NROL-76 – Falcon 9 – Кеннеди LC-39A – 01.05.2017 11:15 UTC

[Старый]

Безумный Шляпник пишет:
В МКС целятся?  

Или в Х-37В?  :oops:

[tnt22]

NRO‏Подлинная учетная запись @NatReconOfc 57 мин. назад

#NROL76 will carry a classified payload designed, built and operated by @NatReconOfc. @SpaceX @45thSpaceWing

[tnt22]

Старый пишет:
Или в Х-37В?  :oops:  

У Х-37В наклонение по последним наблюдениям 38.0°...

[Старый]

tnt22 пишет:

Старый пишет:
Или в Х-37В?  :oops:  

У Х-37В наклонение по последним наблюдениям 38.0 ° ...

Жаль.  
 Ну тогда какой-нибудь очередной Орбитал Экспресс. 

[Безумный Шляпник]

Не может ли внутри ГО помимо спутника сидеть еще и дополнительный РБ?

[Старый]

Безумный Шляпник пишет:
Не может ли внутри ГО помимо спутника сидеть еще и дополнительный РБ?

Всё может быть. Но зачем тогда 50 градусов?

[tnt22]

SpaceXUpdates‏ @SpaceXUpdates 17 мин. назад

Falcon 9 on it's way to vertical.

[tnt22]

SpaceXUpdates‏ @SpaceXUpdates 5 мин. назад

Falcon 9 now fully vertical on 39A for tomorrows launch of NROL-76.

[Georgea]

tnt22 пишет:
Falcon 9 on it's way to vertical.

Непонятно. На фото обтекатель уже установлен, а выше было фото, где спутник транспортируют вертикально. Дык можно или нет спутник класть на бок?

[tnt22]

[Boris Mekler]

Georgea пишет:
Непонятно. На фото обтекатель уже установлен, а выше было фото, где спутник транспортируют вертикально. Дык можно или нет спутник класть на бок?

У Falcon 9 нет возможности вертикальной интеграции, так что этот спутник на бок класть можно. Те которые нельзя - Falcon 9 запускать (пока) не может.

[tnt22]

Прогноз погоды L-1
Falcon 9 L-1 Launch Forecast
 

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/29/falcon-9-rocket-rolled-to-launch-pad-with-classified-payload/

Falcon 9 rocket rolled to launch pad with classified payload
April 29, 2017 Stephen Clark

Спойлер

The Falcon 9 rocket slated to launch on SpaceX's first national security mission is seen on launch pad 39A on Saturday morning. Credit: Spaceflight Now

[свернуть]

Working overnight on Florida's Space Coast, SpaceX technicians transferred a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket fr om the company's commercial hangar a quarter-mile up the ramp to launch pad 39A early Saturday, positioning the kerosene-fueled booster for liftoff Sunday with a classified payload for the U.S. government's National Reconnaissance Office.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) all-new Falcon 9 rocket was lifted upright by a hydraulic erector mechanism shortly after 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) Saturday to begin final checkouts before launch.

Спойлер

The NRO has released scant details on what will ride into space on top of the Falcon 9 rocket Sunday, other than disclosing via Twitter on Friday that the payload was designed, built and will be operated by the organization, which is responsible for the U.S. government's spy satellites.

Codenamed NROL-76, the mission will be SpaceX's first dedicated national security flight, a significant step toward the company's goal of winning a larger share of lucrative launch contracts for the U.S. government's pricey, sensitive military and intelligence-gathering spacecraft.

The mission has a two-hour launch window opening at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Sunday. The weather outlook is favorable, with U.S. Air Force forecasters predicting an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.

A backup launch opportunity is available Monday.


The National Reconnaissance Office released this image Friday showing the Falcon 9 rocket's payload fairing being transferred from a processing facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the SpaceX hangar at pad 39A. Credit: NRO

The identity, purpose and target orbit of the payload mounted on top of the Falcon 9 rocket remain secret.

Hazard notices released to pilots and sailors indicate the launcher will turn northeast after lifting off Sunday, ruling out a geostationary orbit destination favored by the NRO's eavesdropping signals intelligence satellites.

