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

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ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 15 мин. назад

The ULA Launch Readiness Review (LRR) was completed today for our #AtlasV launch of the AEHF-4 spacecraft on Wed., 10/17 at 12:15am (EDT) from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
#AEHF4Road2Launch

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NOTMAR

NAVAREA IV 850/2018 (11,25,26)

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   170415Z TO 170642Z OCT, ALTERNATE
   180411Z TO 180638Z OCT IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39N 080-38W, 28-42N 080-32W,
   28-38N 079-43W, 28-29N 079-43W,
   28-30N 080-34W.
   B. 28-38N 079-43W, 28-34N 078-42W,
   28-28N 078-42W, 28-29N 079-43W.
   C. 27-55N 070-11W, 27-34N 067-30W,
   27-21N 067-33W, 27-41N 070-14W.
   D. 24-02N 049-47W, 23-27N 047-45W,
   23-07N 047-53W, 23-43N 049-53W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 180738Z OCT 18.

( 120841Z OCT 2018 )

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Прогноз погоды L-3 на 17.10.2018

AV-073 AEHF-4 L-3 Forecast

80% GO

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Atlas V AEHF-4 Mission Profile

United Launch Alliance

Опубликовано: 12 окт. 2018 г.

United Launch Alliance will use an Atlas V 551 rocket to launch the fourth communications satellite in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) series for the U.S. Air Force. The launch is scheduled for 10/17. The window opens at 12:15 a.m. EDT.

AEHF satellites provide highly-secure, jam-proof connectivity between U.S. national leadership and deployed military forces. Atlas V rockets successfully launched the first three AEHF satellites in 2010, 2012 and 2013 as the new constellation was formed in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth.

This will be 131st mission for United Launch Alliance and our 50th launch for the Air Force. It is the 79th for an Atlas V rocket and the 9th in the 551 configuration.

(2:48)

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https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/atlas-v-aehf-4

LIVE UPDATES

Oct. 12 -- LRR completed

Welcome to our Live Launch Updates Blog for the AEHF-4 mission, bringing you official and timely information during the Atlas V rocket's countdown and flight.

Liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force's AEHF-4 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is scheduled for 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC) on Wednesday.

The Launch Readiness Review, moderated by Bill Cullen, ULA's AEHF-4 launch director, was completed this morning. Managers from ULA and the Air Force assessed the readiness of the rocket, payload and mission assets, discussed the status of pre-flight processing work, heard technical overviews of the countdown and flight, and previewed the early weather forecast.

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At the conclusion of the meeting, senior leaders were polled and gave a unanimous "go" for launch. Officials then signed the Launch Readiness Certificate.

Join us for live reports during the Atlas V's journey to the launch pad on Monday and then Tuesday evening during the countdown.

Our automatically-refreshing blog -- coming to you from the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center -- will bring you countdown coverage beginning at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 UTC) on Tuesday.

The official launch weather forecast, according to the 45th Weather Squadron, calls for an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for the liftoff, with scattered low- and high-level clouds, a chance of isolated showers in the area, southeasterly winds at 10 knots, and a temperature nearly 80 degrees F. The only concern for a launch weather rule violation will be cumulus clouds.

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Oct. 13 -- Launch preview

United Launch Alliance is using the Atlas V 551 rocket, with a five-meter-diameter payload fairing and a full complement of five strap-on solid rocket rockets, to launch the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-4) communications spacecraft into an optimized geosynchronous transfer orbit for the U.S. Air Force. Liftoff is planned for early Wednesday at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC).

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Leaving the pad on 2.6 million pounds of thrust from the combined power of the kerosene-fueled first stage main engine and all five solid boosters, the Atlas V will perform pitch, yaw and roll maneuvers to align with a due east heading along a flight azimuth of 90.7 degrees.

The vehicle will hit Mach 1, the speed of sound, in 35 seconds and pass through Max Q, the region of maximum dynamic pressure, at 48 seconds.

The solid boosters will burn out and separate in less than two minutes. The payload fairing that protected the satellite during atmospheric ascent will be jettisoned at the edge of space three-and-a-half minutes into flight.

