This launch, one of 11 for ULA's Atlas V in 2016, has slipped to January 26, 2017. So now we're looking at 10 Atlas V launches this calendar year. From memory, WHAP or Newton_V have suggested there may be another that slips to 2017.We also lost the Mars Insight mission to 2018 or maybe never.
Now NET 2018:QuoteTwo satellite launches planned for this fall #AEHF4 and #SBIRSGEO4 are being delayed to 2018 due to separate issues spaceflightnow.com/2017/08/02/two…https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/892830508530503681
Two satellite launches planned for this fall #AEHF4 and #SBIRSGEO4 are being delayed to 2018 due to separate issues spaceflightnow.com/2017/08/02/two…
Quote from: vapour_nudge on 03/06/2016 04:03 amThis launch, one of 11 for ULA's Atlas V in 2016, has slipped to January 26, 2017. So now we're looking at 10 Atlas V launches this calendar year. From memory, WHAP or Newton_V have suggested there may be another that slips to 2017.We also lost the Mars Insight mission to 2018 or maybe never.If I remember correctly, I think I was referring to this one as the "other one" slipping to 2017. The Delta Ii was first, then Insight, the AEHF. AV-070 is now the unassigned tail number, with the December ER slot now open.My bet is Insight will fly in 2018, but you never know.
What it’s like to fly a billion-dollar satellite on the US Air Force’s largest planeBy Tim Fernholz in Moffett FieldAugust 12, 2018
http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.htmlQuoteATLAS 5The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, flying with the maximum fiveSRBs, will launch AEHF-4 for the US Air Force on October 17 or 18 at the very earliest, aroundmidnight EDT. The launch window stretches two hours.
ATLAS 5The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, flying with the maximum fiveSRBs, will launch AEHF-4 for the US Air Force on October 17 or 18 at the very earliest, aroundmidnight EDT. The launch window stretches two hours.
The launch window opens shortly after midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Oct. 17.
http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.htmlQuoteThe next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, flying with the maximum five SRBs, will launch AEHF-4 for the US Air Force on October 17 at 12:15am EDT. The launch window stretches two hours to 2:15am EDT.
The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, flying with the maximum five SRBs, will launch AEHF-4 for the US Air Force on October 17 at 12:15am EDT. The launch window stretches two hours to 2:15am EDT.
Anyone understand why the third Centaur burn is not performed at apogee?
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 10/04/2018 06:20 amAnyone understand why the third Centaur burn is not performed at apogee?Likely a combination of any or all of:Time to SV-Sep is greatly reduced with small impact to performance (didn't calculate time from TA of 145ish to 180)SV or LV battery/power requirementsSV or LV thermal requirementsPost-SVSep mission opsothers
Was AEHF-4 processed at Astrotech? (The previous 3 AEHF s/c were.)http://www.astrotechspaceoperations.com/mission-history
Launch day overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20% Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds24-hour delay overall probability of violating weather constraints 40% Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds, Anvil Cloud Rule
I have a question about this launch. AEHF- 1 through 3 rode a 531 into a ~GTO-1500 orbit. AEHF-4 is riding a 551 into ~GTO-1000. Why? the perigee of the centaur will be such that it won't decay for millennia, surely this is a concern.
For those who have a hard time understanding why the U.S. military is worried about a war in space, Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond offered a vivid analogy: He compared the constellations that the military has on orbit today to “slow kids in gym class that can’t run very fast.”Slowness could be a big problem if Chinese or Russian anti-satellite weapons were targeted U.S. spacecraft. U.S. constellations “are not all that defendable,” Raymond said on Wednesday at the Air Force Association’s annual symposium.
10:24 p.m. EDT (0224 UTC)The Centaur liquid oxygen tank is half full.
10:29 p.m. EDT (0229 UTC)The Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen tank has reached the 75 percent level as filling continues.The chilldown conditioning of liquid hydrogen propellant lines at Space Launch Complex 41 is starting to prepare the plumbing for transferring the Minus-423-degree F fuel into the rocket.
10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 UTC)Filling of the Atlas V rocket’s largest tank has begun. About 48,800 gallons of super-cold oxidizer for the main engine is flowing into the liquid oxygen tank on common core booster first stage.
10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 UTC)The Centaur liquid oxygen tank is topping to flight level. Meanwhile, first stage liquid oxygen loading is transitioning from slow-fill to fast-fill mode.
10:50 p.m. EDT (0250 UTC)The first stage liquid oxygen tank has reached the 20 percent mark.
10:55 p.m. EDT (0255 UTC)The launch team has received the "go" to begin filling the Centaur upper stage with the super-cold fuel following chilldown of the system. The Centaur holds about 12,300 gallons of the cryogenic propellant for its three engine burns during this launch.
11:02 p.m. EDT (0302 UTC)First stage liquid oxygen tank is 50 percent full thus far. The LOX will be consumed along with RP-1, a highly refined kerosene, by the RD-180 main engine on the first stage during the initial four-and-a-half minutes of flight. The 25,000 gallons of RP-1 were loaded into the rocket after rollout yesterday.
