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NASA Awards Launch Contract for GOES-R and GOES-S Missions by Chris Bergin on 05 Apr, 2012 22:50
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CONTRACT RELEASE: C12-016
NASA AWARDS LAUNCH CONTRACT FOR GOES-R AND GOES-S MISSIONS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected United Launch Services, LLC
of Englewood, Colo., to launch the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites-R and S, or GOES-R and GOES-S. The
spacecrafts will launch in October 2015 and February 2017,
respectively, aboard Atlas V 541 rockets from Space Launch Complex-41
at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The total cost of the GOES-R and GOES-S launch services is
approximately $446 million. This estimated cost includes launch
service for the Atlas V and additional services under other contracts
for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, mission unique
launch site ground support, and tracking, data and telemetry
services.
The advanced spacecraft and instrument technology used on GOES-R and
GOES-S will result in more timely and accurate weather forecasts. It
will improve detection and observation of meteorological phenomena
that directly affect people's lives.
The GOES-R and GOES-S Flight Projects Office, which oversees the
development of the Space Segment, is managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., The overall GOES-R and GOES-S
Program is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida, is responsible for Atlas V launch vehicle
program management and launch services.
For information about NASA and its missions, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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#1 by kevin-rf on 06 Apr, 2012 01:05
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Both Atlas 541's, how heavy are the latest generation of GOES's?
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#2 by Prober on 06 Apr, 2012 02:49
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Both Atlas 541's, how heavy are the latest generation of GOES's?
[1] Current estimates show $7.7 billion for two R-series satellites, which is seriously cringe-worthy. These are going to be $4 billion liftoffs! Yikes! Congress had to cancel the other two planned satellites, which is seriously worrisome for those who like to know when hurricanes are coming, etc.
Got to be an impressive set. Nice web page on it
http://www.goes-r.gov/ -
#3 by kevin-rf on 06 Apr, 2012 15:36
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Ed are you implying that the NRO no longer has the lock on buying the most expensive satellite possible
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#4 by Skyrocket on 06 Apr, 2012 17:01
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GOES-R has a dry weight of ~ 2800 kg. This put it in the ~ 5000 kg class for liftoff weight.
The excess capability of the Atlas-V-541 will probably used for a supersync GTO to enable a longer satellite on orbit life. -
#5 by Targeteer on 20 Apr, 2013 09:27
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Mounting the Solar Flare detectors ON the base of the solar array is a simple and clever way to allow continuous tracking of the sun
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#6 by Star One on 21 Apr, 2013 20:16
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GOES-R has a dry weight of ~ 2800 kg. This put it in the ~ 5000 kg class for liftoff weight.
The excess capability of the Atlas-V-541 will probably used for a supersync GTO to enable a longer satellite on orbit life.
Do you mean they will be inserted directly into GEO? -
#7 by Nick L. on 22 Apr, 2013 08:50
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GOES-R has a dry weight of ~ 2800 kg. This put it in the ~ 5000 kg class for liftoff weight.
The excess capability of the Atlas-V-541 will probably used for a supersync GTO to enable a longer satellite on orbit life.
Do you mean they will be inserted directly into GEO?
Not quite - they will use the extra performance to raise the perigee, so the satellite doesn't have to burn as much fuel to get to GEO. They did the same with GOES-N/O/P. -
#8 by baldusi on 22 Apr, 2013 14:06
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Is that done at apogee at the same time they do the plane change? Form what I've seen, the plane change from CC is very expensive. Just going from 28deg to 15deg costs 300m/s, and they need to go to 0. But the higher your perigee, the more energy that you put into an orbit you have to change plane from. Thus, isn't better to do supersynch and spend your delta-v on plane change, and only if you have some margin increase the perigee?GOES-R has a dry weight of ~ 2800 kg. This put it in the ~ 5000 kg class for liftoff weight.
The excess capability of the Atlas-V-541 will probably used for a supersync GTO to enable a longer satellite on orbit life.
Do you mean they will be inserted directly into GEO?
Not quite - they will use the extra performance to raise the perigee, so the satellite doesn't have to burn as much fuel to get to GEO. They did the same with GOES-N/O/P. -
#9 by LouScheffer on 22 Apr, 2013 19:23
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Is that done at apogee at the same time they do the plane change? Form what I've seen, the plane change from CC is very expensive. Just going from 28deg to 15deg costs 300m/s, and they need to go to 0. But the higher your perigee, the more energy that you put into an orbit you have to change plane from. Thus, isn't better to do supersynch and spend your delta-v on plane change, and only if you have some margin increase the perigee?
Not quite - they will use the extra performance to raise the perigee, so the satellite doesn't have to burn as much fuel to get to GEO. They did the same with GOES-N/O/P.
Usually you want to do some of each at the same time. You want two actions at right angles (change inclination, increase perigee). So it's better to aim at the linear combination of these two effects. See for example the last burn of the recent Anik launch:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=31080.0;attach=507050;image
Perigee up from 425->9100; inclination down from 49.1 to 13.4. the satellite itself will continue to thrust in exactly the same direction, and will arrive at a circular orbit just as the inclination reaches zero.
