AEHF-4 - Atlas V 551 (AV-073) - CCAFS SLC-41 - 17.10.2018, 04:15 UTC

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Julia‏ @julia_bergeron 18 мин. назад

A very Space Coast launch. My capture of the Mighty #AtlasV leaping off of the pad to deliver #AEHF4 into orbit. @ulalaunch @45thSpaceWing

Viewed from Titusville
Nikon D3300 10mm ISO 100 F14 Exposure: 5 min. 15 sec.

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TomCross‏ @_TomCross_ 30 мин. назад

The people loved the show @ulalaunch!
@Teslarati @torybruno #ulalaunch #atlasv #jettypark #florida

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John Kraus‏ @johnkrausphotos 43 мин. назад

United Launch Alliance's #AtlasV rocket streaks into the nighttime sky at 12:15 A.M. Wednesday morning, carrying the #AEHF4 satellite to orbit for the U.S Air Force.

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Just A. Tinker‏ @John_Gardi 13 мин. назад

I just love to tinker... Hope you don't mind.

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10/17/2018 07:46 Stephen Clark

ULA telemetry commentator Patrick Moore reports the apogee, perigee, and inclination of the Centaur's orbit following its second burn appear to be on target.

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12:55 a.m. EDT (0455 UTC)

T+plus 40 minutes. This is Atlas Launch Control. To recap, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket lifted off on time at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC) carrying the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-4) communications satellite for the U.S. military from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Following the first stage of flight, the Centaur upper stage performed an initial burn that achieved a parking orbit. A second burn then injected the rocket and payload into an intermediate orbit.

We're now in the midst of a three-hour coast away from Earth before the third and final burn occurs to reach an optimized geosynchronous transfer orbit that is advantageous for the satellite to conserve its onboard fuel supply during final positioning in space.

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1:00 a.m. EDT (0500 UTC)

The Atlas V rocket heads to space from Cape Canaveral today. Photo by United Launch Alliance.

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1:15 a.m. EDT (0515 UTC)

The Atlas V rocket launches on United Launch Alliance's 50th mission for the U.S. Air Force. Photo by United Launch Alliance.

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Ken Kremer‏ @ken_kremer 10 мин. назад

Beautiful blastoff of #AtlasV carrying #AEHF4 to Gto by @ulalaunch lit up midnights sky over Cape Canaveral.Quick screen shot . More upcoming . @ken_kremer

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1:30 a.m. EDT (0530 UTC)

T+plus 1 hour, 15 minutes. Centaur continues to coast away from the Earth in this intermediate orbit. Stage systems are reported nominal as the rocket performs a slow roll to keep the solar heating evenly distributed on all surfaces.

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NWS Seattle‏Подлинная учетная запись @NWSSeattle 1 ч. назад

A little over twenty minutes ago, an #AtlasV rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral. GOES-16's high resolution water vapor imagery captured the exhaust from the rocket as it rose through Earth's atmosphere.


(video 0:01)

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ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 17 мин. назад

This view of today's #AtlasV launch was taken from the nearby Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV rocket's East Coast home at Cape Canaveral.
#AEHF4Road2Launch

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2:00 a.m. EDT (0600 UTC)

T+plus 1 hour, 45 minutes. Centaur continues to coast smoothly.

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John Kraus‏ @johnkrausphotos 3 мин. назад

A single RD-180 engine and five Aerojet Rocketdyne GEM-60 solid rocket motors propel United Launch Alliance's #AtlasV rocket and the U.S. Air Force's #AEHF4 satellite to space at 12:15 A.M. Wednesday morning.

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2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 UTC)

T+plus 2 hours, 15 minutes. A typical rocket ascent to geosynchronous transfer orbit, which is the standard dropoff point for communications satellites, uses just two firings by the upper stage to achieve the highly elliptical orbit to deploy the payloads. From there, the satellites use their own engines in the subsequent days to fly into the operational locations 22,300 miles above the equator.

But the Atlas V is enhancing the AEHF-4 satellite's trip to space by using all of the vehicle's performance to deliver the payload with a much higher perigee, or low point of the transfer orbit, and significantly reducing inclination relative to the equator. Those actions by the launch vehicle will benefit the satellite and conserve its onboard fuel supply by getting AEHF-4 closer to its final orbit.

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Marcus Cote‏ @marcuscotephoto 37 мин. назад

#AtlasV and #AEHF4 lift above the fiery rage created by five Aerojet Rocketdyne SRBs and one RD-180 liquid-fuel engine. Image was taken using a telephoto lens and sound-triggered camera placed just several hundred feet from the rocket (Photo: @marcuscote_photo/ @spacecoasttimes)

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2:44 a.m. EDT (0644 UTC)

T+plus 2 hours, 29 minutes. This Atlas Launch Control, we are one hour away from the Centaur engine restart. The vehicle remains stable as the coast period continues high above the Indian Ocean.

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3:00 a.m. EDT (0700 UTC)

The Atlas V 551 rocket launches to deploy the AEHF-4 communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force. Photo by United Launch Alliance.

Прим. Вынужден на несколько часов покинуть эфир. Sorry.

[К.А.]

Зачем использовалась конфигурация РН 551 (ранее спутник выводился конфигурацией 531), если масса КА та же.

[Apollo13]

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/atlas-v-551-aehf-4-launch-us-air-force/

At separation, the spacecraft was expected to be in an orbit of 8,914 by 35,299 kilometers (5,539 by 21,934 miles, 4,813 by 19,060 nautical miles), inclined at 12.8 degrees with an argument of perigee of 180 degrees.

Ожидается ГПО-1026