Atlas V 501 - Project LEO Protoflight Mission - 6 October 2023 (18:06 UTC)

[Newton_V]

To add more confusion to the RL10 pic above, I "think" the RL10C-1 can fly with the 11" nozzle extension on top of the 22", effectively the same as the 33" on the RL10C-1-1.
AND, the RL10C-1-1, which was supposed to only fly with the 33" nozzle, can be modified to use the 22" nozzle.

[zubenelgenubi]

Does anyone know/can anyone say what the tail number is?  I don't see it in the released photos.

It's AV-104
Booster came from AV-104 (was supposed to be first 551 Kuiper launch)
I can't recall which Centaur, maybe 104 as well.  Had to take PLF from another mission, as the Kuiper Atlases use the 77-ft PLF.

When were these shipped to the Cape? 🚢
ULA Rocketship sightings thread

[Comga]

We understand that one of the two Kuiper satellites will have test astronomy mitigations, which we can follow with a coordinated observing campaign @IAU_CPS

https://twitter.com/Andy4Science/status/1701928836772872662?t=dDiqi3FrJCLErAXfEu5JBw&s=19

I wonder if the brightness mitigation test will use the proffered film from Starlink or if Kuiper is doing it all in-house.

https://twitter.com/starlink/status/1703135000206745949

The Starlink team continues to share best practices for brightness mitigation, and has made the dielectric mirror film available at cost to other satellite operators → https://api.starlink.com/public-files/BrightnessMitigationBestPracticesSatelliteOperators.pdf

[FutureSpaceTourist]

ULA photos from flickr

[GewoonLukas_]

Does anyone know/can anyone say what the tail number is?  I don't see it in the released photos.

It's AV-104
Booster came from AV-104 (was supposed to be first 551 Kuiper launch)
I can't recall which Centaur, maybe 104 as well.  Had to take PLF from another mission, as the Kuiper Atlases use the 77-ft PLF.

When were these shipped to the Cape? 🚢
ULA Rocketship sightings thread

Flickr says the pictures of delivery were taken on August 10th

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1704537085271576912

United Launch Alliance used the time-tested art of rocket stacking this week and completed the initial buildup of the #AtlasV 501 rocket that will launch @Amazon's #ProjectKuiper #Protoflight.

Read all about the process in our latest blog:

https://blog.ulalaunch.com/blog/protoflight-atlas-v-stacked-ahead-of-first-kuiper-launch

[zubenelgenubi]

Launch = Sunday, October 1 through Saturday, October 7.

Amazon's Naveen Kachroo says at World Satellite Business Week this morning that the 1st two Kuiper satellites will launch in the first week of October (on an Atlas 5.) Expects to have enough sats in orbit from later launches to start internal end-to-end tests in Q3/Q4 2024. #WSBW [Sep 13]

Launch before or after Psyche?

[GewoonLukas_]

Launch = Sunday, October 1 through Saturday, October 7.

Amazon's Naveen Kachroo says at World Satellite Business Week this morning that the 1st two Kuiper satellites will launch in the first week of October (on an Atlas 5.) Expects to have enough sats in orbit from later launches to start internal end-to-end tests in Q3/Q4 2024. #WSBW [Sep 13]

Launch before or after Psyche?

I believe they're both on the range for the 5th.  Not sure what time FH launch is.

14:34 UTC / 10:34 EDT

[zubenelgenubi]

Re: LC-39A, SLC-40, SLC-41:
Are there any restrictions about launch vehicles being on their respective pads during Wet Dress Rehearsals, Static Fires, and countdown(s)?

I assume otherwise that more than one countdown may overlap, as Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy use autonomous range safety equipment.  Does Atlas V do so, too?

[Robert_the_Doll]

Atlas V does not have autonomous flight termination, but Vulcan Centaur will, which should very much streamline its launch operations and operations for the Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center in general.

[GewoonLukas_]

Launch is supposedly next week, but no word from neither ULA or Amazon on the exact date...

[zubenelgenubi]

Launch is supposedly next week, but word from neither ULA or Amazon on the exact date...

Speculation:
Contemplating what three Cape orbital launches within circa 24 hours would be like: 👍 👌
Answer = Awesome!

Edit: Ah, well!  Such is life.

