Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : GPS III SV01 : SLC-40 : Dec. 23, 2018 - DISCUSSION  (Read 199097 times)

Online jacqmans

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https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-08-27-U-S-Air-Forces-First-Advanced-GPS-III-Satellite-Shipped-To-Cape-Canaveral-For-Launch
News Release Issued: Aug 27, 2018 (9:07am EDT)

U.S. Air Force's First Advanced GPS III Satellite Shipped To Cape Canaveral For Launch

Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III Will Be More Powerful, Jam Resistant

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The first of the U.S. Air Force's advanced new, higher-power, harder-to-jam GPS III satellites is making its way to the launch pad.

On August 20, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) shipped the U.S. Air Force's first GPS III space vehicle (GPS III SV01) to Cape Canaveral for its expected launch in December. Designed and built at Lockheed Martin's GPS III Processing Facility near Denver, the satellite was shipped from Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, to the Cape on a massive Air Force C-17 aircraft. 

GPS III will be the most powerful and resilient GPS satellite ever put on orbit. Developed with an entirely new design for U.S. and allied forces, it will have three times greater accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities over the previous GPS II satellite design block, which makes up today's GPS constellation.

GPS III also will be the first GPS satellite to broadcast the new L1C civil signal. Shared by other international global navigation satellite systems, like Galileo, the L1C signal will improve future connectivity worldwide for commercial and civilian users.

"Once on orbit, the advanced technology of this first GPS III space vehicle will begin playing a major role in the Air Force's plan to modernize the GPS satellite constellation," said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin's program manager for Navigation Systems. "We are excited to start bringing GPS III's new capabilities to the world and proud to continue to serve as a valued partner for the Air Force's positioning, navigation and timing mission systems."

GPS III SV01 is the first of ten new GPS III satellites under contract and in full production at Lockheed Martin. 
« Last Edit: 08/27/2018 01:59 pm by gongora »
Jacques :-)

Offline mazen hesham

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« Last Edit: 08/28/2018 03:26 pm by mazen hesham »

Offline zubenelgenubi

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Some confirmations of various GPS III facts from this article--is there anything new?:
Air Force releases new target dates for upcoming military launches, by Stephen Clark, September 7

Launch date and flight profile:
Quote
SpaceX is slated to launch the Air Force’s first third-generation GPS 3-series satellite no earlier than Dec. 15.

A Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the navigation payload to an elliptical transfer orbit ranging between a few hundred miles above Earth to a maximum altitude of nearly 12,550 miles (20,200 kilometers). The first batch of 10 GPS 3-series craft, built by Lockheed Martin, will use on-board propellant to maneuver into their 12,550-mile-high circular orbits.

Re: names/designations
Quote
The GPS 3 satellite, designated Space Vehicle 1, or SV01 — rode an Air Force C-17 cargo plane from its Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado to Titusville, Florida, on Aug. 21 to begin launch preparations at the Astrotech spacecraft processing facility.

The first of the GPS 3-series satellites to launch has been nicknamed “Vespucci” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer for whom the Americas were named. While the spaceraft was the first off Lockheed Martin’s GPS assembly line and will be first to go into space, it’s also known as the GPS 3-02 mission because it was the second GPS 3-series satellite assigned to a rocket.

GPS III capability:
Quote
The new satellite will also be the first GPS craft to broadcast the L1C navigation frequency, ensuring the U.S. navigation fleet’s compatibility with other networks, such as Europe’s Galileo system. The GPS 3 satellites will provide more accurate position measurements and debut improved anti-jamming features, but the multibillion-dollar program has been hamstrung by trouble developing ground control software.

“The shipment of the first GPS 3 satellite to the launch processing facility is a hallmark achievement for the program,” said Lt. Gen. John Thompson, SMC commander and Air Force program executive officer for space. “The modernization of GPS has been an outstanding collaborative effort and this brings us another step closer to launch.”

Horizontal integration:
Quote
The satellite will also be the first GPS craft to be attached to its launcher horizontally. The Air Force said the launch, which had been scheduled for October, was delayed to December to complete qualification and validation work on SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.

« Last Edit: 09/12/2018 04:27 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline vaporcobra

Some confirmations of various GPS III facts from this article--is there anything new?:
Air Force releases new target dates for upcoming military launches

Launch date and flight profile:
Quote
SpaceX is slated to launch the Air Force’s first third-generation GPS 3-series satellite no earlier than Dec. 15.

A Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the navigation payload to an elliptical transfer orbit ranging between a few hundred miles above Earth to a maximum altitude of nearly 12,550 miles (20,200 kilometers). The first batch of 10 GPS 3-series craft, built by Lockheed Martin, will use on-board propellant to maneuver into their 12,550-mile-high circular orbits.

Generally all stuff that's already been implied or reported, but it helps to have it all in one spot, plus the fact that it sounds like Stephen received those details officially.