Cutoff of the main engine and staging occurs four-and-a-half minutes after launch, allowing the cryogenic Centaur upper stage to ignite for a 7-minute initial burn to reach a preliminary parking orbit. A brief 11-minute coast through space sets up the Centaur to perform another 6-minute burn that accelerates the payload into a highly elliptical intermediate orbit.

Centaur then goes into its long-duration coast mode for nearly three hours to reach the high end of the orbit. A third firing of the RL10 engine, lasting more than a minute-and-a-half, will raise the orbit's low point and reduce inclination relative to the equator.

Spacecraft separation is expected at T+plus 3 hours and 33 minutes in an optimized orbit with an apogee of 19,060 nautical miles, a perigee of 4,813 miles and inclination of 12.8 degrees. ULA and the AEHF program produced this ascent profile to maximize mission flexibility over the satellite's lifetime.

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For an animated preview of what to expect after liftoff, see our video.

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Трансляция пуска на ТыТрубе

youtube.com/watch?v=8V0H9hB7PnE

Начало трансляции - за 15 мин до пуска
04:00 UTC 17.10.2018
07:00 ДМВ 17.10.2018

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AEHF_datasheet.pdf - 126.5 KB, 2 стр, 2018-09-14 23:23:20 UTC

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Oct. 14 -- Mission preview

Following successful launches of the first three Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellites for the U.S. Air Force aboard Atlas V rockets in 2010, 2012 and 2013, United Launch Alliance will use an Atlas V 551 rocket to launch AEHF-4 on Wednesday from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Liftoff is scheduled for 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC) at the opening of a two-hour window.

The Atlas V 551 rocket will deliver AEHF-4 into an optimized, high-energy geosynchronous transfer orbit that will require the satellite to expend less fuel to reach its operational orbit.

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AEHF-4 will be a secure communications relay to provide the highest levels of information protection to the nation's most critical users. The Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite gives senior leadership with a survivable line of communications to tactical and strategic military forces in all levels of conflict, including nuclear war.

AEHF communications feature encryption, low probability of intercept and detection, jammer resistance and the ability to penetrate the electro-magnetic interference caused by nuclear weapons to route real-time video, maps and targeting data to users on land, at sea or in the air.

The AEHF system is composed of three segments: the satellites, mission control and the users' terminals. The segments will provide communications in a specified set of data rates from 75 bps to approximately 8 Mbps. The space segment consists of a cross-linked constellation of four satellites. The mission control segment controls satellites on orbit, monitors satellite health and provides communications system planning and monitoring. This segment is highly survivable, with both fixed and mobile control stations. System uplinks and crosslinks will operate in the extremely high frequency range and downlinks in the super high frequency range. The terminal segment includes fixed and ground mobile terminals, ship and submarine terminals and airborne terminals used by the U.S. and international partners.

"This fourth satellite will complete a worldwide ring of AEHF satellites to deliver global extended data rate (XDR) coverage for the U.S. Air Force and for the partner nations – Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – that also connect to the AEHF network," said Mike Cacheiro, Lockheed Martin vice president of protected communications. "The Silicon Valley-based team that built this satellite can't wait to see it lift off. And in the meantime, we're making great progress on producing the fifth and sixth satellites in the constellation."

The AEHF team includes the Air Force's Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California, as the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California, as the payload provider.

For more information, see the Air Force Space Command fact sheet, visit the Lockheed Martin website or download the Northrop Grumman payload data sheet.

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Прогноз погоды L-2 на 17.10.2018

AV-073 AEHF-4 L-2 Forecast

80% GO

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Monday @ 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 UTC)

Final preparations are underway for this morning's rollout of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from its assembly building to the pad at Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41.
The transfer will cover a distance of one-third-of-a-mile and position the rocket for its countdown and liftoff to deliver the Air Force's AEHF-4 military communications satellite into orbit early Wednesday.
A weather briefing from the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron has verified conditions are favorable for the move, which is expected to begin shortly.

