ULA's Atlas V launch of Air Force's AFSPC-11 mission pushed back two days, to April 14, sometime between 4 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. EDT. No explanation offered yet.
Air Force/SMC identifies Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM (CBAS) as primary AFSPC-11 payload launching "mid-April" on Atlas V. In GEO, CBAS to provide communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders, combatant commanders, augmenting existing military satcom.
Finally some info about the payload!https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/982337908395749377QuoteAir Force/SMC identifies Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM (CBAS) as primary AFSPC-11 payload launching "mid-April" on Atlas V. In GEO, CBAS to provide communications relay capabilities to support senior leaders, combatant commanders, augmenting existing military satcom.
James Dean@flatoday_jdean45th Space Wing confirms it is still preparing to support Saturday evening launch of AFSPC-11 on Atlas V 551.
No specific window released yet but I understand it will open 6-ish p.m.
Launch day overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds 24-hour delay overall probability of violating weather constraints: 70%Primary concern(s): Lightning, Cumulus Clouds, Ground Winds
Heads up launch fans! ULA’s #AtlasV is set to launch AFSPC-11 on April 14. Stay tuned for time and broadcast info. bit.ly/av_afspc11
QuoteHeads up launch fans! ULA’s #AtlasV is set to launch AFSPC-11 on April 14. Stay tuned for time and broadcast info. bit.ly/av_afspc11https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/984146829288837120Mission overview attached (I don’t think that’s been posted yet)
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/11/2018 08:01 pmQuoteHeads up launch fans! ULA’s #AtlasV is set to launch AFSPC-11 on April 14. Stay tuned for time and broadcast info. bit.ly/av_afspc11https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/984146829288837120Mission overview attached (I don’t think that’s been posted yet)Overview says deploy orbit is circular equatorial with 24498 naut mi semi major axis. This corresponds toaltitude of 38992 km, 3200 km above GEO. That's rather odd.
Quote from: jcm on 04/12/2018 03:17 amQuote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/11/2018 08:01 pmQuoteHeads up launch fans! ULA’s #AtlasV is set to launch AFSPC-11 on April 14. Stay tuned for time and broadcast info. bit.ly/av_afspc11https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/984146829288837120Mission overview attached (I don’t think that’s been posted yet)Overview says deploy orbit is circular equatorial with 24498 naut mi semi major axis. This corresponds toaltitude of 38992 km, 3200 km above GEO. That's rather odd.I think that's a typo.
We also don't know much about the subsatellite MYCROFT. The upper case name implies it'san acronym. Seems likely that the OFT is Orbital Flight Test. Anyone want to guess the MYCR? :-)
Quote from: Newton_V on 04/12/2018 03:32 amQuote from: jcm on 04/12/2018 03:17 amQuote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/11/2018 08:01 pmQuoteHeads up launch fans! ULA’s #AtlasV is set to launch AFSPC-11 on April 14. Stay tuned for time and broadcast info. bit.ly/av_afspc11https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/984146829288837120Mission overview attached (I don’t think that’s been posted yet)Overview says deploy orbit is circular equatorial with 24498 naut mi semi major axis. This corresponds toaltitude of 38992 km, 3200 km above GEO. That's rather odd.I think that's a typo.Probably.So what do we think the mass of CBAS is? ULA says Atlas 551 carries 3850 kgto GEO. Eagle is probably at least 500 kg, and MYCROFT about 100 kg. So CBAS is at most 3200 kg or so. Who built it? Orbital? Boeing? Loral?
I think that's a typo.
Launch day overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds 24-hour delay overall probability of violating weather constraints: 80%Primary concern(s): Lightning, Cumulus Clouds, Ground Winds
Quote from: Newton_V on 04/12/2018 03:32 amI think that's a typo.Geosynchronous is 42,164.2 km semi major axis, which is 22,766.8 nmi (or 26,199.6 mi), while the given number is 24,498.1 nmi. That's a pretty big typo! Orbital period is 26.72 hours compared to 23.93 hours for GEO.