DMSP-5D3 F19 - Atlas V 401 - Vandenberg SLC-3E - 03.04.2014

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/august/0802-ss-dmsp.html

Lockheed Martin-Built Defense Weather Satellite Delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif., August 2, 2013 – The U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman team successfully delivered the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), block 5D3, weather satellite on Aug. 1 to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., where it will be prepared for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle.

An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, operated by the 60th Air Mobility Wing from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., transported DMSP Flight19 from Sunnyvale, Calif., to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. DMSP F19 will undergo final launch preparations, encapsulation and transport to Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base over the next 250 days and is on track for a March 2014 launch.

"We're proud to have our fourth Block 5D-3 spacecraft at the launch site," said Sue Stretch, DMSP program director at Lockheed Martin. "We've produced almost 50 defense weather satellites in 50 years, and our block 5D3 DMSP satellites deliver evolved capability. Our partnership with the Air Force dates to the very beginning of the DMSP program with a common goal of ensuring that commanders have access to environmental data critical to the preparation and execution of military operations."

For the past 50 years, the DMSP satellites have fulfilled the military's most critical requirements for global atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial and space environment information. Through these satellites, military users find, track and forecast weather systems over remote and hostile areas for deployed troops. Additionally, DMSP supports a broad range of civil users with sensing capabilities not provided by U.S. civil and foreign weather satellite systems.

The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center of acquisition excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. SMC manages more than $60 billion in contracts, executes annual budgets of $10 billion and employs more than 6,200 people worldwide.

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.

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http://www.losangeles.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=5321&page=1

U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet
DEFENSE METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE PROGRAM
   

An artist's rendition of a DMSP satellite orbiting Earth.

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) is managed by the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Command and control is provided by a joint-operational team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Suitland, Md.
The DMSP mission is to generate terrestrial and space weather data for operational forces worldwide. The Air Force is the Department of Defense's executive agent for this program. The data fr om this program is also furnished to the civilian community through the Department of Commerce.

The DMSP satellites are designed to meet unique military requirements for worldwide space and terrestrial weather information. Through these satellites, military weather forecasters can detect developing patterns of weather, track existing weather systems over remote areas, and alert the civil and military communities of anticipated hazards in space to satellites and personnel.

Data from these satellites can help identify, locate and determine the intensity of severe weather such as thunderstorms, hurricanes and typhoons. It also can be used to form three-dimensional cloud analyses, which are the basis for computer forecast models to meet unique military requirements. Additionally, space environmental data is used to assist in high-frequency communications, over-the-horizon radar and spacecraft drag and reentry tasks.

All of this quickly available information aids the military commander in making decisions. For example, data obtained through this program are especially valuable to support the launch, en route, target and recovery portions of a wide variety of strategic and tactical missions.
DMSP satellites provide meteorological data in real time to Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps tactical ground stations and Navy ships worldwide. This data is also stored in recorders on the satellites for later transmission to one of four ground stations located near Fairbanks, Alaska; New Boston, N.H.; Thule Air Base, Greenland; and, Kaena Point, Hawaii.

From these ground stations, data is relayed to the Air Force Weather Agency at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. and to the U.S. Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Center at Monterey, California wh ere this information is used to compile numerous worldwide weather and space environmental products.

The launch vehicle's upper-stage and the orbital satellite have been integrated into a single system. This system navigates from lift off and provides guidance for the spacecraft from booster separation through orbit insertion.

DMSP satellites circle the Earth at an altitude of about 500 miles in a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit. Satellites are three-axis stabilized and provide precision pointing to support mission sensors.

The primary sensor on board is the Operational Linescan System that observes clouds via visible and infrared imagery for use in worldwide forecasts. Each scans an area 1,800 miles wide and covers the entire Earth in about 12 hours.

A second important sensor is the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder, which provides all-weather capability for worldwide tactical operations and is particularly useful in typing and forecasting severe storm activity. The spacecraft also carries a suite of additional sensors, which collect a broad range of meteorological and space environmental data for forecasting and analysis.

The Department of Defense's executive agent for this program is located at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also furnishes data from this program to the civilian community. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Suitland, Md., joint-operational team provides command and control.

General Characteristics
 
Dimensions
Height: 14 feet, 3 inches
Diameter: 4 feet
Length: 25 feet (in orbit with solar array deployed)
Weight: Launch, 2720 pounds; in orbit, 2552 pounds, including 772-pound sensor payload
Power Source: Deployable, sun-tracking solar array
Prime Contractors: Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/dmsp.html

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)


PRODUCT FINDER
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
dmsp_art_460

    Overview

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) is the longest running production satellite program ever. In 50 years of service, DMSP satellites have saved billions of dollars and countless human lives as a result of timely weather forecasts.

History
Initially, the DMSP program was highly classified and run by the National Reconnaissance Program (NRP), in support of the CORONA program, and its first reconnaissance satellites. The CORONA satellites took pictures on 70 mm film, and while each satellite carried up to 32,000 feet of film, it eventually would run out and the mission would end when the last film-return capsule re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific. Thus, it was essential to the success of the CORONA mission that timely and accurate DMSP forecasts be made over areas of interest so that cloud-free photography would be possible, taking maximum advantage of film limitations.

