GPS IIF-3 = Delta-IV-M+(4,2) - 4.10.12 16:10 ЛМВ -Canaveral

[max_schmurz]

В такой день пуск! Символично!

[Space Alien]

Сброс ГО

[Space Alien]

[Чебурашка]

На переходной орбите уже...
Редкая Дельта улетает с первого раза.  :lol:

[Space Alien]

Видео пуска

[Space Alien]

Точное время отрыва 12:10:00.242 UTC.

[instml]

Вроде запуск успешный. Подробностей пока нет.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29530.msg960914#msg960914

Unconfirmed good S/C Sep! There were whispers of some concern early (see L2), but it's ended well, that's the main thing!

[instml]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/status.html

1627 GMT (12:27 p.m. EDT)
Officials report spacecraft separation of GPS 2F-3 from the Delta 4 rocket. Now awaiting the various post-launch releases from ULA, the Air Force and satellite-builder Boeing.

1600 GMT (12:00 p.m. EDT)
We are still waiting on official information to pass along about the ultimate outcome of the launch and health of the GPS 2F-3 satellite.

1547 GMT (11:47 a.m. EDT)
Now four minutes after the expected spacecraft deployment time. Still awaiting on word.

1533 GMT (11:33 a.m. EDT)
The third and final burn by the Delta 4 rocket's cryogenic upper stage should have just occurred. However, we have no word at this time on how the mission is progressing.

[Lanista]

А как же ТДРС?

[Space Alien]

 

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/

GPS gets another upgraded satellite for constellation
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 4, 2012

Upgrading the Global Positioning System one launch at a time, a modern bird soared to space Thursday to replace a long-surviving navigation satellite deployed 19 years ago, a durable craft of the past that doubled life's expectations and will give way to current advancements.


Delta 4 soars after sunrise this morning. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
See photo gallery

Following an overnight countdown that saw United Launch Alliance load its Delta 4 with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen rocket fuel at Cape Canaveral's Complex 37, clocks hit the targeted blastoff time at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT).

The pad's three swing arms pulled away as the 206-foot-tall, orange and white launcher thundered skyward atop 1.2 million pounds of thrust from its cryogenic main engine and twin strap-on solid motors.

The rare morning launch was precisely timed to deliver the GPS 2F-3 satellite into the orbiting constellation three-and-a-half hours later. Performance measurements observed during the ascent, however, prompted whispers and wondering about the vehicle's upper stage throughout the morning.

After a tense wait to hear official confirmation of rocket's final maneuvering, deployment of the spacecraft and the ultimate outcome for the mission, word of success and a sigh of relief verified that the GPS satellite had arrived in the proper orbit.

Telemetry obtained during the launch will be thoroughly analyzed in the rigorous post-flight review process, but ULA and its Air Force customer both stressed that the Delta's launch achieved the correct altitude for the payload to begin its 12-year mission life.

"Congratulations to the entire team on today's successful launch of the GPS 2F-3 satellite," Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president for mission operations, said in the post-launch press release. .

It was only the third GPS replacement launch in the past three years, as the Air Force stewards manage the delicate balance of extracting the entire usefulness of existing spacecraft while introducing enhanced capabilities when the newest satellites go up.

"One of the really great things about our GPS satellites is that they've consistently exceeded their design life. In fact, our oldest GPS 2A that's still operating on-orbit is actually of drinking age!" said Col. Steve R. Steiner, chief of the GPS Space Systems Division at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

"The steady, measured launching of these GPS 2Fs is in line with making sure we have a steady constellation that is robust and doesn't have any performance hits over time."

A billion users around the globe rely on GPS every day, whether they know it or not. From the overt navigation assistance in transportation to the less obvious role in providing accurate timing stamps on banking transactions, the system developed to support U.S. military forces and their guided munitions has blossomed in the commercial marketplace.


An artist's concept of GPS 2F. Credit: Boeing

When the GPS 2F-3 satellite is checked out and becomes operational later this year, it will assume the role filled by the GPS 2A-21 spacecraft that has been in service since July 21, 1993.

That old craft was deployed by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral on June 26, 1993, during the heydays of launching GPS satellites at a fast and furious rate.

