Galileo-FOC FM19 (Tara), Galileo-FOC FM20 (Samuel), Galileo-FOC FM21 (Anna), Galileo-FOC FM22 (Ellen) - Ariane 5-ES (VA244) - Kourou ELA-3 - 11:24:48 25.07.2018

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Galileo: from GIOVE to constellation

European Space Agency, ESA

Опубликовано: 23 июл. 2018 г.

On 25 July, with the launch of four more satellites from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, Europe's Galileo constellation will come a giant leap nearer completion.
Since the launch of the 'Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element' test satellites GIOVE-A in 2005 and GIOVE-B in 2008 – with the task of securing radio bands and testing key technologies – ESA and Galileo have come a long way.
The deployment of the constellation and Galileo's ground segment have been a massive undertaking. Talking to Paul Verhoef, Director of Navigation, we look back and consider the remarkable progress that has been made by Europe in satellite navigation and look towards the future and what it might hold.

(4:50)

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NOTMARs (#47)

NAVAREA IV 578/2018


NAVAREA XII 288/2018

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Закрытые зоны (одной картой)

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ESA‏Подлинная учетная запись @esa 1 ч. назад

The #Ariane5 launcher for tomorrow's #Galileo launch was moved to the launch zone yesterday. Liftoff 25 July at 13:25 CEST (11:25 GMT) Watch live: http://www.esa.int/live 

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 1 ч. назад

Peek-a-boo
#VA244 #Galileo #ESA

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 56 мин. назад

Many Lasts for this launch #VA244:

1. Last Ariane 5 ES model
2. Last Medium fairing
3. Last EPS upper stage
4. Last launch without the use of the cryo arms from #ELA3 #ZL3
5. Last Ariane 5 launch with #Galileo
6. Last time we will launch 4x Galileo S/C in one launch #ESA

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 6 мин. назад

Some #VA244 numbers:

1. Launcher serial: L596
2. This will be the 99th Ariane 5 launched
3. This, however, is the 100th Ariane 5 built (EPC Serial 5100)
4. Medium fairing serial: C5102M
5. Dispenser FM03
6. EAP serials 5100.1 and 5100.2
7. Vulcain 2 serial: M287
8. EPS serial: 533

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 5 мин. назад

ARTICLE: Ariane 5 ES to bow out with launch of Galileo quadruplets -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/ariane-5-es-bow-out-launch-galileo-quadruplets/ ...

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[Чебурашка]

хм.. Судя вот по этому  https://www.gsc-europa.eu/system-status/Constellation-Information

ещё даже предыдущая четвёрка не введена в систему.

Что они так долго вводят новые спутники? В раза дольше чем GPS или ГЛОНАСС?

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Arianespace TV VA_244 - Mission presentation

arianespace

Опубликовано: 23 июл. 2018 г.

(1:56)

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Completing the constellation

European Space Agency, ESA

Опубликовано: 24 июл. 2018 г.

On 25 July 4 Europe's next four Galileo satellites will be launched into orbit by Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
With this launch the Galileo constellation will reach 26 satellites in space, completing the constellation in overall numbers although further launches are needed to place back-up satellites in orbit.
The launch comes at a time when Galileo is into its second year of Initial Operations, with a signal that is better than expected and that is now usable in all new mobile phones.
This video looks at Galileo's story so far and the way forward, interviewing Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of Navigation, and Valter Alpe, Galileo's Satellite Production and Launch Campaign Manager.

(4:30)

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К запуску ГКЦ подготовил брошюру (на фр. и англ. яз.)

depliant_VA244_csg.pdf - 839.4 KB, 2 стр, 2018-07-23 14:14:22 UTC

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 24 мин. назад

Slowly getting into the countdown flow, so far all green, keeping an eye on the meteo #VA244 #Galileo #ESA

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/07/24/ariane-5-rocket-galileo-satellites-on-launch-pad-in-french-guiana/

Ariane 5 rocket, Galileo satellites on launch pad in French Guiana
July 24, 2018 | Stephen Clark


An Ariane 5 rocket nears its launch pad Monday in French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon

Ground crews in French Guiana on Monday transferred an Ariane 5 rocket to its launch pad, moving the vehicle into position for liftoff Wednesday with four European Galileo navigation satellites on the Ariane 5's last flight with an older-generation, out-of-production upper stage.

