Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : GPS III SV01 : SLC-40 : Dec. 23, 2018 - DISCUSSION  (Read 198808 times)

Offline AJW

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I think that last sentence is an error on the Spaceflight now site and the switch was from Delta IV to F9.   Here's the full quote,

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s first third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. Delayed from May 3 and late 2017. Switched from a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket. The third GPS 3-series satellite will now launch on a Delta 4. [Feb. 8]"

The last two sentences are incongruous.  If you look at the 'Latest Changes' section for Feb 8  you will see "Switching GPS 3-01 from Delta 4 to Falcon 9"
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.

Offline gongora

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I think that last sentence is an error on the Spaceflight now site and the switch was from Delta IV to F9.   Here's the full quote,

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s first third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. Delayed from May 3 and late 2017. Switched from a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket. The third GPS 3-series satellite will now launch on a Delta 4. [Feb. 8]"

The last two sentences are incongruous.  If you look at the 'Latest Changes' section for Feb 8  you will see "Switching GPS 3-01 from Delta 4 to Falcon 9"

I don't quite understand what you're saying.  Three launch contracts have been awarded for GPS III satellites, one of them (previously the first flight) on Delta IV and the other two on Falcon 9.  The first flight was switched onto Falcon 9, but there has been no additional contract for SpaceX.  That would mean they just changed the order of the launchers.  Spaceflight Now is saying the order is now Falcon 9 -> Falcon 9 -> Delta IV

Offline pb2000

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It's worded funny, but I think flight 1 and flight 3 are just swapping launch vehicles (or some other merry-go-round arrangement).
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Offline AJW

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Thanks for the clarification...  I was reading it as a swap from DIV to F9, not a change in flight order.
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.

Offline gongora

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[Spaceflight Now] U.S. Air Force divides new launch contracts between SpaceX, ULA
Quote
With the latest contract awards, SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets are slated to launch five of the Air Force’s first six new GPS 3-series navigation satellites, beginning as soon as September with the launch of the GPS 3-1 spacecraft. The second GPS 3 satellite is set for launch on a Falcon 9 booster no earlier than March 2019, followed by the launch of the GPS 3-3 satellite later next year on a ULA Delta 4 rocket.

Offline gongora

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[Via Satellite] Raytheon Enters Final Phase of GPS OCX Software Build
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“Our team has two primary goals this year,” said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. “We will support the U.S. Air Force’s GPS 3 launch this fall and complete the software build for the full operational system by year’s end.”
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Once complete, the team will begin integration and testing to keep the program on track for full system delivery in June 2021.

Offline gongora

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GAO WEAPON SYSTEMS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT

Quote
The planned launch of the first GPS III satellite has shifted from March 2018 to late 2018, due to an Air Force decision in spring 2017 to launch the satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket instead of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket. The launch date change was necessary because a Falcon 9 rocket launch of the satellite would not be ready before May 2018, according to Air Force officials. Ongoing SpaceX efforts to validate and certify that the Falcon 9 is able to launch the GPS III satellite pushed the projected launch date beyond May 2018.

Because of extensive delays to OCX—the next generation GPS operational control system that will enable the full range of GPS III capabilities—the GPS III program expects to have delivered at least the first nine satellites and to have awarded a contract for additional satellites before operational testing of the satellite with OCX Block 1 confirms the satellite’s modernized signal capabilities.
...
According to the program office, that second satellite is on track to deliver by August 2018.
« Last Edit: 04/26/2018 03:02 am by gongora »

Offline zubenelgenubi

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Does anyone know/can anyone say if the first GPS III satellite has shipped to the Cape?
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Offline russianhalo117

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Does anyone know/can anyone say if the first GPS III satellite has shipped to the Cape?
No indication of shipment yet.

Offline mazen hesham

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Falcon 9 will launch Telstar 18 VANTAGE from pad 40 on August 23 at 11:33pm EDT.
The next Falcon launch after that is scheduled for November.
http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.html
What do you think the reason is behind the delay ?? Maybe air force certification of block 5 or a satellite related issue ?

Offline Comga

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Falcon 9 will launch Telstar 18 VANTAGE from pad 40 on August 23 at 11:33pm EDT.
The next Falcon launch after that is scheduled for November.
http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.html
What do you think the reason is behind the delay ?? Maybe air force certification of block 5 or a satellite related issue ?
Our Manifest has SAOCOM launching in September.
Note that DM-1 was once-upon-a-time scheduled for September but will wait for November based on ISS Visiting Vehicle scheduling.
This is the second time this week you have made declarations about the manifest that depart from the consensus with no backup.
Please look around a bit more before posting like this. ;)
« Last Edit: 08/07/2018 12:41 am by Comga »
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline mazen hesham

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Falcon 9 will launch Telstar 18 VANTAGE from pad 40 on August 23 at 11:33pm EDT.
The next Falcon launch after that is scheduled for November.
http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.html
What do you think the reason is behind the delay ?? Maybe air force certification of block 5 or a satellite related issue ?
Our Manifest has SAOCOM launching in September.
Note that DM-1 was once-upon-a-time scheduled for September but will wait for November based on ISS Visiting Vehicle scheduling.
This is the second time this week you have made declarations about the manifest that depart from the consensus with no backup.
Please look around a bit more before posting like this. ;)

uhm Ben cooper only posts about east coast launches. What does all you said have to do with my question anyways ?
« Last Edit: 08/07/2018 01:31 am by mazen hesham »

Offline gongora

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I have no idea what's going on with the GPS launches.  It could be satellite related, ground system related, or launch vehicle certification related now that they're flying a new Block.  Hopefully we'll see some news eventually, I haven't seen anything in months.