The bigger Delta 4 took over with the next-generation GPS satellite series in 2010 with the first of the Block 2F craft and followed that up with another success last year carrying 2F-2.

The launch rate throttled back to meet the needs of the constellation, calling up rockets only when aging satellites needed replacing. But that tempo is expected to start picking up again.

"We do expect to see an increase in the one-launch-per-year (rate) starting in the next year and beyond," Steiner said.

But instead of waiting for in-space failures of aged satellites, the Air Force "does smart planning of launches to ensure we are resilient," Steiner added.

"We plan (launches) based on reliability and how old the ones we have on-orbit are, so even if something hasn't failed yet, we do make plans to be resilient to any dips or drop outs."

Projections show GPS 2F-4 launching next May aboard an Atlas 5 rocket and GPS 2F-5 following next November aboard another Delta 4 from Cape Canaveral. But the true needs of the constellation next year coupled with the availability of spots on the cramped military launch schedule will drive final scheduling.

"This is an operational decision, based on the operational needs across the Department of Defense," Steiner said.


A GPS 2F satellite in the California factory. Credit: Boeing

Boeing has three more 2Fs already finished and waiting in storage for launch opportunities, three further birds that should finish construction by year's end and the final three that will complete assembly by next summer, according to Paul Rusnock, Boeing's vice president of government space systems.

"As each 2F satellite becomes operational, we continue the seamless transformation of the GPS constellation into an even more accurate, reliable and durable navigation resource for the U.S. military and the global civilian user community," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "Our efficient pulse-line manufacturing process, adapted from Boeing's commercial airplane production lines, also ensures that we deliver each spacecraft on time and on cost."

GPS satellites fly about 11,000 miles above the planet and emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Populating the operational constellation began on Valentine's Day 1989.

Today's GPS fleet is comprised of 31 satellites, including 10 Block 2A's made by Boeing, 12 Block 2R's and seven 2R-Modernized spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing's two Block 2F. The oldest still in operation is nearing its 22nd orbital birthday.

"We do have a very robust constellation, but it is a mix of older and newer satellites," Steiner said.

The Air Force is in the midst of further advancing the GPS network by deploying a new breed of satellite, produced by Boeing, that features improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation, a longer design life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.

"The first two of these 12 GPS 2F satellites are on-orbit and are meeting all of our mission requirements. The atomic clocks on board are providing the best accuracies ever for the GPS constellation," Steiner said.

Boeing is building the dozen Block 2F craft to form the constellation's foundation for the next 15 years.


Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

"With each GPS 2F launch and deployment, we are contributing to the sustainment and modernization of the network. It's a privilege and a thrill to be part of this absolutely critical global utility," said Jan Heide, Boeing's GPS program director.

The space system features six orbital planes with multiple satellites flying in each. This latest sustainment craft will be maneuvered into Plane A, Slot 1 of the network, with the old bird currently in that position sliding aside to begin an auxiliary role within the A-Plane.

The roots of GPS are firmly entrenched with the U.S. military, which developed the satellites to guide warfighter with unparalleled exactness. Nearly every piece of military equipment uses GPS' precision timing and navigation capabilities.

"GPS continues to provide vital capabilities to our nation's military operations, our global information infrastructure, emergency response, transportation, telecommunications and a host of other commercial applications in every day life," Steiner said. "Our commitment is to ensure this capability continues to deliver this precise PNT (position, navigation and timing) across the globe."

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/causeway/

Delta 4 rocket launches GPS 2F-3
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Oct. 4, 2012

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasts off at 8:10 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 on the mission to deploy the Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.

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

Photo credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

[Salo]

http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/PhotoGallery/Photo_gallery.shtml

[instml]

А как же ТДРС?

ТДРС транслирует сразу журналистам http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ ?

[instml]

Сегодня, в 12:10 утра) на мысе Канаверал состоялся запуск ракеты-носителя Delta IV,  несущей на борту спутник GPS Block IIF-3. Отделение спутника от ракеты-носителя произошло в 16:27(по Всемирному времени).

Новый спутник, построенный корпорацией Boeing, предназначен для улучшения качества навигационного покрытия, как для гражданских, так и для военных пользователей. Кроме того, спутник поддерживает новый сигнал L5.

