LIVE: ULA Delta IV - WGS 4 - January 19, 2012

[Ronsmytheiii]

Delta IV upperstage should have reached depletion

[Chris Bergin]

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2012) – A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-37 at 7:38 p.m. EST with the Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM-4 (WGS-4) satellite. This is ULA’s first of 11 scheduled launches for the year and marked the 18th launch of the Delta IV vehicle. Wideband Global SATCOM provides anytime, anywhere communication for the warfighter through broadcast, multicast and point to point connections. WGS is the only military satellite communications system that can support simultaneous X and Ka band communications.

 

Photo by Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance

 

United Launch Alliance Delta IV Rocket Successfully Launches U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM-4 (WGS-4) Satellite

 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (Jan. 19, 2012) – A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the Wideband Global SATCOM-4 (WGS-4) satellite for the United States Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 here at 7:38 p.m. EST today. This is ULA’s first launch of the year and marked the 18th launch of the Delta IV vehicle.

“We are honored to have worked closely with our Air Force and mission partners to enable today’s successful launch of the WGS-4 satellite.  WGS-4 will provide important capabilities to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines protecting our freedoms around the world,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. “This mission begins the most aggressive launch campaign in the history of the EELV program, with nine national security and two NASA launches scheduled this year.” 

This mission was launched aboard a Delta IV Medium-plus configuration vehicle using a ULA single common booster core powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 main engine, along with four Alliant Techsystems GEM 60 solid rocket motors. The five-meter diameter upper stage was powered by a PWR RL10B-2 engine with the satellite encapsulated in a five-meter diameter composite payload fairing.

“WGS was the first of the new constellation of satellites to integrate and launch on both the Delta IV and Atlas V vehicles -- the first two on Atlas and now, with WGS-4, the second one on our Delta IV launch system,” said Sponnick. “Our ability to integrate and launch satellites successfully and efficiently on two launch systems to provide operational flexibility was a primary reason that ULA was formed.”             

Wideband Global SATCOM provides anytime, anywhere communication for the warfighter through broadcast, multicast, and point to point connections. WGS is the only military satellite communications system that can support simultaneous X and Ka band communications.

ULA's next launch is the Atlas V launch of the United States Navy’s Mobile User Objective System-1 (MUOS-1), scheduled for Feb. 16, 2012 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

ULA program management, engineering, test, and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo.  Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., and Harlingen, Texas. Launch operations are located at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA Web site at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321).

[Ronsmytheiii]

https://twitter.com/#!/flyingjenny

[Ronsmytheiii]

GTS AOS

[Ronsmytheiii]

Delta IV U/S EOM

[rickl]

Is the upper stage set to re-enter the atmosphere, or will it continue in orbit?

[robertross]

Thanks for the great coverage everyone.

Congrats to the folks at ULA!

[Rocket Science]

Just got back in and catching up. Thanks for the great coverage and congrats to all the teams!

[edkyle99]

It bugs me that ULA appears to have abandoned the Delta Mission Number, both the application of a number in the Delta logo on the rocket, and in the Press Kit materials. 

This should have been Delta 358, but ULA doesn't seem to be counting anymore.

 - Ed Kyle

[edkyle99]

That's such a tiny-looking second stage.  How does it burn so long?  Is it a low thrust engine, very efficient, or what?

That's the five-meter diameter DCSS.  It is the most-capable upper stage in the world right now!  It can hold up to 27.2 tonnes of LH2/LOX - nearly twice as much as the Ariane 5 ECA stage and nearly 1.3 times as much as Centaur - and much more than H-2A/B or CZ-3A or GSLV, etc.   It is powered by the 11.2 tonne thrust RL10B-2, currently the world's most efficient upper stage engine being used in flight at roughly 460 seconds specific impulse.

On this flight, the DCSS performed two burns, one 976 seconds long and a second that was 188 seconds long, give or take, for a total of roughly 19.4 minutes (although not all of that may have been full thrust RL10 propulsion).

 - Ed Kyle

[MATTBLAK]

Stretch that stage and add a second RL-10B2...

[Longhorn John]

ULA Delta IV successfully launches the fourth WGS spacecraft - by William Graham:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/live-ula-launch-delta-iv-fourth-wgs/

Really great article!

[spectre9]

That's such a tiny-looking second stage.  How does it burn so long?  Is it a low thrust engine, very efficient, or what?

That's the five-meter diameter DCSS.  It is the most-capable upper stage in the world right now!  It can hold up to 27.2 tonnes of LH2/LOX - nearly twice as much as the Ariane 5 ECA stage and nearly 1.3 times as much as Centaur - and much more than H-2A/B or CZ-3A or GSLC, etc.   It is powered by the 11.2 tonne thrust RL10B-2, currently the world's most efficient upper stage engine being used in flight at roughly 460 seconds specific impulse.

