MUOS-3 - Atlas V 551 - Канаверал SLC-41 - 21.01.2015 - 01:04 UTC

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/article/military-space/42503us-navy%E2%80%99s-3rd-muos-satellite-arrives-at-cape-canaveral

U.S. Navy's 3rd MUOS Satellite Arrives at Cape Canaveral
By Mike Gruss | Nov. 10, 2014

Lockheed Martin has delivered its third satellite in the U.S. Navy's next-generation mobile communications program to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, for a January launch. Credit: Lockheed Martin photo
 
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has delivered its third satellite in the U.S. Navy's next-generation mobile communications program to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, for a January launch, the company said in a Nov. 7 press release.
The multibillion-dollar Mobile User Objective System ultimately will consist of four geostationary-orbiting satellites plus one on-orbit spare, and four ground stations. Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, California, the MUOS constellation is designed to provide smartphone-like communications to mobile forces at rates 10 times faster than the legacy system.
The first of the MUOS satellites was launched in February 2012. The second MUOS satellite launched in July 2013. The third satellite will launch Jan. 21 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, according to an unofficial NASA manifest.
"With the launch of the third satellite in the constellation, to be followed later in 2015 by the fourth, MUOS will be in place to provide pole-to-pole and global, secure communications for the warfighter," Iris Bombelyn, Lockheed Martin's vice president of narrowband communications said in the release.
The satellite still faces post-shipment testing, fueling, and final integration testing and closeout preparations.

[ВВК]

Извиняюсь , а в дате год точно написан?

[Прол]

ВВК пишет:
Извиняюсь , а в дате год точно написан?

Нет, конечно, 2015 г.

[Salo]

Спасибо, Игорь!

[che wi]

The sophisticated U.S. Navy mobile communications satellite to launch Jan. 20 has been wrapped up in the Atlas 5 rocket's nose cone for the holidays. Encapsulation within the five-meter-diameter bulbous fairing occurred on Thursday.

It is the third in a series of five Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites built by Lockheed Martin for the Navy's new rugged cellphone network that will span the globe.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2014/12/23/photos-navy-satellite-shrouded-for-launch/

[che wi]

Atlas V to Launch the Third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-3)
http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-MUOS-3.aspx

Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 will launch the Navy's third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-3) satellite.

Date/Site/Launch Time: Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Mission Description: The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) is a next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system designed to significantly improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move.

MUOS will provide military users 10 times more communications capability over existing systems, including simultaneous voice, video and data, leveraging 3G mobile communications technology.

Launch Notes: MUOS-3 will mark United Launch Alliance's first launch of 2015, and the 52nd Atlas V since the vehicle's inaugural launch in 2002. MUOS-1 and MUOS-2 also launched on an Atlas V 551: MUOS-1 launched Feb. 24, 2012, and MUOS-2 launched July 19, 2013.

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Navy Prepares to Launch New Satellite System

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Брошюра:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Mission_Booklets/AV/av_muos3_mob.pdf

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/14/atlasmuos-3-launch-timeline/

Atlas/MUOS 3 launch timeline       
Posted on January 14, 2015 by Justin Ray
          
This is the ascent timeline to be followed by the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in launching the Mobile User Objective System satellite No. 3 on Jan. 20 at 7:43 p.m. EST.
 
T+00:00.0    Liftoff
With the RD-180 main engine running, the five strap-on solid rocket boosters are lit as the Atlas 5 vehicle lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

T+0:00:51.2: Max Q
The Atlas rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.

T+01:52.2    Jettison SRBs
Having burned out of propellant approximately 20 seconds earlier, the spent solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. The separation event is staggered with two motors releasing first, then the others about 1.5 seconds later.

T+03:33.0    Nose Cone Jettison
The payload fairing that protected the MUOS 3 spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits after passage through the atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor deck that supported the payload fairing's structure to Centaur upper stage is released five seconds after the shroud's jettison.

T+04:27.6    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+04:33.6    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+04:43.6    Centaur Ignition 1
The Centaur RL10 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and MUOS spacecraft into an initial parking orbit.

T+12:30.4    Centaur Cutoff 1
The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit of 90 by 340 nautical miles at 28 degrees inclination. The vehicle enters an 8-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+20:32.5    Centaur Ignition 2
The Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the payload into a highly elliptical transfer orbit from the parking altitude achieved earlier in the launch sequence.

T+26:18.7    Centaur Cutoff 2
At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have ascending into a 105 by 18,600 nautical mile orbit inclined 26 degrees to begin a two-and-a-half-hour coast.

T+2:48:44.8    Centaur Ignition 3
 
 A final push by Centaur is ignited to raise the orbit's low point and reduce orbital inclination for the MUOS spacecraft.

