NROL-36 (NOSS-3 6A, 6B),11 ИСЗ - Atlas V 401 - Vandenberg SLC-3E - 13.09.2012 21:39 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123317312

Atlas V rocket scheduled for afternoon launch

 Posted 9/10/2012   Updated 9/10/2012

Release Number:  010912
 
9/10/2012 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A  United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a National  Reconnaissance Office payload is scheduled to be launched by team  Vandenberg from Space Launch Complex-3 here Thursday at 2:39 p.m.
 
 The launch, originally scheduled for Aug. 2, was postponed when a range  instrumentation issue developed during countdown. The issue has been  resolved and the range is ready to support a safe and successful launch.
 
 -30-
 
 Note to Editors: Media planning to cover the event should RSVP by  calling 2nd Lt. Kaylee Ausbun at 805-606-4884 or by e-mail at  kaylee.ausbun@us.af.mil by noon Wednesday. A media escort will depart  the Vandenberg Main Gate Visitor's Center for the media viewing site  Thursday at 1 p.m.
 
 Remote Camera Set-up: A media escort will depart Vandenberg's South Base gate for remote camera setup Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
 
 For questions about the booster please contact Jessica Rye with United  Launch Alliance at 321-693-6250 or at jessica.f.rye@ulalaunch.com.
 
 Webcast: http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Multimedia_Webcast.shtml
 Live Broadcast:
 
 BEGIN TRANSMISSION (BARS AND TONE) - 1:45 P.M. (SEPTEMBER 12)
 BROADCAST START - 2:19 P.M. (SEPTEMBER 13)
 SATELLITE: AMC 1
 CARRIER: SES Americom
 TRANSPONDER: C15
 BAND: C-Band Analog
 ORBITAL POSITION: 103 degrees west
 BANDWIDTH: 36 MHz (Full Transponder)
 UPLINK FREQ: 6225 MHz Vertical
 DOWNLINK FREQ: 4000 MHz Horizontal[/size]

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28638.msg952160#msg952160

Navigational warning

NAVAREA XII    247/2012(18,21). (080950Z SEP 2012) 
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
MISSILES.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2008Z TO 2309Z DAILY
   13 THRU 17 SEP IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 34-27N 120-29W, 34-26N 120-31W,
      34-38N 120-36W, 34-39N 120-34W.
   B. 15-46N 108-34W, 13-32N 113-09W,
      16-06N 114-30W, 18-22N 109-53W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 180009Z SEP 12.

[Salo]

Начало трансляции через 25 минут:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Webcast.shtml

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av033/status.html

2:14 p.m. local (5:14 p.m. EDT; 2114 GMT)
The workhorse Centaur upper stage has flown in various configurations for decades and will be making its 204th mission with NROL-36. For this launch, the stage will use one Pratt & Whitney-built RL10A-4-2 liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine that develops a thrust of about 22,300 pounds.

The stage is 41.5 feet in length and 10 feet it diameter. It also houses the navigation unit that serves as the rocket's guidance brain.
2:13 p.m. local (5:13 p.m. EDT; 2113 GMT)
The fuel-fill sequence for the first stage main engine is underway.

2:04 p.m. local (5:04 p.m. EDT; 2104 GMT)
The Atlas 5 rocket's rigid body first stage is known as the Common Core Booster. The CCB replaced the "balloon" pressure-stabilized stage used by previous Atlas vehicles.

It is equipped with the RD-180 liquid-fueled main engine. This liquid oxygen/kerosene powerplant is a two-thrust chamber, two-nozzle engine.

As the CCB's name suggests, the stage is common and is used in all the various configurations of the Atlas 5 family. The booster stage is 106.6 feet long and 12.5 feet diameter.

1:59 p.m. local (4:59 p.m. EDT; 2059 GMT)
This flight builds on the legacy of the Atlas vehicle's 401 configuration, which has flown over a dozen times in the past decade with the combination of a four-meter payload fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.

