AFSPC-7/USSF-7: X-37B OTV-6 – Atlas V 501 – CCAFS SLC-41 – 17.05.2020 13:14 UTC

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https://www.ulalaunch.com/explore/blog-detail/blog/2020/05/14/ussf-7-atlas-v-launch-dedicated-to-covid-19-responders

USSF-7: Atlas V launch dedicated to COVID-19 responders
May 14, 2020, 12:27 PM

Saturday's Atlas V launch of the United States Space Force-7 (USSF-7) mission exemplifies the American spirit that we can still do great things during difficult times.



To showcase American resolve and national unity during the ongoing national emergency, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air and Space Forces are dedicating the USSF-7 launch to the front-line responders of the pandemic as part of the America Strong salute.

The tribute acknowledges the healthcare workers, first responders, military service members and other essential personnel working selflessly during COVID-19, and honors the victims and all those who have experienced loss during the pandemic.

A written dedication (pictured here) is affixed to the Atlas V rocket and will ride into space.

America Strong began as a show of national solidarity with the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, and the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, Thunderbirds, conducting a series of multi-city flyovers and culminates with the USSF-7 launch.

ULA will webcast the launch on our website, allowing the public to view the mission from the safety of their homes.

It was deemed mission critical to perform the USSF-7 launch of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at its scheduled time, despite the COVID-19 emergency. Personnel involved in the launch are following health guidelines such as wearing face coverings, adhering to physical distancing while on console and using virtual connections when possible.

ULA's heritage launches have featured national dedications before, including one honoring those lost on Sept. 11, 2001 and one saluting President Ronald Reagan shortly after his death in 2004.

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О трансляции пуска

youtube.com/watch?v=hwWc1DHxWfs

Начало трансляции примерно за 20 минут до пуска, ориентировочно в 12:05 UTC / 15:05 ДМВ

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Прогноз погоды L-1 на 16 мая 2020 г.

Atlas V USSF-7 L-1

Пусковой день    (16.05) - = 40 % GO
Резервный день (17.05) - = 80 % GO

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May 15, 2020 16:22
Weather forecast remains 40% GO

The launch weather forecast remains unchanged with a 40 percent chance of acceptable conditions tomorrow. Ground winds and a violation of the Cumulus Cloud Rule are the concerns heading into the countdown.

"A broad area of low pressure is expected to develop just off the southeast Florida coast later today and slowly lift north between the east coast of Florida and Bahamas. This movement is predicted to be slower compared to previous forecasts, bringing the low to our southeast at its closest point of approach on Saturday morning. Due to the slower movement, the highest wind and precipitation chances are forecast tonight through Saturday morning." the launch weather team says.

"Still being on the drier northwest side, this will take the form of a few bands of scattered showers and possibly a thunderstorm moving onshore. Winds at 230-foot-level remain the main concern despite any clearing between rain bands and cumulus clouds, as a tight pressure gradient is forecast regardless of the exact storm location and intensity."

The latest outlook calls for scattered-to-broken clouds, scattered showers in the area, good visibility, northeasterly winds 20 to 26 knots and a temperature near 76 degrees F.

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ULA @ulalaunch 5 мин. назад

ULA, in partnership with the @SpaceForceDoD and @usairforce, is dedicating the #USSF7 launch to all those affected by #COVID19. A written dedication is affixed to the #AtlasV rocket's payload fairing #AmericaStrong

(0:30)

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May 15, 2020 18:08

Sunset Photos

See our Flickr album for photos from last night's sunset at the Atlas V pad.

