Atlas V 551 : STP-3 : CC SLC-41 : 7 December 2021 (10:19 UTC)

[zubenelgenubi]

The U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Test Program Satellite – 6 space vehicle arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on May 6, 2021.

That's a slim satellite bus!

OrbAtk A-500 bus[?]

***

Are the secondary satellites going to GEO as well?

[gongora]

I would assume everything is going to GEO.  If the propulsive ESPA is under that other sat then it would have to.

[GWR64]

https://twitter.com/northropgrumman/status/1392540076605952000

Our GEM 63 solid rocket motors are on their way to support @ulalaunch
’s #AtlasV STP-3 mission for the @SpaceForceDoD
. Learn more: http://ms.spr.ly/6011VS0bU

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/atlas-v-stp-3/

ATLAS V TO LAUNCH STP-3

• Rocket: Atlas V 551
• Mission: Space Test Program-3
• Launch Date: June 23, 2021
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Mission Information: A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket will launch the Space Test Program (STP)-3 mission for the U.S. Space Force. Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

The STP-3 mission consists of the STPSat-6 satellite that hosts the National Nuclear Security Administration's Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) package and NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment. The launch also includes a propulsive secondary payload adapter carrying additional small science and technology missions.

Launch Notes: This will be 145th mission for United Launch Alliance and our 92nd in service to U.S. national security. It is the 88th Atlas V launch and the 12th in the 551 configuration, which has launched missions to Pluto and Jupiter.

[zubenelgenubi]

United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket, dated May 21
Paraphrase: STP-3 flight will be the first use of a new design "5 meter" payload fairing that requires no autoclave treatment, only curing in an oven.  Product of a ULA/RUAG Space partnership, it is produced at the ULA Decatur, Alabama facility.

[Josh_from_Canada]

Interesting to note that AV-093 was tagged in the same article. This might be the tail number for the upcoming STP-3 mission. https://spaceflightnow.com/tag/av-093/

United Launch Alliance nears first fueling test on Vulcan rocket, dated May 21
Paraphrase: STP-3 flight will be the first use of a new design "5 meter" payload fairing that requires no autoclave treatment, only curing in an oven.  Product of a ULA/RUAG Space partnership, it is produced at the ULA Decatur, Alabama facility.

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY M21-062

Media Invited to NASA’s Laser Communications Demonstration Launch

U.S. media accreditation has opened for an upcoming rocket launch with a NASA payload that aims to enhance communications capabilities for the agency’s future missions, including the potential to increase bandwidth 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems.

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will fly as a payload on STPSat-6, the primary spacecraft of the third Space Test Program (STP-3) mission for the Department of Defense. STP-3 is scheduled to lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket Wednesday, June 23, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Members of the media who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and interested in covering the launch must submit a media access application and registration form to Space Launch Delta 45 at: [email protected]. Requests should be submitted no later than 5 p.m. EDT Friday, June 11. Applicants will be notified of acceptance Tuesday, June 15. NASA subject matter experts will be available for interviews the day before launch.

LCRD represents a significant step toward making operational laser, or optical, communications a reality. The payload’s microwave-oven-size optical modules will send and receive data over infrared lasers – not visible to the human eye – at 1.2 gigabits per second from geosynchronous orbit to Earth. At that rate, it’s possible to download a two-hour movie in about 20 seconds.

Engineers will beam data between LCRD and optical ground stations located in Table Mountain, California, and Haleakalā, Hawaii, once it is positioned more than 22,000 miles above Earth. Experiments will allow engineers to refine the transmission process, study different operational scenarios, and refine tracking systems. LCRD will generate essential data and information to prepare laser communications systems for operational missions, as engineers cannot replicate the same conditions with ground tests.

Later in its mission, LCRD will conduct optical communications relay services with a future terminal on the International Space Station, which is expected to launch on a commercial resupply services mission in 2022. These operations could prove the viability of using laser communications in future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

The LCRD mission is led by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Partners include NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. LCRD is funded through NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program, part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, and the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within the agency’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. 

STP-3 is a co-manifested spacecraft launch mission managed by the U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center. The STP-3 mission matures technology and reduces risk for the Department of the Air Force, USSF, and defense and civil partners. The primary spacecraft on STP-3 is STPSat-6 and the rideshare spacecraft is the Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) -1, or LDPE-1. Northrop Grumman built both spacecraft.

To stay updated about LCRD and laser communications, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/lasercomms

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1400800541198934017

The launch of a ULA #AtlasV 551 rocket carrying the #STP3 mission for the @SpaceForceDOD @USSF_SMC has been delayed to evaluate launch vehicle readiness. We are working with our customer to determine the next available launch opportunity. bit.ly/av_stp3

[Navier–Stokes]

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1400804500215042054

Any details on the reason for the delay, or how long it might be? Thanks.

