Author Topic: LIVE: Delta IV-H - NROL-37 - Canaveral SLC-37B - June 11, 2016  (Read 144557 times)

Offline Mark McCombs

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Congrats to ULA, NRO and all other for the successful launch and payload deployment,

 8) 
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Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Orbital ATK with a "we were involved too" release:

The main body of the press release was missing. Here it is below.

A belated congratulations to ULA and the NRO for the successful launch! Thanks also to NSF for the coverage (it was 3:21 am here for the launch).

"Dulles, Virginia 11 June 2016 – Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, supported today's successful launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rocket launched a classified satellite, designated NROL-37, for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office in support of a national security mission.

“Orbital ATK-produced structures and components on the ULA Delta IV heavy launch vehicle contributed to another successful launch today,” said Steve Earl, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Aerospace Structures Division. “Our integrated products play a vital role in delivering on mission commitments critical to national security.”

Orbital ATK’s contributions to the ULA Delta IV heavy rocket include 10 key large composite structures including three thermal shields that house and protect the engines during flight, three centerbody structures that connect the liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) tanks, the composite interstage on the center common booster core, the nose cones on the two strap-on boosters and one set of X-panel structures that connect the upper stage LOX tank with the upper stage hydrogen tank. The large-scale composite structures measure four to five meters in diameter and range from one to 15 meters in length. Orbital ATK produced them all using advanced hand layup, machining and inspection techniques at the company’s manufacturing facility in Iuka, Mississippi.

Other Orbital ATK products integrated on the ULA Delta IV heavy launch vehicle include four booster rocket separation motors for the launch vehicle manufactured at Orbital ATK’s Rocket City, West Virginia, facility. The motors ignite when the core stage burn is complete to assist booster separation from center core.

Orbital ATK also designed and produced the nozzles for the three Aerojet-Rocketdyne RS-68 engines, as well as the nozzles’ innovative thermal protection material, which is capable of shielding them from the extreme heat of launch when external temperatures can exceed 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Orbital ATK manufactured the nozzle at its Promontory, Utah, facility. Additionally, the company manufactured the propellant tank for the Delta IV upper stage roll control system at its Commerce, California, facility."
« Last Edit: 06/13/2016 08:07 am by Steven Pietrobon »
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline chrisking0997

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wow...did not know Orbital ATK was that involved with this vehicle
Tried to tell you, we did.  Listen, you did not.  Now, screwed we all are.

Offline catdlr

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various launch angles....

SpaceFlight Insider launch highlights ULA Delta IV Heavy with NROL 37

SpaceFlight Insider

Published on Jun 13, 2016
SpaceFlight Insider launch highlights from the June 11, 2016 flight of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The flight got underway at 1:51 p.m. EDT (5:51 p.m. GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida. All video courtesy of SpaceFlight Insider





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Offline MattMason

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Congrats to ULA for a successful launch. Was too busy to watch this one live.

Oh, yeah, the Delta IV Heavy is lovely and stately in flight. It's making me anxious to see what SpaceX is conjuring up for the end of this year with its counterpart.
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Offline Targeteer

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« Last Edit: 06/18/2016 02:36 pm by Targeteer »
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline CyndyC

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Offline Chris Bergin

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Offline northenarc

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That didn't take long

http://sattrackcam.blogspot.nl/2016/06/mentor-7-nrol-37-payload-found.html

Tasked with keeping an eye on those good folk of North Korea? ;D
  Or the doings of the Chinese in the South China Sea  :-\

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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The PRC's very well advanced ambitions in the South China Sea and their neighbours' possible reactions to the same is one of the major possible current WW3 trigger points. The NRO would be very, very well advised to keep an eye on movements by all the actors there.

Just out of interest, could an orbital infrared telescope in GSO detect submerged submarines?
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Offline 4353

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Longitude ~100 E is the normal initial check-out position for Mentor's. It is well within reach of the Pine Gap primary ground station in central Australia at that longitude.  I.e. this initial placement has no significance in terms of what area it is going to monitor eventually.

I expect it to slowly drift westwards over time towards its eventual operational slot, which (conjecture) might be near 80 E or perhaps 10E.
« Last Edit: 06/18/2016 07:29 pm by 4353 »
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Offline Star One

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Offline Robotbeat

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That didn't take long

http://sattrackcam.blogspot.nl/2016/06/mentor-7-nrol-37-payload-found.html

Hmmm, not very well classified then.

Well they are rather large & distinctive.
Exactly how large? If they're as large as is claimed (over 100m), it should be possible to resolve it with some of the fancier amateur telescopes and processing techniques (i.e. lucky imaging, etc).
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Offline Space Ghost 1962

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Best place to watch for this:

Ralf Vandebergh

Offline Star One

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Offline catdlr

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Get you VR headsets on....

Rocket Launch 360: Delta IV Heavy NROL-37

United Launch Alliance

Published on Oct 31, 2016
Step onto the launch pad as ULA’s Delta IV Heavy blasts off with the NROL-37 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The Delta IV Heavy is nearly as tall as the U.S. Capitol and generates more than 2.1 million pounds of thrust off the launch pad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEcye06SFik?t=001

« Last Edit: 11/01/2016 03:41 am by catdlr »
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Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Quote
One year ago today: perhaps my favorite launch I've photographed. @NatReconOfc NROL-37 launches on @ulalaunch Delta IV Heavy. cc: @torybruno

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/873873163251220480

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Love the way the exposure makes the photo almost look like an oil painting:

Quote
One year ago today. One of my favorite remote photos, NROL-37. @ulalaunch @torybruno

https://twitter.com/sfnalex/status/873903305298259970

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