The 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) journey from the Ariane 5's final assembly building to the ELA-3 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center took about one hour, with the 155-foot-tall (47-meter) rocket riding a mobile platform pulled by a diesel-powered tug along dual rail tracks.

Once at the launch pad, the Titan tug positioned the rocket and its mobile platform over a flame bucket, and technicians connected the Ariane 5 to power, telemetry, propellant, pressurant and conditioned air supplies. Pre-launch steps planned for Tuesday included filling of the rocket's helium pressurization system in preparation for the final countdown, timed for launch from the European-run spaceport in South America at 1125:01 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT; 8:25 a.m. French Guiana time).

The Ariane 5 rocket has an instantaneous launch opportunity Wednesday, or else wait for another day.

A quartet of Galileo satellites is mounted atop the Ariane 5 launcher, ready to advance the deployment of Europe's home-grown navigation network.

"Here on site, everything is ready," said Paul Verhoef, director of navigation at the European Space Agency. "The launcher is ready. The site is ready."

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The next four satellites to join Europe's Galileo navigation system are ready for launch on a single Ariane 5 rocket. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon

ESA is a technical and procurement agent on the multibillion-euro Galileo program, which is managed by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union.

Wednesday's launch is a turning point for the Galileo program, which is projected to cost EU member states 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) from inception through 2020. With a successful mission Wednesday, ESA and the European Commission will have launched 26 Galileo satellites since 2011, keeping the network on track for full operability in 2020, Verhoef said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

Once complete, the Galileo constellation will be made up of around 30 satellites, including 24 operational spacecraft and approximately six spares spread among three orbital planes 14,429 miles (23,222 kilometers) above Earth.

The satellites due for liftoff Wednesday are the last of a a second batch of navigation platforms ordered from OHB of Germany, which builds the spacecraft, and British-based SSTL, provider of the navigation payloads.

There will be a hiatus in Galileo launches until late 2020, when the first pair of an additional 12 Galileo satellites ordered from the OHB/SSTL team by ESA and the European Commission will be ready for liftoff. The next series of Galileo satellites are expected to launch on Europe's Ariane 6 rocket, riding two at a time aboard the lighter configuration of the next-generation launcher with two solid solid rocket boosters.

"We are happy with what we have at the moment, and with the delivery of the next batch in 2020," Verhoef said.


Artist's concept of a Galileo navigation satellite in orbit. Credit: ESA-P. Carril

Officials said the addition of the four satellites set for launch Wednesday — along with the eventual incorporation of two Galileo spacecraft launched into an incorrect orbit in 2014 and the activation of Galileo's ground systems — should allow the European Commission to declare the network ready for full operations in 2020.

The European Commission kicked off Galileo's initial services in December 2016, allowing users equipped with Galileo-enabled chipsets to incorporate Galileo navigation signals alongside those provided by the U.S. military's GPS satellites and the Russian military's Glonass fleet.

But without a full complement of at least 24 satellites, there are still gaps in Galileo coverage. Besides the two Galileo satellites flying in the wrong orbit, another spacecraft suffered an antenna failure and is unable to provide services.

Nevertheless, officials said those gaps will be closed in the next few years, and the satellites that are working in orbit are providing better-than-required positioning estimates.

"Not only is the Galileo performance promised to be very good, it is very good," said Rodrigo de Costa, Galileo services program manager at the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency, or GSA.

The full operational capability milestone means "the constellation is complete, fully operational, with all the ground segment," Verhoef said.

"This is often forgotten," Verhoef told reporters Tuesday. "The focus is always that we launch satellites, but I can tell you a lot of the deployment, in reality, is happening onf the ground. All of that needs to be ready, included and working together as a system before you can declare any kind of operational capability."

The four satellites launching Wednesday are nicknamed Anna, Ellen, Samuel and Tara, the names of children who won a European Commission painting competition.


The four Galileo satellites mounted on their Ariane 5 launch adapter. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin

The first stage of the Ariane 5 rocket set to loft the Galileo satellites will be fueled with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen early Wednesday. The liquid-fueled upper stage's load of toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide was pumped into the rocket last week, and the Ariane 5's twin strap-on rocket boosters will burn pre-packed solid propellant.