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Карты закрываемых зон

В сев. Атлантике (зоны: полигона, падения ГО, падения 1-й ст РН)


В Индийском океане (зона затопления 2-й ст РН)

[zandr]

https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=531963&lang=RU

На орбиту стартует сверхсекретный американский беспилотный шаттл X-37B
       Вашингтон. 16 мая. ИНТЕРФАКС - Ракета-носитель Atlas V в субботу должна вывести на орбиту американский беспилотный корабль многоразового использования X-37B в интересах Космического командования ВВС США, сообщает компания-оператор United Launch Alliance (ULA).
       Запуск челнока с помощью ракеты-носителя Atlas V компании ULA, на которой используются российские двигатели РД-180, планируется осуществить с 41-го стартового комплекса на космодроме на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида) в 8:24 по времени Восточного побережья США (15:24 мск).
       На космолете, который совмещает свойства самолета и космического корабля, установлен служебный модуль с аппаратурой для увеличения возможностей при проведении экспериментов, большая часть из которых засекречена.
       По данным из неофициальных источников, запуск шаттла предназначен для обкатки технологий перспективного перехватчика, способного уничтожать на орбите чужие спутники. Предполагается, что в ходе полета беспилотный шаттл, который может быстро менять орбиты и маневрировать, доставлять на орбиту и возвращать на Землю небольшие грузы, будет выполнять разведывательные задачи, в том числе по инспекциям спутников, а также проведет эксперименты, связанные с борьбой с противоспутниковым оружием.
       Что касается официальной информации, то в интересах Научно-исследовательской лаборатории ВМС США на борту X-37B будет проведен эксперимент по преобразованию солнечной энергии в радиочастотную микроволновую энергию с последующим изучением возможности ее передачи на Землю. Подобные технологии могут обеспечить практически неограниченное полетное время для электрических беспилотных летательных аппаратов и продлевать срок службы спутников, а также оказывать поддержку действиям формирований вооруженных сил в удаленных районах на Земле.
       В интересах NASA также планируется проведение исследований по влиянию радиации и космоса на семена и растения. Кроме того, космолет выведет на орбиту небольшой спутник FalconSat-8 с пятью экспериментальными полезными нагрузками, разработанный Академией ВВС США.

"X-37B"

      Шаттл X-37B, длина которого составляет около 9 метров, а размах крыльев - 4,5 метра, с 2010 года совершил уже пять успешных полетов для выполнения на орбите секретных экспериментов в интересах ВВС США.
       Из последнего полета, который продолжался рекордные 780 дней, шаттл X-37B вернулся 22 октября 2019 года, совершив успешную посадку на взлетно-посадочной полосе на космодроме на мысе Канаверал. В ходе полета он вывел на орбиту три секретных спутника.
       Всего ВВС США располагают двумя X-37B, разработанными корпорацией Boeing, которые поочередно выводятся на низкую околоземную орбиту высотой от 240 до 800 км.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow 36 мин. назад

Weather permitting, United Launch Alliance and SpaceX aim to launch Atlas 5 & Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral in a span of less than 20 hours Saturday & Sunday.

It would mark the shortest time between orbital flights from the Space Coast since 1967.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/13/back-to-back-launches-scheduled-from-cape-canaveral-this-weekend/...

[tnt22]

Боинг тоже будет вести прямую трансляцию пуска

youtube.com/watch?v=-VSAlxjSrRI

Начало трансляции за 20 мин до пуска

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Boeing Space @BoeingSpace 5 ч. назад

We're one day out from the next #X37B launch for the U. S. Air Force on Atlas V. On this mission, X-37B will deploy the FalconSAT-8 satellite for the @AF_Academy. #USSF7

Watch the broadcast live at 8:04 a.m. ET; liftoff is targeted for 8:24 a.m. ET:

https://youtu.be/-VSAlxjSrRI

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/13/back-to-back-launches-scheduled-from-cape-canaveral-this-weekend/

Back-to-back launches scheduled fr om Cape Canaveral this weekend
May 13, 2020 | Stephen Clark


An Atlas 5 rocket, seen inside its Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral, is set for launch Saturday morning with the U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Working under physical distancing requirements and other precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, range teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for launches of Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 rockets from neighboring pads this weekend.

