Morelos 3 (Mexsat-2) - Atlas V 421 (AV-059) - Канаверал SLC-41 - 02.10.2015 10:28 UTC

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http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/09/14/commercial-atlas-5-rocket-stacking-begins-for-mexican-launch/

Commercial Atlas 5 rocket stacking begins for Mexican launch       
Posted on September 14, 2015 by Justin Ray


File photo. Credit: NASA-KSC
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — Assembly of a 19-story Atlas rocket started today for a commercial launch next month to aid Mexico's telecommunications reform aimed at economic growth and the betterment of its societal welfare.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket began to take shape at the Vertical Integration Facility, located adjacent to the pad at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.
Stacking kicked off less than two weeks after the last Atlas launch, which occurred Sept. 2 to successfully deliver a U.S. Navy mobile communications satellite into orbit.
The predawn launch of the Morelos 3 geosynchronous mobile communications satellite is targeted for Oct. 2 during a 20-minute window running from 6:08 to 6:28 a.m. EDT (1008-1028 GMT).
Morelos 3 completes the Mexican Satellite System (MEXSAT) to bring broadband communications to remote areas of the country.
"Mexico is performing significant investments in a satellite system infrastructure project called the MEXSAT. The reform contemplates its role as one of the essential instruments to boost the development of telecommunications in benefit of all Mexicans," said Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico's minister of communications and transportation.
"This administration knows Mexico needs a solid, long-term satellite public policy with modern technologies and strong social orientation. This is precisely what this (MEXSAT) program is about."
The $1.6 billion MEXSAT program hasn't unfolded cleanly, however. A duplicate spacecraft to Morelos 3, dubbed the Centenario satellite, was destroyed in May by the failed launch of a Russian Proton rocket.
Boeing built both geomobile satellites in El Segundo, California, to provide voice, data relay and Internet connectivity.
The system will assist disaster relief, emergency services, telemedicine, rural education and government agency operations.
"The new MEXSAT system...will provide communications services to remote communities with difficult access, reducing the digital divide," said Esparza.
The first element of the MEXSAT project was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket in 2012 to provide video services. It is a small, Orbital ATK-built satellite.
The stacking work for AV-059 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, two strap-on boosters will be added, along with the barrel-like interstage adapter and the Centaur upper stage. 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 in nearby Titusville at the Astrotech facility. It will be delivered to the VIF and mated to the Atlas-Centaur in late September.
The rocket, delivering 1.5 million pounds of liftoff thrust, will be flying in the 421-variant that features an RD-180 main engine powering the first stage, a pair of strap-on solid-fuel boosters and an RL10 on the Centaur upper stage. The satellite will be enclosed in a 14-foot-diameter aluminum nose cone for atmospheric ascent.
Morelos 3 is destined for geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles high.
The launch will be the 57th Atlas 5 rocket since 2002 and its 12th commercial flight. For United Launch Alliance, it is the company's 100th launch overall since 2006 and the ninth this year.

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Atlas V to Launch Morelos-3
http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-morelos3.aspx

Rocket/Payload: An Atlas V 421 will launch the Morelos-3 mission for Mexico's Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (Ministry of Communications and Transportation). The United Launch Alliance Atlas V is provided by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services.

Date/Site/Launch Time: Friday, Oct. 2, 2015, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch window is 6:08–6:28 a.m.EDT

Mission Description: Morelos-3 will be part of the Mexsat constellation of satellites owned by Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes and operated by Telecomunicaciones de Mexico that delivers advanced telecommunications throughout Mexico. The Mexsat program provides secure communications for Mexico's national security needs in addition to providing communications to rural zones, as a complement to other existing networks. These satellite communication services include education and health programs, voice, data, video, and internet services.

Launch Notes: Morelos-3 will be the 57th Atlas V launch since the vehicle's inaugural mission in 2002 and the fifth in the 421 configuration.

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/09/25/mexican-satellite-put-aboard-atlas-5-rocket-for-launch/

Mexican communications satellite put aboard Atlas 5 rocket for launch       
Posted on September 25, 2015 by Justin Ray

Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — A 12,000-pound Mexican mobile communications satellite was hoisted atop its Atlas 5 rocket today as crews finished assembling the vehicle for United Launch Alliance's 100th liftoff next week.
The Friday, Oct. 2 launch will deliver into a high-perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit the Morelos 3 spacecraft on its way to a parking spot 22,300 miles above Earth.
The craft is designed to provide 3G+ cellular voice and data services to Mexican military forces, emergency responders, rural educators and hospitals in remote parts of the country.
Boeing built the satellite for the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes of Mexico. It carries a 72-foot-diameter unfurlable antenna to be expanded once in space.
The Morelos 3 spacecraft is tucked inside a 14-foot-diameter, 42-foot-long aluminum nose cone for the ascent through the atmosphere. The shrouded satellite was hauled overnight from nearby Titusville to the Atlas assembly building at Complex 41 for the lift and mate process to top off the rocket at 195 feet tall.
It will be a three-hour launch to the satellite's preliminary orbit, a highly elliptical dropoff point that features two firings by the Centaur upper stage separated by a two-and-a-half hour coast.
The target orbit stretches 2,979 by 22,237 statute miles at an inclination of 27.0 degrees.
The predawn liftoff on Oct. 2 is scheduled during a window of 6:08 to 6:28 a.m. EDT.
It will be the 100th flight for United Launch Alliance and the firm's 16th purely commercial deployment mission. ULA is performing the flight for Atlas-marketer Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services.

