Author Topic: LIVE: Atlas V 401 - SBIRS-GEO 3 - Canaveral SLC-41 - January 20, 2017  (Read 110915 times)

Offline Targeteer

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http://www.losangeles.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/955041/parts-issue-delaying-sbirs-geo-3-launch-tracking-toward-resolution-within-next#.V-h9YDCEmBI.facebook

Parts issue delaying SBIRS GEO-3 launch tracking toward resolution within next 30 days

/ Published September 25, 2016

The Air Force and Lockheed Martin teams successfully completed planned pre-fueling testing and inspections of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) Flight-3 Satellite currently located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Fueling of the satellite and the launch, originally scheduled for Oct. 3, was delayed on Sep. 10 by Lt Gen Samuel Greaves, SMC commander and Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space (PEO/Space) to give the SBIRS government/contractor engineering team time to investigate a potential parts issue discovered on two other non-SBIRS satellites. A preliminary review of the data suggested a possible issue with the liquid apogee engines. A Liquid Apogee Engine is used by the SBIRS satellite to provide the thrust required to raise the satellite to the proper orbit after the spacecraft has been released from the launch vehicle. Earlier this month, a non-Lockheed Martin commercial satellite experienced a similar anomaly to the July MUOS-5 event. The Air Force is working to understand the commonality between the two anomalous engines and the SBIRS design. The SBIRS satellite remains safe at the launch base.

To date, the joint government and industry team has reviewed approximately 90% of the design, build, and test data from the anomalies. Additionally, all design similarities between the SBIRS liquid apogee engines and the anomalous engines have been fully documented and are understood. The team expects to complete the investigation within the next couple of weeks.

The launch is not expected earlier than January due to launch scheduling and to allow the investigation to continue until the Air Force is satisfied that safety of the satellite is assured.

"Assured access to space is a prime National Security Space directive. A fundamental part of assured access to space is safely getting our satellites to orbit which is extraordinarily challenging and technical," said Greaves. "Ensuring the safety of our national security space assets is critical and we will extensively investigate all possible causes before launching the SBIRS GEO-3 satellite."
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline A8-3

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Cross posting this from the LIVE: Atlas-V - MUOS-5 - June 24, 2016.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=33818.msg1588959#msg1588959

This flight is indefinitely delayed due to propulsion problems encountered with MUOS-5 and Intelsat 33e.

http://spaceflight101.com/systemic-propulsion-system-problem-suspect-in-muos-5-intelsat-33e-trouble/

Offline Targeteer

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http://www.losangeles.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1020188/sbirs-geo-3-engine-investigation-complete-tracking-toward-january-2017-launch#.WEW3iXdcib4.facebook

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On Nov. 30, a joint government and industry team closed their investigation into a potential parts issue of a failed component from another contractor’s satellite. The investigation team performed an assessment to determine if a similar failure could be applicable to the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Flight-3 Satellite Liquid Apogee Engine (LAE). The results concluded the SBIRS engine has no hardware defect and is flightworthy.

Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space, verified satellite integrity after successful delivery from Sunnyvale, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida; and approved fueling operations for GEO Flight 3 to take place Dec. 6-11.

The SBIRS GEO Flight-3 Satellite was scheduled to launch on Oct. 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. However, on Sept. 6, Lockheed Martin was notified by their supplier that the same type of LAE that was installed on SBIRS GEO Flight-3 had experienced an anomaly on a different, non-SBIRS satellite. As a result, satellite fueling and launch processing activities were delayed in order to perform a rigorous, eight-week investigation and assessment of another contractor’s failed component.

The investigation team employed a wide range of techniques to determine the health of the engine. This included performing an engine “hot fire” test on an LAE similar to the GEO Flight-3 LAE, inter-organizational sharing of historical on-orbit and in-factory data, and re-examining the original GEO Flight-3 LAE Acceptance Test Procedure data against newly developed criteria. In the end, it was determined that the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 engine exhibits nominal performance.

“The safety of our national security space assets is a top priority and the entire investigation team was thoroughly committed to getting this right,” said Greaves. “The investigation team used modern diagnostics to assess the health of the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 LAE, and we determined it does not exhibit any of the anomalous behavior experienced on the failed component from the non-SBIRS satellite.”