On this flight, the DCSS performed two burns, one 976 seconds long and a second that was 188 seconds long, give or take, for a total of roughly 19.4 minutes (although not all of that may have been full thrust RL10 propulsion).

 - Ed Kyle

Very impressive hardware that's for sure. 

Hardware that is flying right now today too.

This site has turned me into a EELV amazing people in around 4 months. 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Great photography work from Ben, as always. 

[alexw]

On this flight, the DCSS performed two burns, one 976 seconds long and a second that was 188 seconds long, give or take, for a total of roughly 19.4 minutes (although not all of that may have been full thrust RL10 propulsion).

      RL-10B-2 is throttlable?
               -Alex

[Jason1701]

On this flight, the DCSS performed two burns, one 976 seconds long and a second that was 188 seconds long, give or take, for a total of roughly 19.4 minutes (although not all of that may have been full thrust RL10 propulsion).

      RL-10B-2 is throttlable?
               -Alex

No.

[Antares]

On this flight, the DCSS performed two burns, one 976 seconds long and a second that was 188 seconds long, give or take, for a total of roughly 19.4 minutes (although not all of that may have been full thrust RL10 propulsion).

RL-10B-2 is throttlable?
               -Alex

No.

Yeah, Ed.  What did you mean?

[jacqmans]

News Release Issued: January 19, 2012 8:45 PM EST

ATK Technologies Support Launch of ULA's Delta IV Rocket Carrying WGS-4
ATK's Role Includes Propulsion, Composite and Spacecraft Components
ATK Has Manufactured Over 50 GEM-60 Boosters for the Delta IV Launch Vehicle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) composite, propulsion and spacecraft technologies supported today's successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. This rocket carried the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-4) into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.

This was the second time the Delta IV medium-plus rocket featured four ATK 60-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM). The 53-foot-long motors were mounted in pairs on opposing sides of the rocket, with one fixed and one vectorable nozzle per side.  They burned for 90 seconds and provided more than 1.1 million pounds of thrust to deliver the WGS-4 satellite to its determined orbit. The composite cases, nose cones and aeroskirts for the GEM motors were fabricated at ATK's Clearfield, Utah facility.  The solid rocket motors were produced at its Magna, Utah facility.  ATK has manufactured 51 GEM-60 boosters for the Delta IV launch vehicle since the initial flight in 2002

The nozzle for Delta IV's RS-68 engine was designed and manufactured at ATK's Promontory, Utah facility. The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built RS-68 is the largest hydrogen-fueled engine in the world. ATK also designed and produced the nozzle's thermal protection material, which is capable of shielding the nozzle from the extreme heat of launch when external temperatures can exceed 4,000 degrees F. 

In total, ATK supplied nine key composite structures for the Delta IV medium-plus launch vehicle. The structures are five meters in diameter and range from one to fifteen meters in length. They are produced using advanced hand layup and machining and inspection techniques at ATK's manufacturing facilities in Iuka, Miss., and Clearfield, Utah.

ATK also provided the propellant tank for the Delta IV upper stage roll control system. The tanks were manufactured at ATK's Commerce, Calif. facility.

The WGS-4 mission will be the fourth satellite of the WGS system that provides flexible, high-capacity communications for the nation's warfighters. WGS supports the defense communications system, the U.S. Army's ground mobile forces, U.S. Air Force airborne terminals, U.S. Navy ships at sea, the White House Communications Agency, the U.S. State Department, and other special users. WGS provides an order of magnitude increase in military communications' increased bandwidth, providing high data rate and long-haul communications for marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen worldwide.

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8 billion. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

[William Graham]

It bugs me that ULA appears to have abandoned the Delta Mission Number, both the application of a number in the Delta logo on the rocket, and in the Press Kit materials. 

This should have been Delta 358, but ULA doesn't seem to be counting anymore.

 - Ed Kyle

It will be interesting to see if they use one if another Delta II flies. And what number it would be given.

[Ben the Space Brit]

That's such a tiny-looking second stage.  How does it burn so long?  Is it a low thrust engine, very efficient, or what?

Both actually.  The RL-10B-2 is quite low-thrust at only 25,000lbs thrust in a vacuum.  However, its specific impulse (I_sp) of about 460 seconds is pretty much the best there is for chemical upper stages right now.

Also remember that the LH2 tank on the upper stage is 5 metres across so 'tiny-looking' is something of an optical illusion.