The northeasterly trajectory likely means the mission will put its payload in a low-altitude orbit a few hundred miles above Earth, or inject a satellite into a higher Molniya-type orbit, an elliptical egg-shaped loop around Earth that stretches as high as 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers).

If the mission aims for a low orbit, the payload is likely a new type of NRO spacecraft, introducing fresh capability into the spy agency's satellite fleet or proving out new technologies and sensors that could be used on future missions. If the higher Molniya orbit is wh ere the Falcon 9 rocket is heading, SpaceX could be carrying a new relay satellite to pass high-resolution surveillance imagery from ground-pointing orbiting telescopes to intelligence analysts in nearly real-time.

See our earlier story for more information on the potential missions.

The NRO awarded the NROL-76 launch contract to SpaceX in a sole-source agreement, bypassing a competition with other launch providers like United Launch Alliance. The NRO first referenced a launch contract with SpaceX in 2013 during a congressional hearing — before the Falcon 9 rocket was certified by the Air Force to haul national security satellites — but the secretive agency did not publicly identify the mission codename and schedule for the launch until last year.

Most NRO missions launch on ULA's Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets, and SpaceX will be eligible to win more NRO satellite deployment contracts later this year. The Air Force is managing head-to-head competitions between ULA and SpaceX for the rights to national security launches, and six upcoming flights with NRO payloads are to be competed in the coming months, along with seven Air Force missions.

SpaceX already won contracts to launch two GPS navigation satellites under the Air Force's new competitive launch procurement strategy.


The National Reconnaissance Office has released its mission patch for Sunday's launch. The NROL-76 mission patch "depicts Lewis & Clark heading into the great unknown to discover and explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory," the NRO said. Credit: NRO

Saturday's rollout came four days after SpaceX engineers conducted a customary preflight "static fire" test of the Falcon 9 rocket at pad 39A. The hotfire test Tuesday occurred without the NROL-76 payload aboard the launcher, a SpaceX policy change introduced after a Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a similar test in September 2016, destroying an Israeli-owned communications satellite.

After Tuesday's static fire test, the Falcon 9 rocket returned to the hangar at the southern edge of pad 39A, a historic launch complex that was the departure point for all of NASA's Apollo moon landing missions and most space shuttle flights. SpaceX now leases the facility from NASA.

Crews attached the Falcon 9 rocket with its top secret payload over the last few days.

SpaceX's launch team will report to work before dawn Sunday to begin going through the Falcon 9's preflight checklist.

Assuming launch remains on track for the opening of Sunday's launch window, the Falcon 9 launch conductor will poll the launch team for a "go" for fueling of the two-stage rocket at 5:47 a.m. EDT (0947 GMT), followed by the start of tanking with RP-1 kerosene fuel around three minutes later.

Super-chilled liquid oxygen propellant, cooled to near its freezing point, will begin pumping into the Falcon 9 at T-minus 45 minutes.

The computer-controlled countdown will prep the rocket's nine Merlin 1D main engines for ignition, transition the Falcon 9 to internal battery power, and pressurize the booster's propellant tanks in the last 10 minutes of the countdown.

Hold-down clamps will release the Falcon 9 rocket once the vehicle's computer runs the Merlin engines through a health check.

Riding 1.7 million pounds of thrust, the launcher will reach supersonic speed around a minute after liftoff, rocketing into the stratosphere before switching off the nine first stage engines at T+plus 2 minutes, 17 seconds. Three seconds later, pneumatic pushers will separate the first and second stage of the Falcon 9, and the upper stage's single Merlin engine will fire at T+plus 2 minutes, 28 seconds.

The clamshell-like structure covering the clandestine NROL-76 payload will jettison at T+plus 2 minutes, 48 seconds, and then SpaceX's webcast will cease coverage of the upper stage's progress, with the rest of the ascent under a news blackout at the request of the NRO.

