GPS IIF-10 (SV-11) – Atlas V 401 (AV-055) – Канаверал SLC-41 – 15.07.2015 - 15:36 UTC

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/06/23/stacking-of-55th-atlas-5-rocket-starts/

Stacking of 55th Atlas 5 rocket starts       
Posted on June 23, 2015 by Justin Ray  

File image of Atlas first stage stacking. Credit: NASA-KSC
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — Beginning its fourth launch campaign of the year, the Atlas 5 rocket program has started stacking the vehicle that will boost a satellite 11,000 miles high for the Global Positioning System.
United Launch Alliance crews commenced the assembly work today at Cape Canaveral's Vertical Integration Facility for the upcoming mission carrying the Air Force's GPS 2F-10 navigation spacecraft.
Liftoff is targeted for July 15 during a morning window of 11:36 to 11:55 a.m. EDT (1536-1555 GMT).
The 189-foot-tall rocket will be flying in the basic, 401-variant that features an RD-180 main engine powering the first stage and an RL10 on the Centaur upper stage. The satellite will be enclosed in a 39-foot-long, 14-foot-diameter aluminum nose cone for atmospheric ascent.
The GPS 2F-10 is destined for the constellation 11,000 nautical miles high, inclined 55 degrees to either side of the equator. The network serves the U.S. military and civilian users around the globe for precision navigation and timing services.
This new satellite will take the place of the 11-year-old GPS 2R-11 craft launched aboard Delta 303 in March 2004 into Plane C, Slot 3 of the constellation. It moves to a backup role in the network once GPS 2F-10 enters service about a month after launch.
To make numerical room for the new addition to the constellation, the GPS 2A-26 launched aboard Delta 237 in July 1996 will be decommissioned following the GPS 2F-10 launch.
It will be the second GPS launch this year, following a Delta 4 deployment flight successfully carried out March 25. One more in 2015 is planned by Atlas in October.
This year has seen three Atlas 5 rockets fly so far, launching its heaviest payload ever — the Navy's MUOS 3 communications satellite — in January, NASA's MMS magnetospheric science experiment in March, valued at $1.1 billion, and the Air Force's X-37B spaceplane in May on another secretive voyage.
(See our Atlas archive.)

Atlas 5 launches so far this year. Credit: ULA, ULA, Alex Polimeni
 
The rocket has six more missions on the manifest for 2015, including launches of the GPS 2F-10 satellite, the MUOS 4 spacecraft, a classified NRO payload from Vandenberg, Mexico's Morelos 3 communications satellite, GPS 2F-11 and Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo-delivery craft for the International Space Station.
The stacking work for AV-055 began this morning as the bronze-colored, 106.6-foot-long, 12.5-foot-diameter first stage was pulled to the VIF doorway, erected upright and hoisted inside the building to be put aboard the mobile launcher platform.
Known as the Common Core Booster, the stage produces 860,000 pounds of thrust to lift the rocket off the ground. It burns kerosene fuel and supercold liquid oxygen during the initial minutes of flight.
In the coming days, the barrel-like interstage adapter will be added and then the Centaur upper stage will be lifted in place. Centaur is 41.5 feet in length, 10 feet in diameter and is fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
The payload is undergoing its own processing at a nearby Air Force facility. It will be delivered to the VIF and mated to the Atlas-Centaur in early July.
GPS 2F-10, a 3,400-pound, modernized navigation satellite made by Boeing, features improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance and a civil signal for commercial aviation. It is the 10th of 12 Block 2F satellites to launch.
The launch will be the 55th Atlas 5 rocket since 2002 and the 21st for the Air Force since 2007. It also marks the 70th GPS satellite launch since 1978, the 15th to use an Atlas rocket and the fourth Block 2F on Atlas. For United Launch Alliance, it is the company's 97th launch overall since 2006 and the sixth this year.

