Author Topic: Air Force reveals plan for up to 48 launches per year from Cape Canaveral  (Read 37714 times)

Offline john smith 19

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In this regard I liked the sound of the system that was used on the Saturn 1. A pointed rectangular cone. Looked like the thing they used on the V2. All Copper IIRC and uncooled.


It wasn't a pointed rectangular cone. It wasn't All Copper.  And it wasn't uncooled.
I stand corrected, although I'm surprised. My impression of these things was that the bigger ones were (very) large concrete channels. How do cool something like that?

Jupiter, on the other hand, used a kind of sloped pyramidal base plate.  Redstone used something similar. 

 - Ed Kyle
That's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking about.

Man it's depressing my memory is this untrusworthy.  :(
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Offline Jim

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I stand corrected, although I'm surprised. My impression of these things was that the bigger ones were (very) large concrete channels. How do cool something like that?


You can see the water ring here

http://imgur.com/D04kQhf

and the water coming out here


Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Quote
$18.6 million project begins on Cape
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. --

The 45th Space Wing’s communication capabilities took a giant step forward with the groundbreaking of the new Range Communications Facility March 16, 2017.

A ceremony was held to signify the start of construction for the Eastern Range’s $18.6 million project, which will replace the former XY communications building, and serve as the new work center for the space launch program for decades to come.

“It is an exciting time to be at the 45th Space Wing as we continue to break barriers and new ground for the next generation of range communications,” said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander.

The new 32,314-square-foot communications facility will be constructed in the industrial area and will directly support range operations.

In addition to replacing aging equipment and infrastructure, the upgraded building will also resolve other issues, which plagued the old facility to include problems caused by flooding.

“The new facility will alleviate concerns we have every hurricane season resolving structural, mechanical and fire protection problems that the building has experienced over the years. The upgraded facility will now comply with all electrical and telecommunications requirements,” said Robert Elliott, 45th Civil Engineer Squadron project manager.

“As space launch and vehicles evolve, so must the technology and facilities we use to support it,” Monteith said. “This facility is crucial in advancing us toward our drive to 48 and providing ‘assured access to space.”

Once completed, the new facility will house and operate state-of-art communications technology that will decrease operation and maintenance costs and increase long-term reliability, according to William Trump, 45th Range Maintenance Squadron project engineer.

Demolition of the former building at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was completed February 2017, and the new building is slated for completion in 2018.

“It is our goal to deliver this project on time and on budget and well look forward to seeing everyone at the ribbon cutting,” said Lt. Col. Landon Raby, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District deputy commander.

http://www.patrick.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1130459/186-million-project-begins-on-cape

Offline nukie19

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SX's stated goal is "single digit turnaround" of a single pad. IE ready to launch another vehicle within 10 hours of the last one.

With 2 pads on site that (and assuming SX have the launch team to do so) that's 2 9am launches and 2 launches before 7pm the same night. Assuming only week day launches, and excluding the 4 weeks CCAFS are saying they need for maintenance that's 960 launches a year. I guess that's the kind of scale you've got to be geared up for if you're wanting to launch a 12000 satellite comms network in a reasonable time.

AFTS means SX don't need those USAF staff around to help them do the launches.

Wrong.  They still need USAF staff for prelaunch activities and launch support, just a reduced number.  Also, I'm sure you are joking about 960 launches a year, right?  Even if there were that many satellites just sitting around waiting to be launched, you still have to consider the pre-planning work to be done which would never happen with the current number of people working at the ER on that stuff.  And, you'd be essentially shutting down the Port and all the air traffic around the area if you were launching that often.

Online gongora

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[USAF] 45th Launch Group streamlines processes, optimizes mission assurance during organizational change
Quote
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The 5th Space Launch Squadron recently merged mission assurance operations with the 45th Launch Support Squadron (LCSS) to bring technical experts together under one organization and allow for the recently developed Falcon flight to meet future requirements.