The GEO Flight-3 space vehicle was shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from the Lockheed Martin satellite integration facility in Sunnyvale, California, on Aug. 2. With the investigation complete and the engine deemed flightworthy, SBIRS GEO Flight-3 is on track to launch on Jan. 19.

The SBIRS constellation is designed to replace the legacy Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite constellation. SBIRS will continue to provide significantly enhanced capabilities to support missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness and technical intelligence missions.
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline Sam Ho

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Latest SBIRS Ground System Gets Green Light from U.S. Air Force

Upgrades to Lockheed Martin-built missile warning system will enable troops to see dimmer, threatening targets faster

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT)  newly upgraded Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) ground system received sign-off from the U.S. Air Force, enhancing the constellation's ability to deliver infrared data that is critical to early missile warning and defense.

The new SBIRS ground system serves as the nerve center for the constellation, collecting large amounts of data from the satellite's powerful sensors and converting it into actionable reports for defense, intelligence and civil applications. The Block 10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared information to see dimmer events faster.

Operational Acceptance of the SBIRS ground system consolidates the Air Force's command and control of legacy Defense Support Program satellites, SBIRS geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites and highly elliptical orbit payloads into the same ground system. SBIRS Block 10 also improves cueing data for missile defense systems and allows for command, control and mission planning of taskable sensors, as well as real-time and offline raw sensor data processing for technical intelligence used by the intelligence community.

"While launching a satellite is a highly momentous event, the work continues 24/7 on the ground within command and data processing centers," said David Sheridan, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared Systems mission area. "With the Block 10 upgrade, the mission-critical data supplied by SBIRS is now being managed from a single ground control station, which is not only cost-efficient, but also more effective in providing our Air Force operators with the ability to characterize threats and quickly provide that information to military commanders deployed around the globe."

Already, the multi-mission system supports missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence and also distributes raw and processed data in order to support civil and emerging applications. With the deployment of the ground system, Lockheed Martin will provide ongoing operations and sustainment support, while continuing to enhance the system through additional cyber security capabilities, automation features and continued evolutions to support Air Force requirements. 

The new ground system is located at the SBIRS Mission Control Station at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, and replaces the existing ground segment, which has been in operation since 2001.

The SBIRS development team is led by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator. The 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, operates the SBIRS system.

For more information about SBIRS, visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs.

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
 
http://news.lockheedmartin.com/2016-12-06-Latest-SBIRS-Ground-System-Gets-Green-Light-from-U-S-Air-Force

Offline jacqmans

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Atlas V to Launch SBIRS GEO-3 for the U.S. Air Force

Atlas V SBIRS GEO-3 Mission ArtworkRocket/Payload: An Atlas V 401 will launch the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-3 mission for the U.S. Air Force.


Date/Site/Launch Time: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 40-minute launch window opens at 7:46 p.m. EST.

Live Broadcast: Tune in to ULA’s live launch day broadcast beginning at 7:26 p.m. EST.

Mission Description: SBIRS, considered one of the nation's highest priority space programs, is designed to provide global, persistent, infrared surveillance capabilities to meet 21st century demands in four national security mission areas including: missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness.

Launch Notes: SBIRS-GEO-3 will be ULA’s first launch of 2017 and the 69th Atlas V mission overall. SBIRS GEO-3 marks the 33rd Atlas V mission in the 401 configuration; SBIRS GEO-1 and SBIRS GEO-2 missions also launched on the Atlas V 401 rocket.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.

Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go SBIRS GEO-3!
Jacques :-)

Offline Star One

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CAPE CANAVERAL — Just two weeks before it flies to space, the core stage of the next Atlas 5 rocket was erected aboard the mobile launcher platform this morning by United Launch Alliance technicians to kick off a streamlined vehicle assembly that will break a record.

Never before has an Atlas 5 stacking process started this close to flight, but it is part of the company’s “span reductions” initiative to increase available slots in the manifest while cutting costs.

