5:44 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 23 minutes. Centaur is getting pressurized again in preparation for the next engine burn.

2143 GMT (5:43 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 22 minutes, 30 seconds. Centaur is de-spinning out of its thermal roll.

2141 GMT (5:41 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 20 minutes. The flight path is taking the vehicle over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, just off the western coast of Africa.

2140 GMT (5:40 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 19 minutes, 45 seconds. Centaur's onboard systems are stable in this coast period continues.

[Salo]

2204 GMT (6:04 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 43 minutes, 20 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION! The Centaur upper stage has deployed the second Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite into orbit following today's launch from Cape Canaveral.

2204 GMT (6:04 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 43 minutes, 8 seconds. Centaur has begun a one-degree-per-second roll for spacecraft deploy.

2203 GMT (6:03 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 42 minutes, 20 seconds. One minute away from releasing the payload.

2203 GMT (6:03 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 42 minutes. The upper stage is despinning from the coast phase's thermal conditioning roll.

[Salo]

2205 GMT (6:05 p.m. EDT)
The next Atlas rocket launch is scheduled for May 15 from Cape Canaveral to deploy a replenishment satellite into orbit the Global Positioning System. The target liftoff time is 5:39 p.m. EDT.

[Старый]

Какоето слишком уж красно-чёрное пламя у РД-180. Неполное сгорание или мне показалось?

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av037/launch/

Atlas 5 rocket launches SBIRS GEO 2

Blasting off right on time Tuesday at 5:21 p.m. EDT, United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thunders away from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 carrying the second Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite, or SBIRS GEO 2, for the U.S. military's network of missile early-warning detection spacecraft.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Photo Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

[Slaanesh]

Возвращаясь к теме спектров,нашел небольшой документ:
Miscellaneous
• Phenomenology: data collection / analysis 
to assess viability of See-to-Ground band 
data for real-time Missile Warning

 

да, получается, оценивают возможность применения этого диапазона для задач СПРЯУ.
Ну в принципе с введением обработки данных еще и на борту (для уменьшения кол-ва сгружаемых на наземный пункт),может что-то выйдет
но все же скепсис остается...
http://smcindustrydays.org/2009/Teague.pdf

[Salo]

Фотогалереи:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/PhotoGallery/Photo_gallery.shtml
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av037/remotes/
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av037/bionetics/

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_04_23_2013_p03-01-572052.xml

Sbirs Gets Second Set Of Eyes In Orbit
By Amy Butler
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

April 23, 2013


Credit: Lockheed Martin

The second Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) satellite has achieved "first light," and officials expect that it will be certified to warn commanders of ballistic missiles by year's end, says Jeff Smith, vice president for the program for prime contractor Lockheed Martin. First light means the covers for the sensitive infrared payloads — a scanner and a starer — were removed. The system is now being calibrated.

The Sbirs satellite, the second to be placed in geosynchronous (GEO) orbit, was launched March 19 on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral.

GEO-1 was launched in May 2011. Its scanner has yet to be certified to deliver Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment (ITWAA) messages. These messages are used to tip off U.S. missile defenses about incoming targets. The Air Force has prioritized use of the scanning sensor first, leaving the newer staring sensor for certification later.

As a replacement for the Defense Support System (DSP), Sbirs will be responsible for providing information on targets — such as launch point, vector and impact point.

Its data will be fed into the Missile Defense Agency's Command, Control Battle Management and Communications System, which links to sea- and ground-based interceptors in the field.

Because Sbirs GEO-1 was the first of a new breed of spacecraft, ITWAA certification has been a long journey. Officials will not provide details on what, specifically, has taken so long to check out, citing security concerns. But Smith says GEO-1's scanner is in what is expected to be the final, 30-day trial period of some tweaks. "It is a rigid, structured process, and we are just checking every box," he says.

GEO-2 is en route to its operational location. Once in place, the two GEOs in orbit will be able to provide "stereo" coverage of launches from the Middle East to the Pacific region.

Two scanning payloads are also continuing operations on separate, classified satellites in highly elliptical orbit.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has begun work on GEO-3, and HEO-3 is slated for delivery within the next six weeks. The company has submitted a proposal to the Air Force for production of GEO satellites 5 and 6. A contract award is expected by the end of September, when the fiscal year ends.