[che wi]

James Dean ‏@flatoday_jdean  · 1h ago

GPS IIF-10 spacecraft this morning moved to LC41's VIF for mate to @ulalaunch Atlas V rocket. Launch scheduled for 11:36am July 15.

[che wi]

[тавот]

che wi пишет:

А почему на нижнем патче GPS IIF красным крестом перечёркнут ? Как то не к добру это...

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/07/06/next-gps-satellite-moves-closer-to-launch-date/

Next GPS satellite moves closer to launch date       
Posted on July 6, 2015 by Justin Ray    

File photo of GPS hoisting atop Atlas. Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — Joining the payload with its ride to space, United Launch Alliance crews today placed the next Global Positioning System satellite atop an Atlas 5 rocket for blastoff July 15.
The Air Force's GPS 2F-10 navigation spacecraft will be boosted 11,000 nautical miles above the Earth in a three-hour launch sequence fr om Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Liftoff is scheduled during a window of 11:36 to 11:55 a.m. EDT.
It is the second of three GPS constellation replenishment flights planned in 2015. The first occurred on March 25 using a Delta 4 rocket. Atlas is slated to conduct another in October.
This will be the 10th Block 2F satellite sent into the GPS network since 2010. Boeing in building a dozen spacecraft of this kind featuring greater accuracy, more signals, better anti-jamming and longer design lives than previous models.
The GPS 2F-10 satellite is valued at $245 million.
Already shrouded in the launcher's 39-foot-tall, 14-foot-diameter aluminum nose cone, the spacecraft was hauled to the Atlas assembly building and hoisted atop the Centaur upper stage this morning.
The fully assembled rocket, standing 189 feet tall for launch, will be wheeled out to the Complex 41 pad aboard a mobile platform on July 14.
The satellite was flown to Florida earlier this year from Boeing's manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California. After arriving, it was taken to the Cape's Area 59 were GPS spacecraft undergo their pre-flight preps.
Final testing, loading of hydrazine maneuvering propellant and encapsulation in the rocket's nose cone was accomplished with the satellite.
Early today, a convoy hauled the 3,400-pound satellite north through Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration Facility wh ere the Atlas had been stacked over the past few weeks.
The launch will be the 70th for a GPS satellite since 1978, the 15th to use an Atlas rocket and the fourth Block 2F on Atlas.

[che wi]

Atlas V to Launch GPS IIF-10
http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-gps-iif10.aspx

 

Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch the GPS IIF-10 mission for the U.S. Air Force.

Date/Site/Launch Time: Wednesday, July 15, from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 18-minute launch window opens at 11:36 a.m. EDT.

Webcast: Live coverage will begin at 11:16 a.m. EDT.

Mission Description: GPS satellites serve and protect our warfighters by providing navigational assistance for U.S. military operations on land, at sea, and in the air. Civilian users around the world also use and depend on GPS for highly accurate time, location, and velocity information. GPS IIF-10 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.

Launch Notes: GPS IIF-10 marks the 55th Atlas V launch since the vehicle's inaugural launch in 2002 and the 27th flight of the 401 configuration. Every operational GPS mission has launched on a ULA or heritage rocket.

[che wi]

Брошюра:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Mission_Booklets/AV/av_gpsiif10_mob.pdf

[che wi]

Atlas V GPS IIF-10 Encapsulation

The Air Force's GPS IIF-10 satellite is encapsulated inside an Atlas V 4-meter payload fairing.

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/07/11/photos-gps-2f-10-readied-for-launch/

Photos: GPS 2F-10 readied for launch       
Posted on July 11, 2015 by Justin Ray

This collection of photographs shows the Air Force's Global Positioning System 2F-10 navigation satellite being encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 nose cone and hoisted atop the rocket for launch July 15.
Encapsulation occurred at Cape Canaveral's Area 59 processing facility for the GPS satellites on June 30. Stacking atop the Atlas occurred July 6 at the Vertical Integration Facility located at Complex 41.
Photos by United Launch Alliance
See our earlier GPS 2F-10 coverage.
Our Atlas archive.

