AFSPC-11, EAGLE (ESPA Augmented Geostationary Laboratory Experiment): HTI-SpX, MYCROFT, CEASE-III-RR, ISAL, ARMOR - Atlas V 551 (AV-079) - CCAFS SLC-41 - 22:00 14.04.2018 - 02:41 15.04.2018 (UTC)

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 30 мин. назад

RP1 tanking complete. Pgo holding at 80%. #AFSPC11

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 39 мин. назад

Everything is looking good for tonight. Going to be a long night. #AFSPC11

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О трансляции:

на сайте ULA

next-launch-Atlas-V-AFSPC-11

или

на ТыТрубе

youtube.com/watch?v=YbOg_4rrJxc

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Напоминание

ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 17 мин. назад

Good morning launch fans! Overnight pics of the #AtlasV with AFSPC-11. Hands up if you'll be watching tonight's launch at 7:13pmEDT; live broadcast at 6:53pmEDT. http://bit.ly/av_afspc11 

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 6 мин. назад

Weather has not yet been updated by the @45thSpaceWing for tonight's #AtlasV launch of #afspc11. But it's current raining with thick clouds moving through the area. Still, we're ~8ish hrs from the opening of the launch window. @ulalaunch

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/14/on-the-pad-atlas-5-rocket-in-position-for-third-flight-of-2018/

On the pad: Atlas 5 rocket in position for third flight of 2018
April 14, 2018 | Stephen Clark

These photos captured on the eve of launch show a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket standing on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, ready for blastoff on the U.S. Air Force's AFSPC 11 mission with three satellites on-board.

Спойлер

Liftoff is set during a launch window Saturday that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday). The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, is shown in these photos Friday at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad.

The AFSPC 11 mission will be the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the third Atlas 5 launch of 2018.

A military communications satellite named CBAS, or Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, is the forward payload in the Atlas 5's upper shroud. A spacecraft named EAGLE, which contains several military experiments including a separating subsatellite named Mycroft, is in the aft position inside the Atlas 5 payload fairing.


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/14/launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-afspc-11-mission/

Launch timeline for Atlas 5's AFSPC 11 mission
April 14, 2018 | Stephen Clark

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to loft three military satellites for the U.S. Air Force on a mission codenamed AFSPC 11. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a six-hour flight to a near-geostationary orbit.

Спойлер

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, is set for liftoff during a launch window Saturday that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday).

The AFSPC 11 mission will be the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the third Atlas 5 launch of 2018.

A military communications satellite named CBAS, or Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, is the forward payload in the Atlas 5's upper shroud. A spacecraft named EAGLE, which contains several military experiments including a separating subsatellite named Mycroft, is in the aft position inside the Atlas 5 payload fairing.

The artist's concepts posted below show generic payload illustrations used on previous missions.

Read our mission preview story for details on the launch.



T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff


After igniting its RD-180 main engine at T-minus 2.7 seconds, the Atlas 5 rocket fires its five solid rocket boosters and rises away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, with approximately 2.6 million pounds of thrust.

T+0:00:34.4: Mach 1


The Atlas 5 rocket exceeds the speed of sound, flying on a launch azimuth of 89.9 degrees.

T+0:00:45.9: Max-Q


The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.

T+0:01:47.0: Jettison SRBs


Having burned out of propellant approximately 20 seconds earlier, the five spent Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters are jettisoned once dynamic pressure conditions are satisfied.

T+0:03:31.0: Payload Fairing Jettison


The Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing, made in Switzerland by Ruag Space, is jettisoned in a clamshell-like fashion once external heating levels drop below predetermined limits after climbing through the dense lower atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor deck that connected the payload fairing's structure to the Centaur upper stage is released five seconds after the shroud's jettison.

T+0:04:33.5: 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+0:04:39.5: 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+0:04:49.5: Centaur Ignition 1


The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and the AFSPC 11 payloads into an initial parking orbit.

T+0:10:50.7: Centaur Cutoff 1


The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a 12-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+0:22:57.4:  Centaur Ignition 2


Producing 22,900 pounds of thrust, the Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the payload into a highly elliptical transfer orbit from the parking altitude achieved earlier in the launch sequence. This burn lasts nearly six minutes.

T+0:28:46.3: Centaur Cutoff 2


The second Centaur firing places the AFSPC 11 payloads into an elliptical transfer orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles above Earth, beginning a five-hour coast period for the mission's final orbital adjustment maneuver.

T+5:34:46.2: Centaur Ignition 3


After a three-hour coast, the Centaur's RL10 engine reignites for a roughly two-and-a-half minute firing to raise the AFSPC 11 payloads' perigee, or orbital low point, and reduce its inclination to 0 degrees over the equator.