The back-to-back launches are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, hauling up the U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane and another batch of around 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink Internet network.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is first in line, with liftoff scheduled Saturday from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad. The Atlas 5 will carry into orbit the military's reusable winged X-37B mini-space shuttle some time between 8:24 a.m. and 10:53 a.m. EDT (1224-1453 GMT), according to airspace warning notices associated with the launch.

Meanwhile, at pad 40 around a mile-and-half to the south of pad 41, SpaceX is gearing up to launch a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:53 a.m. EDT (0753 GMT) Sunday with 60 more Starlink spacecraft for the company's satellite broadband network.

The Falcon 9 launch attempt Sunday will only go ahead if the Atlas 5 rocket takes off as scheduled Saturday, according to Brig. Gen. Doug Schiess, commander of the 45th Space Wing, which manages range operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

For now, the Atlas 5 has Sunday booked as a backup launch opportunity on the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral.

"We do have a really busy couple of weeks coming up here," Schiess said Tuesday. "We're working ver diligently for Saturday's (Atlas 5) launch ... then if that goes on schedule on Saturday morning, about 20 hours later, early Sunday morning, we will support a SpaceX commercial launch for Starlink."

...

If the Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 launches go off as scheduled this weekend, they would occur 19 hours, 29 minutes apart. That would mark the shortest turnaround between two orbital launches from Cape Canaveral since September 1967 when Delta-G and Atlas-Centaur rockets took off within a 10-hour span from separate launch pads, according to a launch log maintained by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global satellite and launch activity.

Last August, a Falcon 9 and an Atlas 5 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in a period of less than 35 hours. That was the shortest span between two orbital missions at Cape Canaveral since May 1981.


A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands vertical Wednesday morning on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: William Harwood/CBS News

Schiess said Tuesday that range teams at Cape Canaveral are working to reduce the time required between launches. In the last few decades, the range team needed up to 48 hours to reconfigure infrastructure between launches.

That was primarily driven by readying tracking radars, transmitters and other equipment to monitor the trajectory of rockets as they arced downrange, and to send a destruct command if the launcher flew off course.

The range now tracks rockets using the GPS satellite navigation network, and the Falcon 9 launches with an autonomous flight safety system, an on-board computer that would automatically terminate the flight in the event of a major problem.

Schiess said the range team for an Atlas 5 launch, which uses a ground-commanded flight termination system, numbers around 300 people, including range operations, security forces, the fire department and other support teams. That number is around 200 people for this weekend's Falcon 9 launch, which uses an autonomous flight safety system and will fly with commercial satellites, rather than a military payload.

"The fact that one is a flight termination system (with a human in the loop), and one is an autonomous flight safety system is what really gets us to the ability to do (two launches) within 24 hours," Schiess said.

...

The Falcon 9 launch this weekend is the final planned SpaceX mission before the Crew Dragon demonstration flight launching May 27.

ULA ground crews plan to transfer the Atlas 5 rocket to pad 41 Thursday morning from the Vertical Integration Facility, wh ere the launcher was stacked over the last few weeks. ULA installed the X-37B spacecraft on top of the Atlas 5 inside the vertical hangar May 5.

There is a 40 percent chance of favorable conditions for launch of the Atlas 5 rocket Saturday, according to the official launch weather forecast.

The launch Saturday will be the sixth flight of the Air Force's reusable X-37B spaceplane, which takes off on top of a conventional rocket and lands on a runway. Around one-quarter the length of NASA's space shuttle, the Boeing-built X-37B will deploy a small experimental satellite developed by cadets at the Air Force Academy and perform other research investigations in orbit for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory.

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May 16, 2020 08:00
Welcome to Atlas/USSF-7 Countdown!

From the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, this is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 6 hours, 20 minutes and holding.

We are about to begin the countdown for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to perform the USSF-7 mission with the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle for the U.S. Space Force Space and Missile System Center.