[Robert_the_Doll]

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1707528076983517473

The launch of a ULA #AtlasV 501 rocket carrying @Amazon
’s #ProjectKuiper #Protoflight mission is planned for Fri., Oct. 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT. http://bit.ly/av_projectkuiper_protoflight

[Vahe231991]

Launch = Sunday, October 1 through Saturday, October 7.

Amazon's Naveen Kachroo says at World Satellite Business Week this morning that the 1st two Kuiper satellites will launch in the first week of October (on an Atlas 5.) Expects to have enough sats in orbit from later launches to start internal end-to-end tests in Q3/Q4 2024. #WSBW [Sep 13]

Launch before or after Psyche?

Since the Psyche mission just got postponed to October 12, this means that the launch of the prototype Kuiper satellites takes place before the launch of the Psyche spacecraft.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1707762387195924905

https://blog.ulalaunch.com/blog/protoflight-project-kuiper-payload-placed-atop-atlas-v

Protoflight: Project Kuiper payload placed atop Atlas V

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket stands ready to launch prototype spacecraft for Amazon's Project Kuiper, a satellite network that will provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.
 
The encapsulated payload arrived at the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Sept. 28 for hoisting atop the launch vehicle.
 
Liftoff is scheduled for Oct. 6 with a launch window opening at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC). The available window maximizes the probability of launching on a given day by allowing our team to work around any weather or other issues.

....

Atlas V will place two spacecraft -- Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 -- in 311-mile (500-km) orbits with an inclination of 30 degrees. Centaur uses a single burn to place the satellites into their desired perch and deploys them approximately 18 minutes after liftoff, at which point Amazon will assume control of the satellites and proceed with testing.
 
....

This will be the 99th flight of the Atlas V rocket and 8th in the 501 configuration that uses no side-mounted solid rocket boosters. The 501 made its first launch in April 2010 and has flown five times carrying the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and twice for the National Reconnaissance Office.

The two-stage rocket features a single RL10A-4-2 engine on the Centaur upper stage and encapsulates the spacecraft in 5.4-meter-diameter (17.7-foot) Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) composite payload fairing that is 68 feet (20.7 meters) in length.

....

This Atlas V rocket, designated AV-104, is 196 feet (59.7 meters) tall and will weigh 748,149 pounds (339,355 kg) once fully fueled for liftoff.
 
Leaving the pad with 860,200 pounds (3.83 meganewtons) of thrust from the kerosene-fueled first stage main engine, the Atlas V will perform pitch and yaw maneuvers to align with an easterly heading along a flight azimuth of 96 degrees.
 
This will be ULA's 158th launch and 20th in service to a commercial client.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Higher res photos from flickr

[FutureSpaceTourist]

More photos posted by ULA on flickr

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

011211Z OCT 23
NAVAREA IV 1133/23(11,25,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   061800Z TO 062303Z OCT, ALTERNATE
   1800Z TO 2303Z DAILY 07 THRU 12 OCT
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39.00N 080-37.69W, 28-39.00N 080-21.00W,
      28-33.00N 080-01.00W, 28-29.00N 080-01.00W,
      28-31.58N 080-33.56W.
   B. 27-15.00N 074-51.00W, 28-05.00N 074-35.00W,
      27-19.00N 071-07.00W, 26-32.00N 071-12.00W.
   C. 23-05.00N 061-33.00W, 25-26.00N 059-47.00W,
      21-42.00N 052-16.00W, 19-22.00N 053-58.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 130003Z OCT 23.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1708873685556150568

The upcoming Amazon Kuiper launch by @ulalaunch is even more secretive than an NRO launch. Not only are there no photos of the payloads, the mission overview https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/atlas-v-project-kuiper-protoflight doesn't have the usual launch sequence info (booster separation times, etc)

twitter.com/torybruno/status/1708891201422942530

Competition often makes things mysterious and exciting.

https://twitter.com/alexphysics13/status/1708901592320057527

I interpret this tweet as saying that ULA has been told by Amazon to not reveal certain information like ascent timeline and such for the upcoming Kuiper Protoflight. Quite a shame to be honest :/

[GewoonLukas_]

L-4 status update
Oct 03

Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper. The mission is planned to lift off on Friday, Oct. 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC). Today’s forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch.