Author Topic: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)  (Read 119222 times)

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #140 on: 02/03/2014 06:38 pm »
Will all vehicles have an option to fly with a star engine on top of the orbital adjust module?
The user's guide described use of a Star 37FM fifth stage on Athena 2c for GTO and escape missions, but did not mention it for Athena 1c.  The smaller rocket would likely only be used for LEO missions.  Star 37FM weighs more than the mass that Athena 1c can lift to LEO.   

 - Ed Kyle
I am told that more updated and slightly more detailed documentation from both ATK and LM to be released sometime during the first half of 2014. No release dates given beyond what i just stated have been found yet.

Offline Lurker Steve

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #141 on: 03/13/2014 11:22 pm »
Question :
The Castor 120 from ATK isn't significantly different from the PeaceKeeper / Minuteman motors that Orbital is reusing, right ? In fact, isn't Orbital replacing the old ICBM motor with a Castor 120 in the Minotaur-C rocket ?
 
So, what makes the Lockheed stack of ATK motors significantly different from the Orbital stack of ATK motors, other than the vendor-specific flight computers of course ?
 

Offline Jim

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #142 on: 03/13/2014 11:24 pm »
Upperstages are different

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #143 on: 03/14/2014 03:31 am »
Upperstages are different
Here's a visual comparison to illustrate.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 03/14/2014 03:32 am by edkyle99 »

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #144 on: 03/14/2014 12:06 pm »
Other than the Castor 120, has any other first stage been used as an upper stage?

The only ones I can think of are WAC-Corpral's launched off V-2's in the BUMPER program, and the air lighting of the Titan III/IV first stages.
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Offline pippin

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #145 on: 03/14/2014 12:10 pm »
Vanguard/Viking
« Last Edit: 03/14/2014 12:10 pm by pippin »

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #146 on: 03/14/2014 12:11 pm »

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #147 on: 03/14/2014 12:14 pm »
Many stages used for sounding rockets have flown as first stages as well as upper stages:

e.g.:

Nike
Terrier
Castor
Sergeant
Honest John (a.k.a. Taurus)
Orion
Malemute
Deacon / Cajun / Apache
Black Brant
...

Offline pippin

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #148 on: 03/14/2014 12:15 pm »
Vanguard/Viking
No.
Ah, I see. Somehow I had thought delta was the 3rd stage, not the 2nd.

Offline Lurker Steve

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #149 on: 03/14/2014 12:38 pm »
Upperstages are different
Here's a visual comparison to illustrate.

 - Ed Kyle

I was looking at the ATK catalog not too long ago when the Minotaur-C was announced to look at the various motor stages. The Orion 50 and the Castor 30 motors seem to put out about the same total thrust, just the burn time is about twice as long for one of the them.

It's interesting how 2 vendors are competing for the low end government launches with such similar designs.

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #150 on: 03/16/2014 01:53 pm »
I was looking at the ATK catalog not too long ago when the Minotaur-C was announced to look at the various motor stages. The Orion 50 and the Castor 30 motors seem to put out about the same total thrust, just the burn time is about twice as long for one of the them.

It's interesting how 2 vendors are competing for the low end government launches with such similar designs.
They're working from the same catalog!  The catalog - and it is really the only such catalog in the U.S. - has its origin in U.S. missile program needs.  Castor 120 was derived from the Peacekeeper missile first stage.  The Orion 50 series motors were, I believe, "inspired" by the Small ICBM program. 

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 03/16/2014 02:06 pm by edkyle99 »

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #151 on: 08/20/2014 12:59 pm »
So....is Lockheed Martin still pressing ahead with the Athena many MIRV cubesat launch next year? I have not seen any reports of a cubesat/microsat taking a seat on that flight.....  ::)
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #152 on: 08/21/2014 11:04 pm »
So....is Lockheed Martin still pressing ahead with the Athena many MIRV cubesat launch next year? I have not seen any reports of a cubesat/microsat taking a seat on that flight.....  ::)
There Investor relations site still lists a launch next year no updates at this time.

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #153 on: 08/22/2014 12:38 am »
So....is Lockheed Martin still pressing ahead with the Athena many MIRV cubesat launch next year? I have not seen any reports of a cubesat/microsat taking a seat on that flight.....  ::)
I call it a canister cubsat bus :D like a canister tank cannon round.

