Author Topic: LIVE: Delta-IV - WGS-05 - May 24, 2013 (Read 49592 times)

jacqmans · « **on:** 03/05/2013 03:13 pm »

Looks like the first Delta-4 flight of this year is scheduled for May 08... (L2 info)

And the WGS-5 satellite for this launch is scheduled to arrive at KSC-SLF on March 09 (also L2 info)

Launch date moved to May 23, then delayed one day via technical scrub to May 24.

jacqmans · « **Reply #1 on:** 03/14/2013 08:47 am »

Boeing Ships 5th WGS Satellite to Cape Canaveral for 2013 Launch

Block II series transmits airborne ISR imagery 3 times faster

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 12, 2013 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] recently shipped its fifth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite, which will provide the U.S. Air Force with faster transmission of airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance imagery, to Cape Canaveral in Florida for this year's planned launch.

Part of the upgraded Block II series, the satellite arrived at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Fla., on March 9 and will undergo preflight checkout, fueling and integration to prepare for launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.

WGS-5 will join four other Boeing-built WGS satellites to provide warfighters with instant, secure, worldwide connectivity. It features performance upgrades such as a switchable radio frequency bypass that sends imagery approximately three times faster than the data rates currently available to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The next WGS satellite to be produced under the Block II contract, WGS-6, has completed testing and is in storage awaiting its scheduled mid-2013 launch date. WGS satellites -7 through -10 are in production under a Block II follow-on contract signed in August 2010.

"We worked closely with the Air Force to follow a commercial operating model on the Block II follow-on contract," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. "This new model has saved the Air Force more than $150 million without compromising mission assurance."

WGS satellites are built on the proven Boeing 702 satellite platform that takes advantage of decades of industry-leading, space-proven technologies. The four satellites that have been delivered are in operation and meeting or exceeding all mission requirements. WGS satellites include enhanced capabilities designed for flexible communications in both X- and Ka-band frequencies, allowing terminals that operate in different frequency bands to interconnect and reposition coverage beams based on evolving mission needs.

Targeteer · « **Reply #2 on:** 03/30/2013 02:57 am »

via Facebook

45 Space Wing
The launch of the U.S. Air Force's Wideband Global SATCOM mission on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle has been placed on the 45th Space Wing range schedule for May 8.

The launch vehicle and spacecraft are both being processed in Florida.

vapour_nudge · « **Reply #3 on:** 03/30/2013 03:14 am »

They also make note that the investigation into the previous launch anomaly is still progressing and explain it will be completed soon hence the May 8 date:

"The investigation into the off-nominal performance on the Global Positioning System IIF-3 launch last October is still progressing. Final testing related to the investigation is underway. ULA, Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne, and the Air Force have been working closely on this investigation and have approved processing this mission toward the May 8 launch date. Launch officials have planned investigation closure reviews in mid-April."

http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story.asp?id=123342364

averagespacejoe · « **Reply #4 on:** 04/13/2013 05:54 am »

According to SFN we have a new date of May 22nd for WGS 5. Not sure why the 2 week delay but that does skip the Atlas 5 GPS 2F-4 on May 15th next in line after Orbital in the US Launch Schedule.

russianhalo117 · « **Reply #5 on:** 04/17/2013 05:43 pm »

Quote from: averagespacejoe on 04/13/2013 05:54 am

According to SFN we have a new date of May 22nd for WGS 5. Not sure why the 2 week delay but that does skip the Atlas 5 GPS 2F-4 on May 15th next in line after Orbital in the US Launch Schedule.

Ongoing DIV investigation is reason. WGS-5 launch is waiting for pending closure of the investigation before the customer is willing to agree to proceed with the launch.

Jim · « **Reply #6 on:** 04/17/2013 06:42 pm »

WDR is today

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #7 on:** 04/26/2013 07:26 pm »

Mission booklet:

vapour_nudge · « **Reply #8 on:** 04/27/2013 01:49 am »

The launch date is now May 23 (UTC) or May 22 local time hence the Atlas V/GPS will launch first.
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Launch.shtml#/38/

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #9 on:** 04/27/2013 02:37 pm »

L2's expansive daily KSC status has:

SLC-37 – Delta IV / WGS-05
Payload Transfer from Astrotech to CX-37 > 5/06, will be at IRB ~2200 hrs.
Launch scheduled > 5/22/13, window: 2026L - 2058L

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #10 on:** 05/11/2013 01:06 am »

ULA presser:

United Launch Alliance Clears WGS-5 Mission for May 22 Launch

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (May 10, 2013) – United Launch Alliance (ULA) has cleared the launch of the WGS-5 mission, after a thorough flight clearance process was executed following a flight data anomaly that occurred on the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch on Oct. 4, 2012.

"This will be the first Delta IV launch following the low engine performance that was identified on the successful Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch last October," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. "Although the GPS IIF-3 spacecraft was accurately placed into the required orbit, ULA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) and our U.S. Air Force teammates embarked on an investigation to determine why the upper stage engine performance was lower than expected. ULA completed a flight clearance assessment recently for the WGS-5 mission and our Air Force customer also assessed and approved flight clearance for this Delta IV mission."

The ULA/PWR investigation concluded that a fuel leak within the upper stage RL10 engine system was the direct cause of the lower than expected engine performance on the GPS IIF-3 launch. To prevent a recurrence of this sort of fuel leak, the engine and vehicle systems have been very thoroughly inspected and also launch vehicle hardware modifications and changes to how the engine is operated during launch were implemented.

"I thank our customer community and senior technical advisors for working with us throughout this very extensive investigation and flight clearance process," said Sponnick. "Given the comprehensive investigation that included extensive analyses and engine testing, along with the mitigating actions that have been implemented, we have concluded that the risks have been mitigated and that it is safe to proceed with the WGS-5 launch."

Engine testing that was performed to support this ULA investigation replicated fuel leaks like those observed in the GPS IIF-3 launch. The mitigations that have been implemented include extensive engine and launch-vehicle inspections to ensure that there is no damage and that there are no foreign objects that could cause problems for the operation of the engine system during launch. Additionally, launch vehicle hardware modifications and operational changes have been implemented to mitigate risks for the WGS-5 mission and future launches. The hardware modifications include the addition of in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system. The operational changes to reduce risk include changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned in-flight to prepare for the first engine start following the booster phase of flight.

Targeteer · « **Reply #11 on:** 05/12/2013 05:10 pm »

Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/11/2013 01:06 am

ULA presser:

United Launch Alliance Clears WGS-5 Mission for May 22 Launch

...Additionally, launch vehicle hardware modifications and operational changes have been implemented to mitigate risks for the WGS-5 mission and future launches. The hardware modifications include the addition of in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system. The operational changes to reduce risk include changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned in-flight to prepare for the first engine start following the booster phase of flight.

Do these changes hint at LH2 warming in the engine and causing the leak? The purges would prevent buildup while the thermal conditioning could be to prevent a gas buildup from boiling fuel? The only way I can see cold causing a problem is if water somehow got in the system with expanded ice rupturing the fuel line.

Why would or wouldn't these changes be made to the Atlas 5 version?

Let the assault on the amateur analysis begin...

kevin-rf · « **Reply #12 on:** 05/12/2013 08:44 pm »

Sounds like reapplications of lessons learned during the back to back AC-70, AC-71 Atlas I failures.

LouScheffer · « **Reply #13 on:** 05/14/2013 05:24 pm »

Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/11/2013 01:06 am

ULA presser:

The ULA/PWR investigation concluded that a fuel leak within the upper stage RL10 engine system was the direct cause of the lower than expected engine performance on the GPS IIF-3 launch. [...] The mitigations that have been implemented include extensive engine and launch-vehicle inspections to ensure that there is no damage and that there are no foreign objects that could cause problems for the operation of the engine system during launch. [...] The hardware modifications include the addition of in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system. The operational changes to reduce risk include changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned in-flight to prepare for the first engine start following the booster phase of flight.

This seems like a particularly unsatisfying failure report. Normally they are very explicit about what went wrong, how we know what the problem was, and what should be done to fix it.