Previous marks — as measured from commencing stacking to rollout — have shrunk from 43 days to 25 days to 21 days to 17 days for the 401-configured Atlas 5 over the past few years. If all goes according to plan, this mission will total just 13 days.

The initiative has targeted more efficient subsystem testing, improvements in screening to catch component issues sooner and development of time- and labor-saving changes to standard operations.

Atlas 5 saw 90-day processing times when the vehicle first began flying 15 years ago. But the maturing of systems and hardware allowed, for example, the elimination of time-consuming Wet Dress Rehearsals for most missions.

This morning, the 106.6-foot-long, 12.5-foot-diameter bronze-colored booster stage was erected upright and then maneuvered into the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41. It is a milestone known as Launch Vehicle On Stand, or LVOS.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2017/01/05/stacking-of-atlas-5-underway-for-next-national-security-satellite-launch/

Offline russianhalo117

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CAPE CANAVERAL — Just two weeks before it flies to space, the core stage of the next Atlas 5 rocket was erected aboard the mobile launcher platform this morning by United Launch Alliance technicians to kick off a streamlined vehicle assembly that will break a record.

Never before has an Atlas 5 stacking process started this close to flight, but it is part of the company’s “span reductions” initiative to increase available slots in the manifest while cutting costs.

Previous marks — as measured from commencing stacking to rollout — have shrunk from 43 days to 25 days to 21 days to 17 days for the 401-configured Atlas 5 over the past few years. If all goes according to plan, this mission will total just 13 days.

The initiative has targeted more efficient subsystem testing, improvements in screening to catch component issues sooner and development of time- and labor-saving changes to standard operations.

Atlas 5 saw 90-day processing times when the vehicle first began flying 15 years ago. But the maturing of systems and hardware allowed, for example, the elimination of time-consuming Wet Dress Rehearsals for most missions.

This morning, the 106.6-foot-long, 12.5-foot-diameter bronze-colored booster stage was erected upright and then maneuvered into the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41. It is a milestone known as Launch Vehicle On Stand, or LVOS.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2017/01/05/stacking-of-atlas-5-underway-for-next-national-security-satellite-launch/
excluding downtime for maintenance and on time arrival of payloads the following is possible:
365 days divided by 13 day processing cycle equals a maximum of 28.08 launches a year when using a single MLP and VIF.

Offline baldusi

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Thats's to rollout, not launch. It would be 15 days from initial stacking.

Offline russianhalo117

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Thats's to rollout, not launch. It would be 15 days from initial stacking.
that would knock it down to 24.33 launches possible per year, excluding what I excluded in my above post, so that would be 2 launches a month from a single MLP, pad and VIF if only from CCAFS and slightly more if VAFB is included.

Offline kevin-rf

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Thats's to rollout, not launch. It would be 15 days from initial stacking.
that would knock it down to 24.33 launches possible per year, excluding what I excluded in my above post, so that would be 2 launches a month from a single MLP, pad and VIF if only from CCAFS and slightly more if VAFB is included.
But, can the Delta Mariner support that rate. Especially if it also has Vandenberg delivers...
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Offline russianhalo117

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Thats's to rollout, not launch. It would be 15 days from initial stacking.
that would knock it down to 24.33 launches possible per year, excluding what I excluded in my above post, so that would be 2 launches a month from a single MLP, pad and VIF if only from CCAFS and slightly more if VAFB is included.
But, can the Delta Mariner support that rate. Especially if it also has Vandenberg delivers...
If air transport complements then yes. Not sure if 4 CCBs would fit in the Delta Mariner but that would keep delivery rate high. either stage could be flown.

Offline kevin-rf

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When they switch to Vulcan, they will be limited to transport with the Delta Mariner. It will be too large to air drop.

Glad to see this launch will complete SBIRS coverage. Go Atlas!


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It's your med's!

Offline baldusi

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When they switch to Vulcan, they will be limited to transport with the Delta Mariner. It will be too large to air drop.

Glad to see this launch will complete SBIRS coverage. Go Atlas!
Please remember that, if necessary, the Delta Mariner can carry 3 cores in a single trip. Of course if they have ACES, it would also have to go by ship. The real issue is the single point of failure. But if they even have to do 20 launches/yr, then the space market will be so hot that they will surely be able to invest in extra resources. They would have a 2B/yr revenue at that rate.