Activities are on schedule for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-41 at 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 UTC).

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May 16, 2020 08:04
Countdown Begins

T-minus 6 hours, 20 minutes (L-7 hours, 20 minutes) and counting!

The countdown has been initiated for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket on the United States Space Force-7 (USSF-7) mission carrying the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle into space.

There are two pre-planned, built-in holds, each lasting 30 minutes, scheduled in the count. One pause is reserved prior to fueling at T-minus 2 hours, the other occurs prior to the terminal count at T-minus 4 minutes. That will lead us to a liftoff at 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 UTC) from Cape Canaveral.

We will be receiving the initial weather briefing of the countdown from Launch Weather Officer Jessica Williams just over an hour from now.

The Atlas V rocket that will launch USSF-7, designated AV-081, is flying in the 501 configuration that is distinguished by the five-meter-wide composite payload fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single RL10C-1 engine on the Centaur upper stage. It stands 197 feet tall and will weigh 761,457 pounds at liftoff.

Today's launch showcases American resolve and national unity. The U.S. Air and Space Forces and United Launch Alliance are dedicating the USSF-7 launch to all the healthcare workers, first responders, military service members and other essential personnel on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We stand in solidarity with those personally suffering or experiencing loss due to the virus.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/15/atlas-5-dedicated-to-health-care-workers-coronavirus-victims/

Atlas 5 dedicated to health care workers, coronavirus victims
May 15, 2020 | Stephen Clark


The Atlas 5 rocket launch carrying the sixth mission of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane has become part of the military's "America Strong" campaign, which includes nationwide aerial displays by the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds. Credit: United Launch Alliance

U.S. military officials and United Launch Alliance have dedicated the planned launch Saturday of an Atlas 5 rocket with the military's winged mini-space shuttle to coronavirus first responders, front-line workers, and victims of the disease.

The launch set for 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 GMT) Saturday from Cape Canaveral will be part of the military's "America Strong" campaign, joining a series of flyovers of cities nationwide by the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels to salute health care professionals and coronavirus victims.

The Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled to deliver the unpiloted X-37B spaceplane to orbit carrying experiments for the military and NASA. The mission is codenamed USSF-7.

"The U.S. Space Force and United Launch Alliance salute each American serving on the frontlines in our fight against COVID-19," said Gen. John Raymond, chief of space operations in the U.S. Space Force and commander of U.S. Space Command. "We are proud to dedicate the upcoming launch of USSF-7 to showcase American resolve and national unity during these challenging times."

ULA also added a written tribute on the Atlas 5's payload fairing.

"In memory of COVID-19 victims and tribute to all first responders and front-line workers — AMERICA STRONG," the dedication says.

"We are honored to collaborate with the U.S. Space Force and dedicate the USSF-7 mission to front-line responders and those affected by this global pandemic," said Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, in a statement. "This launch provides us with a unique opportunity to honor those affected by COVID-19, and pay tribute to the hard working first responders who are selflessly supporting the nation during this difficult time."

"We are proud to include the USSF-7 mission in the America Strong campaign honoring all those affected by and battling the COVID-19 pandemic," said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the launch enterprise at the Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.

Mission teams are proceeding with the launch Saturday while observing safety requirements, reducing on-site personnel, and ensuring physical distancing amid the pandemic.

"We have an obligation to keep space capabilities up and running for our nation," Raymond said May 6 in a virtual webinar discussing the upcoming X-37B mission and other Space Force activities.

The mission marks the second national security launch since the establishment of the Space Force in December. The Space Force's first major national security launch occurred in March, when a previous Atlas 5 rocket lofted a secure military communications satellite into orbit.

...

The Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are not opening any public viewing sites for Saturday's launch, or for the planned liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a neighboring launch pad Sunday.

"Everyone can view the launch from the safety of their home via livestream," the Air Force said in a statement. "Residents in Florida near Cape Canaveral should follow state guidelines for traveling to beaches, and refrain from gathering in large groups."