T+2:49:43.0    Centaur Cutoff 3
 
 The powered phase of flight is concluded as the Centaur reaches the planned geosynchronous transfer orbit of 2,053 by 19,323 nautical miles and 19.1 degrees inclination.

T+2:53:22.0    Spacecraft Separation
 
 The U.S. Navy's third Mobile User Objective System spacecraft, MUOS 3, is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the launch.
          

[/li]
• AV-052
• MUOS 3
• US Navy
  

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/14/atlasmuos-3-mission-stats/

Atlas/MUOS 3 mission stats       
Posted on January 14, 2015 by Justin Ray
          

A look at the Atlas 5 launch of the Navy's MUOS 3 satellite by the numbers.

This will be...
* The 634th launch for Atlas program since 1957
 * The 340th Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
 * The 223rd mission of a Centaur upper stage
 * The 200th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
 * The 42st Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral
 * The 455th production RL10 engine to be launched
 * The 58th flight of the RD-180 main engine
 * The 52nd launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
 * The 19th Air Force mission for an Atlas 5
 * The 80th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
 * The 92nd United Launch Alliance flight overall
 * The 62nd United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral
 * The 44th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
 * The 18th 500-series flight of the Atlas 5
 * The 5th Atlas 5 to fly in the 551 configuration
 * The 1st Atlas 5 launch of 2015

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/07/navy-satellite-to-be-hoisted-atop-rocket-for-jan-20-launch/

Navy satellite to be hoisted atop rocket for Jan. 20 launch       
Posted on January 7, 2015 by Justin Ray

File image of MUOS 1 being hoisted. Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — The payload will be mounted aboard the 200th Atlas-Centaur rocket Thursday, completing assembly of the most-powerful version of the vehicle available in the modern era.
Liftoff of the MUOS 3 satellite is scheduled for Jan. 20 during an evening window of 7:42 to 8:26 p.m. EST (0042-0126 GMT) fr om Complex 41.
At nearly 15,000 pounds, the Mobile User Objective System satellite is a hefty cargo requiring the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 to carry the payload into a highly elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The 551 configuration of the Atlas features five strap-on solid-fuel boosters and the five-meter-diameter nose cone. Previous flights have included hurling NASA's New Horizons probe to Pluto and Juno to Jupiter.
It will be the first Atlas 5 of the year, the 52nd in the past decade and the third for the MUOS satellite series for the U.S. Navy. It will be United Launch Alliance's 92nd launch and the first of 13 missions in 2015, following a 14-launch manifest successfully executed last year.
"It goes without saying: ULA had a banner year," ULA CEO Tory Bruno said. "As we look ahead to 2015, we could not be more honored to continue supporting our nation in one of the most technologically complex, critical American needs: affordable, reliable access to space."
 

An artist's concept of MUOS. Credit: Lockheed Martin
 
The Atlas 5 and its Centaur upper stage will deliver the MUOS 3 spacecraft into a preliminary orbit about three hours after liftoff, allowing the Lockheed Martin-built satellite to begin its independent series of maneuverings to achieve a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth.
MUOS is a next-generation space communications system that utilizes commercial 3G cell phone technology to provide voice, data and video services to military troops on the move.
Each MUOS satellite is likened to a cell tower in the sky to serve ships, submarines, aircraft, land vehicles and terminals in the hands of troops. The design enables increases in the number of users and amount of communications that can be routed to military forces in contrast to current satellites.
When completed next year, the MUOS constellation will feature four primary birds and one spare in orbit to ring the planet and provide capacity, availability and global coverage for mobile military communications like never before.
MUOS 3 arrived in Florida in early November after being flown on an Air Force C-5 transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin's satellite factory in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Unloading at the former Shuttle Landing Facility, the craft was taken to the commercial Astrotech satellite processing campus in nearby Titusville for final testing, the loading of propellants and encapsulation within the rocket's payload fairing.

Crews early Thursday will move the satellite across Kennedy Space Center and down to the Vertical Integration Facility wh ere the Atlas awaits the arrival of its cargo. MUOS will be hoisted atop the rocket to begin the connection process and complete the assembly of the 206-foot-tall launcher.
A tip-to-tail electrical check, called the combined systems test, will be run in the coming days to verify all is in readiness for flight.
Rollout of the Atlas 5 aboard its mobile platform to the launch pad is planned for Jan. 19. The launch team will initiate the seven-hour countdown at lunch-time on Jan. 20.
See our earlier MUOS 3 coverage.
And see our Atlas archive for further information.

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U.S. Navy Poised to Launch Lockheed Martin-Built MUOS-3 Secure Communications Satellite
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2015/january/space-MUOS3-launch.html

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Jan. 16, 2015 – The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] are ready to launch the third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite, MUOS-3, here on Tuesday, Jan. 20 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The launch window is between 7:43 p.m. and 8:27 p.m. EST.

