NROL-44: Orion 10 (Mentor 8) – Delta IV-H [D-385] – Канаверал SLC-37B – 11.12.2020 01:09 UTC

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 03:43

Weather Now 90% GO

Weather conditions at Cape Canaveral continue to look favorable for the Delta IV Heavy launch at 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC). Launch Weather Officer Will Ulrich now predicts a 90 percent chance of meeting the launch weather criteria tonight.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 03:48

DCSS LOX Chilldown

This is Delta Launch Control at T-minus 2 hours, 51 minutes (L-3 hours, 6 minutes) and counting. Approval has been given to the LOX2 operator at the fueling console here in the Delta Operations Center to begin the second stage liquid oxygen chilldown procedures.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 03:59

DCSS LOX Loading Begins

The next step in fuel operations is getting underway by loading 6,000 gallons of liquid oxygen into the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage following completion of that system's chilldown.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 04:03

DCSS LH2 Loading Begins
The launch team has begun loading 10,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen into the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage following completion of that system's chilldown. This is the last of the rocket's cryogenic tanks to be filled in tonight's countdown.

The stage receives its fuel from the launch pad's middle swing arm that extends from the Fixed Umbilical Tower to the Delta IV rocket.

The FUEL2 console operator oversees second stage liquid hydrogen.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 04:21

Filling of the CBC liquid oxygen tanks is complete, topping mode has started.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 04:36

Loading of the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank was just reported complete. Oxygen filling on the DCSS will finish fueling operations shortly. LOX and LH2 will be consumed by the stage's RL10B-2 engine.

[tnt22]

 ULA @ulalaunch 14 мин. назад

Wonder when will you see the #DeltaIVHeavy near you? Our visibility graphic shows when the rocket will rise into view.

[tnt22]

10/01/2020 04:39 Stephen Clark

T-minus 2 hours and counting. The countdown is heading to a built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes. Here are some statistics on today's mission:

• 385th Delta rocket launch since 1960
• 41st Delta 4 rocket mission since 2002
• 12th Delta 4-Heavy configuration to fly
• 63rd, 64th and 65th main engine from RS-68 family launched
• 21st, 22nd and 23rd RS-68A main engine flown
• 33rd Delta 4 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• 9th Delta 4-Heavy launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• 13th Delta 4 launch for the National Reconnaissance Office
• 8th Delta 4-Heavy launch for the National Reconnaissance Office
• 141st United Launch Alliance mission since the company's formation in 2006
• 5th ULA launch this year
• 1st launch of the Delta family in 2020
• 20th orbital launch from Cape Canaveral in 2020

[tnt22]

 Tory Bruno @torybruno 6 мин. назад

Tanking continues. Board is green. #NROL44

[tnt22]

 Emre Kelly @EmreKelly 3 мин. назад

Good evening from the Eastern Range, where ULA is counting down to tonight's 2354 ET Delta IV Heavy liftoff from Launch Complex 37.

The weather is actually quite nice.

[tnt22]

 Ben Cooper @LaunchPhoto 3 ч. назад

The Mobile Service Tower has been rolled & Delta 4-Heavy is ready to try again to launch NROL-44 at 11:54pm EDT Wednesday (ULA photo)

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 05:06

A current check of the local weather conditions at Cape Canaveral shows that all launch weather rules are GO.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 05:25

The Delta Cryogenic Second Stage has been loaded with its liquid oxygen supply. With fueling reported complete, we have a 1.6-million-pound Delta IV Heavy rocket that is loaded for launch at 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC) tonight. At T-minus 1 hour, 14 minutes and counting, this is Delta Launch Control.

[tnt22]

10/01/2020 05:30 Stephen Clark

Final inspections of the Delta 4-Heavy's thermal insulation will soon get underway. The launch team will use cameras to survey the orange foam covering the rocket's tanks containing super-cold propellants.

Also, the launch team is verifying the functionality of the Delta 4-Heavy's destruct system.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 05:39

The countdown is on schedule for the Delta IV Heavy launch in 75 minutes. The rocket is fueled as we are proceed toward an on-time liftoff tonight at 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC).

Engineers are discussing some readings collected during testing. Anomaly Chief David McFarland has convened his team to review the data per standard procedure.

[tnt22]

10/01/2020 05:41 Stephen Clark

Testing of the Delta 4 rocket's flight termination system is complete. The flight termination system would be activated to destroy the rocket if it flew off course and threatened populated areas.

[tnt22]

Oct 01, 2020 05:45

The launch team is setting up for flight slews, the next major milestone in the countdown. This is the steering test patterns for the Delta IV Heavy's engine nozzles to ensure proper gimbaling during the ascent.

[tnt22]

К #374

 Emre Kelly @EmreKelly 7 мин. назад

Hmm. Teams are seeing some odd behavior with the swing arm system at Launch Complex 37, which previously caused delays. The system showed a launch pressure fault, but it sounds like they've been able to make it work.

[tnt22]

10/01/2020 05:49 Stephen Clark

A functional test of the swing arm system at Complex 37B has been completed. The arms are programmed to swing away from the rocket at liftoff.

[tnt22]

10/01/2020 05:49 Stephen Clark

The flight hazard area, which encompasses the vicinity of the Delta 4's launch pad and downrange flight path, is confirmed clear at this time.