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Dane Drefke‏ @DaneDrefke 51 мин. назад

All preps complete. Ready to roll!
@ulalaunch @torybruno

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Monday @ 10:18 a.m. EDT (1418 UTC)

Following a readiness check of systems' status by ULA Launch Conductor Ed Kitta, ULA Launch Director Bill Cullen has authorized the rollout to begin.


Monday @ 10:22 a.m. EDT (1422 UTC)

Rollout of the Atlas V rocket for the AEHF-4 launch is underway with first motion of the mobile launch platform departing the Vertical Integration Facility.

The VIF is a 30-story building where the rocket stages and payload were put together for this mission aboard the Mobile Launch Platform. The MLP will travel to the pad with the help of undercarriage railcars and trackmobile machines that push the entire 1.9-million-pound platform and rocket along tracks up the hill to the pad.

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The convoy is led by two boxcars, called the PVan and GVan. The payload support van houses AEHF-4 ground equipment such as the electrical and communication interfaces between the spacecraft systems and the launch pad throughout the countdown. The ground van supports the launch vehicle with a dedicated set of control electronics.

Bringing up the rear are two portable environmental control system trailers that supply conditioned air to the rocket's compartments and payload fairing during rollout.

The Atlas V rocket will launch the AEHF-4 spacecraft for the Air Force on Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral. The two-hour launch window opens at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC).

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Monday @ 10:37 a.m. EDT (1437 UTC)

The Atlas V rocket is headed to the launch pad. Photo by United Launch Alliance


Monday @ 10:46 a.m. EDT (1446 UTC)

The Atlas V rocket is headed to the launch pad. Photo by United Launch Alliance

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ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 24 мин. назад

The #AEHF4Road2Launch #AtlasV is on its way to the launch pad for launch 10/17

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Monday @ 10:50 a.m. EDT (1450 UTC)

This launch will mark the 50th mission that United Launch Alliance has performed for the U.S. Air Force, launching communications, navigation and missile warning satellites, weather observatories and more since 2007.

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More than half of the missions have used the Atlas V rocket, while others flew on Delta II and Delta IV, including the first operational Delta IV Heavy.

All but two originated from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with a pair of polar-orbiting weather craft launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

A wide range of orbits were achieved during the 49 Air Force launches so far, extending from low Earth orbit, to medium Earth orbit for the GPS constellation, transfer orbits and even direct insertion into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles up.

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Monday @ 11:10 a.m. EDT (1510 UTC)

The Atlas V rocket has completed the first 1,800 feet on its journey into space, traveling by rail from the Vertical Integration Facility to the Space Launch Complex 41 pad for Tuesday night's countdown to liftoff of AEHF-4, a protected communications relay station in space for the U.S. military and allies.

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Over the next few hours, umbilical connections will be made with launch pad systems, the environmental control system feeding conditioned air to the rocket and payload will be switched to facility supplies to allow the portable trailers used during rollout to be unplugged and moved away, and the first stage will be loaded with 25,000 gallons of RP-1 fuel, a highly refined kerosene.

The launch countdown will begin Tuesday at 5:25 p.m. EDT (2125 UTC), leading to a liftoff nearly seven hours later at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC) on Wednesday.

Our live countdown updates will begin on this page on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. EDT.

The live ULA webcast of the launch begins Tuesday at 11:55 p.m. EDT and will be viewable on this page.

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Photo by United Launch Alliance

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 3 ч. назад

Everything is looking good for this week's launch

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 2 ч. назад

Pgo at 80%.
#AEHF4

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Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 38 мин. назад

#AEHF4 has completed roll and is being secured at the pad


ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 23 мин. назад

The #AtlasV is at the pad! Scheduled for launch Wed. 10/17. Follow along on our live launch blog http://bit.ly/av_aehf4 .
#AEHF4Road2Launch

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Dane Drefke‏ @DaneDrefke 39 мин. назад

Beautiful but HOT today. Rolling to the pad. @ulalaunch

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Monday @ 1:30 p.m. PDT (1730 UTC)

See our Flickr page for a collection of beautiful photos of the Atlas V rocket taken by United Launch Alliance during rollout to the pad today.

Photo by United Launch Alliance