Online Alexphysics

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Bloomberg is reporting on this article that the first GPS III launch is right now NET December. It says the delay is in order to complete qualification testing of the Block 5 configuration

Quote
That schedule’s slipped again, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center said in a statement to Bloomberg News. The launch date “has been officially moved by mutual agreement” to December “to complete qualification testing and” one-time validation of SpaceX’s new Falcon 9 Block 5 design, the command said.

Offline vaporcobra

News Release Issued: Aug 21, 2018 (9:07am EDT)
U.S. Air Force Declares Second Lockheed Martin GPS III Satellite "Available for Launch"

Damn they sure buried what I would call the lede here. To make it clear:

Quote
"The first GPS III satellite, GPS III SV01, was declared 'Available for Launch' in September 2017. It is now being prepared for shipment to Cape Canaveral, Florida for a launch before the end of the year," said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin's program manager for Navigation Systems.
« Last Edit: 08/22/2018 12:17 am by vaporcobra »

Offline gongora

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Tweet from James Dean:
Quote
Air Force reports first GPS III spacecraft -- nicknamed “Vespucci” in honor of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci -- has arrived in Titusville to prepare for December launch on SpaceX Falcon 9.
« Last Edit: 08/24/2018 01:51 am by gongora »

Offline Jim

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Going to Astrotech vs Navstar facility on the Cape, which is now a Spacex facility

Offline gongora

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Going to Astrotech vs Navstar facility on the Cape, which is now a Spacex facility

The former Navstar facility is the Dragon 2 processing area?

Offline russianhalo117

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Going to Astrotech vs Navstar facility on the Cape, which is now a Spacex facility

The former Navstar facility is the Dragon 2 processing area?
Yes. The other is the DPF (DCSS Processing Facility). Both DPF and NPF are leased to SpaceX.
« Last Edit: 08/23/2018 06:36 pm by russianhalo117 »

Offline gongora

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GPS III Space Vehicle No. 1 “Vespucci” Arrives in Florida, Prepares for December Launch
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A government and contractor team loads the first GPS III satellite for transport aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Aug. 20 at Buckley AFB, Colorado to begin processing for a December launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Erin Gulden)

0uckley AFB, Colorado to begin processing for a December launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Erin Gulden)

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif -- 
The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate achieved a major program milestone Aug. 21, successfully delivering the first GPS III satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida to begin launch processing.

“The shipment of the first GPS III satellite to the launch processing facility is a hallmark achievement for the program,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, SMC commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space. “The modernization of GPS has been an outstanding collaborative effort and this brings us another step closer to launch.”           

The satellite, dubbed “Vespucci” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer for whom the Americas were named, was transported in a custom container from the Lockheed Martin factory facility in Waterton, Colorado to the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida, by a C-17 Globemaster III originating from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.  The transportation crew consisted of both contractor and government personnel who oversaw the entire operation to ensure that the conditions of the transport environment would not damage any of the satellite’s sensitive components.

The delivery of Satellite Vehicle 01 (SV01) starts the clock for final testing and checkout of the space vehicle prior to launch. The satellite will be processed at the Astrotech Space Operations Florida facility. A government and contractor team will ensure the integrity of the satellite after shipment by performing a Mission Readiness Test to verify the health and safety of the vehicle, as well as communication compatibility with the ground operations center. The team will then prepare for propellant loading and encapsulate the satellite in its protective fairing. At the completion of these activities, the satellite will be headed for a first of its kind horizontal integration with the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

“While the launch of the last GPS IIF satellite marked the end of an era, the upcoming GPS III launch will be the start of a brand new one,” said Col. Steven Whitney, director of the GPS Directorate. “It is the first of our new GPS III satellites, first to integrate with a SpaceX rocket, first to interact with elements of GPS’ Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 0, and first to have spacecraft acquisition and on-orbit checkout from Lockheed Martin facilities. We are excited to be at this point and we are ready for the upcoming launch of Vespucci.”

The modernized GPS III SV01 is slated to launch in December. It will augment the current constellation of 31 operational GPS satellites. GPS delivers the gold standard in positioning, navigation, and timing services supporting vital U.S. and allied operations worldwide, and underpins critical financial, transportation, and agricultural infrastructure that billions of users have come to depend on daily.

Media representatives who would like to interview a subject matter expert or learn more about the GPS III SV01 launch, send an email to [email protected]
« Last Edit: 08/24/2018 01:50 am by gongora »

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