LIVE: Atlas V 401 - TDRS-M - August 18, 2017

[catdlr]

NASA promo trailer.....

Coming Soon: The Latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M

NASA Goddard
Published on Feb 13, 2017
TDRS-M will enable groundbreaking science and expand the current fleet of satellites. TDRS puts the "space" in Space Network. In geosynchronous orbit around Earth, the TDRS constellation ensures reliable, global communications coverage to more than 35 NASA spacecraft. TDRS-M will be the 12th satellite the TDRS team has launched since 1983.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Stuart Snodgrass

[jacqmans]

Atlas V to Launch NASA’s TDRS-M Mission

Atlas V 401 Configuration RocketRocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 configuration vehicle will launch the Tracking Data Relay System (TDRS)-M payload for NASA.

Date/Site/Launch Time:  Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Live Broadcast: Stay tuned for how you can watch live.

Mission Description: The addition of TDRS-M to the Space Network (SN) will provide the ability to support space communication for an additional 15 years. The network consists of TDRS satellites that transmit data to and from ground stations on Earth for NASA missions and expendable launch vehicles. Without the Space Network, scientists, engineers and control room staff would be unable to readily access data from missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.

Launch Notes: This launch will be ULA’s fifth of 2017 and 120th overall. A ULA Atlas V also launched TDRS-K mission in 2013 and TDRS-L in 2014. This mission will mark the 72nd Atlas V rocket since its inaugural launch in 2002.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.


Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go TDRS-M!

[catdlr]

June 23, 2017
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-076

Media Accreditation Open for Launch of NASA’s Newest Communications Satellite

NASA is preparing to launch the next satellite in the agency’s space network fleet – the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.

Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)-M. Liftoff on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is targeted for 9:02 a.m. EDT Aug. 3, at the opening of a 40-minute launch window.

Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at the Air Force station and nearby at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

All media accreditation requests should be submitted online. Deadlines for accreditation are as follows:

International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, for access to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy.
International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19, for access to Kennedy only.
U.S. media must apply by 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 21, for access to both locations.
Questions about accreditation may be sent to [email protected]. For other questions or additional information, contact Kennedy’s newsroom at 321-867-2468.

The addition of TDRS-M to the fleet will provide NASA’s Space Network the ability to support space communication for an additional 15 years. The network consists of TDRS satellites that transmit data to and from ground stations on Earth for NASA missions and expendable launch vehicles. The Space Network allows scientists, engineers and control room staff to readily access data from missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.

Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems of El Segundo, California, built TDRS-M. NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program, a part of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is responsible for the TDRS network. Launch management of the Atlas V launch service for TDRS-M is the responsibility of the mission directorate's Launch Services Program at Kennedy.

For more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/tdrs

-end-

[jacqmans]

NASA's TDRS-M satellite arrives at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, aboard a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft. The spacecraft will be transported to the nearby Astrotech facility, also in Titusville, for preflight processing. The TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 9:02 a.m. EDT Aug. 3, 2017. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

[zubenelgenubi]

NASA's TDRS-M satellite arrives at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, aboard a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft.
<snip>

The aircraft in the image is a C-17.

According to TDRS-M satellite and its Atlas 5 rocket shipped to Florida for launch campaign, delivery was last Friday, June 23, from Boeing’s Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, California, via Los Angeles International Airport.

Also,

[T]he ocean-going Delta Mariner cargo ship delivered the Atlas 5’s booster stage and Centaur upper stage to Port Canaveral today [June 26] after an 8-day journey from ULA’s production factory in Decatur, Alabama.

Were the two stages the sole cargo?

Also,

The vessel traversed 270 miles up the Tennessee River, 60 miles on the Ohio River and 646 miles down the Mississippi River. The trek then covered 815 miles through the Gulf of Mexico and around to Florida’s east-central coast to the Cape...

Why didn't the Delta Mariner traverse the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

@ulalaunch #AtlasV rocket arrives at the Cape in preparation for the August 3rd 9:02am launch of #TDRSM from Space Launch Complex 41

https://twitter.com/nasa_nerd/status/880211219260506112

[jacqmans]

July 03, 2017
MEDIA ADVISORY M12-17

NASA Offers News Media Access to TDRS-M Spacecraft July 13

News media are invited to view NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) spacecraft and interview project and launch program officials at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, July 13, at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida.

Participants in the briefing will include representatives from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; the Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and United Launch Alliance (ULA).

TDRS-M is scheduled to lift off on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 3 at the opening of a 40-minute launch window that extends from 9:02 to 9:42 p.m. EDT.

This event is open to U.S. citizens only. A government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license, is required to participate. In addition, proof of U.S. citizenship also is required, such as a passport or birth certificate.