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https://twitter.com/ulalaunch

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http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/10/01/av-059-journal/
 

0908 GMT (5:08 a.m. EDT)
 Now 60 minutes fr om liftoff, weather permitting. Fueling of the Atlas rocket with cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen is complete as the countdown continues as planned for a liftoff at 6:08:30 a.m. EDT (1008:30 GMT).  
 
0856 GMT (4:56 a.m. EDT)
 The liquid hydrogen tank in the Centaur upper stage just reached the 96 percent level. Topping is now beginning.
 
0855 GMT (4:55 a.m. EDT)
 Fast-filling of the first stage liquid oxygen tank has been completed. Topping mode is now underway.
 
0847 GMT (4:47 a.m. EDT)
 The first stage liquid oxygen has reached the 80 percent level.
 
0846 GMT (4:46 a.m. EDT)
 Centaur's liquid hydrogen tank is 30 percent full. The cryogenic propellant will be consumed with liquid oxygen by the stage's Aerojet Rocketdyne-made RL10 engine.
 
0838 GMT (4:38 a.m. EDT)
 Launch of the Atlas 5 rocket is just 90 minutes away. Watching showers moving down the coastline to the Cape, however.
If you are heading out to the beach or Port Canaveral to watch the launch, sign up for our Twitter feed to get occasional countdown updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
And if you are need tips on picking a good viewing spot, check out this authoritative guide on wh ere to go.
 
0837 GMT (4:37 a.m. EDT)
 Chilldown of the liquid hydrogen system has been accomplished. The launch team has received the "go" to begin filling the Centaur upper stage with the supercold fuel.
 
0833 GMT (5:33 a.m. EDT)
 Half of the Atlas liquid oxygen tank has been filled so far.
 
0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT)
 Upper stage liquid oxygen has reached flight level.
 
0826 GMT (8:26 a.m. EDT)
 First stage liquid oxygen tank is 30 percent full thus far. Chilled to Minus-298 degrees F, the liquid oxygen will be used with RP-1 kerosene by the RD-180 main engine on the first stage during the initial four-and-a-half minutes of flight today. The 25,000 gallons of RP-1 were loaded into the rocket last night.
 
0824 GMT (4:24 a.m. EDT)
 The Centaur liquid oxygen tank reached the 96 percent level. The topping off process is starting now.
 
0815 GMT (4:15 a.m. EDT)
 The first stage liquid oxygen flow rate is switching from slow-fill to fast-fill mode.
 
0813 GMT (4:13 a.m. EDT)
 The chilldown conditioning of liquid hydrogen propellant lines at Complex 41 is starting to prepare the plumbing for transferring the Minus-423 degree F fuel into the rocket. The Centaur holds about 12,700 gallons of the cryogenic propellant.
 
0812 GMT (4:12 a.m. EDT)
 Now three-quarters full on Centaur liquid oxygen.
 
0809 GMT (4:09 a.m. EDT)
 Sixty percent of the Centaur liquid oxygen tank has been filled so far.
 
0806 GMT (4:06 a.m. EDT)
 The chilldown conditioning of the systems for the first stage liquid oxygen tank have been completed. And a "go" has been given to begin pumping supercold liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5's first stage.
The Common Core Booster stage's liquid oxygen tank is the largest tank to be filled today. It holds 49,000 gallons of cryogenic oxidizer for the RD-180 main engine.
 
0800 GMT (4:00 a.m. EDT)
 The Centaur liquid oxygen tank has reached the 20 percent mark.
 
0752 GMT (3:52 a.m. EDT)
 Filling of the Centaur upper stage with about 4,150 gallons of liquid oxygen has begun at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 following the thermal conditioning of the transfer pipes.
The liquid oxygen -- chilled to Minus-298 degrees F -- will be consumed during the launch by the Centaur's single RL10 engine along with liquid hydrogen to be pumped into the stage a little later in the countdown. The Centaur will provide the thrust to put Morelos 3 into the proper orbit.
 
0745 GMT (3:45 a.m. EDT)
 The Centaur liquid oxygen pad storage area has been prepped. The next step is conditioning the transfer lines, which is now beginning to prepare the plumbing for flowing the cryogenic oxidizer.
 
0738 GMT (3:38 a.m. EDT)
 T-minus 2 hours and counting! The launch countdown is continuing on schedule for today's flight of the Atlas 5 rocket to deploy the Morelos 3 satellite.
Clocks have one more built-in hold planned at T-minus 4 minutes. During that pause the final "go" for launch will be given. All remains targeted for liftoff at 6:08:30 a.m. EDT (1008:30 GMT) from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.
In the next couple of minutes, chilldown thermal conditioning of the mobile launch platform upon which the rocket stands will begin. This is meant to ease the shock on equipment when supercold cryogenic propellants start flowing into the rocket.
 
