NROL-101 - Atlas V 531 (AV-086) - CCAFS SLC-41 - 13.11.2020 22:32 UTC

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 Emre Kelly @EmreKelly 5 мин. назад

Rollout complete.

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11/04/2020 01:26 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket has arrived at Complex 41 after an unexpected trip back to the Vertical Integration Facility last night to troubleshoot an environmental control system connection on the upper payload section of the launch vehicle.

The rocket originally departed the VIF at around 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT).

Automatic couplers will connect the Atlas 5 to ground systems at pad 41, and the Atlas 5 team will complete inspections, checkouts and other activities.

Liquid oxygen will be loaded in the first stage during the countdown Wednesday afternoon, along with liquid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen for the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage. RP-1 fuel for the first stage was loaded last month during a countdown dress rehearsal.

The latest forecast issued this morning indicates an 70% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch at 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT). The primary weather concern is with ground winds at Cape Canaveral.

Forecasters predict east-northeast surface winds of around 20 to 26 knots at launch time, with broken clouds at 3,000 feet. The temperature at launch time should be around 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

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 Tory Bruno @torybruno 5 мин. назад

We have swapped out yesterday's damaged ECS duck with a reinforced one and rolled #L101 to the pad

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Nov 04, 2020 01:49

Launch Scheduled for Wednesday

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket was rolled out to Space Launch Complex-41 this afternoon for Wednesday's NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.


Photo by United Launch Alliance

The rocket was temporarily returned to the Vertical Integration Facility on Monday night to make adjustments to the upper environmental control system duct that supplies conditioned air to the payload fairing. Platforms in the VIF enabled technicians to reach this area at the top of the rocket, which is inaccessible at the launch pad.
 
The work was successfully completed earlier today.

Launch of the Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is scheduled for 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 UTC).

The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent of acceptable weather. Dry conditions are expected with no rain or lightning, but a tight pressure gradient is causing breezy conditions. The outlook includes a broken deck of low clouds, good visibility, east-northeasterly winds 20-26 knots and a temperature near 75 degrees F. Ground winds are the only concern. 

Join us starting Wednesday morning for live reports throughout the countdown to the Atlas V launch of NROL-101. Our updates from the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center will begin on this page at 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 UTC), just prior to starting the countdown.

And be sure to monitor the countdown because you could win a ULA swag package! We will be playing trivia on Twitter, and the first correct answer tweeted as a reply to each question will earn some swag!

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О трансляции пуска (адрес не менялся)

Nov. 3 Live Broadcast: Atlas V NROL-101

youtu.be/aynKNh6cvnI

Начало трансляции - 4 ноября 2020 г. в 22:34 UTC / 5 ноября 2020 г. в 01:34 ДМВ

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 ULA @ulalaunch 6 мин. назад

Join us today for live reports throughout the #AtlasV countdown to launch #NROL101. We will be playing trivia for your chance to win a ULA Swag Pack! Live coverage begins at 11amEST (1600 UTC). Liftoff is targeted for 5:54pmEST (2254 UTC). Live blog: http://bit.ly/av-nrol101

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 Thomas Burghardt @TGMetsFan98 54 мин. назад

Remotes are set for tonight's Atlas V rocket launch! Go Atlas, Go Centaur, Go NROL-101!

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Nov 04, 2020 19:00

Welcome to Atlas V NROL-101 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 launch the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force.

Activities are on schedule for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-41 at 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 UTC).

We will be starting the countdown shortly at 11:04 a.m. for this U.S. national security space mission.

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Nov 04, 2020 19:04

Countdown Begins

T-minus 6 hours, 20 minutes (L-6 hours, 50 minutes) and counting!

We have started the countdown for liftoff of the Atlas V rocket on NROL-101 this evening from Cape Canaveral.

There are two pre-planned, built-in holds, each lasting 15 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 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 UTC).


Photo by United Launch Alliance

The Atlas V, designated AV-090, will launch this national security mission using the rocket's 531 configuration that is distinguished by the five-meter-wide composite payload fairing, three GEM 63 solid rocket boosters side-mounted to the first stage and a single RL10C-1 engine on the Centaur upper stage.
It stands 206 feet (63 meters) tall and will weigh one million pounds (453,600 kg) at liftoff.

This will be ULA's 141st flight since the company was formed and our 29th mission for the NRO.

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Nov 04, 2020 19:19

This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 6 hours, 5 minutes (L-6 hours, 35 minutes) and counting.


Photo by United Launch Alliance

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.

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11/04/2020 19:04 Stephen Clark

The countdown has started for today's launch with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

The countdown sequence, nearly seven hours long, will include two built-in holds at T-minus 2 hours and T-minus 4 minutes. A final poll during the second built-in hold at T-minus 4 minutes will give authorization to begin the terminal countdown.