Prior to the merger, the members who worked on the United Launch Alliance Atlas and Delta launch vehicles were a part of the 5th SLS under separate flights. However, their counterparts assigned to oversee the SpaceX Falcon launch vehicles were a part of the LCSS.

To maximize efficiency, the Atlas and Delta programs merged into one flight and the Falcon flight officially stood up under their new home at the 5th SLS. With this merger, one squadron is now responsible for all launch vehicle mission assurance.

“Mission assurance” is the process of identifying, tracking and assessing risk of system deficiencies for launch site assembly and testing, as well as launch vehicle and space vehicle processing activities. This process is a requirement for all National Security Space missions.

Knowing the Falcon launch vehicle would soon support NSS payloads, the team developed a plan to ensure a smooth transition. A methodical “crawl, walk, run” mentality was implemented in July 2017 to begin the transition from initial certification activities. By January 15, 2018, the Falcon flight entered its final ‘run’ phase, proving ready to provide mission assurance for the GPS III launch scheduled later this year.

These changes benefit more than just the Falcon flight personnel. Having experts who provide mission assurance for launch vehicles aligned under one squadron allows the team to streamline operations and share best practices, characteristics essential to ensuring public safety as the demand for launches from the Eastern Range continues to increase.

“Organizing all launch vehicle mission assurance under one roof brings all the brainstorming to one place, so the experiential knowledge of what works and doesn’t work can be used to enhance mission assurance,” said 1st Lt. Drew Carrigan, an Air Force responsible engineer in the Atlas/Delta Flight. “We’ve been forced to reevaluate how we do business and challenge the status quo, allowing the squadron to achieve previously unattained heights.”

In forcing the squadron to look inward and reevaluate, Carrigan said the squadron has actually become more agile in their capability to support multiple mission sets.

“We’ve also become more efficient due to the fact many of our mission assurance personnel are able to cover multiple launch vehicles,” he said.

According to Carrigan, this change is a key enabler to meeting the Wing’s ‘Drive to 48’ initiative by having a certification process for all mission assurance personnel.

“We’ve transformed how a team can balance changing requirements while continuing to ensure mission success as our Wing launches at an unprecedented rate,” said Carrigan. “Now that all launch vehicle mission assurance has been consolidated into the 5th SLS, we are united to crush roadblocks and innovate while safeguarding critical government requirements.”

5th SLS leadership acknowledged the challenge of change noted the expertise their team has allows them to adapt and succeed quickly.

“Change is unpleasant for most and it’s especially difficult when you uproot personnel, relocate them and ask them to completely rethink their way of doing business,” said Lt. Col. Waylon Mitchell, 5th Space Launch Squadron commander. “Every member of the 5th SLS was affected by this reorganization in some way, and I was very impressed to see how our members responded with resilience and a positive can-do attitude ready to take on the new challenge.”

Mitchell continued, saying while the launch enterprise is rapidly evolving, the mission assurance community must adapt accordingly.

“We must keep pace with an increasing number of providers, new vehicle designs and innovative concepts of operations, all the while maintaining our commitment to 100% mission success. This organizational change and the ramp up of Falcon mission assurance is just the first step of many to come on that journey into the future of space launch.”
« Last Edit: 03/20/2018 09:33 pm by gongora »

Offline Kansan52

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“We must keep pace with an increasing number of providers, new vehicle designs and innovative concepts of operations, all the while maintaining our commitment to 100% mission success."

My bets on them doing just that!

