Author Topic: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B OTV-4) - May 20, 2015 to May 7, 2017 - UPDATES  (Read 191936 times)

Offline Star One

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #60 on: 05/07/2015 06:29 am »
Some more details on the materials science payload from NASA.

Quote
Known as the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space, or METIS, the investigation on the X-37B will expose nearly 100 different materials samples to the space environment for more than 200 days, NASA says. METIS is building upon data obtained by several missions of the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE), which flew more than 4,000 samples in space from 2001 to 2013.

For both MISSE and METIS, small samples the size of quarters are used. METIS will fly a variety of materials including polymers, composites and coatings.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/05/06/nasa-gives-more-information-on-its-experiment-aboard-the-x-37b/

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #61 on: 05/07/2015 07:50 am »
Are there any full list of the cubesats flying along with the X-37B available right now?
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Offline Skyrocket

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #62 on: 05/07/2015 08:52 am »
Are there any full list of the cubesats flying along with the X-37B available right now?

I haven't found a complete list. The only cubesats i have found, are the LightSail-A and AeroCube 8A and 8B. Thats only 2 of 8 PPods in UltraSat.

Offline vapour_nudge

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #63 on: 05/07/2015 01:22 pm »
This PPT suggests 4 cubesats on the ELaNa XI mission tagging along with AFSPC-05:
https://www.sprsa.org/sites/default/files/conference-presentation/NRO RideShare Charts 2014 Final RevA-Skrobot.pptx



Offline Skyrocket

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #64 on: 05/07/2015 02:33 pm »
This PPT suggests 4 cubesats on the ELaNa XI mission tagging along with AFSPC-05:
https://www.sprsa.org/sites/default/files/conference-presentation/NRO RideShare Charts 2014 Final RevA-Skrobot.pptx

This is outdated. NASA has since reduced ELaNa XI to only one cubesat -  Lightsail-A

Offline Prober

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #65 on: 05/07/2015 02:35 pm »
someone put one of those EM drives on there ;)
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Offline Star One

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #66 on: 05/07/2015 03:06 pm »

someone put one of those EM drives on there ;)

You wouldn't know if they had as probably the majority of the payload is still classified.;)

Online jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #67 on: 05/07/2015 06:38 pm »
May 06, 2015
RELEASE 15-081
NASA Test Materials to Fly on Air Force Space Plane

Building on more than a decade of data from International Space Station (ISS) research, NASA is expanding its materials science research by flying an experiment on the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane.

By flying the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS) investigation on the X-37B, materials scientists have the opportunity to expose almost 100 different materials samples to the space environment for more than 200 days. METIS is building on data acquired during the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE), which flew more than 4,000 samples in space from 2001 to 2013.

“By exposing materials to space and returning the samples to Earth, we gain valuable data about how the materials hold up in the environment in which they will have to operate,” said Miria Finckenor, the co-investigator on the MISSE experiment and principal investigator for METIS at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Spacecraft designers can use this information to choose the best material for specific applications, such as thermal protection or antennas or any other space hardware.”

The International Space Station is a unique orbiting laboratory used to conduct hundreds of investigations each year, with half of the research resources designated as a U.S. National Laboratory for investigations selected through the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to provide direct benefits to people living on Earth. NASA research focuses on advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating technologies to enable human exploration into deep space through investigations such as the current one-year mission with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.

It is difficult to simulate all the aspects of the space environment, so testing materials for extended durations is particularly important. Programs across the aerospace industry, including NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, the James Webb Space Telescope, and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft have improved performance by selecting materials tested on the space station. All of the data from the MISSE investigations are available in the Materials and Processes Technical Information System, where the METIS data also will be made available.

Researchers are flying some materials as part of METIS that also were tested during MISSE. Testing the same types of materials again can help scientists verify results obtained on the orbital outpost. If researchers see different results between the same type of materials used on both METIS and MISSE, it would help scientists learn about the differences experienced in various orbital environments.

“When we flew newly developed static-dissipative coatings on MISSE-2, we did not know they would be used for both the Curiosity rover and the SpaceX Dragon,” said Finckenor. “Some program we don't know about now will be successful because engineers found the data they needed.”

The METIS experiment complements the station research, looking at a variety of materials of interest for use on spacecraft built by NASA, industry, and other government agencies. The materials flown in space are potential candidates to replace obsolescent materials with environmentally-friendly options.

Finckenor leads a diverse team of investigators from other NASA centers, aerospace companies, and universities. For both MISSE and METIS, the customers supply small quarter-size samples. METIS will fly a variety of materials including polymers, composites, and coatings. Finckenor prepares the samples for flight and helps with post-flight sample analysis.

“Data from the space station and METIS materials experiments will improve the lifetime and operations of future spacecraft needed for NASA’s journey to Mars,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, Marshall’s chief engineer.

Marshall provided the hardware for the experiment, while the Air Force is providing NASA the opportunity to fly the experiment. The flight provides researchers an opportunity to collect additional data in advance of the next MISSE experiment aboard the space station in a couple of years.

