AEHF-3 - Atlas V 531 - Канаверал SLC-41 - 18.09.2013

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/military-space/362263rd-aehf-satellite-lands-in-florida-for-september-launch#.UeBQXKzzPTo

3rd AEHF Satellite Lands in Florida for September Launch

By Mike Gruss | Jul. 12, 2013

An AEHF satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin photo

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin Space Systems have delivered the third in a series of highly secure military communications satellites to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., in preparation for a September launch.
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-3 satellite arrived from Sunnyvale, Calif., July 10, the Air Force said in a press release. The satellite will undergo preparation before being launched to geostationary transfer orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the Air Force said.
The first satellite in the constellation, AEHF-1, was launched in August 2010 but took more than a year to reach its operational orbit due to a propulsion glitch. AEHF-2 joined AEHF-1 in orbit in May 2012.
Lockheed Martin is expected to build a total of six satellites under a contract worth an estimated $9 billion or more, including associated ground systems.
The satellites are designed to provide assured and highly secure communications links under all conditions, including a nuclear war environment. Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif., provides the satellites' communications payloads.

[Salo]

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/aehf-1.htm

AEHF 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6


AEHF [USAF]

The AEHF (Advanced Extreme High Frequency Satellite), a.k.a. AWS (Advanced Wideband Satellite), program is the next generation of highly secure, high capacity, survivable communications to the U.S. warfighters during all levels of conflict, and will become the protected backbone of the Department of Defense's military satellite communications architecture. The AEHF system will be integrated into the legacy Milstar (Military Strategic & Tactical Relay) constellation, and will be backward compatible with Milstar's low data rate (LDR) and medium data rate (MDR) capabilities, while providing extreme data rates (XDR) and larger capacity at substantially less cost than the Milstar system. Each satellite will be launched on an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), with the first launch planned for April 2008. They cost approximately $580 million per satellite

On-board signal processing will provide protection and ensure optimum resource utilization and system flexibility among the Armed Forces and other users who operate terminals on land, sea and air. The AEHF system will be integrated into the legacy Milstar constellation, and will be backward compatible with Milstar's low data rate (LDR) and medium data rate (MDR) capabilities, while providing extreme data rates (XDR) and larger capacity at substantially less cost than the Milstar system.

AEHF satellites feature following antennas:

 2 SHF Downlink Phased Arrays,
 2 Crosslinks,
 2 Uplink/Downlink Nulling Antennas,
 1 Uplink EHF Phased Array,
 6 Uplink/Downlink gimbaled Dish Antenna,
 1 Each Uplink/downlink earth coverage horns

Up to six satellites were planned, but in late 2004 it was decided, to end the AEHF program after the third satellite in favour of introducing the next generation T-Sat earlier. Problems with the T-Sat program might lead to procurement of two more AEHFs instead.

AEHF 1 was launched in August 2010. After launch, the apogee propulsion system developed problems and the orbit was raised over a longer period using the attitude control engines and the Hall Current Thruster electric propulsion system.

Nation:    USA
Type / Application:    Comsat
Operator:    USAF
Contractors:    Lockheed Martin (Bus), Northrop Grumman (ex TRW) (Payload)
Equipment:    ?
Configuration:    A2100M
Propulsion:    IHI BT-4, HCT
Power:    2 deployable 5 segment solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:    14 years
Mass:    6168 kg
Orbit:    GEO

[интересующийся]

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/july/0724-ss-aehf.html

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 24, 2013 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] shipped the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on July 10, where it will be prepared for a September liftoff aboard an Atlas V rocket.
The AEHF system provides vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. The system also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Canada was the first of these nations to connect to AEHF during recent tests with multiple terminals.
"AEHF capability is in demand, and this satellite is on its way to grow protected communications capability for the U.S. and allies," said Mark Calassa, Lockheed Martin vice president of Protected Communications. "Our team has succeeded at delivering unmatched capability being used internationally while significantly reducing costs in production."
A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition to its tactical mission, provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.
Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule. All satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.

