LIVE: Atlas V 501 - X-37B OTV-3 - Dec 11, 2012

[kevin-rf]

So does that clear the deploy-able nozzle that is only used on the Delta IV?

[Star One]

Purely FWIW, I wonder if this is going to be a 'display and show off' mission that will be more 'public' than the other two.  After all, there really can't be much to test except reuse on this flight.  Maybe they want a day landing at CCAFS as a crowd pleaser.

(Silently wishes for rocket-cams on this launch)

I wonder if we will get any kind of coverage after faring separation this time, after all it's not like we don't know what the X-37B looks like and surely the classified element is the payload in its bay not the rest of it which would still covered up from prying eyes at this stage in the flight?

[Prober]

So does that clear the deploy-able nozzle that is only used on the Delta IV?

No one wishes to talk about that.
 

[AnalogMan]

Looks like this will be an afternoon launch.  Current public launch window for Nov 13 showing as 1645-2045Z (11:45am - 3:45pm EST).

[Chris Bergin]

Nice of them to think about my birthday!

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2012) -- The launch of an Atlas V carrying the third X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-3) payload for the U.S. Air Force is rescheduled for Nov. 27, pending confirmation from the 45th Space Wing regarding the revised range reservation. Although the team investigating the lower than normal upper-stage engine chamber pressure from the recent Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch has been making good progress reviewing and analyzing the data, ULA leadership and the Air Force have decided to postpone the launch two weeks to allow for additional flight data anomaly investigation activities and a thorough crossover assessment for the X-37B OTV launch vehicle to be completed.  This flight data anomaly investigation is being conducted with investigative processes that have been refined over decades of launch experience and include extensive reconstruction of the flight data with analytical models, as well as detailed inspections of several engines. The OTV-3 launch will be the third launch of the Air Force's test vehicle.

[Star One]

Is that now likely to be remain where it is launch date wise, or is there the strong possibility of it slipping again?

[Prober]

Nice of them to think about my birthday!

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2012) -- The launch of an Atlas V carrying the third X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-3) payload for the U.S. Air Force is rescheduled for Nov. 27, pending confirmation from the 45th Space Wing regarding the revised range reservation. Although the team investigating the lower than normal upper-stage engine chamber pressure from the recent Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch has been making good progress reviewing and analyzing the data, ULA leadership and the Air Force have decided to postpone the launch two weeks to allow for additional flight data anomaly investigation activities and a thorough crossover assessment for the X-37B OTV launch vehicle to be completed.  This flight data anomaly investigation is being conducted with investigative processes that have been refined over decades of launch experience and include extensive reconstruction of the flight data with analytical models, as well as detailed inspections of several engines. The OTV-3 launch will be the third launch of the Air Force's test vehicle.

what a perfect gift

[robertross]

Nice of them to think about my birthday!

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2012) -- The launch of an Atlas V carrying the third X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-3) payload for the U.S. Air Force is rescheduled for Nov. 27, pending confirmation from the 45th Space Wing regarding the revised range reservation. Although the team investigating the lower than normal upper-stage engine chamber pressure from the recent Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-3 launch has been making good progress reviewing and analyzing the data, ULA leadership and the Air Force have decided to postpone the launch two weeks to allow for additional flight data anomaly investigation activities and a thorough crossover assessment for the X-37B OTV launch vehicle to be completed.  This flight data anomaly investigation is being conducted with investigative processes that have been refined over decades of launch experience and include extensive reconstruction of the flight data with analytical models, as well as detailed inspections of several engines. The OTV-3 launch will be the third launch of the Air Force's test vehicle.

Only a day after mine, so I'll get a belated...lol

[rdale]

Is that now likely to be remain where it is launch date wise, or is there the strong possibility of it slipping again?

Yes.

Depends on the investigation.

[Star One]

Is that now likely to be remain where it is launch date wise, or is there the strong possibility of it slipping again?

Yes.

Depends on the investigation.

I can see this moving back into 2013.

[rdale]

Based on what?

[Star One]

Based on what?

That it wouldn't surprise me if this inquiry takes longer than expected.

[rdale]

Thanks for clarifying, I thought you had some actual insight.

[kevin-rf]

New Av. Week article that provides a little more insight. Basically, it sounds like they are still looking for the root cause.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_11_08_2012_p03-02-514469.xml

[Star One]

Thanks for clarifying, I thought you had some actual insight.

Well let us hear your view on this then?

[Antares]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal-to-noise_ratio

[rdale]

Thanks for clarifying, I thought you had some actual insight.

Well let us hear your view on this then?

I have no insight at all into the progress of the troubleshooting, so my guess would be less than worthless...

[Star One]

Thanks for clarifying, I thought you had some actual insight.

Well let us hear your view on this then?

I have no insight at all into the progress of the troubleshooting, so my guess would be less than worthless...

This article seems to indicate there could be a further delay, depending on how you read it.

The U.S. Air Force was fortunate not to lose a navigation satellite after the rocket on which it was launched Oct. 4 experienced engine trouble, a senior service official said.

http://www.spacenews.com/article/usaf-survived-close-call-on-gps-launch

[kevin-rf]

Not to sound Snarky, but the X-37 at one point was baselined to fly on the Delta II, so I wonder if flying on a larger Atlas-401 provides it with enough margin to overcome a similar issue.

Fingers crossed they find a root cause, and resume operations soon.

[Star One]

Not to sound Snarky, but the X-37 at one point was baselined to fly on the Delta II, so I wonder if flying on a larger Atlas-401 provides it with enough margin to overcome a similar issue.

Fingers crossed they find a root cause, and resume operations soon.

I presume you mean the 501 & yes in light of that information it must give them a considerable performance margin. A policy that as we saw with the recent GPS launch seems to be highly sensible. It must be the case that all such launches have similar performance margins?