Offline Robotbeat

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Looks like we could be in for some exciting times.
Quote
“When pad 40 is up and operating, [it will] give us the capability of launching a Falcon from both pad 39A and pad 40 on the same day,” stated the Brig. Gen.
This kind of happened the other day, didn't it? There was supposed to be a Falcon 9 then an Atlas V back to back, but the range chickened out. (I'm sure that's a gross simplification, but it does show that this statement above was kinda optimistic...)
« Last Edit: 03/25/2018 02:21 am by Robotbeat »
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Offline cppetrie

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Looks like we could be in for some exciting times.
Quote
“When pad 40 is up and operating, [it will] give us the capability of launching a Falcon from both pad 39A and pad 40 on the same day,” stated the Brig. Gen.
This kind of happened the other day, didn't it? There was supposed to be a Falcon 9 then an Atlas V back to back, but the range chickened out. (I'm sure that's a gross simplification, but it does show that this statement above was kinda optimistic...)
2 Falcons isn’t the same as a Falcon and an Atlas. For one thing Atlas doesn’t have AFTS. Also, it wasn’t the range that chickened out. ULA and their payload partner didn’t want to risk an event from the Falcon on the pad contaminating their rocket and payload sitting unprotected on the pad nearby. Very different circumstances.

Offline deruch

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Looks like we could be in for some exciting times.
Quote
“When pad 40 is up and operating, [it will] give us the capability of launching a Falcon from both pad 39A and pad 40 on the same day,” stated the Brig. Gen.
This kind of happened the other day, didn't it? There was supposed to be a Falcon 9 then an Atlas V back to back, but the range chickened out. (I'm sure that's a gross simplification, but it does show that this statement above was kinda optimistic...)
2 Falcons isn’t the same as a Falcon and an Atlas. For one thing Atlas doesn’t have AFTS. Also, it wasn’t the range that chickened out. ULA and their payload partner didn’t want to risk an event from the Falcon on the pad contaminating their rocket and payload sitting unprotected on the pad nearby. Very different circumstances.

Or there just wasn't time to get all the involved players to buy into the attempt before the clock ran out (i.e. not just LV providers but also those responsible for the payloads would be canvassed).  There wasn't much time for everyone to get an overview of the potential added risks and do their own evaluation before the opportunity was already going to be over without delaying the Atlas launch.  If the Range wants to try something like that in the future, they might have more success if they don't try to do it on the fly with a short schedule.  Or by getting some of the stakeholders to do some of the risk analysis before it's needed.  Of course, operational capabilities in that type of very condensed scenario is potentially of interest to the Air Force, so... 
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Offline MATTBLAK

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Anyone know how many (roughly) RD-180s they've got left before they have to end Atlas V? Kind of a shame really - always been a great rocket. An Atlas V-Heavy probably would have been cheaper than Delta IV-Heavy, too.
« Last Edit: 03/28/2018 02:03 am by MATTBLAK »
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Offline Lar

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number of RD-180s remaining is not really on topic for launch frequency.
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Offline MATTBLAK

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number of RD-180s remaining is not really on topic for launch frequency.
Strongly disagree - goes to availability of launchers if Vulcan is delayed and exactly when Delta IV ends up being retired.
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Online gongora

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number of RD-180s remaining is not really on topic for launch frequency.
Strongly disagree - goes to availability of launchers if Vulcan is delayed and exactly when Delta IV ends up being retired.

It really makes no difference for Delta IV retirement (unless Vulcan is about 5 years late).  ULA will have enough engines to get through EELV Phase 1A.  Someone will have vehicles able to launch payloads in Phase 2.  Assuming Vulcan is chosen for Phase 2 it could be two years behind the current schedule and it would really make no difference, there is schedule margin.

Offline MATTBLAK

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Hearing that they have margin was more or less what I wanted to hear. I don't expect someone would tell us exactly how many engines they had left, because that would be a need-to-know basis; and I guess I'm not one of the need to know.
« Last Edit: 03/28/2018 01:37 am by MATTBLAK »
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Online gongora

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It really makes no difference for Delta IV retirement (unless Vulcan is about 5 years late).  ULA will have enough engines to get through EELV Phase 1A.  Someone will have vehicles able to launch payloads in Phase 2.  Assuming Vulcan is chosen for Phase 2 it could be two years behind the current schedule and it would really make no difference, there is schedule margin.