While the Space Force is overseeing the launch of the X-37B spaceplane, the vehicle itself remains the property of the Air Force. The Air Force has flown the two reusable X-37Bs, or Orbital Test Vehicles, in its inventory on five missions since 2010.

The Boeing-built vehicles measure more than 29 feet (8.9 meters) long, about a quarter the length of NASA's space shuttle orbiters. The X-37Bs can fly in orbit for years thanks to a deployable solar array, and electrically-driven aerodynamic flight controls that replace the life-limited hydraulic systems on NASA's space shuttle.

The most recent X-37B flight lasted 780 days — more than two years — breaking the record of the previous mission. The spaceplane re-entered the atmosphere and touched down on NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility runway at the Kennedy Space Center, the same landing strip used by the space shuttle.

Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett said May 6 the sixth X-37B mission will host more experiments than any of the program's earlier flights.

The payloads include two NASA investigations to expose advanced materials and seeds to the space environment, and a small releasable satellite developed by Air Force Academy cadets. A Naval Research Laboratory experiment is also aboard the X-37B to assess technologies that could generate electricity from solar arrays and transmit the energy to the ground for terrestrial use, a revolutionary concept known as space-based solar power.

The X-37B is likely carrying additional classified experiments. A new feature on this mission is a service module mounted to the rear of the spaceplane. In a sign that the Pentagon wants to continue keeping part of the X-37Bs mission under wraps, images of the spaceplane before launch did not show the new service module section.

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May 16, 2020 08:19

This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 6 hours, 5 minutes (L-7 hours, 5 minutes) and counting.

The application of power to the Atlas and Centaur stages is underway at the start of today's countdown procedures. The stages are being powered up to begin launch day testing and final preparations for fueling operations.

Over the next few hours, final preps for the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen systems will be performed, along with a test of the rocket's guidance system and the first stage propulsion and hydraulic preps, internal battery checks and testing of the GPS Metric Tracking system used to follow the rocket as it flies downrange, plus a test of the S-band telemetry relay system.

[tnt22]

May 16, 2020 08:46

The Atlas-Centaur rocket has been powered up for its launch of Space Force-7.

The flight control operator in the Launch Control Center performed the power up. Soon, they will begin avionics testing while the rocket's Inertial Guidance and Control Assembly (INCA) flight computer is allowed to warm up. Later, the operator will conduct guidance system testing and steering checks of the engine nozzles prior to cryogenic fueling.

The countdown continues to track on schedule for liftoff at 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 UTC). At T-minus 5 hours, 38 minutes (L-6 hours, 38 minutes) and counting, this is Atlas Launch Control.

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May 16, 2020 09:04

This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 5 hours, 20 minutes (L-6 hours, 20 minutes) and counting. We are tracking no technical issues in the countdown for a liftoff at 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 UTC). The first weather briefing of the day is coming up shortly.

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May 16, 2020 09:10

The guidance system test is beginning, the next major milestone in today's countdown. This activity will take the next couple of hours to complete.

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May 16, 2020 09:36
Weather remains 40% GO

Launch Weather Officer Jessica Williams from the 45th Weather Squadron just gave the initial briefing of today's countdown to the mission management team.

It has been a soggy night on the Space Coast as bands of showers rotate on shore from the Atlantic courtesy of an area of low pressure to our south that is trying to develop into a tropical weather system. The tight pressure gradient is keeping the ground winds brisk as well.

With those two factors, the odds of acceptable launch weather conditions at Cape Canaveral today remain at 40 percent for the flight of Atlas V and USSF-7 this morning.

The scattered showers are expected to continue to be hit-or-miss through the remainder of the countdown and meteorologists will keep a careful eye on the winds.

The outlook for launch time calls for some scattered low clouds, overcast skies at 20,000 feet, good visibility, northeasterly winds of 20 gusting to 26 knots and a temperature near 76 degrees F.