Liftoff is set for 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT).

The first tasks for the Atlas 5 launch team will involve powering on the rocket for pre-flight testing. Then the team will move into preparations on the Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant systems. A test of the Atlas 5's guidance system, first stage propulsion and hydraulic checks, internal battery testing, verification of the readiness of the rocket's GPS metric tracking system and a test of the launcher's S-band telemetry transmitters are also planned in the early stages of the countdown.

The launch team will be polled for approval to begin fueling the rocket during a pre-planned hold at T-minus 2 hours. Once the team gives the "go" for fueling, liquid oxygen will be pumped into the Centaur upper stage, followed by liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5 first stage. The step-by-step propellant loading procedure will conclude with super-cold liquid hydrogen fuel flowing into the Centaur.

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 Ken Kremer @ken_kremer 8 мин. назад

'All systems GO' for today's #ULA #AtlasV twilight launch #NROL101 for @NatReconOfc at 554 PM today Nov 4 following delay from Election Day to resolve payload environmental control system flow issue- My photos featured @news6wkmg CBS6 Orlando TV news Nov3/4. @ulalaunch #NRO

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Nov 04, 2020 19:46

The Atlas-Centaur rocket has been powered up for its launch.

The flight control operator in the Launch Control Center performed the power up. Soon, she 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 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 UTC). At T-minus 5 hours, 38 minutes (L-6 hours, 8 minutes) and counting, this is Atlas Launch Control.

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Nov 04, 2020 20:04

This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 5 hours, 20 minutes (L-5 hours, 50 minutes) and counting. We are tracking no issues in the countdown for a liftoff at 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 UTC).

Take a look at our Flickr album for photography of the Atlas V rocket being readied for the NROL-101 launch.

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Nov 04, 2020 20:10

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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Nov 04, 2020 20:24

We are standing by for the first weather briefing of the countdown. Launch Weather Officer Jessica Williams from the U.S. Space Force will be giving the briefing from the 45th Weather Squadron facility inside the Morrell Operations Center here at the Cape.

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Nov 04, 2020 20:31

Weather Remains 70% GO

This is Atlas Launch Control at T-minus 4 hours, 53 minutes (L-5 hours, 23 minutes) and counting. Launch Weather Officer Jessica Williams from the 45th Weather Squadron reports that conditions at Cape Canaveral are looking favorable for the flight of Atlas V and NROL-101 this evening, forecasting a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at liftoff time.

The outlook for launch time calls for some low-level clouds, good visibility, east-northeasterly winds of 20 to 26 knots and a temperature near 75 degrees F.

All conditions are GO at the present time. The primary concern for the launch time will be ground winds.

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 Tory Bruno @torybruno 20 мин. назад

Thanks

 Tommaso (@astro_TommyS) @TommasoastroTo1 4 ч. назад

@torybruno Happy Birthday!!!

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https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=541101&lang=RU

Компания ULA в четверг предпримет новую попытку запуска американского разведывательного спутника NROL-101
04.11.2020 20:15:08

Вашингтон. 4 ноября. ИНТЕРФАКС - Новая попытка запуска тяжелой ракеты-носителя Atlas V с секретным спутником NROL-101 Национального управления военно-космической разведки США (NRO), перенесенная на сутки в связи с техническими проблемами, будет предпринята в четверг по московскому времени, сообщила компания-оператор United Launch Alliance (ULA).

"Старт планируется осуществить 4 ноября в 17:54 по времени Восточного побережья США (5 ноября в 021:54 мск) с 41-го стартового комплекса на авиабазе на мысе Канаверал во Флориде", - говорится в сообщении компании ULA, которая является совместным предприятием корпораций Boeing и Lockheed Martin, осуществляющим запуски в интересах Пентагона и американского разведывательного сообщества.

Ракета новь вывезена на стартовую площадку после замены прохудившегося шланга подачи охлажденного воздуха наземной системы кондиционирования полезной нагрузки, сообщила компания ULA.

Спойлер

О целях, орбите, размере и других характеристиках секретного американского спутника NROL-101 официально не сообщается. Миссия и возможности спутников данного типа строго засекречены.

Между тем, по имеющимся данным, тяжелый спутник NROL-101, вес которого достигает, по меньшей мере, шести тонн, предназначен для ведения радиоэлектронной разведки. Стоимость спутника оценивается примерно в миллиард долларов.

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Двоешники, до сих пор арифметику не осилили...

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 Stephen Marr @spacecoast_stve 4 мин. назад

Got questions about tonight's launch? The @NASASpaceflight team will be streaming the #AtlasV #NROL101 launch from the press site, ready to answer your burning questions.

Stream goes live at 5:00pm EST/2200 UTC youtu.be/AEArMAB0Df0