About
Today, DMSP is still providing strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid the U.S. military in planning operations at sea, on land and in the air. The satellites, equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite, can:

    Image visible and infrared cloud cover
    Measure precipitation, surface temperature, and soil moisture
    Collect specialized global meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions

The constellation comprises two spacecraft in near-polar orbits, C3 (command, control and communications), user terminals and weather centers. The latest launch occurred on October 18, 2009 when DMSP F-18 roared into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

In its 50 year history, 41 DMSP satellites have been successfully launched. Two satellites remain to be launched, as needed, and are maintained at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., for storage, functional testing, and upgrading. The spacecraft are shipped to Vandenberg for launch when requested by the Air Force.

The Team
The Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. manages the DMSP program. Lockheed Martin is the DMSP prime contractor.

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3 апреля - DMSP-5D3 F19 - Atlas V 401 - Ванденберг SLC-3E - 18:46-18:56 ЛМВ

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Atlas V readies to Launch DMSP F19 Meteorological Satellite
http://www.spaceflight101.com/atlas-v-dmsp-f19-launch-updates.html

Gearing up for two launches from two coasts, United Launch Alliance has completed the assembly of two Atlas V launch vehicles – an Atlas V 541 set to launch from Cape Canaveral on March 25 carrying the classified NROL-67 satellite to orbit followed by the launch of an Atlas V 401 from Vandenberg on April 3 planned to deliver the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program 19 spacecraft to orbit. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base is planned during a ten-minute window opening at 14:46 UTC on April 3.

Спойлер

The DMSP 19 spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base on August 1, 2013 being transported from Sunnyvale to Vandenberg aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. Beginning a long pre-launch processing campaign, the spacecraft underwent detailed inspections and electrical checkouts as well as instrument testing and hazardous processing.

As part of final preparations, the satellite is configured for launch and encapsulated in the Atlas V payload fairing for installation atop the launch vehicle.

Integration of the Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 3 began in early 2014 as the Common Core Booster was rolled out on and was installed on the launch pad with the protective Mobile Service Tower in place. The next step was the installation of the Centaur Upper Stage. After being moved in position, Centaur was attached to its interstage adapter that was installed on the CCB earlier. With the launch vehicle stacked and plenty of time left before launch, the testing campaign ahead of launch was stretched when comparing it to Atlas V on-pad operations at the busier Cape Canaveral launch site.

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Once the spacecraft is installed on the launch vehicle, a final set of tests including the Combined Systems Test will be performed leading up to the Launch Readiness Review that will give the approval for launch on April 3.

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/march/0320-ss-dmsp.html

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., March 20, 2014 – A Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been encapsulated into its payload fairing in preparation for an April 3 liftoff. The launch will take place aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
DMSP satellites collect data that enables military forecasters to find, track and forecast weather systems all over the globe, particularly in remote and hostile areas for deployed troops. Additionally, DMSP supports a broad range of civil users with sensing capabilities not provided by U.S. civil and international weather satellite systems.
"Weather guides some of the most important decisions in the armed forces, from flight patterns to troop movements. Through DMSP, we're helping to provide safer, successful military missions," said Sue Stretch, DMSP program director at Lockheed Martin. "Our satellite build and test process went flawlessly. As we approach launch, we are ready to continue serving this mission for the military and civil agencies that depend on it." 
DMSP satellites fulfill the country's most critical requirements for global atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial and space environment information. DMSP-19 is the fourth Block 5D-3 version to be launched, and Lockheed Martin has produced more than 40 satellites throughout the program's 50-year history. Many of the satellites are performing beyond their design life, so refreshing on-orbit capability is important for reliable weather information.
DMSP-19 is equipped with a sophisticated sensor suite that can capture visible and infrared cloud cover; measure precipitation, surface temperature and soil moisture; and collect specialized global meteorological, oceanographic and solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions.
The approaching launch is the first in five years for DMSP. The previous one was October 18, 2009, when DMSP-18 joined the constellation. The DMSP program is led by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., and control is provided by a joint team of the U.S. Air Force and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Suitland, Md. All DMSP satellites were integrated and tested at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.

[Старый]

Опять с улётом Центавра к звёздам?