A live launch broadcast will begin at 7:23 p.m. EST and will be accessible via the United Launch Alliance webcast. Click here for the live launch broadcast and webcast details.
 

Спойлер

MUOS operates like a smart phone network in the sky, vastly improving current secure mobile satellite communications for warfighters on the move. Unlike previous systems, MUOS provides users an on-demand, beyond-line-of-sight capability to transmit and receive high-quality, prioritized voice and mission data, on a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

"The launch of MUOS-3, and the near-term certification of our fourth and final Radio Access Facility, brings us to the brink of the global coverage we anticipate for MUOS communications. This government and contractor team knows how important this capability is for our protectors in harm's way," said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin. "To deliver a satellite like MUOS is no small task and the team worked around the clock and through every holiday. We are honored to do so, because we know that our warfighters never stop in their own mission to keep us safe."

Replacing the legacy Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Follow-On system, MUOS satellites have two payloads to ensure access to UHF narrowband communications as well as new capabilities. MUOS' advanced Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) payload incorporates commercial technology and a new waveform to provide users priority-based capacity. Once fully operational, MUOS will provide 16 times the capacity of the legacy system. More than 50,000 terminals that are in the field today can be retro-fitted with WCDMA.

The MUOS-3 satellite was built at Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale, California manufacturing facility. The satellite was shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 5, and encapsulated into its launch fairing on Dec. 18.

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[che wi]

Atlas V MUOS-3 Encapsulated Payload Mate

The U.S. Navy's third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-3) satellite, encapsulated inside a 5-meter diameter payload fairing, is mated to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster in preparation for launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/16/thick-clouds-a-concern-for-tuesdays-atlas-5-launch/

Thick clouds a concern for Tuesday's Atlas 5 launch       
Posted on January 16, 2015 by Justin Ray

Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — The preliminary weather forecast for Tuesday evening's Atlas 5 rocket launch carrying a Navy communications satellite predicts a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions, with thick clouds the main threat against flying at 7:43 p.m. EST as scheduled.
"On launch day, high pressure migrates east of the peninsula in advance of the next upper level disturbance approaching the peninsula with increasing clouds in the mid and upper levels and isolated showers. There is a low threat of an isolated thunderstorm," forecasters reported this morning.
The launch time outlook includes scattered low and broken high clouds, good visibility, southeasterly winds of 10 to 14 knots, a temperature around 62 degrees F and humidity of 75 percent.
If the launch is delayed for some reason, the odds of good weather increase to 70 percent on Wednesday night.
"In the event of a 24-hour delay, the aforementioned upper level disturbance is just east of the peninsula with an associated surface boundary near Central Florida with dryer air in the mid and upper levels. There is a small isolated shower threat; no thunderstorms are expected."

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/17/preview-navy-craft-to-ride-milestone-atlas-centaur-launching/

Preview: Navy craft to ride milestone Atlas-Centaur launching       
Posted on January 17, 2015 by Justin Ray

Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — The 200th Atlas-Centaur rocket, history some 52 years in the making, will blast off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral to deliver a U.S. Navy mobile communications satellite into orbit.
It is the most-powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas-Centaur configuration available, the 551 varient that will feature five strap-on solid-fuel boosters.
Liftoff is targeted for 7:43 p.m. EST at the opening of a 44-minute window.
First paired in 1962 for AC-1, the Atlas booster and the NASA-developed Centaur was the high-energy answer to unlock a pathway to the planets.
The liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen upper stage has launched spacecraft to every planet in our solar system, and Pluto, too. That distinction is earned, in part, thanks to Centaur's usage aboard Titan rockets as well, launching the twin Voyager probes in 1977.
Tuesday's launch will be the 223rd Centaur, the 200th Atlas-Centaur and the 52nd Atlas 5 rocket flight. The 100th Atlas-Centaur occurred in 1996.
What's more, it will be the third in a series of five Mobile User Objetive System (MUOS) spacecraft that will form the Navy's rugged cellphone network to span the globe.
MUOS 1 was launched Feb. 24, 2012 aboard an Atlas 5 and MUOS 2 launched July 19, 2013 aboard another Atlas 5.
The Atlas-Centaur rocket has been the expendable launch vehicle of choice for the Navy's narrowband UHF communications satellites dating back several spacecraft generations to the 1970s, exclusively carrying the entire Fleet Satellite Communications System, Ultra High Frequency Follow On series and now MUOS.
A variety of Atlas-Centaur versions have been employed on the previous 21 Navy flights since 1978, all from Cape Canaveral.

The Air Force launch patch.
 