[Salo]

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/july/0724-ss-aehf.html

Lockheed Martin Ships Third AEHF Satellite To U.S. Air Force for Upcoming Launch

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 24, 2013 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] shipped the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on July 10, where it will be prepared for a September liftoff aboard an Atlas V rocket.
The AEHF system provides vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. The system also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Canada was the first of these nations to connect to AEHF during recent tests with multiple terminals.
"AEHF capability is in demand, and this satellite is on its way to grow protected communications capability for the U.S. and allies," said Mark Calassa, Lockheed Martin vice president of Protected Communications. "Our team has succeeded at delivering unmatched capability being used internationally while significantly reducing costs in production."
A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition to its tactical mission, provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.
Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule. All satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.
.

 Lockheed Martin delivered the third AEHF satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this month. It is scheduled to launch in September, joining two other AEHF satellites in the constellation providing protected communications for the U.S. and allies.
 

 Lockheed Martin delivered the third AEHF communications satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a C-5M Galaxy, which is the modernized variant of the Lockheed Martin-produced C-5.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av041/stacking.html#.UgsLKH82PTo

United Launch Alliance preparing for its 75th mission
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: August 13, 2013

  Assembly of United Launch Alliance's next Atlas 5 rocket is underway in the towering integration facility at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 pad to deploy an ultra-secure U.S. communications satellite in September.


File image of last Atlas 5 with AEHF satellite. Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance
 
 The rocket is taking the shape of the 531 configuration in the Atlas 5 family, which will feature a five-meter-diameter nose cone, three strap-on solid fuel boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. That power will lift the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite No. 3 into a supersynchronous transfer orbit from the Florida spaceport.
Liftoff is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 2:36 a.m. EDT (0636 GMT). However, officials are looking at the possibility to move up the launch by few days.

Спойлер

The AEHF satellite series, built by Lockheed Martin, is a growing constellation in space that will ring the globe to link civilan leadership with military forces anywhere on the planet.
"We depend on this satellite system in existential circumstances for the United States. When communications from the President and the National Command Authority has to get through to our forces to execute options and in circumstances that are just the worst imaginable, this is the system we depend on," said Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command.


An artist's concept of the AEHF satellite in space. Credit: U.S. Air Force
 
 ULA Atlas 5 rockets successfully launched AEHF 1 on Aug. 14, 2010 and AEHF 2 on May 4, 2012. A constellation of at least six satellites in the series is planned. Considered among the Defense Department's most critical spacecraft, the AEHF satellites will ensure a survivable line of contact between the president, military commanders and troops on the battlefield even in nightmarish scenarios of nuclear war.
"This is the satellite that provides the president the capability to communicate with deployed forces when there's a nuclear environment, either nuclear attack in progress or post-nuclear attack when the atmosphere is simulated from the nuclear effects. It is the satellite, again, that just has to be there," Shelton said.
The AEHF constellation is the next-generation replacement to the aging MILSTAR line, offering faster data speeds and expanded capacity for secure communications across the world.
Assembly of the launch vehicle began on Friday, Aug. 2 when the first stage was lifted aboard the mobile platform at the Vertical Integration Facility.
The three solid rocket boosters were attached last week and the Centaur upper stage was hoisted into place today.


File image of Centaur lift for mating to Atlas 5. Credit: NASA-KSC
 
 AEHF 3, which arrived in Florida on July 10 from Lockheed Martin's satellite facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., is proceeding through its own processing at a separate cleanroom facility. The craft is undergoing final testing, the loading of maneuvering propellants and encapsulation in the two halves of the rocket's nose cone. The payload will be moved to the Atlas assembly building and mated to the launcher to complete the 196-foot-tall rocket for flight.
It will be the sixth Atlas of the year, the 40th overall since 2002, the 15th in service to the Defense Department and United Launch Alliance's 75th flight since its formation in 2006.

[свернуть]

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/military-space/37214third-aehf-satellite-set-to-launch

Third AEHF Satellite Set To Launch
By Mike Gruss | Sep. 13, 2013


AEHF-3 being shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., where it will launch. Credit: Lockheed Martin photo
 