Depending on a payload's weight and desired orbit, mission planners add strap-on solid boosters to the United Launch Alliance-made rocket to incrementally increase the vehicle's performance.

But this cargo, a hush-hush cargo for the NRO known only as the NROL-36 mission, is satisfied with the lifting power of the basic Atlas 5 design.

The vehicle will fly south-southeastward away from Vandenberg, according to the notice to mariners issued today to warn the public of the impending rocket flight over the Pacific. Details about the ascent, its duration and the number of Centaur fairings are not revealed given the secretive payload, which appears to be targeting an orbital inclination tilted 63 degrees to the equator based on the flight path in the NOTAMs.

The Russian RD-180 first stage main engine will ignite at T-minus 2.7 seconds, roaring to full power while undergoing a check to ensure its vital signs are healthy.

Rising off the pad in a slow, majestic fashion, the 19-story Atlas vehicle will deliver nearly a million pounds of ground-shaking thrust for the middle-of-the-night departure.

Information about the launch will be available though the first stage of flight, initial ignition of the Centaur and jettison of the nose cone about five minutes after liftoff. At that point, the mission will go into the now-standard news blackout for NRO launches.

Watch this page for live updates during the count and launch!

A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text messages on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

And check out Spaceflight Now's Facebook page!

1:48 p.m. local (4:48 p.m. EDT; 2048 GMT)
The liquid hydrogen tank in the Centaur upper stage just reached the 97 percent level. Topping is now beginning.

1:43 p.m. local (4:43 p.m. EDT; 2043 GMT)
Fast-filling of the first stage liquid oxygen has been completed at the tank's 97.5 percent mark. Topping mode is now underway.

1:40 p.m. local (4:40 p.m. EDT; 2040 GMT)
The Centaur liquid hydrogen tank is half-way loaded so far. The cryogenic propellant will be consumed with liquid oxygen by the stage's Pratt & Whitney-made RL10 engine.

1:39 p.m. local (4:39 p.m. EDT; 2039 GMT)
Now 60 minutes from launch. All activities are proceeding smoothly toward a liftoff at 2:39 p.m. Pacific Time.

A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text messages on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

1:33 p.m. local (4:33 p.m. EDT; 2033 GMT)
Now beyond the three-quarters level of liquid oxygen on the first stage.

1:28 p.m. local (4:28 p.m. EDT; 2028 GMT)
Chilldown of the liquid hydrogen system is now complete, allowing the super-cold rocket fuel to begin filling the Centaur upper stage.

1:23 p.m. local (4:23 p.m. EDT; 2023 GMT)
First stage liquid oxygen tank is passing the half-full mark. Chilled to Minus-298 degrees F, the liquid oxygen will be used with RP-1 kerosene by the RD-180 main engine on the first stage during the initial minutes of flight today. The 25,000 gallons of RP-1 were loaded into the rocket earlier.

1:19 p.m. local (4:19 p.m. EDT; 2019 GMT)
Centaur engine chilldown sequence is being initiated.

1:16 p.m. local (4:16 p.m. EDT; 2016 GMT)
Liquid oxygen on Centaur has reached flight level.

1:11 p.m. local (4:11 p.m. EDT; 2011 GMT)
The Centaur liquid oxygen tank reached the 95 percent level and the topping off process is starting.

1:09 p.m. local (4:09 p.m. EDT; 2009 GMT)
Now 90 minutes from liftoff. There are no reports of technical troubles from the launch team and the weather is within limits for today's countdown. Fueling operations remain in work for the launch time of 2:39:00 p.m. local.

1:06 p.m. local (4:06 p.m. EDT; 2006 GMT)
The first stage liquid oxygen loading is switching from slow-fill to fast-fill mode as planned.

1:05 p.m. local (4:05 p.m. EDT; 2005 GMT)
The chilldown conditioning of liquid hydrogen propellant lines is starting to prepare the plumbing for transferring the Minus-423 degree F fuel into the rocket. The Centaur holds about 13,000 gallons of the cryogenic propellant.