"It takes a special group of people to be in this business, and I am truly humbled to work among dedicated individuals who have exhibited a total focus on precision, a passion for the science of rocketry and space, and a deep commitment to our purpose," said Tory Bruno, ULA CEO.
This launch begins a 13-launch manifest for ULA in 2015, following a 14-flight schedule successfully executed last year.
"What ULA has accomplished (last) year, in support of our customers' missions, is nothing short of remarkable," said Bruno. "When you think about every detail – all of the science, all of the planning, all of the resources – that goes into a single launch, it is hard to believe that we successfully did it at a rate of about once a month, sometimes twice."
At 15,000 pounds, MUOS satellites are the heaviest Atlas-Centaur payloads ever launched.
The Launch Readiness Review was held Friday morning and gave concurrence to proceed with the planned Tuesday evening liftoff. Final closeouts of the vehicle compartments were underway Friday and Saturday.
The 206-foot-tall rocket, riding aboard its mobile launch platform, will be rolled out from the assembly building to the Complex 41 pad Monday morning.
Atlas clocks begin ticking at lunch-time Tuesday for the seven-hour countdown. Fueling starts about two hours before liftoff.
Weather forecasters are predicting a 60 percent chance of acceptable launch conditions. Cloud thickness is the primary worry. 

With five powerful solid rocket motors mounted to the first stage, the Atlas 5 will thunder skyward in its most energetic configuration, which has been employed only four times before to launch the first two MUOS satellites and to hurl NASA space probes to Jupiter and Pluto.
The Atlas 5 is a modular launcher that enables mission designers to mix and match the number of solids and various nose cone selections to meet the needs of a given payload. The highly sophisticated and hefty MUOS series takes all the power.
The spacecraft is packaged atop the rocket for a three-hour climb into its preliminary orbit, a highly elliptical dropoff point that requires three firings by the Centaur upper stage to achieve.
From there, controllers will spend about eight days maneuvering the craft into a circular geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the planet, then three days commanding the craft to spread its power-generating wings and unfurl two giant antennas on the ends of extension booms.
"This third MUOS launch is another major step toward achieving a fully operational MUOS end-to-end capability by 2016," said Navy Capt. Joseph Kan, the MUOS program manager.
At the heart of the MUOS satellite's communications payload are two gold mesh, umbrella-like antenna reflectors, one to provide the same type of UHF communications like previous Navy spacecraft and the other offering modernized capabilities that the new system will create.
Coverage to legacy users will transmit through a 17.7-foot-diameter reflector on the bottom of the MUOS craft and the advanced, multi-beam features of MUOS to significantly increase the transmission capacity over the Navy's previous satellites will use a large 46-foot reflector atop MUOS.
All U.S. military forces rely upon Navy satellites for Ultra High Frequency narrowband communications. UHF offers small, portable units that forces can carry into battle and the frequency enables communications in urban canyons and mountainous terrain, penetrating foliage and transmitting through bad weather.
"MUOS is a game changer in communications for our warfighters and will allow them to have high-fidelity voice conversations, networked team calls and data exchange, including video, with anyone connected to a secure terminal around the world," said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin. "The launch of MUOS 3 will increase our network coverage to about three-quarters of the globe."

Credit: Lockheed Martin
 
Each MUOS satellite has 16 times the capacity of the aging UHF satellite constellation.
What's more, the new satellites not only support the current user terminals in operation but also creates a new "rugged smartphone" network to provide 3G-like cellular telephone and data services across the globe.
"The Navy, in close collaboration with the Army, Air Force and our industry partners, is bringing the future of worldwide mobile satellite communications into reality for the United States and potentially allied nations," said Kan.
The MUOS craft were built on Lockheed Martin's A2100 satellite design used by dozens of previous communications spacecraft. All five MUOS craft are clones to each other, with four slated to be operational satellites in the constellation and one considered an on-orbit spare.
MUOS 4 is targeting a launch in August, followed by MUOS 5 next year.
"With the launch of the third satellite in the constellation, to be followed later in 2015 by the fourth, MUOS will be in place to provide pole-to-pole and global, secure communications for the warfighter," said Bombelyn.
See our earlier MUOS 3 coverage.
And see our Atlas archive for further information.

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Atlas V 551 with MUOS-3 mission

United Launch Alliance's Lyn Chassagne talks about the Atlas V 551 rocket and its payload of the MUOS-3 spacecraft.

Launch is currently set to take place at 7:43 p.m. EST on Jan. 20, 2015 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida.

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Патчики  

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Пошла трансляция.
http://www.ulalaunch.com/webcast.aspx

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Salo пишет:
At 15,000 pounds, MUOS satellites are the heaviest Atlas-Centaur payloads ever launched.

В твиттере пишут о 7.5 т.