Those watching the live feed, may have observed some ringing of RL10s's new carbon nozzle extension.  While it did its job, boosting RL10's eye watering performance even a bit higher, we want to make sure we fully understand that behavior before flying this configuration again.

[Navier–Stokes]

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1400812085513277448

Those watching the live feed, may have observed some ringing of RL10s's new carbon nozzle extension.  While it did its job, boosting RL10's eye watering performance even a bit higher, we want to make sure we fully understand that behavior before flying this configuration again.

The Aerojet Rocketdyne-built RL10C engine's bell nozzle is visibly vibrating as the upper stage continues on.

Tory, is this the ringing you're talking about?

yes

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

Multiple USA launch updates from SFN Launch Schedule, updated June 7

Atlas 5 / STP-3
Launch date: NET July
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

***

(Discussion of a possible need to re-schedule the Starliner OFT-2 launch starts here.  Or, ULA may launch Starliner OFT-2 on-time and delay STP-3.)

[gongora]

This flight is behind OFT-2 now

[zubenelgenubi]

This flight is behind OFT-2 now.

Cross-post; STP-3 launch NET late August/early September?:

However, pad availability could still be an issue

What is the approximate minimum time needed between Atlas V launches from SLC-41?

...It looks like roughly a month is the shortest previous window between two SLC-41 launches...

AV-069     November 19, 2016
AV-071     December 18, 2016

29 days

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post; my bold:

L9 [Landsat 9] has completed its pre-ship review (PSR). Next up is shipment from Northrop (Arizona) to Vandenberg SFB in early July. Launch readiness date is still 16 Sept 2021.
Barring any spacecraft issues between now and then, that date will depend on the ULA team flying back to California following a possible late August/early September launch of STP3 from the Cape.

[zubenelgenubi]

Early September launch for STP-3

STP-3 launch NET late August/early September?:

...It looks like roughly a month is the shortest previous window between two SLC-41 launches...

AV-069     November 19, 2016
AV-071     December 18, 2016
29 days

My bold:

L9 [Landsat 9] has completed its pre-ship review (PSR). Next up is shipment from Northrop (Arizona) to Vandenberg SFB in early July. Launch readiness date is still 16 Sept 2021.
...[Landsat 9] date will depend on the ULA team flying back to California following a possible late August/early September launch of STP3 from the Cape.

Cross-post:

https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/  [updated July 13]

Early September • Atlas 5 • STP-3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

[zubenelgenubi]

Atlas V Eastern Range [SLC-41]:
NET early September STP-3
October 16 to November 5 Lucy
NET Lucy August? Starliner OFT-2
NET mid-November GSSAP-5 & 6
NET mid-December CFT?
January 8, 2022 GOES-T

Cross-post; further OFT-2 launch delays could delay STP-3 launch:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Guide.html. [Updated August 11]

ATLAS 5

The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral is TBD. An Atlas 5, flying with two solid rocket boosters, will launch the second test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, OFT-2, to the ISS on TBD. An Atlas 5 with no boosters will launch NASA's Lucy asteroid mission on October 16 at 5:34am EDT. An Atlas 5 with the maximum five solid rocket boosters will launch the third Space Test Program mission, STP-3, for the U.S. Space Force on TBD. An Atlas 5 with one solid rocket booster will launch the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force on TBD.
<snip>

[zubenelgenubi]

I heard no specific mention during the August 13 OFT-2 teleconference (Atlas V will be de-stacked, Starliner returns to the C3PF) that STP-3 will still launch in early September.  Mention was made that OFT-2 launch would make way for national security payloads also awaiting launch from SLC-41.  And separately, mention was made that OFT-2 would launch, at the earliest, after Lucy--interplanetary launch window October 16 through November 5.

[Fmedici]

Atlas V Eastern Range [SLC-41]:
NET early September STP-3
October 16 to November 5 Lucy
NET Lucy August? Starliner OFT-2
NET mid-November GSSAP-5 & 6
NET mid-December CFT?
January 8, 2022 GOES-T

Cross-post; further OFT-2 launch delays could delay STP-3 launch:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Guide.html. [Updated August 11]

ATLAS 5

The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral is TBD. An Atlas 5, flying with two solid rocket boosters, will launch the second test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, OFT-2, to the ISS on TBD. An Atlas 5 with no boosters will launch NASA's Lucy asteroid mission on October 16 at 5:34am EDT. An Atlas 5 with the maximum five solid rocket boosters will launch the third Space Test Program mission, STP-3, for the U.S. Space Force on TBD. An Atlas 5 with one solid rocket booster will launch the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force on TBD.
<snip>

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1426542458029105155

So no STP-3 in September, could it be delayed even to 2022 with the tight schedule at SLC-41?

[Fmedici]

cross-post

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1426664007331688448

Zakhar Peleshuk @Berkut1988

STP-3?

4:53 PM · 14 авг. 2021 г.·Twitter Web App

Tory Bruno @torybruno · 8h

After Lucy