1:04 p.m. local (4:04 p.m. EDT; 2004 GMT)
The Centaur liquid oxygen tank is 75 percent full now.

12:59 p.m. local (3:59 p.m. EDT; 1959 GMT)
Half of the Centaur liquid oxygen tank has been filled so far.

12:55 p.m. local (3:55 p.m. EDT; 1955 GMT)
The Centaur liquid oxygen tank is nearing one-third full already.

12:45 p.m. local (3:45 p.m. EDT; 1945 GMT)
The conditioning of the systems for the first stage liquid oxygen tank have been completed. And a "go" has been given to begin flowing supercold liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5's first stage.

The Common Core Booster stage's liquid oxygen tank is the largest tank to be filled today. It holds about 50,000 gallons of cryogenic oxidizer for the RD-180 main engine.

12:43 p.m. local (3:43 p.m. EDT; 1943 GMT)
Filling of the Centaur upper stage with about 4,300 gallons of liquid oxygen is beginning at Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 3 following the thermal conditioning of the transfer pipes.

The liquid oxygen -- chilled to Minus-298 degrees F -- will be consumed during the launch by the Centaur's single RL10 engine along with liquid hydrogen to be loaded into the stage a little later in the countdown.

12:34 p.m. local (3:34 p.m. EDT; 1934 GMT)
The Centaur liquid oxygen system's pad storage area has been prepped. The next step is conditioning the transfer lines, which is now beginning to prepare the plumbing for flowing the cryogenic oxidizer.
12:29 p.m. local (3:29 p.m. EDT; 1929 GMT)
T-minus 120 minutes and counting! The launch countdown has resumed for today's flight of the Atlas 5 rocket following the planned half-hour built-in hold.

Clocks have one more hold scheduled at T-minus 4 minutes. That pause will last 10 minutes during which time the final "go" for launch will be given.

All remains targeted for liftoff at 2:39:00 p.m. local time (5:39:00 p.m. EDT; 2139:00 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

12:26 p.m. local (3:26 p.m. EDT; 1926 GMT)
The launch team and all systems are "ready" to proceed with the countdown and begin fueling the Atlas 5 rocket this afternoon as planned.

Loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the Atlas 5 rocket will be getting underway a short time from now.

12:24 p.m. local (3:24 p.m. EDT; 1924 GMT)
The Atlas launch conductor is briefing his team on procedures before entering into the final two hours of the countdown. A readiness check of the team members is next.
12:20 p.m. local (3:20 p.m. EDT; 1920 GMT)
Atlas 5 represents the culmination of evolution stretching back several decades to America's first intercontinental ballistic missile. At the dawn of the space age, boosters named Atlas launched men into orbit during Project Mercury and became a frequent vehicle of choice to haul civil, military and commercial spacecraft to orbit.

Topped with the high-energy Centaur upper stage, Atlas rockets have been used since the 1960s to dispatch ground-breaking missions for NASA, including the Surveyors to the Moon, Mariner flights to Mars, Venus and Mercury, and the Pioneers that were the first to visit Jupiter and beyond.

In its newest era, the Atlas 5 rocket sent the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to the red planet in 2005, propelled the New Horizons probe toward Pluto and the solar system's outer fringes in 2006, doubled up with the dual Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS impactor to the Moon in 2009, hurled Juno to Jupiter last August and dispatched the car-sized Curiosity rover on the Mars Science Lab mission in November.

Today marks the 33rd flight for Atlas 5, born of the Air Force's competition to develop next-generation Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles. In its previous 32 missions since debuting in August 2002, the tally shows 10 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 9 commercial missions with communications spacecraft, seven for NASA and six with spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.[/size]

[Salo]

Пошла трансляция!