All news media must RSVP for this event no later than Monday, July 10, by emailing [email protected]. If an RSVP is not received for each attending media representative, you will not be approved to participate in the press opportunity.

Registered U.S. media may proceed directly to Astrotech July 13, which is located in the Spaceport Florida Industrial Park, 1515 Chaffee Drive in Titusville. Access will be available starting at 9:30 a.m., and the event will begin at 10 a.m.

The addition of TDRS-M to the fleet will provide the Space Network (SN) the ability to support space communications to the mid-2020s. The network consists of TDRS satellites that transmit data to and from ground stations on Earth for NASA missions and expendable launch vehicles. Without the Space Network, scientists, engineers and control room staff would be unable to readily access data from missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.

Full clean-room attire must be worn during the media opportunity and will be furnished. Media should not wear perfume, cologne or makeup. Long pants and closed-toe shoes must be worn. No shorts or skirts will be permitted. Some camera equipment may be identified by Boeing contamination control specialists as having to be cleaned before being taken into the high bay facility. Alcohol wipes will be provided. All camera equipment must be self-contained, and no portable lights are allowed. Flash photography will not be permitted; however, the facility has adequate metal halide lighting for pictures. Wireless microphones also are not permitted inside the high bay.

Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems in El Segundo, California  . , built TDRS-M. NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program, part of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is responsible for the TDRS network. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance provides the Atlas V rocket and launch service.

For more information about TDRS-M, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/tdrs

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Check out our behind-the-scenes look at TDRS-M in the clean room where it will be packed for launch! http://facebook.com/NASA.TDRS

https://twitter.com/nasa_tdrs/status/885589904289300481

[jacqmans]

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Tory Bruno‏ Verified account @torybruno 2m2 minutes ago

Centaur is on the stack! #TDRSM

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/885818233009451008

[FutureSpaceTourist]

I'm hoping someone can confirm this isn't true:

#Breaking: #TDRSM Satellite May Have Been Damaged #ULA https://spacenews360.com/breaking-tdrs-m-satellite-may-have-been-damaged/

https://twitter.com/spacenews360/status/886224145595478016

[DatUser14]

I'm hoping someone can confirm this isn't true:

#Breaking: #TDRSM Satellite May Have Been Damaged #ULA https://spacenews360.com/breaking-tdrs-m-satellite-may-have-been-damaged/

https://twitter.com/spacenews360/status/886224145595478016

It appears to be true, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/tdrs-m-status-update-july-15-2017

TDRS-M Status Update - July 15, 2017
NASA and Boeing are reviewing an incident that occurred during final spacecraft closeout activities on the Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) mission at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on July 14, involving the Omni S-band antenna. The mission team is developing a plan to assess flight acceptance and the schedule forward. These additional activities are under evaluation for a planned TDRS-M launch Aug. 3, 2017, on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

[Chris Bergin]

Certainly serious as they are issuing a statement, but not the first. I'll write up the other incident earlier in the flow. This one's been in the wars.

[ZachS09]

How long of a delay would this incident enact?

Hopefully not too long.

[IanThePineapple]

How long of a delay would this incident enact?

Hopefully not too long.

It depends of the amount of damage done and how much work/inspections will be needed. Even if it wasn't too bad it'll still need a good bit of inspections and probably tests.

[SmallKing]

Certainly serious as they are issuing a statement, but not the first. I'll write up the other incident earlier in the flow. This one's been in the wars.

Don't forget Heinrich's Law, it's very important for ULA to keep mission suceess

[Jim]

Certainly serious as they are issuing a statement, but not the first. I'll write up the other incident earlier in the flow. This one's been in the wars.

Don't forget Heinrich's Law, it's very important for ULA to keep mission suceess

This has nothing to do with ULA

[FutureSpaceTourist]

As Jim said; ULA & Tory just referring people to NASA:

Refering questions to NASA. This operation is upstream from us

Here's the article from @NASA. They're the best source of info. nasa.gov/feature/goddar…
https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/886601279396487169

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/886721293889884160

[Chris Bergin]

A write up of the issue, the other issue and there wasn't much more to write about so added some historical overview of TDRS from William:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/07/tdrs-m-under-review-pre-launch-incident/

[psionedge]

A write up of the issue, the other issue and there wasn't much more to write about so added some historical overview of TDRS from William:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/07/tdrs-m-under-review-pre-launch-incident/

From the article:

The satellite carries s-band phased array antennae to allow simultaneous communications with five other spacecraft, as well as two steerable antennae providing S, Ku or Ka band coverage to spacecraft requiring communications at a higher data rate. It’s this system that is currently being reviewed due to the incident noted by NASA over the weekend.

S-band omnis are typically for command and telemetry purposes (e.g. USB during post-launch, pre-deployment), not a high data rate application.