SpaceX is expected to continue its live video coverage of the first stage's return to a landing site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Soaring above the Atlantic Ocean, the 15-story booster will reignite some of its engines to steer back toward Florida, deploy grid fins for stability, and then extend four landing legs just before making a propulsive rocket-assisted vertical touchdown at Landing Zone 1, around 9 miles (15 kilometers) south of launch pad 39A.

If successful, the landing will be the fourth time SpaceX has recovered one of its rockets intact at Cape Canaveral for refurbishment and potential reuse. The company has landed a Falcon 9 first stage booster nine times overall, a tally that includes returns at sea.

Touchdown at Landing Zone 1 is scheduled for T+plus 8 minutes, 46 seconds.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Dr Marco Langbroek‏ @Marco_Langbroek 30 мин. назад

For the moment, I go for a ~51 degree inclined LEO orbit for NROL-76: https://sattrackcam.blogspot.nl/2017/04/what-is-nrol-76-and-what-orbit-wil-it.html ... But I could be completely wrong @SSC_NL

https://sattrackcam.blogspot.ru/2017/04/what-is-nrol-76-and-what-orbit-wil-it.html

Saturday, 29 April 2017

What is NROL-76 and what orbit wil it be launched into?
 
Tomorrow, 30 April 2017, with (from the area warnings) a three-hour launch window starting at 10:55 UT, SpaceX will launch a classified satellite for the NRO. The launch is designated NROL-76 and will happen from launchpad 39A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The press-kit is here.

There has been some speculation on what this launch might be and what orbit it will go into.

Спойлер

Considering the latter, Ted Molczan discussed three options in two separate SeeSat-L posts (here and here): a launch into HEO (Molniya) orbit of a new SDS satellite; a launch into GEO of a new NEMESIS; or a launch into LEO, perhaps a new version of the ill-fated USA 193 launch from 2006.

Спойлер

The launch azimuth deduced from the Area Warnings that appeared after Ted posted his initial speculation on the payload, narrowed the options down to two: HEO or LEO. To me, the Area Warnings strongly suggest the second option: a launch into LEO, perhaps a USA 193 follow-up.
 
The Maritime Area Warnings published for the launch show two hazard zones: one near Cape Canaveral, and one, with a window opening four-and-a-half hours later than the launch window, in the Indian Ocean stretching from south of Madagascar to north of Kerguelen:

NAVAREA IV 342/17 (1 of 1) ( (WWNWSFOLDER) )

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 301055Z TO 301354Z APR,
ALTERNATE 011055Z TO 011354Z MAY
IN AREA BOUND BY
28-39N 080-39W, 30-34N 078-45W,
31-32N 077-34W, 31-26N 077-13W,
31-06N 077-11W, 30-47N 077-32W,
30-08N 078-26W, 28-29N 080-21W,
28-26N 080-27W, 28-25N 080-35W,
28-25N 080-38W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 011454Z MAY 17.//

Authority: EASTERN RANGE 211830Z APR 17.

Date: 271553Z APR 17
Cancel: 01145400 May 17


HYDROPAC 1447/17 (1 of 1) ( (WWNWSFOLDER) )

SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 02, DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 301438Z TO 301715Z APR,
ALTERNATE 011438Z TO 011715Z MAY
IN AREA BOUND BY
30-31S 038-04E, 30-40S 040-19E,
40-11S 060-06E, 47-31S 080-01E,
48-56S 079-46E, 49-00S 075-21E,
47-12S 063-50E, 41-51S 049-33E,
35-39S 040-15E, 32-07S 037-37E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 011815Z MAY 17.//

Authority: EASTERN RANGE 211827Z APR 17.

Date: 250231Z APR 17
Cancel: 01181500 May 17

I have put them in maps for your convenience:

click map to enlarge [/I][/SIZE]

The first area points to a launch azimuth of 43-45 degrees, indicating (if no dog-leg is involved) launch into an orbital inclination of 50-51 degrees as can be seen in the first map I prepared, above. This would at first sight exclude launch into HEO/Molniya orbit at inclination 63.4 degrees, unless of course a dog-leg manoeuvre is involved, which is possible.

click map to enlarge [/I][/SIZE]

The second area, in the Indian Ocean, points to the de-orbit of the upper stage about 4.5 hours after launch and actually matches a launch into an ~51 degree inclined LEO orbit as well.
 