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#10 by sdsds on 22 Apr, 2013 20:21
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Usually you want to do some of each at the same time. You want two actions at right angles (change inclination, increase perigee). So it's better to aim at the linear combination of these two effects [...] the satellite itself will continue to thrust in exactly the same direction, and will arrive at a circular orbit just as the inclination reaches zero.
Thanks for that explanation! Those Russians really make good use of those multi-burn upper stages! Centaur doesn't do that so well....
Is that really a "supersynchronous" transfer orbit mission profile, though, in the sense of the term used by Atlas/Centaur? AVUG Rev. 11 section 2.3.1.3 says, "This option is available if the LV capability to standard GTO is greater than the Payload Systems Weight. Initially, excess capability is used to increase apogee altitude. If the apogee altitude capability exceeds the SC maximum allowable altitude, excess LV performance is used to lower orbit inclination. Optimally, when inclination reaches about 20 degrees, the perigee altitude starts to increase."
So for GOES-R and -S is it clear they will actually raise perigee above a standard GTO?
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#11 by Antares on 22 Apr, 2013 20:46
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Those Russians really make good use of those multi-burn upper stages! Centaur doesn't do that so well....
Uh, no. Eastern Bloc rockets require multiburn upper stages because they don't have the Isp of the RL10. Every start and stop is another binary success/fail event. -
#12 by baldusi on 22 Apr, 2013 20:58
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The fact that they have to overcome some 23deg extra of plane change and tip toe their hypergolic drop zone between some foreign countries must add something to this mission complexity.Those Russians really make good use of those multi-burn upper stages! Centaur doesn't do that so well....
Uh, no. Eastern Bloc rockets require multiburn upper stages because they don't have the Isp of the RL10. Every start and stop is another binary success/fail event.
BTW, no Bloc-D nor Briz-M have better than 90% success rate. Thus, I can't say they are truly masters. On the other hand, no other GTO LV has to resort to such a complexity due to geographic problems. I wonder what would be the realiability of the Atlas V or Delta IV if they had to do such complex missions (say, if you didn't had straight shot at polar). -
#13 by Jim on 22 Apr, 2013 21:35
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Centaur has done 3 burn missions.
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#14 by baldusi on 22 Apr, 2013 21:53
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Centaur has done 3 burn missions.
The question is what's the reliability if it had to do a four burn mission 90% of the time. -
#15 by LouScheffer on 22 Apr, 2013 23:12
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Usually you want to do some of each at the same time. You want two actions at right angles (change inclination, increase perigee). So it's better to aim at the linear combination of these two effects
Thanks for that explanation! Those Russians really make good use of those multi-burn upper stages! Centaur doesn't do that so well....
Is that really a "supersynchronous" transfer orbit mission profile, though, in the sense of the term used by Atlas/Centaur?
No, super-synchronous is a different strategy that does not need the upper stage to coast for hours. For a normal GTO->GSO, you boost until the apogee is at GSO altitude, then let the payload zero the inclination and raise the perigee. So the payload needs quite some delta-v capability. One way to help the payload out is to boost into an orbit with a really high apogee. Inclination changes are cheaper at higher altitudes, and the combination of nulling the inclination, and then backing down to a geostationary orbit, can still be less delta-V than than doing both the plane change and perigee raising at apogee. -
#16 by sdsds on 23 Apr, 2013 03:11
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Centaur has done 3 burn missions.
Is this a general defense of Centaur's capabilities, or a hint that NASA might have chosen this option for GOES-R and -S?
Table 2.6.3-3c shows that on Atlas V 541 ULA offers a 3 burn profile for missions where the payload mass is as high as 4,562 kg (total PSW). Given the mass estimates Skyrocket provided it seems plausible the GOES missions might fit within that, in which case ULA claims they can deliver to an orbit only 500 m/s away from GSO. Do we need to wait for the mission overview booklet to find out which profile was selected?
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#17 by kevin-rf on 23 Apr, 2013 12:25
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No, super-synchronous is a different strategy that does not need the upper stage to coast for hours. For a normal GTO->GSO, you boost until the apogee is at GSO altitude, then let the payload zero the inclination and raise the perigee. So the payload needs quite some delta-v capability. One way to help the payload out is to boost into an orbit with a really high apogee. Inclination changes are cheaper at higher altitudes, and the combination of nulling the inclination, and then backing down to a geostationary orbit, can still be less delta-V than than doing both the plane change and perigee raising at apogee.
Thanks for that, I always wonder how the higher apogee led to needing a lower Delta V than a classic Hoffmann transfer. -
#18 by Targeteer on 23 Apr, 2013 12:36
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Centaur has done 3 burn missions.
Are those the Titan IVA/B DOD/NRO missions (SIGINT, DSP, MILSTAR)?
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#19 by Jim on 23 Apr, 2013 12:49
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STP-1, LDCM, DMSP, etc