After a series of weather, telemetry and other readiness checks by the Arianespace launch team, the countdown will commence an automated synchronized sequence at Minus-7 minutes. The computer-controlled final countdown will oversee pressurization of the rocket's propellant tanks, final arming and other steps leading to ignition of the first stage's Vulcain 2 main engine when the countdown clock reaches zero.

Seven seconds later, the launcher's two solid rocket boosters will ignite to propel the Ariane 5 into the sky. The boosters' nozzle steering systems will guide the Ariane 5 to the northeast, aligning with a trajectory that will carry the Galileo satellites between 56 degrees north and south latitude, the inclination range of the European navigation fleet.

Riding 2.9 million pounds of thrust, the Ariane 5 will exceed the speed of sound in less than a minute. Its twin solid rocket boosters will burn out and fall into the Atlantic Ocean at Plus+2 minutes, 19 seconds.

The Vulcain 2 main engine will continue firing until Plus+8 minutes, 56 seconds, then the Ariane 5's core stage will drop away five seconds later.

The upper stage's Aestus engine will ignite at Plus+9 minutes, 19 seconds, for the first of two burns required to inject the Galileo satellites into their high-altitude orbit.


Artist's concept of the four Galileo satellites deploying from the Ariane 5's upper stage. Credit: ESA-P. Carril

Wednesday's mission will be the final flight of the Aestus engine, which flies with the Ariane 5's storable propellant upper stage, known by the French acronym EPS. The Aestus engine can be reignited in space and burns a toxic, but stable propellant mixture that can be stored for long durations, allowing the upper stage to operate for several hours after liftoff.

The rocket configuration launching Wednesday is known as the Ariane ES. The same version of the Ariane 5 has launched seven previous times, including five missions with Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle resupply ship for the International Space Station, and two flights carrying four Galileo satellites each in 2016 and 2017.

Wednesday's launch will mark the 33rd flight of an Aestus engine on the Ariane 5 ES and previous Ariane 5 versions. The more commonly-used HM7B engine flown on the Ariane 5's commercial satellite launches burns hydrogen and oxygen, and can only be started once in space.

All future launches of the Ariane 5 rocket, which will make its 99th liftoff Wednesday, will use the HM7B upper stage engine.

Ariane Group, which produces the Ariane rocket family and is majority owner of Arianespace, is developing a restartable cryogenic engine named Vinci to replace the HM7B on Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket set for a maiden flight in mid-2020.

After its first cutoff at Plus+19 minutes, 58 seconds, the upper stage will coast more than three hours, climbing to an altitude of more than 14,000 miles before reigniting at 1452 GMT (10:52 a.m. EDT; 11:52 a.m. French Guiana time).

The second Aestus engine firing will last around six minutes, aiming for a circular orbit 14,243 miles (22,922 kilometers) above Earth.

The first pair of Galileo satellites will separate from the Ariane 5's specially-designed dispenser at 1501 GMT (11:01 a.m. EDT; 12:01 p.m. EDT), followed by deployment of the second pair 20 minutes later.

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Once in orbit, each of the 1,627-pound (738-kilogram) satellites will unfurl their power-generating solar panels. Ground controllers will command the spacecraft to raise their orbits by a few hundred miles to join Plane B of the Galileo constellation.

The satellites should be operational by January or February 2019 after a post-launch functional checkout, according to de Costa.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/07/24/photos-ariane-5-rocket-rolls-to-launch-with-four-galileo-satellites/

Photos: Ariane 5 rocket rolls to launch with four Galileo satellites
July 24, 2018 | Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket emerged from its vertical assembly building Monday and rolled along dual rail tracks for a 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) journey to its launch pad at the Guiana Space Center on the northern coastline of South America, moving into position for blastoff Wednesday with four Galileo navigation satellites.

Спойлер

The midday rollout Monday was powered by a Titan tug, which hitched to the Ariane 5's mobile launch platform to pull it to the ELA-3 launch pad.

The 155-foot-tall (47-meter) Ariane 5 ES rocket is scheduled for takeoff at 1125:01 GMT (7:25:01 a.m. EDT; 8:25:01 a.m. French Guiana time) to carry the four Galileo satellites into a high-altitude orbit more than 14,000 miles (nearly 23,000 kilometers) above Earth.