T+5:37:22.4: Centaur Cutoff 3


The powered phase of flight is concluded as the Centaur reaches the planned circular near-geostationary orbit at an altitude of approximately 24,233 miles (39,000 kilometers). The Centaur stage then begins re-orienting itself for deployment of the AFSPC 11 payloads.

T+6:57:24.3: Spacecraft Separation Window Closes


The window for deployment of the AFSPC 11 mission's two main payloads — the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM satellite and the EAGLE spacecraft — closes and the Atlas 5 mission ends.

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04/14/2018 20:43  Stephen Clark

The countdown has started for this evening's launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with three U.S. Air Force satellites.

Спойлер

The countdown sequence, nearly seven hours long, will include two built-in holds. A final poll during the second built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes will give authorization to begin the terminal countdown.

Liftoff is set for 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) at the opening of a 118-minute launch window.

The first tasks for the Atlas 5 launch team will involve powering on the rocket for pre-flight testing. Then the team will move into preparations on the Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant systems. A test of the Atlas 5's guidance system, first stage propulsion and hydraulic checks, internal battery testing, verification of the readiness of the rocket's GPS metric tracking system and a test of the launcher's S-band telemetry transmitters are also planned in the early stages of the countdown.

The launch team will be polled for approval to begin fueling the rocket during a pre-planned hold at T-minus 2 hours. Once the team gives the "go" for fueling, liquid oxygen will be pumped into the Centaur upper stage, followed by liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5 first stage. The step-by-step propellant loading procedure will conclude with super-cold liquid hydrogen fuel flowing into the Centaur.

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04/14/2018 21:57 Stephen Clark

A steering check of the RD-180 main engine's gimbal system has started. Once that test is complete, the launch crew at Complex 41 will remove the cover to the launch pad's flame duct.

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04/14/2018 22:22 Stephen Clark

Checks of the Atlas 5's GPS tracking antennas are complete.

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04/14/2018 22:35 Stephen Clark

Internal battery checks have been completed, and the flame duct cover and handrails have been removed on the mobile launch platform in preparation for launch.

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 5 мин. назад

The Atlas 5 launch countdown remains on track for liftoff at 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT) from Cape Canaveral. No technical or weather issues are currently being discussed by the launch team (Photo credit: @SFNAlex). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ...

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04/14/2018 22:50 Stephen Clark

Guidance and flight control tests are complete, and flight control countdown preps have started.

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04/14/2018 23:03 Stephen Clark

The latest weather briefing to the Atlas 5 launch team indicates there remains an 80 percent probability of favorable conditions at Cape Canaveral during this evening's launch window.

If the Atlas 5 is unable to launch today, weather worsens significantly tomorrow with a 90 percent chance of conditions violating the rocket's launch weather criteria as a cold front brings heavy thunderstorms through the area.

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04/14/2018 23:14 Stephen Clark

Atlas booster hydraulic preps are reported complete. Weather balloons are also being launched at Cape Canaveral to measure high-altitude conditions such as upper level winds.

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04/14/2018 23:26 Stephen Clark

Range holdfire checks are complete.

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 7 мин. назад

The Atlas 5 countdown is in a pre-planned hold at T-minus 2 hours as the United Launch Alliance team prepares to begin loading cryogenic propellants into the rocket. Liftoff remains set for 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ...

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 8 мин. назад

The Atlas 5 launch team has been polled. All stations confirmed "go" to proceed with the countdown and begin loading cryogenic liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen into the rocket. Launch from Cape Canaveral is set for 7:13pm EDT (2313 GMT) (Photo by @SFNAlex). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/13/av-079-mission-status-center/ ...


Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 7 мин. назад

T-2 Hours & COUNTING. Countdown clocks have resumed as #AtlasV enters cryogenic tanking procedures, starting with the pressurization of the Stage 1 RP-1 tank to an intermediate pressure, LOX cross-country line chilldown and Helium loading on both stages.

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04/15/2018 00:05 Stephen Clark

Liquid oxygen is now flowing into the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage at Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. About 4,150 gallons of the cryogenic propellant, chilled to minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit, will be burned by the Centaur's single Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine along with the liquid hydrogen to be loaded aboard later in the countdown.

Three burns by the Centaur's RL10 engine over a nearly six-hour span are planned on tonight's mission to inject the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM payload and the ESPA Augmented Geosynchronous Laboratory Experiment, or EAGLE, satellite into a near-geostationary orbit around 24,000 miles over the equator.

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Spaceflight101 LIVE‏ @S101_Live 33 сек. назад

Collision avoidance cut-outs restricting portions of today's nearly two-hour launch window are being submitted to the launch team at this time to ensure #AtlasV flies clear of any resident space objects.