In the map below, I have printed an estimated Low Earth orbit for the upper stage of the launch, based on the 2006 USA 193 orbit in terms of apogee and perigee, but with the orbital inclination changed to 51 degrees. About 2.4 orbits after launch, near 14:38 UT when the hazard warning window opens, the stage would be over Africa on its way to the hazard area, which has a position and curvature matching the trajectory (given the uncertainties in my orbit estimate) close enough, in my opinion, to accept this potential scenario of launch into an approximately 51 degree inclined, about 355 x 375 km orbit, or something similar to that:

click map to enlarge [/I][/SIZE]

One has to wonder though why the de-orbit is 2.5 revolutions after launch, and not simply during the second part of the first revolution. Perhaps some experiments will be done with the stage? Or does it deliver additional (small) payloads perhaps? Your guess is as good as mine.

In terms of the payload itself, Ted Molczan has posted some interesting info to SeeSat-L (http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Apr-2017/0117.html) suggesting the payload is based on Boeing's commercial, completely electrical thrust BSS-702SP bus.

The purpose of the payload(s?) is completely unclear at the moment. Radar satellites such as Lacrosse/ONYX were previously launched into 57-58 degree inclined orbits or their retrograde 123 degree equivalent (FIA/TOPAZ). Optical reconnaissance satellites such as KH-11 are launched in 97 degree inclined sun-synchronous orbits. NOSS (INTRUDER) SIGINT duo's are launched into 63.4 degree inclined stable perigee orbits. If this payload ends up in a 51 degree orbit, this is new.

There is a possibility that, while initially launched and ins erted in to a 51 degree orbit (a launch trajectory with which SpaceX is familiar from their CRS launches to the ISS), the payload next manoeuvres into a 58 degree or even 63.4 degree orbit on its own, using its electrical thrusters.
 
It will be interesting to see what orbit the object or objects eventually will be found in. It is likely it will be designated "USA 276".
 
If the 51-degree orbital inclination scenario is correct, observers in the Northern hemisphere will, unfortunately for me, not have visual sighting opportunities after launch: optical detection will rest on the shoulders of Southern hemisphere observers.

[свернуть]

[свернуть]

[che wi]

Stephen C. Smith‏ @SpaceKSCBlog · 24 minutes ago

I spy with my @SpaceX eye ...

[tnt22]

О трансляции[TH]
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[tnt22]

04/29/2017 19:10
We have posted a time lapse video of the Falcon 9 rocket being raised vertical this morning.

[Georgea]

Boris Mekler пишет:
У Falcon 9 нет возможности вертикальной интеграции, так что этот спутник на бок класть можно. Те которые нельзя - Falcon 9 запускать (пока) не может.

Тогда зачем спутник везли стоймя?

[Boris Mekler]

Georgea пишет:

Boris Mekler пишет:
У Falcon 9 нет возможности вертикальной интеграции, так что этот спутник на бок класть можно. Те которые нельзя - Falcon 9 запускать (пока) не может.

Тогда зачем спутник везли стоймя?

Скорее всего так им было удобнее, вот и всё. Может адаптер ПН + ПН + ГО собирают вертикально, привозят в в МИК, там кладут на бок и привинчивают к ракете.

[Georgea]

Boris Mekler пишет:

Georgea пишет:

Boris Mekler пишет:
У Falcon 9 нет возможности вертикальной интеграции, так что этот спутник на бок класть можно. Те которые нельзя - Falcon 9 запускать (пока) не может.

Тогда зачем спутник везли стоймя?

Скорее всего так им было удобнее, вот и всё. Может адаптер ПН + ПН + ГО собирают вертикально, привозят в в МИК, там кладут на бок и привинчивают к ракете.

Просто я никогда раньше не видел вертикально транспортируемого спутника в обтекателе...