It will be the 99th launch of an Ariane 5 rocket, and the third Ariane 5 flight of the year.

Read our mission preview story for details on the flight.

The photos below show the Ariane 5's hour-long trip to its launch pad in French Guiana on Monday.


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon


Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 3 ч. назад

Countdown clocks (still from the Ariane 4 days!) running... #VA244 #Galileo #ESA

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/07/25/va244-mission-status-center/

Live coverage: Ariane 5 counting down to launch Wednesday
July 25, 2018 | Stephen Clark

07/25/2018 05:39 Stephen Clark

The countdown has commenced in French Guiana for liftoff of an Ariane 5 rocket and four Galileo navigation satellites at 1125 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT).

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The powerful commercial launcher will send the four Galileo satellites into a circular orbit around 14,243 miles (22,922 kilometers) above Earth on a nearly four-hour mission from liftoff through the deployment of the final two payloads.

Launch is timed for 8:25 a.m. local time in French Guiana.

Arianespace's launch team based in a hardened building less than 3 kilometers (about 1.5 miles) from the launch pad are overseeing the overnight final countdown in French Guiana, which began at 2347 GMT (7:47 p.m. EDT).

A check of the Ariane 5's electrical systems was accomplished at 0032 GMT (8:32 p.m. EDT).

Over the next few hours, workers will put finishing touches on the launch pad, including the closure of doors, removal of safety barriers and configuring fluid lines for fueling. The flight program for the launch will also be loaded into the rocket's computer

The launch team will begin the process to fuel the rocket with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants around 0647 GMT (2:47 a.m. EDT). First, ground reservoirs will be pressurized, then the fuel lines will be chilled down to condition the plumbing for the flow of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are stored at approximately minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.

It will take approximately two hours to fill the Ariane 5 core stage tanks.

The storable liquid propellants on the Ariane 5's second stage and the pre-packed powder fuel inside the Ariane 5's twin boosters are already loaded.

Chilldown conditioning of the Vulcain 2 first stage engine will occur at 0807 GMT (4:07 a.m. EDT), and a communications check between the rocket and ground telemetry, tracking and command systems is scheduled for 1015 GMT (6:15 a.m. EDT).

The computer-controlled synchronized countdown sequence will begin seven minutes before launch to pressurize propellant tanks, switch to on-board power and take the rocket's guidance system to flight mode.

The Vulcain 2 engine will ignite as the countdown clock reaches zero, followed by a health check and ignition of the Ariane 5's solid rocket boosters seven seconds later to send the 1.5 million-pound launcher skyward.

Five seconds after blastoff, the rocket will begin pitching northeast from the ELA-3 launch pad, surpassing the speed of sound less than a minute into the mission. The Ariane 5's twin solid rocket boosters will jettison 2 minutes, 19 seconds after liftoff.

Once above the dense atmosphere, the launcher's payload fairing will fall away at an altitude of more than 70 miles — about 112 kilometers. The Ariane 5's first stage will shut down 8 minutes, 56 seconds after liftoff, followed moments later by stage separation and ignition of the hydrazine-fueled Aestus engine.

The rocket's upper stage will fire for nearly 11 minutes during the first of two burns on Tuesday's flight, putting the Galileo satellites into an initial egg-shaped transfer orbit.

The Aestus engine is scheduled to cutoff 19 minutes, 58 seconds, after liftoff, beginning a coast of more than three hours.

The upper stage will restart at 3 hours, 27 minutes, 50 seconds, for a second burn lasting more than six minutes. The rocket is aiming for a near-circular orbit more than 14,200 miles above Earth at an inclination of 56 degrees, according to an Arianespace press kit.

The first pair of Galileo satellites will deploy at T+plus 3 hours, 36 minutes, followed by the second pair at T+plus 3 hours, 56 minutes.

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07/25/2018 12:04 Stephen Clark

Filling of the Ariane 5's core stage with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants has started in Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for launch at 1125:01 GMT (7:25 a.m. EDT; 8:25 a.m. French Guiana time).

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07/25/2018 13:25 Stephen Clark

Minus-60 minutes. The Ariane 5's first stage is now loaded with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.