The Air Force operates the unpiloted, robotically controlled and reusable X-37B space plane to test technology during long-duration missions. It has completed three missions launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with the last mission ending in October 2014 after 674 days in orbit. It takes off vertically, lands horizontally, and continues to further industrial advancement for reusable space test vehicles.

Data in the Materials and Processes Technical Information System are available to U.S. citizens, who can apply for an account at:

http://maptis.nasa.gov/

More information about the MISSE experiments and data is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/misse_research
Jacques :-)

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #68 on: 05/08/2015 08:57 pm »
I have now found the Cubesat Passengers for 4 of the 8 PPODS in UltraSat:

* LightSail A (3U)
* USS Langley (3U)
* AeroCube 8A, AeroCube 8B (both 1.5U)
* PSAT A, PSAT B  (both 1.5U) with BRICsat (not cubesat) housed in unused Space between the PSATs

This leaves 4 PPODs still unknown

Offline wkann

Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #69 on: 05/08/2015 09:02 pm »
The X-37B was mated to the Atlas V.
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Offline jcm

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #70 on: 05/09/2015 05:06 am »
I have now found the Cubesat Passengers for 4 of the 8 PPODS in UltraSat:

* LightSail A (3U)
* USS Langley (3U)
* AeroCube 8A, AeroCube 8B (both 1.5U)
* PSAT A, PSAT B  (both 1.5U) with BRICsat (not cubesat) housed in unused Space between the PSATs

This leaves 4 PPODs still unknown

I think the not-Cubesat version of BRICsat was an earlier (2013?) design and the current design
is a full 1.5U judging from more recent USNA papers... but I'm not certain.
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Offline Skyrocket

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #71 on: 05/09/2015 10:02 am »
I have now found the Cubesat Passengers for 4 of the 8 PPODS in UltraSat:

* LightSail A (3U)
* USS Langley (3U)
* AeroCube 8A, AeroCube 8B (both 1.5U)
* PSAT A, PSAT B  (both 1.5U) with BRICsat (not cubesat) housed in unused Space between the PSATs

This leaves 4 PPODs still unknown

I think the not-Cubesat version of BRICsat was an earlier (2013?) design and the current design
is a full 1.5U judging from more recent USNA papers... but I'm not certain.

Yes, i think you're right. The 1.5U BRICsat-P design appears to have replaced the original sub-Cubesat design.

Offline edkyle99

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #72 on: 05/09/2015 04:36 pm »
What do people think to the suggestion that's been made that the X-37B is as much psyop as anything else.
I'm seeing it more as analogous to the multipurpose Agena stage that handled such a variety of missions over the years.  Agena served not just as a launch stage, but also as a satellite bus for many of its missions [1].  It was built, of course, for optical recon, but ended up supporting everything else, including one-off oddball missions like Snapshot and MPRV (attempted) and ASTEX and Quill, or the GATV missions, etc..  X-37B even has roughly the same payload capability as Agena.  I'm starting to believe that X-37B is an Agena that comes back [2].

 - Ed Kyle

[1] http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_stage/agena.htm
[2] Though of course limited to LEO, unlike the original Agena.
« Last Edit: 05/09/2015 06:38 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #73 on: 05/09/2015 05:59 pm »
More payload mating photos:
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Offline Skyrocket

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #74 on: 05/09/2015 07:20 pm »
UltraSat Cubesat update:

* LightSail A (3U)
* USS Langley (3U)
* AeroCube 8A, AeroCube 8B (both 1.5U)
* PSAT A, PSAT B  (both 1.5U)
* BRICsat-P (1.5U)

This leaves 3.5 PPODs (= 10.5U) still unknown
« Last Edit: 05/09/2015 07:20 pm by Skyrocket »

Online jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #75 on: 05/12/2015 08:07 pm »
Jacques :-)

Offline zubenelgenubi

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #76 on: 05/13/2015 12:26 am »
We've seen no imagery of the spacecraft's enclosure in the payload fairing (yet).  Why?  (I checked the "usual" web sites--did not find.)

There is such imagery from within Astrotech for the 1st (and 2nd, 3rd?) flights.

Also seeking confirmation (if possible)--this OTV was processed for launch within the former OPF-1 &/or -2?  Is that the reason?

Curious,
Zubenelgenubi

EDIT re: former OPFs.
« Last Edit: 05/13/2015 02:03 am by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #77 on: 05/17/2015 08:25 am »
ULA:
Everything is progressing toward the AFSPC-5 launch for the Unites States Air Force. The mission is set to liftoff on a ULA Atlas V rocket on Wednesday, May 20 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Today's L-4 forecast continues to show an 40 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. The launch period is 10:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. EDT.
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #78 on: 05/17/2015 08:25 am »
Mission Booklet.
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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: LIVE: Atlas V 501- AFSPC-05 (X-37B) - May 20, 2015
« Reply #79 on: 05/17/2015 10:35 am »
Weather forecast attached

Quote
Launch day overall probability of violating weather constraints: 60%
Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds, Anvil Clouds, Lightning

24-hour delay overall probability of violating weather constraints: 70%
Primary concern(s): Cumulus Clouds, Anvil Clouds, Lightning

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