WASHINGTON — The third in a series of highly secure U.S. military communications satellites is on track to launch Sept. 18 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
A two-hour launch window opens at 3:04 a.m. EDT.
The first satellite in the constellation, AEHF-1, was launched in August 2010 but took more than a year to reach its operational orbit due to a propulsion glitch. AEHF-2 joined AEHF-1 in orbit in May 2012. Air Force Col. Rod Miller, chief of the protected milsatcom division at Space and Missiles System Center in Los Angeles, said in a prelaunch conference call with reporters Sept. 10 there have been no issues with the satellites since entering service.
The satellites are designed to provide assured and highly secure communications links under all conditions, including a nuclear war.  One AEHF satellite is designed to provide more capacity than the entire legacy Milstar constellation.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif. is expected to build a total of six satellites under a contract worth an estimated $9 billion or more, including associated ground systems.
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Redondo Beach, Calif., provides the satellites' communications payloads.
The fourth AEHF satellite is expected to launch in 2016 or 2017, Miller said.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin announced Sept. 12 the Netherlands became the second international partner to use the AEHF system in July by exchanging voice and data with United States and Canada.
Canada successfully tested the system in May.

[Salo]

18 сентября в 11:04-13:04 ЛМВ.

[Salo]

Буклет миссии:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/docs/missionbooklets/AV/av_aehf3_mob.pdf

[Salo]

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/september/0910-ss-aehf.html

Lockheed Martin-Built Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Encapsulated For Upcoming Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Sept. 11, 2013 – The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been encapsulated into its payload fairing in preparation for a Sept. 18 liftoff aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The AEHF system is the nation's only protected strategic and tactical satellite communications program. It works in concert with its predecessor, Milstar, for global coverage. Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule.
"The AEHF team has done excellent work to increase capability and affordability," said Mark Calassa, vice president for Protected Communication Systems at Lockheed Martin. "Our efforts were rewarded in December with a new Air Force contract for space vehicles 5 and 6. As we transition to fixed price, we are reducing risk to the customer and lowering satellite cost by over 30 percent with this recent block buy."
AEHF provides vastly improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. The system also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Canada was the first of these nations to connect to AEHF during tests with multiple terminals.
A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition to its tactical mission, provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.
 

[Salo]

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/september/0912-ss-aehf.html

AEHF Expands Global Communications for Allied Missions; Netherlands Makes Call On Protected Communications Satellite

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 12, 2013 – The Netherlands has become the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) international partner to communicate using the Lockheed Martin-produced [NYSE: LMT] satellite system. During July testing, for the first time three nations used the system simultaneously as The Netherlands connected to U.S., Canadian and domestic terminals.
AEHF provides vastly improved global, survivable, jam-proof, protected communications for strategic and tactical users on ground, sea and air platforms.
"AEHF's ability to securely connect allies together is vital to current and future operations," said Mark Calassa, vice president of Protected Communications Systems at Lockheed Martin. "We are hard at work delivering this global capability: Our fixed-price production builds are on schedule, we will launch a third satellite next week, and those users testing the system are extremely satisfied with this leap forward in capability."
The U.S.-Canada-Netherlands team engaged AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 while completing test calls between international terminals. In separate tests, Dutch forces exchanged voice and data communications with the U.S. and Canada by connecting to the AEHF-2 satellite, crosslinking with AEHF-1 and downlinking to the U.S. Navy terminal in San Diego and a Canadian terminal at Shirley's Bay, Ontario. By connecting with AEHF-2, The Netherlands also completed their first local AEHF call from ship to shore. Radios used in the tests include domestic and international versions of the Navy Multi-Band and Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable Tactical (SMART-T) terminals.
The U.S. Air Force has been allowing select groups to use AEHF for testing as it fields the system, and the system has performed well as its user base grows with different terminal types. The Netherlands achievement follows Canada's successful call in May. Both countries will continue testing for several months as they move toward initial operational capability. The United Kingdom is also scheduled to complete their first connection by the end of the year.
A single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual user data rates will increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition to its tactical mission, AEHF provides the critical survivable, protected and endurable communications links to national leaders, including presidential conferencing in all levels of conflict.
Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. Both AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are on orbit, AEHF-3 was shipped for a September 18 launch and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule. All satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.
 

 The Netherlands became the second partner nation to use the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system. The U.S. and Canada are already testing the system, and the United Kingdom will connect in the next several months.