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/07/12/preview-new-gps-satellite-heads-into-space-this-week/

Preview: New GPS navigation satellite heads into space this week       
Posted on July 12, 2015 by Justin Ray
       
CAPE CANAVERAL — The Global Positioning System, its precision navigation and timing services made possible by the U.S. Air Force and provided free-of-charge to the planet's civilian population, is a marvel of the modern world, and the orbiting network will receive a fresh satellite Wednesday.
The $245 million GPS 2F-10 satellite is scheduled for liftoff from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket during an available launch opportunity that extends 18 minutes from 11:36 to 11:54 a.m. EDT.
Weather forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance of meeting the launch rules.
"We stand ready to launch the 10th GPS 2F satellite," said Col. Michael Rokaw, Global Positioning Systems Directorate's Space Systems Division chief.
"It will add new capability and provide better accuracy to the users of GPS."
Rising away from Complex 41, the 189-foot-tall rocket will follow a 46-degree flight azimuth to the northeast en route to replace a retiring 19-year-old satellite in the GPS constellation.
The two-stage vehicle will deliver the 3,400-pound satellite into an 11,000 nautical mile circular orbit, tilted 55 degrees to the equator. It should take 3 hours and 23 minutes to get there.
Atlas 5 rockets will launch this satellite as well as the next two in October and January. Those three deployments will complete the Boeing-built GPS Block 2F satellite series that has offered greater accuracy, more signals, better anti-jamming and longer design lives.
 

Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets have launched 9 Block 2F GPS satellites. Photos by ULA

The 12-satellite Block 2F project began launching in 2010 to form the backbone of the GPS fleet for the next 15 years.
GPS 2F-1: May 27, 2010 (Delta 4) Plane B, Slot 2
 GPS 2F-2: July 16, 2011 (Delta 4) Plane D, Slot 2A
 GPS 2F-3: Oct. 4, 2012 (Delta 4) Plane A, Slot 1
 GPS 2F-4: May 15, 2013 (Atlas 5) Plane C, Slot 2
 GPS 2F-5: Feb. 20, 2014 (Delta 4) Plane A, Slot 3
 GPS 2F-6: May 16, 2014 (Delta 4) Plane D, Slot 4
 GPS 2F-7: Aug. 1, 2014 (Atlas 5) Plane F, Slot 3
 GPS 2F-8: Oct. 29, 2014 (Atlas 5) Plane E, Slot 1
 GPS 2F-9: March 25, 2015 (Delta 4) Plane B, Slot 1F
GPS 2F-10: Wednesday (Atlas 5) Plane C, Slot 3
 GPS 2F-11: October (Atlas 5)
 GPS 2F-12: January (Atlas 5)
Atlas will push through Mach 1 in 78 seconds and the region of maximum air pressure at 91 seconds, as the RD-180 main engine consumes kerosene fuel and supercold liquid oxygen.
Approaching booster engine cutoff four minutes into flight, the vehicle is burning propellants at a rate of 1,600 pounds per second, weighing only a quarter of what it did at liftoff before the first stage separates and the Centaur lights.
It is a lengthy first firing of Centaur that parallels the eastern seaboard and flies above the North Atlantic, putting the vehicle into a preliminary orbit of 11,000 by 90 nautical miles.
There, the rocket coasts for three hours – crossing Europe, the Middle East and Indian Ocean – before restarting the RL10C-1 main engine for 90 seconds south of Australia to circularize the orbit and enter the GPS constellation.
A detailed launch events timeline is available here.
It marks the 70th GPS satellite launch since 1978, the 15th to use an Atlas rocket and the fourth Block 2F on Atlas.
 