This one gives the general impression that they have no idea what caused it, and are just suggesting a group of concerns they could not rule out. Icing, FOD, and damaged parts are very different causes, but are all well known problems, and surely are addressed already. So adding emphasis to all three makes it seem they are not really sure what the problem was. Similarly, the wording of failures on the test stand was not very specific (failures 'like' those observed, rather than 'replicated the failure')

But on the other hand, they did not halt the Atlas launches, and they did not request more instrumentation for the next flight. This would suggest they were at least able to narrow it down to parts not on the Atlas version (and I thought the two engines were quite similar, so it should not be a big set).

Overall, it give the impression they know which part(s) failed, but not why. As I said, not very satisfying....

Targeteer · « **Reply #14 on:** 05/15/2013 11:25 am »

It will be interesting to see how much detail the AIB report goes into once it is released. Those are usually (when aircraft related) very detailed.

Nick L. · « **Reply #15 on:** 05/16/2013 12:51 am »

Quote from: LouScheffer on 05/14/2013 05:24 pm

Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/11/2013 01:06 am
ULA presser:

The ULA/PWR investigation concluded that a fuel leak within the upper stage RL10 engine system was the direct cause of the lower than expected engine performance on the GPS IIF-3 launch. [...] The mitigations that have been implemented include extensive engine and launch-vehicle inspections to ensure that there is no damage and that there are no foreign objects that could cause problems for the operation of the engine system during launch. [...] The hardware modifications include the addition of in-flight helium purges to critical areas of the engine system. The operational changes to reduce risk include changes to how the engine is thermally conditioned in-flight to prepare for the first engine start following the booster phase of flight.

This seems like a particularly unsatisfying failure report. Normally they are very explicit about what went wrong, how we know what the problem was, and what should be done to fix it.

This one gives the general impression that they have no idea what caused it, and are just suggesting a group of concerns they could not rule out. Icing, FOD, and damaged parts are very different causes, but are all well known problems, and surely are addressed already. So adding emphasis to all three makes it seem they are not really sure what the problem was. Similarly, the wording of failures on the test stand was not very specific (failures 'like' those observed, rather than 'replicated the failure')

But on the other hand, they did not halt the Atlas launches, and they did not request more instrumentation for the next flight. This would suggest they were at least able to narrow it down to parts not on the Atlas version (and I thought the two engines were quite similar, so it should not be a big set).

Overall, it give the impression they know which part(s) failed, but not why. As I said, not very satisfying....

Or they may know, but aren't willing or able to say. If the failure occurs in a system or part that is ITAR or proprietary, they can't say exactly - even disclosing the existence of such a part could be violating the regulations.

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #16 on:** 05/19/2013 03:52 am »

Weather forecast at launch time: as crappy as the recent weather here in Hong Kong.

http://www.patrick.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-071220-067.pdf

Basically: 40% GO, probable thick clouds and showers in the area. Interestingly the recent X-class solar flare may also be problematic for the launch (avionics/thermal constraints?).

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #17 on:** 05/20/2013 02:14 am »

ULA:

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (May 19, 2013) -- The launch of a Delta IV carrying the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-5) satellite for the U.S. Air Force is rescheduled for Thursday, May 23. During acceptance testing for another mission, an avionics box that is used for controlling the Delta booster RS-68 engine experienced an anomaly. ULA is replacing the engine control unit on the WGS-5 vehicle with one that has been inspected and confirmed to not have the suspect condition that caused the recent anomaly in acceptance testing. On May 23, the opening of the 32-minute window begins at 8:28 p.m. EDT.

input~2 · « **Reply #18 on:** 05/20/2013 08:15 am »

Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/20/2013 02:14 am

ULA:

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (May 19, 2013) -- The launch of a Delta IV carrying the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-5) satellite for the U.S. Air Force is rescheduled for Thursday, May 23. During acceptance testing for another mission, an avionics box that is used for controlling the Delta booster RS-68 engine experienced an anomaly. ULA is replacing the engine control unit on the WGS-5 vehicle with one that has been inspected and confirmed to not have the suspect condition that caused the recent anomaly in acceptance testing. On May 23, the opening of the 32-minute window begins at 8:28 p.m. EDT.

So the window opens May 24 at 0028UTC

Artyom. · « **Reply #19 on:** 05/20/2013 04:59 pm »

Quote

Thursday's 32-minute launch window for the #WGS5 on a #DeltaIV opens at 8:27 p.m .EDT.

https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/336512895418523648