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av033/status.html

2:29 p.m. local (5:29 p.m. EDT; 2129 GMT)
Here's a look at some stats about today's mission. This will be:

    The 615th launch for Atlas program since 1957
    The 204th mission for the Centaur upper stage
    The 181st use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
    The 289th Atlas to occur from Vandenberg AFB since 1959
    The 38th Atlas to use Space Launch Complex 3
    The fifth Atlas 5 to occur from Vandenberg
    The 33rd launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
    The 53rd Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
    The 25th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
    The 11th Atlas 5 launch overseen by the Air Force
    The 22nd 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
    The 14th Atlas 5 to fly in the 401 configuration
    The 14th Atlas launch for the National Reconnaissance Office
    The 7th Atlas 5 launch for the NRO
    The fifth Atlas launch of 2012

2:28 p.m. local (5:28 p.m. EDT; 2128 GMT)
Weather conditions are acceptable for liftoff at 2:39 p.m. PDT. It is very foggy and misty at Space Launch Complex 3, but there are no constraints for winds and clouds.

2:26 p.m. local (5:26 p.m. EDT; 2126 GMT)
All three cryogenic tanks are reported at flight level.

2:25 p.m. local (5:25 p.m. EDT; 2125 GMT)
T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The countdown has entered the planned hold to give the launch team a chance to review all systems before pressing ahead with liftoff. Today's launch time is aimed for 2:39:00 p.m. PDT.

2:24 p.m. local (5:24 p.m. EDT; 2124 GMT)
T-minus 5 minutes. Standing by to go into the final built-in hold that will last for 10 minutes.

2:22 p.m. local (5:22 p.m. EDT; 2122 GMT)
Upper level wind conditions are within allowable limits for launch.

2:19 p.m. local (5:19 p.m. EDT; 2119 GMT)
Twenty minutes from liftoff now. The countdown clocks are heading to the T-minus 4 minute mark where a planned 10-minute hold will occur. Launch of Atlas 5 remains scheduled for 2:39 p.m. PDT.[/size]

[Salo]

Улетела! :wink:

[Salo]

2:41 p.m. local (5:41 p.m. EDT; 2141 GMT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The vehicle is right on course.

2:41 p.m. local (5:41 p.m. EDT; 2141 GMT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Atlas now weighs half of what it did at liftoff.

2:40 p.m. local (5:40 p.m. EDT; 2140 GMT)
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.

2:40 p.m. local (5:40 p.m. EDT; 2140 GMT)
T+plus 95 seconds. Now passing through the region of maximum aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle as its accelerates through the dense lower atmosphere.

2:40 p.m. local (5:40 p.m. EDT; 2140 GMT)
T+plus 85 seconds. Mach 1. All looks good aboard the 19-story-tall rocket.

2:40 p.m. local (5:40 p.m. EDT; 2140 GMT)
T+plus 60 seconds. One minute into this afternoon ascent by the Atlas 5 from the Central Coast of California.

2:39 p.m. local (5:39 p.m. EDT; 2139 GMT)
T+plus 30 seconds. Pitch, yaw and roll maneuvers have been performed, putting Atlas 5 on the proper heading. The rocket is riding atop 860,000 pounds of thrust from the RD-180 main engine.

2:39 p.m. local (5:39 p.m. EDT; 2139 GMT)
T+plus 15 seconds. The launcher is maneuvering to its southerly trajectory to deliver a secret surveillance payload into orbit and dispatch 11 tiny cubesats.
2:39 p.m. local (5:39 p.m. EDT; 2139 GMT)
LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Atlas 5 rocket for the National Reconnaissance Office,[/size]

[Salo]

Есть отделение первой ступени!

[Salo]

2:44 p.m. local (5:44 p.m. EDT; 2144 GMT)
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket has flown into a pre-arranged news blackout following jettison of the rocket's payload shroud. The veil of secrecy surrounding the launch of this clandestine satellite cargo means no further information about the progress of the ascent, upper stage engine firings or release of the payload will be announced in real-time.