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http://www.spacenews.com/article/military-space/40024new-us-military-weather-satellites-could-launch-on-minotaur-rockets

New U.S. Military Weather Satellites Could Launch on Minotaur Rockets
By Mike Gruss | Mar. 28, 2014
 

Technicians at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., encapsulate the DMSP Flight 19 weather satellite within the fairing of its Atlas 5 launcher in preparation for an April 3 liftoff. Credit: ULA photo
 
WASHINGTON — A planned new generation of polar-orbiting U.S. military weather satellites could be small enough to launch on Minotaur rockets, as opposed to the much larger — and far more expensive — Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets that today launch the vast majority of operational U.S. military spacecraft, an Air Force official said March 27.
In a conference call with reporters, Col. Scott Larrimore, the weather program director at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, also said the second-to-last of the current-generation Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, now undergoing final preparations for an April launch aboard an Atlas 5, carries a final price tag exceeding $500 million, including production and nearly two decades of storage and refurbishment costs. 
In 1995, around the time that satellite was built, the cost of a DMSP satellite was pegged at about $130 million in then-year dollars, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released that year. The cost inflation is a cautionary tale on the practice of buying satellites in bulk, Larrimore said.
The DMSP satellites will be replaced starting around 2020 by the Weather System Follow-On (WSF), which will feature dedicated Air Force satellites providing data in concert with U.S. civilian forecasting assets. The Air Force's 2015 budget request includes $40 million to begin developing the system, which has been under study since the 2010 cancellation of a joint civil-military polar-orbiting weather satellite program. 
Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, said in January the new military weather satellites could be a showcase for disaggregation, an emerging vision for space that favors smaller, less-complex satellites, hosted payloads and other deployment schemes versus the large, complex systems that have been the standard for decades.  
The Air Force's 2015 budget documents say the WSF program is "comprised of a group of systems to provide timely, reliable, and high quality space-based remote sensing capabilities that meet global environmental observations of atmospheric, terrestrial, oceanographic, solar-geophysical and other validated requirements."
Larrimore said that since the 1980s, the U.S. military gradually has been relying more on civilian satellites and international partners for weather information. 
The new satellites, Larrimore said, will have a limited set of capabilities and could be small enough to launch on the Minotaur family of rockets, which make use of excess ballistic missile motors to launch small to medium-sized satellites. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is the prime contractor.
A Pentagon source said the Air Force is eyeing the Minotaur 4, one of the larger variants in the family, which has an advertised capability to place satellites weighing up to 900 kilograms into a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 850 kilometers, which is where the DMSP satellites fly. The satellites would be much smaller than the 1,230-kilogram DMSP craft and could utilize one of a number of commercially available satellite platforms, this source said.
Meanwhile, the Air Force's DMSP Flight 19 satellite is on schedule to launch April 3 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. It will be the first launch since 2009 of a DMSP satellite, whose legacy dates back to the 1960s. One of the original purposes of the DMSP satellites was determine when optical U.S. spy satellites would be able to collect cloud-free data.
DMSP Flight 19 includes sensors to capture visible and infrared cloud cover, measure precipitation, and collect specialized meteorlogical information, the satellite's prime contractor, Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., said in a March 20 press release.
Larrimore said the final cost of the satellite, ordered in the 1980s as part of a so-called block buy of DMSP craft, was about $518 million. Block buys are designed to apply economies of scale to lower the unit costs of products. But in the case of DMSP Flight 19, the strategy has proved to be a double-edged sword. 
"It's a little bit of lessons learned," Larrimore said of the high price tag. "You can accrue additional costs as you continue to store and work on those satellites."
In addition to the lengthy storage period, DMSP Flight 19 and the final satellite in the series, DMSP Flight 20, have required substantial refurbishment work, including replacement of aging, outdated and faulty components. 
DMSP Flight 20 will be launched according to an as-needed schedule. Officials from the Defense Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plan to finish a study this summer that will consider the consequences of not launching the satellite, Larrimore said. 
Among the questions he said the study will examine are: "What does [the satellite] bring the national stage? How might it help what other needs the government has?"

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Брошюра:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/docs/missionbooklets/AV/av_dmsp19_mob.pdf

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Военный метеорологический спутник готов к запуску с базы Ванденберг
http://vestnik-glonass.ru/news/corp/voennyy_meteorologicheskiy_sputnik_gotov_k_zapusku_s_bazy_vandenberg_/

Спутник, с большим запозданием, будет участвовать в долговременной программе, которая позволяет военным вовремя обнаруживать зарождающиеся штормы и оповещать население о надвигающейся опасности.

Cпутник стоимостью 518 миллионов долларов, помещённый в чистовую камеру на заводе Lockheed Martin Corp в Солнечной Долине, 15 лет дожидался дня, когда он будет запущен на орбиту.

За 50 лет существования Программы метеорологической спутниковой безопасности был успешно запущен 41 спутник. Космические летательные аппараты изначально были рассчитаны на три-пять лет работы на орбите, но большинство из них превысили этот срок.

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DMSP F-19 GO FOR LAUNCH!

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Пошла трансляция

http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Webcast.shtml
http://www.livestream.com/spaceflightnow/

[Space Alien]

[Space Alien]

[Александр Ч.]

7:32 a.m. local (1432 GMT)
 The spacecraft payload is switching to internal power.

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[Александр Ч.]

7:38 a.m. local (1438 GMT)
 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.

[Александр Ч.]

7:40 a.m. local (1440 GMT)
 The ULA launch director and Air Force mission director have given their approval to press onward with the countdown.

[Александр Ч.]

7:41 a.m. local (1441 GMT)
 The payload is confirmed on internal power for flight.
 
7:41:30 a.m. local (1441:30 GMT)
 Countdown clocks will resume in one minute.

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туман