Offline cscott

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The horizontal integration tidbit is new to me, although maybe you folks have heard that before. SpaceX still doesn't have vertical integration capability, does it? Seems all the payloads have elected to go horizontal rather than pay for VI?

Online gongora

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The horizontal integration tidbit is new to me, although maybe you folks have heard that before. SpaceX still doesn't have vertical integration capability, does it? Seems all the payloads have elected to go horizontal rather than pay for VI?

SpaceX has not built out any VI capability yet, but they have done studies for the Air Force on how they would do it when needed.  The government probably still has some satellite programs requiring vertical integration.

Offline cscott

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The horizontal integration tidbit is new to me, although maybe you folks have heard that before. SpaceX still doesn't have vertical integration capability, does it? Seems all the payloads have elected to go horizontal rather than pay for VI?

SpaceX has not built out any VI capability yet, but they have done studies for the Air Force on how they would do it when needed.  The government probably still has some satellite programs requiring vertical integration.
Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.

Offline Jim

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Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.

none of those programs have flown on Falcon.  GPS-III program has been basically concurrent with Falcon 9
« Last Edit: 09/13/2018 02:49 pm by Jim »

Offline oiorionsbelt

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Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.

none of those programs have flown on Falcon.  GPS-III program has been basically concurrent with Falcon 9

So the GPS-III satellites have been built with horizontal integration in mind? Was that because SpaceX uses horizontal integration?

Offline deruch

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Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.
none of those programs have flown on Falcon.  GPS-III program has been basically concurrent with Falcon 9
So the GPS-III satellites have been built with horizontal integration in mind? Was that because SpaceX uses horizontal integration?
GPS-III sats are built on Lockheed Martin's A2100 commercial satellite bus.  So, given that the payloads aren't specialized structures requiring VI, it's not that surprising that they have been capable of horizontal integration from the start.  I don't think it is in any way reasonable to have classed them as part of a "program requiring vertical integration." 

LM and the Air Force finished CDR for the GPS-III program in August 2010, only about 2 months after the first successful F9 demo launch and ~5 years before SpaceX was able to get the F9 certified for NSS launches.  I think the decision to use the A2100 bus was about potential cost savings by using a commercial bus, as opposed to cheaper launch processing.  At the time that CDR had finished, it was still not at all reasonable to think that F9 would be a lock to be chosen as a future launcher.
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Offline niwax

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Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.
none of those programs have flown on Falcon.  GPS-III program has been basically concurrent with Falcon 9
So the GPS-III satellites have been built with horizontal integration in mind? Was that because SpaceX uses horizontal integration?
GPS-III sats are built on Lockheed Martin's A2100 commercial satellite bus.  So, given that the payloads aren't specialized structures requiring VI, it's not that surprising that they have been capable of horizontal integration from the start.  I don't think it is in any way reasonable to have classed them as part of a "program requiring vertical integration." 

Do you have an example of a technical reason to require VI? I've been under the impression it's mostly about packaging to hide the satellite from view at all times.
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Offline jjyach

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Yes. But my point was that so far all those "programs requiring vertical integration" have ended up horizontal when it came time to fly.
none of those programs have flown on Falcon.  GPS-III program has been basically concurrent with Falcon 9
So the GPS-III satellites have been built with horizontal integration in mind? Was that because SpaceX uses horizontal integration?
GPS-III sats are built on Lockheed Martin's A2100 commercial satellite bus.  So, given that the payloads aren't specialized structures requiring VI, it's not that surprising that they have been capable of horizontal integration from the start.  I don't think it is in any way reasonable to have classed them as part of a "program requiring vertical integration." 

Do you have an example of a technical reason to require VI? I've been under the impression it's mostly about packaging to hide the satellite from view at all times.

Some instruments cannot handle rotational loads of being rotated vertical or even being horizontal without some sort of support.  Directives in the DOD have been in place to limit VI from the design phase up, but not everything can yet or it is not possible.

Offline cscott

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Think large space-based cameras with precisely-aligned optics, designed so that all g-loading will always be in the same direction ("down, when mounted on the rocket").

GPS doesn't inherently seem like such a payload, although the atomic clocks might use some of the same sort of precisely-aligned laser/optics.
But "[t]he satellite will also be the first GPS craft to be attached to its launcher horizontally" according to the release.  If I'm understanding Jim properly, he's suggesting that the reason is more to do with this generation of GPS satellite (eg, switching to an atomic clock implementation that doesn't require a delicate optical train) than feedback from SpaceX HI-vs-VI costs.
« Last Edit: 09/14/2018 08:43 am by cscott »

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Think large space-based cameras with precisely-aligned optics, designed so that all g-loading will always be in the same direction ("down, when mounted on the rocket").