IIRC cubsat generally don't have active maneuvering systems.

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #154 on: 09/05/2014 08:34 pm »
I just found this article from June, which had some updated information.  It said that the first multiple cubesat Athena would not fly until 2016 at the earliest, because Lockheed Martin was still fishing for customers and it takes up to 24 months to prepare a launch after a contract is signed.  Meanwhile, Athena 1 and 2 launches are planned for NASA and USAF, but no dates were given.  Athena 3 and the Athena 2cS variants with strap-on boosters are still not for sale, being evaluated, etc.

http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2014/06/12/lockheed-martin-targets-smallsats-with-athena-rockets-aims-for-12-launches-a-year/

 - Ed Kyle

Offline rusty

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #155 on: 12/13/2014 12:21 am »
Alaska Aerospace Corp. has selected Lockheed Martin to use a renovated launch pad at the Kodiak Launch Complex for the company’s Athena 2S launch vehicle, the state-owned corporation announced Dec. 12
http://spacenews.com/alaska-aerospace-selects-lockheed-martin-for-kodiak-launches/
...
Lockheed Martin has yet to announce any customers for the Athena 2S, a version of the company’s Athena 2 solid-propellant launch vehicle that adds up to six strap-on boosters to place payloads weighing up to 3,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbits. The first launches from Kodiak would take place in late 2016 or early 2017, according to the company. ...

Online Galactic Penguin SST

Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #156 on: 12/13/2014 03:39 am »
Alaska Aerospace Corp. has selected Lockheed Martin to use a renovated launch pad at the Kodiak Launch Complex for the company’s Athena 2S launch vehicle, the state-owned corporation announced Dec. 12
http://spacenews.com/alaska-aerospace-selects-lockheed-martin-for-kodiak-launches/
...
Lockheed Martin has yet to announce any customers for the Athena 2S, a version of the company’s Athena 2 solid-propellant launch vehicle that adds up to six strap-on boosters to place payloads weighing up to 3,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbits. The first launches from Kodiak would take place in late 2016 or early 2017, according to the company. ...

I wonder who will win in this OSC vs LockMart battle for the few payloads in this class against international competitors. Maybe it will be neither?  :P
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #157 on: 12/13/2014 11:35 am »
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST
I wonder who will win in this OSC vs LockMart battle for the few payloads in this class against international competitors. Maybe it will be neither?  :P
ATK ;) Post merger, even if Lockheed wins, Orbital will still win.
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Offline edkyle99

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #158 on: 12/14/2014 03:52 pm »
Alaska Aerospace Corp. has selected Lockheed Martin to use a renovated launch pad at the Kodiak Launch Complex for the company’s Athena 2S launch vehicle, the state-owned corporation announced Dec. 12
http://spacenews.com/alaska-aerospace-selects-lockheed-martin-for-kodiak-launches/
...
Lockheed Martin has yet to announce any customers for the Athena 2S, a version of the company’s Athena 2 solid-propellant launch vehicle that adds up to six strap-on boosters to place payloads weighing up to 3,000 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbits. The first launches from Kodiak would take place in late 2016 or early 2017, according to the company. ...
To me, this sounds like a death knell of sorts for "Athena 3", since Alaska Aerospace is taking advantage of the launch failure to make the repaired existing pad "Athena 2cS capable" rather than building the new "Athena 3" class pad it originally envisioned.   As noted, however, there are no current plans to fly Athena 2cS. 

Athena 2cS could be a potent little machine, able to lift in its most powerful form more than 3 tonnes to a 700 km sun synchronous orbit (equivalent to nearly 4.2 tonnes to a 500 km x 28.5 deg orbit from Cape Canaveral).  That's more than any Minotaur.  More than Titan 23G.  Probably more than Titan 34B.  More than any "Delta 2 Lite" (7320 and 7420 series).

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 12/14/2014 03:56 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Athena News (Athena 3 Still Kicking)
« Reply #159 on: 12/15/2014 04:14 pm »
Lockheed Martin has released this conceptual image of Athena II(c)S at the to-be-rebuilt Kodiak launch pad.  Note that the company now seems to call this simply "Athena IIS", rather than the original "Athena IIcS".
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/december/alaska-athena.html

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 12/15/2014 04:27 pm by edkyle99 »

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