GPS Block IIF-3, также известный под названием SVN65, будет установлен в орбитальный слот 1, плоскость А. Ему назначен код опознавания PRN24. Сейчас этот слот занят спутником серии Block IIA, под названием SVN39,  с кодом PRN09. SVN39 является одним из старейших спутников созвездия, он был запущен 26 июня 1993 года. Позднее он будет отведён с орбиты и освободит место для нового спутника.

http://gps-club.ru/gps_news/detail.php?ID=83859

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_10_05_2012_p05-01-503315.xml

Third GPS IIF Satellite In Orbit
By Amy Butler
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report


October 05, 2012

The third Global Positioning System IIF satellite was boosted into orbit Oct. 4, becoming the 32nd GPS satellite in the Pentagon's constellation.

The GPS IIF series incorporates a new L5 civil signal used for safety operations and search-and-rescue, provides twice the signal accuracy over heritage satellites and carries an on-orbit reprogrammable signal processor. Boeing built the satellite for a 12-year design life, and it is slated to be turned over to the U.S. Air Force for testing in November after initial on-orbit checkout, says Paul Rossnock, vice president of government space systems for Boeing.

The launch took place at 8:10 a.m. (EDT) on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV (4,2 configuration) rocket fr om Cape Canaveral. The rocket boosted the satellite into orbit 11,000 mi. over Earth.

Operators observed a data anomaly from the Delta IV RL-10B2 upper stage, according to Jessica Rye, United Launch Alliance spokeswoman. The satellite reached its proper orbit and signal acquisition was successful. But officials will analyze the anomaly to determine what happened, if a fix is needed and whether that could affect other launches.

The spacecraft includes a fix to the xenon bulb in the cesium clock designed to address a problem found on the second IIF satellite operating in orbit. "The issue that arose with the IIF-2 cesium clock involved trapped air that, when combined with vacuum and high power, caused an event that resulted in a pump failure," according to Paula Shawa, a Boeing spokeswoman. "This pump failure necessitated higher-than-desired clock maintenance from the ground crew, so it was decided instead to switch to a rubidium clock." The zenon bulb sets the frequency standard for the clock, Russnock says.

"A manufacturing change was made to the remaining units and installed on vehicles to mitigate any on-orbit risk," Shawa says. The fix is to put a higher pressure bulb onto future satellites, Russnock says.

The Pentagon is purchasing 12 GPS IIF satellites. Those after IIF-3 are being purchased through fixed-price contracts. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the GPS IIF program costs about $2.6 billion, significantly more than the originally estimated price. Boeing has crafted a "pulse production" line at its El Segundo, Calif., facility to manufacture the satellites more efficiently. "With the pulse line, we have dramatically improved performance in the ability to get these things built," Russnock says. When asked if the GPS IIF program is profitable after its challenges, he said it is "stable."

GPS III

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin is continuing development work on the next-generation GPS III constellation. The company shipped the propulsion core for the A2100-based first GPS III satellite last week to the Denver facility wh ere it will be integrated with other satellite components. The first power-on event for GPS III satellite 1 is slated for November, says Keoki Jackson, vice president of the navigation systems area for Lockheed Martin.

A production-representative pathfinder satellite already has been largely assembled, with electronics and the complete antenna panel. "We want to make sure we don't learn anything for the first time on space vehicle one," Jackson says. The inclusion of a pathfinder satellite, which will not fly, has contributed to a 70% reduction in cycle time to produce test scripts and procedures and a 33% reduction in the labor hours needed to install hardware for the first flyable satellite.

In April, the pathfinder will be shipped to Cape Canaveral so that operators there can run it through the prelaunch process for practice.

The first satellite is slated for launch availability in May 2014, with the second expected to launch about nine months later.

GPS III is being designed to a 15-year in-orbit life, and this satellite includes three rubidium clocks rather than the troublesome cesium design.

[instml]

Delta 4 rocket overcomes engine issue during launch

Posted: October 6, 2012

Generating less than its normal 25,000 pounds of thrust because of a still unknown problem, the upper stage engine on the Delta 4 rocket had to fire for longer periods of time Thursday morning before ultimately delivering the GPS payload into the right orbit, overcoming the adversity to achieve success.