I looked back at the RFP for Phase 2, it says Class A/B launch capability by Oct. 2021 (beginning of FY2022), so only one year of margin.  (Unless you take into account they're awarding at least one FY2022 launch in Phase 1A, and so many of the military payloads are late you probably have an extra year.)

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[Space News] Efforts underway to ease Florida’s Space Coast launch congestion
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“As we’re going to 48, we can’t have scrubs unnecessarily,” he said. “It’s very important that we preserve our launch opportunities.”

For range safety, that means a shift in what happens when ships or planes enter restricted zones. An example he gave was a when a tugboat with a two-person crew was spotted in restricted waters ahead of a launch. In the past, such a ship would be treated the same as a cruise ship with thousands on board, but now the Air Force is looking at each ship, and the risk to those on board, individually.

“We went from measuring the risk of hitting the boat to actually causing some sort of casualty,” he said. In that example, the launch could proceed.

Online gongora

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Offline Kansan52

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[Fast Company, Apr. 9, 2018] This U.S. Air Force Commander Helps Elon Musk’s Interns Launch SpaceX Rockets

A good interview with Wayne Monteith, I recommend reading it.

You are correct sir. Nice detail on how they can increase efficiency and safety at the same time.

Offline JQP

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[Fast Company, Apr. 9, 2018] This U.S. Air Force Commander Helps Elon Musk’s Interns Launch SpaceX Rockets

A good interview with Wayne Monteith, I recommend reading it.

I liked it too, posted it to the general discussion as its own item. I searched the site for both Monteith's name and for the title of the article, so blame google for the redundancy. :)

Offline Targeteer

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http://www.afspc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1537200/5th-space-launch-squadron-commander-assumes-command-of-45th-launch-support-squa/

 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. --

Lt. Col. Waylon Mitchell, commander of the 5th Space Launch Squadron (SLS) assumes command of the 45th Launch Support Squadron (LCSS) May 31 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, accepting the command from Lt. Col. Kathryn Cantu.

The change of command ceremony is one of many steps the 45th Space Wing is taking to revitalize the squadron. In time, the 45th LCSS will inactivate and merge with the 5th SLS, under Mitchell, their dual-hatted commander.

“Lt. Col. Cantu was at the forefront of organizational change for the squadron,” said Col. Steven Lang, 45th Launch Group commander. “She was key to this mission. This is a bittersweet moment, letting go of such a great commander, but as we continue on with our mission and execute it to the best of our abilities – there is no doubt that we have incredible leadership in Lt. Col. Mitchell.”

This ceremony cements the 45th Space Wing's role as a forerunner in the race for heightened innovation, efficiency and overall squadron revitalization – as 45th Space Wing commander Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith continues to lead the wing towards the vision of a cohesive, revitalized work force.

The steps the wing is taking will only further integrate the space mission with that of the Air Force itself. The drive to 48 launches a year is only the beginning, the steps we take here are posturing us to be the most successful space organization of the next 20 years, said Monteith.

“I am absolutely committed to taking care of all of my Airmen, 5th SLS and 45th LCSS alike,” said Mitchell. “On the mission-front, our scope will continue to grow but I will maintain the laser focus on mission assurance and support functions that we always have. I understand the gravity of the tasks that lie ahead and I will give it my all every day.”

The 45th LCSS’s mission closely coincides with the 5th SLS – as both provide mission assurance for launches from the Eastern Range. The 5th SLS is responsible for boosters and the LCSS’s responsibility lies with the spacecraft itself.

 “It has been a pleasure to command, these Airmen embrace change and innovation like no other,” said Cantu. “I know that I’m leaving the squadron in good hands. There is not a better person in the Air Force to take command of the LCSS than Lt. Col. Mitchell. I know everyone will continue to knock it out of the park."

Bringing both squadrons under one commander reduces some of the duplication of effort by both parties and provides a more cohesive squadron feel to operations. With a mission so important, Airmen so innovative and such strong leadership – the current course the 45th Space Wing can only drives the wing closer to launch enterprise.
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