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32465.msg1097166#msg1097166

input~2 пишет:
Closure areas

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32465.msg1097169#msg1097169

input~2 пишет:

Navigational warning

(130958Z SEP 2013)

NAVAREA IV    558/2013(11,25,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
ROCKETS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 180704Z TO 180935Z SEP,
   ALTERNATE 190700Z TO 190931Z SEP
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-37N 080-36W, 28-38N 080-18W,
      28-37N 079-54W, 28-35N 079-54W,
      28-32N 080-18W, 28-33N 080-34W.
   B. 28-37N 078-29W, 28-37N 077-52W,
      28-33N 077-52W, 28-33N 078-29W.
   C. 27-08N 069-20W, 26-42N 067-08W,
      26-35N 067-09W, 26-58N 069-21W.
   D. 21-58N 051-44W, 21-19N 049-56W,
      21-14N 049-59W, 21-52N 051-46W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 191031Z SEP 13.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av041/130916rollout/

40th Atlas 5 rocket on the launch pad

 United Launch Alliance's 40th Atlas 5 rocket arrived at its oceanfront launch pad Monday after a 1,800-foot trek on trails from its Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The 196-foot-tall rocket, fitted with three solid rocket boosters and a five-meter fairing, is topped with the U.S. Air Force's third Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite.

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

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliace

Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance

Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance

Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

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Здесь в хорошем разрешении:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/PhotoGallery/Photo_gallery.shtml

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av041/groundtrack.html#.UjfDuX-jZRF

Atlas launch ground track


This map illustrates the ground track that the Atlas 5 rocket will follow during launch. Credit: ULA

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av041/launchtimeline.html

Atlas 5/AEHF 3 launch timeline
 [SIZE=-2]BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 15, 2013[/SIZE]

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-041, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away fr om Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

T+00:05.4    Begin Pitch/Roll/Yaw Maneuver
The 196-foot-tall Atlas 5 begins to maneuver itself on the proper trajectory east of Complex 41 on an azimuth of 90.13 degrees.

T+00:38.2    Mach 1
Burning its RD-180 main engine and three solid rocket boosters, the Atlas 5 rocket passes the speed of sound.

T+00:46.7    Max-Q
The Atlas 5 rocket passes the region of flight known as maximum dynamic pressure, or Max-Q.

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+03:29    Nose Cone Jettison
The payload fairing that protected the AEHF 3 spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined lim its.

T+03:34    Forward Load Reactor Jettison
The Forward Load Reactor deck that supported the payload fairing's structure to Centaur upper stage is released 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 3 spacecraft into a parking orbit.

T+14:00    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+21:57    Centaur Ignition 2
The Centaur re-ignites over the equatorial Atlantic to accelerate the payload into supersynchronous transfer orbit from the parking achieved earlier in the launch sequence.

T+27:35    Centaur Cutoff 2
At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have delivered the AEHF 3 spacecraft into the targeted orbit with an apogee of 31,069 statute miles, perigee of 140 statute miles and inclination of 20.9 degrees.

T+51:11    Spacecraft Separation
The U.S. military's fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AV-041 launch.

Data source: United Launch Alliance

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av041/130916preview/#.UjfFlH-jZRE

Atlas 5 rocket on the launch pad for 40th mission
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 16, 2013[/SIZE]

  An Atlas 5 rocket, crowned with a secure, jam-resistant U.S. Air Force communications satellite set for liftoff Wednesday, arrived at a launch pad in Florida on Monday after a condensed assembly and test campaign designed to help United Launch Alliance prepare for a bustling manifest over the next year.


The Atlas 5 rocket with the AEHF 3 satellite rolls to the launch pad Monday. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
 
 The 196-foot-tall rocket rolled out from its Vertical Integration Facility to its launch pad at Complex 41 on Monday, beginning the 1,800-foot journey on time at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) and completing the trek less than an hour later. The ULA launch team planned to take a crew rest day before beginning the mission's middle-of-the-night seven-hour countdown at 8:04 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0004 GMT Wednesday). Engineers will switch on the Atlas 5, puts its systems through preflight testing, then load kerosene, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the launcher's two stages.
Liftoff with the Air Force's third Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite is scheduled for 3:04 a.m. EDT (0704 GMT) at the opening of a two-hour launch window.
The predawn blastoff will mark ULA's 75th launch since it began operations in December 2006 and the 40th mission for an Atlas 5 rocket since August 2002. It's the sixth Atlas 5 mission of 2013.
Formed with the merger of the rocket divisions of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., ULA operates the Delta and Atlas rockets lofting payloads into space for the U.S. military and NASA.
Boosted by three solid rocket motors and an Russia-built RD-180 main engine, all provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne, the Atlas 5 rocket will race east from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in about 20 minutes after shedding its set of strap-on motors, 5-meter diameter payload fairing and liquid-fueled first stage.
Two firings of the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage will maneuver the 13,600-pound AEHF 3 spacecraft into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with a low point of 140 statute miles, a high point of 31,069 statute miles and an inclination of 20.9 degrees, according to ULA.
Deployment of the AEHF 3 satellite is scheduled about 51 minutes after launch.
Check out a launch timeline for details on the rocket's ascent.