Delta 4 rocket-maker United Launch Alliance and RL10B-2 engine provider Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have convened a review panel to look into the telemetry recorded during the ascent and determine what caused the low-thrust condition.

Officials say it is too soon to know what, if any, impact the situation will have on plans to launch an Atlas 5 rocket with the Pentagon's X-37B miniature space shuttle using a Centaur upper stage equipped with a similar-yet-different RL10 powerplant Oct. 25.

"Though the GPS 2F-3 mission was a complete success, ULA fully understands the challenges of launch and will thoroughly investigate and implement appropriate actions to reliably deliver our customer's critical capabilities to the orbital positions required," Jim Sponnick, ULA's vice president of missions operations, said in a press release Friday night.

Thursday's voyage of the 20-story rocket set sail at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT) from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station topped with the Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.

A pair of strap-on solid-fuel boosters provided extra power for the first 95 seconds of flight, assisting the cryogenic first stage in climbing away from Earth.

The RS-68 main engine finished its burn about four minutes after liftoff and separated, leaving the upper stage with the RL10B-2 to deploy its extendible carbon-carbon nozzle and ignite.

The mission sequence planned three burns of the upper stage, initial reaching a low-altitude parking orbit, then a highly elliptical transfer orbit and eventually achieving a circular orbit in line with the GPS constellation 11,000 nautical miles up.

That first burn was supposed to last nearly 8 minutes. However, it ran around a half-minute longer than expected as a consequence of the lower-than-planned thrust output, to reach the parking orbit of roughly 213 by 88 nautical miles, tilted 41.6 degrees to the equator.

The rocket coasted over the central Atlantic for about 9 minutes before restarting the engine to run for a scheduled three minutes -- but went about a minute beyond the anticipated duration -- to inject itself into an orbit with a high point of 11,001 nautical miles, a low point of 129 nautical miles and inclined 43.3 degrees.

Precise numbers on the actual burn durations and exactly how long the firings went overtime were not immediately available to the press Saturday.

There was no official indication that the launch was in trouble as it unfolded live. Behind the scenes, however, there were worries about the engine's performance.

A three-hour quiet coast period then began as the rocket motor and attached payload traveled away from Earth toward the high-mark of the orbit for one final firing.

The third burn raised the orbit's low point and increased the inclination to ascend into the GPS network, then Delta released the satellite cargo into an approximate 11,047-nautical-mile perch tilted 55 degrees to the equator.

Officials indicate the final burn produced the necessary boost to finish shaping the orbit for GPS 2F-3. Whether this firing also suffered the low-thrust condition or not has not been confirmed.

But the satellite arrived in space exactly where it was intended to fly despite the engine situation that, remarkably, was not a detriment to the launch's end result.

"The Delta 4's robust system design, flight software, vehicle margins and propellant reserves enabled the successful outcome for this mission," ULA said in a statement to reporters Friday night.

"The unexpected signature was seen during second stage performance as evidenced by a reduced thrust level of the RL10 engine. The onboard inertial guidance and flight control systems compensated for the lower thrust conditions and the Delta second stage delivered the satellite to the proper orbit."

The investigation team assembled by ULA and PWR will have oversight from major customers, the press release said. The panel will work to determine what caused the low-thrust and identify what actions should be taken to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.

Fed with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the RL10B-2 is the latest in a long line of upper stage engines dating back a half-century. The original version of the RL10 debuted successfully on an Atlas rocket in 1963 and has been part of Centaur for more than 200 space missions.

The RL10 has dispatched robotic expeditions to every planet in our solar system, plus multiple missions to the moon and countless military spacecraft and commercial communications satellites in orbits around Earth.

This latest RL10 variant was introduced in 1998 as part of Boeing's Delta 3 program, which served as a stepping-stone to the Delta 4 rocket and development of its cryogenic upper stage.

The engine has been fired in space 23 times to date.

Its specs include a nominal thrust of 24,750 pounds, mass of 664 pounds, an overall length of 13.6 feet, including 7 feet just for the nozzle extension and a specific impulse of 465.5 seconds.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/rl10.html

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d361/launch/

     

     

     

     

[Сергио]

Go GPS!

[Чебурашка]

GPS-IIF-3 с 8 октября начал транслировать навигационные сигналы
http://www.gpsworld.com/gps-iif-3-launch/