An artist's concept of GPS 2F satellite. Credit: Air Force

GPS 2F-10 will take Plane C, Slot 3 of the network in a shuffling plan that ultimately enhances the network. It should be checked out and operational in a month.
The satellite currently in that spot — GPS 2R-11, launched aboard Delta 303 in March 2004 — will be moved into a backup role, having outlived its 7.5-year design life. It was the 50th GPS satellite.
"(GPS 2R-11) will then be repositioned within the C-plane to maximize coverage and resiliency. (Plane-Slot) C-3 was chosen for 2F-10 to expand the coverage area of the new modernized signals (L2C and L5) that the GPS 2F fleet can provide," the Air Force says.
To make numerical room for the new addition to the constellation, the GPS 2A-26 launched aboard Delta 237 in July 1996 will be decommissioned following the GPS 2F-10 launch.
There are 31 satellites in operation today — three GPS 2As, 12 GPS 2Rs, 7 GPS 2R-Ms and 9 GPS 2Fs.
The continuous navigation signals emitted by GPS satellites allow users to find their position in latitude, longitude and altitude and measure time. A GPS user receiver measures the time delay for the signal to reach the receiver, which is the direct measure of the apparent range to the satellite.
Measurements collected simultaneously from four satellites are processed to solve for the three dimensions of position, velocity and time.
 

An artist's concept of the Atlas 5-401 vehicle. Credit: ULA

The launch will be the 55th Atlas 5 rocket since 2002 and the 21st for the Air Force since 2007. For United Launch Alliance, it is the company's 97th launch overall since 2006 and the sixth this year.
The rocket will be flying in its 401-configuration, which is powered by the RD-180 main engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen on the first stage and an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen upper stage. The payload is shrouded in an aluminum fairing 14 feet in diameter and 39 feet long.
As the most-used Atlas 5 variant, the 401 has flown on 26 previous missions. It will mark the 61st flight of the RD-180 engine, the 459th production RL10 engine to be launched and the fourth RL10C-1.
Preparing the Atlas-Centaur vehicle for this mission will have lasted a mere 21 days from the start of stacking through Tuesday's rollout to the launch pad, 22 days through Wednesday's launch. The previous speediest campaign was 26 days from stacking through launch of the GPS 2F-8 satellite last October.
"This is the shortest span we've ever flown for an Atlas 5. That's been enabled through a number of significant continuous improvement activities that we've been working over the last three or four years. The term for that is our Launch Span Time Reduction Initiative," said Laura Maginnis, United Launch Alliance's mission management deputy director.

See our earlier GPS 2F-10 coverage.
Our Atlas archive.

[Space Alien]

ULA ‏@ulalaunch
The #AtlasV with #GPSIIF10 rolling to the launch pad at SLC-41.

[che wi]

InsideKSC ‏@InsideKSC  8m ago

An @ulalaunch Atlas V with #GPSIIF10 has rolled out from the VIF to its seaside launch pad at CCAFS SLC-41 for launch NET 11:36 a.m. Wed.

[che wi]

[che wi]

1 час до пуска.

[Iva]

Показывать пуск будут?
Где можно посмотреть?

[che wi]

Iva пишет:
Где можно посмотреть?

http://www.ulalaunch.com/webcast.aspx
http://original.livestream.com/spaceflightnow

[Iva]

che wi,
Спасибо!

[che wi]

Немного статистики:

- The 637th launch for Atlas program since 1957
- The 343rd Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
- The 226th mission of a Centaur upper stage
- The 203rd use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
- The 45th Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral
- The 459th production RL10 engine to be launched
- The 4th RL10C-1 engine launched
- The 61st flight of the RD-180 main engine
- The 55th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
- The 21st Air Force mission for an Atlas 5
- The 84th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
- The 97th United Launch Alliance flight overall
- The 65th United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral
- The 47th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
- The 36th 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
- The 27th Atlas 5 to fly in the 401 configuration
- The 70th GPS satellite to launch
- The 49th Boeing-built GPS satellite
- The 10th GPS Block 2F satellite
- The 15th GPS launch on an Atlas rocket
- The 4th GPS 2F on an Atlas 5
- The 4th Atlas 5 launch of 2015

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/07/14/av-055-journal/

[che wi]

Пошла трансляция.

[che wi]