Offline russianhalo117

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When they switch to Vulcan, they will be limited to transport with the Delta Mariner. It will be too large to air drop.

Glad to see this launch will complete SBIRS coverage. Go Atlas!
Please remember that, if necessary, the Delta Mariner can carry 3 cores in a single trip. Of course if they have ACES, it would also have to go by ship. The real issue is the single point of failure. But if they even have to do 20 launches/yr, then the space market will be so hot that they will surely be able to invest in extra resources. They would have a 2B/yr revenue at that rate.
Upon some research Boeing planned originally for 3 transport ships (1 CCAFS Primary and 1 VAFB Primary, with the third serving as reserve ship which would rotate duties with the primaries when they went into overhaul and maintenance), but only acquired one because expected market was not realized. Also Delta III when in full production would have used ships to transport the 4 meter components.

Offline Zed_Noir

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When they switch to Vulcan, they will be limited to transport with the Delta Mariner. It will be too large to air drop.

Glad to see this launch will complete SBIRS coverage. Go Atlas!

You can always slung a carrier pod under the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft. After all that aircraft needs flight time with a paying customer.

Offline Targeteer

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Air Force Space Command Facebook page

All packed up and ready to fly!

The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Flight 3 missile warning satellite is placed into it's launch capsule in preparation for a Jan. 19 launch into Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO).

This will be the 3rd SBIRS satellite placed in orbit to provide missile early warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness, and technical intelligence to the defense and intelligence communities.

The SBIRS program consists of the space segment of GEO satellites and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) sensors riding on host satellites, with the associated world-wide deployed ground systems.

The first SBIRS GEO satellite launched on May 7, 2011. The second launched Mar. 19, 2013. Both are operational.
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline Jim

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Guess which facility?

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Here's another view.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Co[n]ducted a very clean President's Mission Success Review today. Looking forward to taking SBIRS to space

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/818960127927656448

Offline jacqmans

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Last Look Before Lift-Off: SBIRS GEO Flight 3 Encapsulated for Launch

The Lockheed Martin-built SBIRS missile warning satellite was enclosed in its protective launch vehicle fairing for Jan. 19 launch


Jan 10, 2017

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Jan. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force's next Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), was encapsulated on Jan. 7 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it will launch on Jan. 19 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Encapsulation refers to the sealing of the satellite in a protective launch vehicle fairing—one of the last steps a satellite must undergo before launch.

The SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite is the latest to join an orbiting network of satellites equipped with powerful scanning and staring sensors that collect and transmit infrared surveillance information to relay ground stations. This information is used by the U.S. military to detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense, expand technical intelligence gathering and bolster situational awareness on the battlefield. While SBIRS' primary mission is strategic missile warning, infrared data will also be made available for new qualified military and civilian uses at the Air Force's recently opened Tools, Applications and Processing Lab in Boulder, Colorado.

"The satellite's successful delivery and encapsulation closes out a manufacturing process that Lockheed Martin has continued to streamline with each build, driving significant schedule and cost reductions into the SBIRS program," said David Sheridan, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Overhead Persistent Infrared systems mission area. "With its launch, the addition of GEO Flight 3 into the constellation will greatly enhance SBIRS' ability to provide resilient, space-based infrared surveillance capabilities for decades to come."

The satellite's journey to launch began at Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale, California, facility, where it was built, integrated and thoroughly tested. For its trip to Florida, the satellite was loaded aboard a C-5 Galaxy aircraft at nearby Moffett Federal Air Field.

The next SBIRS satellite, GEO Flight 4, is in storage and will undergo final assembly, integration and test prior to its planned 2017 launch. SBIRS GEO-5 and GEO-6, which are currently in production, incorporate Lockheed Martin's new modernized A2100 spacecraft to dramatically reduce costs and cycle times while increasing the potential to incorporate future advanced sensor suites.

The SBIRS development team is led by the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California, is the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Azusa, California, as the payload integrator. The 460th Space Wing, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, operates the SBIRS system.

For additional SBIRS information, photos and video visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/sbirs.
Jacques :-)

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