11:08 p.m. EDT (0308 UTC)Centaur's liquid hydrogen tank is 50 percent full. The cryogenic propellant will be consumed with liquid oxygen by the stage's Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine.
11:14 p.m. EDT (0314 UTC)The liquid hydrogen tank in the Centaur upper stage just reached the 96 percent level. Topping is beginning.
11:15 p.m. EDT (0315 UTC)This is Atlas Launch Control with 60 minutes remaining in our countdown to liftoff at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC). Today marks the 79th flight for Atlas 5 since debuting in August 2002. The vehicle has a 100 percent mission success record for the Defense Department, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and commercial customers.
11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 UTC)Fast-filling of the first stage liquid oxygen tank has been completed. Topping mode is now underway to give us a fully-fueled, 1.3-million-pound rocket for flight. The cryogenics will be replenished throughout the countdown until the final minutes before launch to replace the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen that naturally boils away.
11:44 p.m. EDT (0344 UTC)The fuel fill sequence is beginning. This procedure releases RP-1 kerosene fuel into the RD-180 main engine in preparation for ignition.
11:46 p.m. EDT (0346 UTC)Weather is observed and forecast GO for liftoff at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 UTC) today, according to the countdown’s final planned briefing by Air Force weather officer Jessica Williams.
12:21 a.m. EDT (0421 UTC)T+plus 6 minutes, 30 seconds. A look at first stage performance numbers show a nominal burn by the common core booster.
12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 UTCT+plus 15 minutes. The first burn by Centaur inserted the rocket into the precise target orbit as planned.
12:43 a.m. EDT (0443 UTC)T+plus 28 minutes, 27 seconds. The second main engine cutoff, or MECO-2, is confirmed for Centaur, completing the next step towards the targeted orbit to deploy AEHF-4. The rocket now begins a three-hour coast away from Earth to reach the proper point in space for the morning’s third burn by the upper stage to optimize the orbit for payload release.
"At separation, the spacecraft is expected to be in an orbit of 8,914 by 35,299 kilometers (5,539 by 21,934 miles, 4,813 by 19,060 nautical miles), inclined at 12.8 degrees "Could anybody calculate delta V for GSO?
United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches AEHF-4 MissionAtlas V AEHF-4 Mission Information PageAtlas V AEHF-4 Mission OverviewPhotos: Atlas V AEHF-450th Launch for the U.S. Air Force Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (Oct. 17, 2018) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) mission for the U.S. Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on Oct. 17 at 12:15 a.m. EDT. The launch of AEHF-4 marks ULA’s 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force; ULA’s first Air Force mission was Space Test Program-1 (STP-1), launched March 8, 2007. “ULA’s unparalleled record of successfully launching and placing payloads in orbit signifies our profound commitment to national defense,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “We remain the only launch provider capable of placing our customers’ payloads into any national security space orbit, anytime, which we’ve proudly exhibited through 50 launches for the U.S. Air Force.” “Over the past 12 years, the men and women of ULA have reliably delivered dozens of Air Force payloads into orbit from GPS to WGS, and SBIRS to AEHF,” said Gen. Jay Raymond, commander of Air Force Space Command. “ULA’s unprecedented 100 percent launch success has directly contributed to our national security. Congratulations to the entire launch team on a successful 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force.” This mission launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 551 configuration vehicle, which includes a 5-meter large Payload Fairing (PLF) and stands at 197 ft. tall. Producing more than two and a half million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the Atlas V 551 configuration rocket is the most powerful in the Atlas V fleet. The 551 rocket has launched groundbreaking missions for our nation—from the critically important Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) constellation to historic science missions including New Horizons, the first mission to Pluto, and the Juno mission to Jupiter. The AEHF system, developed by Lockheed Martin, provides vastly improved global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters. “Today’s launch exemplifies ULA’s ongoing commitment to 100 percent mission success,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs.”My sincere thanks to the entire ULA team and our mission partners who made this, our 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force, possible.” AEHF-4 is ULA’s eighth launch in 2018 and 131st successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.ULA's next launch is the NROL-71 mission for the National Reconnaisance Office on a Delta IV Heavy rocket. The launch is scheduled for Nov. 29 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.With more than a century of combined heritage, ULA is the world’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 130 satellites to orbit that provide Earth observation capabilities, enable global communications, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, and support life-saving technology. For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.
54 debris objects have now been cataloged in geotransfer orbit from the disintegration of the @ulalaunch rocket stage Centaur AV-073, which was launched in 2018 and broke up on Apr 6.
What was the reason for it breaking up? I must have missed it.
It wasn't passivated (or at least wasn't done so correctly). So there was still energy stored onboard, probably in the form of pressurized tanks. Something "popped" in April.
incorrect
Yes all Centaurs are passivated, thats been true for decades. Makes me think it might be a debris hit?
It might be, but the original @18SPCS notification said that they had no indication it was caused by a collision. I tend to believe that even a small collision with an upper stage would produce more than 52 pieces of trackable debris.
Update on tweets in previous post. In response to claim of passivation issue:https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1187723506773045248Quoteincorrect