That would mean they would need to transport those payloads vertically on the ground as well, for example in trucks and planes. Due to the cylindrical shape of these payloads, I don't believe that is done. That is, they are built up either horizontally or vertically (or both), rotated to horizontal if necessary for transport, and then rotated to vertical for integration on the rocket. All SpaceX is doing is horizontal integration, and then just rotating the whole stack. Also, the vibrational side loads during ascent are quite high, from to 0.5g to 1.5g depending on the vehicle.
« Last Edit: 09/14/2018 10:44 am by Steven Pietrobon »
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Online gongora

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Think large space-based cameras with precisely-aligned optics, designed so that all g-loading will always be in the same direction ("down, when mounted on the rocket").

That would mean they would need to transport those payloads vertically on the ground as well, for example in trucks and planes. Due to the cylindrical shape of these payloads, I don't believe that is done. That is, they are built up either horizontally or vertically (or both), rotated to horizontal if necessary for transport, and then rotated to vertical for integration on the rocket. All SpaceX is doing is horizontal integration, and then just rotating the whole stack. Also, the vibrational side loads during ascent are quite high, from to 0.5g to 1.5g depending on the vehicle.

The VI payloads can stay vertical from the time they reach the payload processing facility, which could be months before flight.

But "[t]he satellite will also be the first GPS craft to be attached to its launcher horizontally" according to the release.  If I'm understanding Jim properly, he's suggesting that the reason is more to do with this generation of GPS satellite (eg, switching to an atomic clock implementation that doesn't require a delicate optical train) than feedback from SpaceX HI-vs-VI costs.

VI has been the default for medium-to-large government payloads for a couple decades because that's how the incumbent launch provider did it.  Some payloads needed it, some didn't.  When GPS-III launches on Delta-IV it will still be vertically integrated.
« Last Edit: 09/14/2018 02:48 pm by gongora »

Offline Jim

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That would mean they would need to transport those payloads vertically on the ground as well, for example in trucks and planes.

Not true.  They have have additional supports in place while being transported horizontal.  Or the spacecraft could be delivered in sections, with final assembly at the launch site.

Offline RDMM2081

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That would mean they would need to transport those payloads vertically on the ground as well, for example in trucks and planes.

Not true.  They have have additional supports in place while being transported horizontal.  Or the spacecraft could be delivered in sections, with final assembly at the launch site.

I'm still having trouble picturing the specific physical requirements or reasons for a payload being required to stay vertical its entire life.  Is it truly a known structural limit/margin that is being enforced, or is it sometimes just a case that the engineering study hasn't been done to "certify" that the payload can handle some loads in a horizontal versus vertical orientation?

This GPSIII change makes it sound more like the latter, where it turns out its been fine for HI all along, but was simply never certified to do so because the launchers were capable of VI and it wasn't worth the money spent to certify for HI before.

Probably completely wrong about all this but I'm hitting post anyway because I do find these inane details fascinating in their own right.

Offline deruch

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That would mean they would need to transport those payloads vertically on the ground as well, for example in trucks and planes.

Not true.  They have have additional supports in place while being transported horizontal.  Or the spacecraft could be delivered in sections, with final assembly at the launch site.

I'm still having trouble picturing the specific physical requirements or reasons for a payload being required to stay vertical its entire life.  Is it truly a known structural limit/margin that is being enforced, or is it sometimes just a case that the engineering study hasn't been done to "certify" that the payload can handle some loads in a horizontal versus vertical orientation?

This GPSIII change makes it sound more like the latter, where it turns out its been fine for HI all along, but was simply never certified to do so because the launchers were capable of VI and it wasn't worth the money spent to certify for HI before.

Probably completely wrong about all this but I'm hitting post anyway because I do find these inane details fascinating in their own right.

Besides satellites with structures that outright require it (e.g. special optics/lenses which might be deformed), it isn't that all satellites which need Vertical Integration have to always be kept vertical.  For many of them, that requirement may only be in effect once they are fueled.  So, the structures may be able to support their own weight in either orientation, but once they have a couple hundred/thousand kg of propellants in their tanks it can be a different story.  Being able to support all that mass while horizontal would entail significant overbuilding to handle the cantilever loads.  So, if the satellite is designed/built so that it only needs to face such loads in a single axis, it can be built lighter.  This is valuable not only in terms of launch mass and rocket performance but, more importantly, for on-orbit life/operations.  The less dry-mass the satellite has, the more effective the thrusters will be.  Spending some time to fully understand the rocket equation (Tsiolkovsky) will show why.  Meaning that it will be more efficient in propellant usage for both station keeping and any orbit changes.  That translates into longer lifetime on orbit and/or more repositioning, etc. 

For GPS-III, the Air Force and LM decided to use a commercial communications satellite bus (A2100) which was already designed to be capable of horizontal integration.  They decided that the cost savings of using that bus outweighed the mass/lifetime penalties.  As an added bonus, it also enabled SpaceX to win some launch contracts without having to implement VI yet.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2018 04:07 am by deruch »
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