2:43 p.m. local (5:43 p.m. EDT; 2143 GMT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds. The two halves of the four-meter-diameter Atlas 5 rocket nose cone encapsulating the spacecraft have separated.

2:43 p.m. local (5:43 p.m. EDT; 2143 GMT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 25 seconds. Centaur has ignited! The RL10 engine is up and running at full thrust to power the vehicle into orbit.

2:43 p.m. local (5:43 p.m. EDT; 2143 GMT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 12 seconds. The Atlas 5's Common Core Booster has been jettisoned, completing the first stage of flight, and the Centaur upper stage's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are being readied for engine start.

2:43 p.m. local (5:43 p.m. EDT; 2143 GMT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 4 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.

2:42 p.m. local (5:42 p.m. EDT; 2142 GMT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 45 seconds. Atlas now weighs just a quarter of what it did at liftoff.

2:42 p.m. local (5:42 p.m. EDT; 2142 GMT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 30 seconds. Vehicle performance remains nominal.

2:42 p.m. local (5:42 p.m. EDT; 2142 GMT)
T+plus 3 minutes. The main engine is burning well as the rocket climbs away from the planet.[/size]

[Salo]

Конец трансляции.

[Space Alien]

Видео пуска

[Space Alien]

[Lanista]

Ну и туман, смотреть смысла мало было =)

[Frontm]

Ну и туман, смотреть смысла мало было =)

фигасе мало!
Там такая красота перед отделением 1й ст.

[G.K.]

Мне вот интересно: а как бы наш народ реагировал, если бы пуски ракет у нас вот так вот переносили "в последний момент"?

[instml]

Long-delayed NRO Satellite Launched from Vandenberg

WASHINGTON -- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Sept. 13 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., after a delay of more than a month, the company announced.

The NROL-36 mission was originally scheduled for Aug. 2 but had to be postponed due to a malfunction of launch monitoring data displays, according to U.S. Air Force Col. David Hook, commander of the 30th Operations Group at Vandenberg. Service officials took weeks to identify the problem and make sure they understood it before declaring the range ready to support the mission, he said.

The problem was with the new Mission Flight Control Center delivered to Vandenberg in January, Hook said in a Sept. 10 interview. Officials were initializing the system when a computer became overloaded and prevented screens from coming up for the displays, Hook said.

The control center, developed by Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems of Santa Maria, Calif., manages launches to ensure the protection of life and property near the launch site.

Meanwhile, the NRO utilized excess capacity on the Atlas 5 to make NROL-36 the agency's first rideshare mission. Seven cubesats -- cube-shaped satellites that measure 10 centimeters on each side -- intended to demonstrate new technology accompanied the primary satellite to orbit, the NRO said in a July 30 press release. The launch will pave the way for future NRO rideshares, the agency.

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/120914-long-delayed-nro-satellite-launched-from-vandenberg.html

[Lanista]

Ну и туман, смотреть смысла мало было =)

фигасе мало!
Там такая красота перед отделением 1й ст.

на визуализатор из винампа похоже =)

[instml]

NROL-36 Press Release
http://www.nro.gov/news/press/2012/2012-11.pdf

[Sharicoff]

Появились 13 объектов: USA-238, 11 мелкоспутников и ступень. Все без TLE. Для ступени нет данных по затоплению.

38758    USA 238    2012-048A
38759    SMDC ONE 1.2    2012-048B
38760    AENEAS    2012-048C
38761    CSSWE    2012-048D
38762    CXBN    2012-048E
38763    CP5    2012-048F
38764    CINEMA    2012-048G
38765    RE    2012-048H
38766    SMDC ONE 1.1   2012-048J
38767    AEROCUBE 4.5A   2012-048K
38768    AEROCUBE 4.5B   2012-048L
38769    AEROCUBE 4    2012-048M
38770    ATLAS CENTAUR R/B    2012-048N