0736 GMT (3:36 a.m. EDT)
 After briefing his team on procedures before entering into the final two hours of the countdown, the launch conductor at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center just held a pre-fueling readiness poll. All console operators reported a "ready" status.
The ULA launch director also voiced approval for proceeding with the countdown.
Loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the Atlas 5 rocket will be getting underway a short time from now.
 
0725 GMT (3:25 a.m. EDT)
 All weather rules are now GO.
 
0723 GMT (3:23 a.m. EDT)
 A reminder that if you will be away from your computer but would like to receive countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text messages on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
 
0710 GMT (3:10 a.m. EDT)
 The early portion of the countdown has been going well. There are no technical issues being reported in the count and activities are on schedule. Crews just departed the launch pad following completion of all hands-on work this morning.
 
0708 GMT (3:08 a.m. EDT)
 T-minus 2 hours and holding. The countdown has just entered the first of two planned holds over the course of the day that will lead to the 6:08:30 a.m. EDT (1008:30 GMT) launch of the Atlas rocket. The holds give the team some margin in the countdown timeline to deal with technical issues or any work that is running behind. This hold will last for 30 minutes. The final hold is scheduled to occur at T-minus 4 minutes.
 
0655 GMT (2:55 a.m. EDT)
 In the pre-fueling weather briefing to mission managers, odds for the launch window stand at 70 percent favorable. The main concern that meteorologists are watching is cumulus clouds.
Right now, showers just east of the launch pad are drifting northward over the Atlantic. This has caused the cumulus cloud rule to go RED for the time being.
The launch time outlook calls for scattered low- and high-level clouds, offshore showers, good visibility, northerly winds of 5 gusting to 10 knots and a temperature of 77 degrees F.
 
0248 GMT (10:48 p.m. EDT Thurs.)
 The countdown has begun for launch of the Atlas 5 rocket to haul Mexico's Morelos 3 mobile communications satellite into orbit.
Clocks are picking up the seven-hour sequence of work that will prepare the booster, payload and ground systems for blastoff at 6:08:30 a.m. EDT (1008:30 GMT).
The launch team will begin powering up the rocket to commence standard pre-flight tests. Over the subsequent few hours, final preps for the Centaur's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen systems will be performed, along with a test of the rocket's guidance system and the first stage propulsion and hydraulic preps, internal battery checks and testing of the GPS metric tracking system used to follow the rocket as it flies downrange, plus a test of the S-band telemetry relay system.
A planned hold begins when the count reaches T-minus 120 minutes. Near the end of the hold, the team will be polled to verify all is in readiness to start fueling the rocket for launch.
Supercold liquid oxygen begins flowing into the Centaur upper stage, followed by the first stage filling. Liquid hydrogen fuel loading for Centaur will be completed a short time later.
A final hold is scheduled at the T-minus 4 minute mark. That pause will give everyone a chance to finish any late work and assess the status of the rocket, payload, Range and weather before proceeding into the last moments of the countdown.
The launch window extends 20 minutes to 6:28 a.m. EDT (1028 GMT).

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http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Mission_Booklets/AV/av_morelos3_mob.pdf

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Начало трансляции через 23 минуты.
http://www.ulalaunch.com/webcast.aspx

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немного статистики:

- The 639th launch for Atlas program since 1957
- The 345th Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
- The 228th mission of a Centaur upper stage
- The 205th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
- The 47th Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral
- The 461st production RL10 engine to be launched
- The 6th RL10C-1 engine launched
- The 63rd flight of the RD-180 main engine
- The 57th launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
- The 12th commercial mission for an Atlas 5
- The 87th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
- The 100th United Launch Alliance flight overall
- The 49th Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
- The 37th 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
- The 5th Atlas 5 to fly in the 421 configuration
- The 3rd MEXSAT program launch
- The 1st MEXSAT launch on Atlas
- The 1st Mexican satellite on Atlas 5
- The 6th Atlas 5 launch of 2015

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- 10 мин

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Остановили отсчет

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James Dean ‏@flatoday_jdean  1m ago

ULA reports #Morelos3 countdown stopped due to "fouled Range status."

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ULA ‏@ulalaunch  1m ago

Recycling the launch clock to T-4 mins and holding. New launch time is 6:28 a.m. EDT. #AtlasV #Morelos3 #MexSat

[Lanista]

Опять какое-то судно заплыло в закрытую зону.

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/10/01/av-059-journal/
 

1012 GMT (6:12 a.m. EDT)
 The launch team is recycling systems back to the status at T-minus 4 minutes and holding.  
 
1010 GMT (6:10 a.m. EDT)
 NEW LAUNCH TIME. Liftoff has been retargeted for the end of the window at 6:28 a.m. EDT (1028 GMT).
 
1009 GMT (6:09 a.m. EDT)
 Today's available launch opportunity of Morelos 3 extends to 6:28 a.m. EDT (1028 GMT).
 
1007 GMT (6:07 a.m. EDT)
 HOLD due to Range problem! Clock has stopped at T-minus 51 seconds.