Artist's concept of an AEHF communications satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin
 
 Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the AEHF 3 satellite will extend the Air Force's growing network of new-generation communications fleet built to ensure U.S. military forces stay in touch with civilian leadership in the event of nuclear catastrophe. The AEHF system, and its predecessor Milstar constellation, is resistant to jamming and hardened to continue functioning in a post-nuclear environment rife with electromagnetic interference.
"The AEHF system will be the backbone for protected and reliable secure communications well into the next decade," said Air Force Col. Rod Miller, AEHF program manager.
Monday's rollout came 45 days after ULA engineers started putting together the Atlas 5 rocket inside its 30-story vertical hangar. The rocket's shimmering gold first stage was erected on its mobile launch table Aug. 2, then workers added three 67-foot-long composite solid rocket boosters.
A Centaur upper stage was hoisted atop the Atlas 5 on Aug. 13, and the AEHF 3 satellite, already shrouded inside the rocket's payload fairing, arrived at the launch pad in early September after being prepared and fueled in a nearby processing plant.
ULA instituted a streamlined campaign for the AEHF 3 launch, which is known as the AV-041 mission in the parlance of the Atlas program. The hope is to reduce the span between Atlas 5 flights to help ULA keep up with a busy manifest of launches over the next year for the Defense Department and NASA.
"The span reduction that we've been working on here in the launch operations locations has really helped us be a little more responsive to our customers," said Mark Dowhan, ULA's vice president of launch operations. "In simple terms, we look at a lot of the end-to-end testing that we perform ... at the production site or the launch site and we look to eliminate some testing that is probably redundant, or unnecessary, and cover it in other locations to streamline the process. That has served us very well."


The Atlas 5 rollout covered 1,800 feet in less than an hour. Credit: ULA/Pat Corkery

 For the first time on a "500-series" Atlas 5 with a five-meter-diameter payload fairing, engineers opted not to put the launcher through a wet dress rehearsal, a full practice countdown in which the rocket is filled with propellant and exercised to check for any problems. Jessica Rye, a ULA spokesperson, said the change saves six days in the launch campaign for a 500-series Atlas 5 rocket. Workers altered access platforms inside the Atlas 5 integration building to permit workers to more quickly access and resolve problems that could crop up in a launch countdown.
"We've compressed the flow of this particular mission," Dowhan told reporters in a prelaunch teleconference. "We shoot for a 10 percent reduction annually in terms of the span for our Atlas and Delta vehicles, and we've been hitting that number."
The AEHF 3 launch, previously scheduled for Sept. 25, was moved up a week in August.
ULA already deleted the wet dress rehearsal for most missions of the 400-series Atlas 5 featuring a smaller four-meter nose fairing. Similar time-saving procedures are being introduced for the Delta 4 rocket.
"It just provides additional capability," Dowhan said. "Our manifest is increasing. We have 15 launches on the manifest next year between the Cape and Vandenberg [Air Force Base in California], and this will certainly allow us to decrease the spans and get all those missions in for our customers."

[LL_]

Как уже сказано выше, 40-ой запуск Атлас-5 и 75-ый ULA будет осуществлен 18-го сентября 2013 г. в 11:04 мск с LC-41 (28*35' с.ш. 80*35' з.д.) в направлении 90.13 гр. (азимут пуска). Как сообщается в материалах ULA запуск будет выполнен в интересах ВВС США с целью обеспечения национальной безопасности.

Вперёд Атлас! Вперёд Центавр! Вперёд AEHF-3! Оле, оле, оле...

[LL_]

Похоже, погода не летная...
А жаль, сегодня для Центавра после выполнения основной задачи была бы хорошая работа по встрече с очередным астероидом...

[Lanista]

5мин