SpaceX Falcon 9 : GPS III SV04 : SLC-40 : November 5, 2020

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1327348828551393283

Falcon 9 is about to go horizontal at Port Canaveral.

Watch live on @NASASpaceflight #Fleetcam:

⏩ youtube.com/watch?v=gnt2wZ…

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1327349729265655814

B1062 goes for its second flight...

📸 NSF Fleetcam

[jacqmans]

Official SpaceX Photos
GPS III-4 Mission

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SpaceX launch photos

[Rekt1971]

SpaceX launch photos

These photos are from GPS III-4 Mission.

[Jansen]

Interesting note at the end. The webcast says "That completes our primary mission" (emphasis mine). Doesn't that imply there is a secondary mission for this launch? Is there a hidden secondary payload?

Maybe it's to re-enter the second stage.   GPS is fairly light (3880 kg).   F9 can easily put something of this mass into GTO (+2400 m/s) but the GPS orbit needed only +2013 m/s.    Even with a few hundred m/s or so penalty for a high inclination orbit,  F9 should easily have enough delta-V left to drop the perigee and hence remove (or at least more quickly remove) the second stage from its orbit.  So I'm guessing the secondary objective is to de-orbit the second stage. It should not be absolutely critical; the original perigee of 402 km will cause it to re-enter within a few years anyway.

https://spacenews.com/l3harris-developing-a-constellation-of-small-spy-satellites-for-u-s-air-force/

Some other discussions have speculated that the GPS III SV03 launch had a secondary payload as well, believed to be a new responsive space spy satellite from L3Harris.

Something similar might have been a secondary payload here as well.

[klod]

I have doubts, that you can hide some extra payload
https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1276712799251529728

[Tommyboy]

I have doubts, that you can hide some extra payload
https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1276712799251529728

Plenty of space inside the PAF, you just have to exit it very carefully, and be able to fit through the "mouth".

[Vettedrmr]

Interesting note at the end. The webcast says "That completes our primary mission" (emphasis mine). Doesn't that imply there is a secondary mission for this launch? Is there a hidden secondary payload?

Typically they refer to payload insertion as the primary mission, 1st stage recovery secondary mission.

[nzguy]

NOTICE ADVISORY TO NAVSTAR USERS (NANU) 2020086
SUBJ: SVN77 (PRN14) USABLE JDAY 337/0107
NANU TYPE: USABINIT
       NANU NUMBER: 2020086
       NANU DTG: 020131Z DEC 2020
       REFERENCE NANU: N/A
       REF NANU DTG: N/A
       SVN: 77
       PRN: 14
       START JDAY: 337
       START TIME ZULU: 0107
       START CALENDAR DATE: 02 DEC 2020
       STOP JDAY: N/A
       STOP TIME ZULU: N/A
       STOP CALENDAR DATE: N/A
 
CONDITION: GPS SATELLITE SVN77 (PRN14) WAS USABLE AS OF JDAY 337
   (02 DEC 2020) BEGINNING 0107 ZULU.
 
POC: CIVILIAN - NAVCEN AT 703-313-5900, http://HTTPS://WWW.NAVCEN.USCG.GOV
   MILITARY - GPS OPERATIONS CENTER at http://HTTPS://GPS.AFSPC.AF.MIL/GPSOC, DSN 560-2541,
   COMM 719-567-2541, [email protected], http://HTTPS://GPS.AFSPC.AF.MIL
   MILITARY ALTERNATE - JOINT SPACE OPERATIONS CENTER, DSN 276-3526. COMM 805-606-3526.
   [email protected]

This satellite has now been marked healthy and is now being used by GPS receivers. It seems 2SOPS is getting faster at activating new GPS III sats, not even a month since launch!

[Targeteer]

https://www.schriever.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2464520/space-force-operationally-accepts-fourth-gps-iii-satellite-in-record-time/fbclid/IwAR1_qBYlJLgQ1S1GesnI7KbFkF9mvudDv3KZjKWOOYAQ4-x3Pv4zJ1c9vOE/

Space Force ‘operationally accepts’ fourth GPS III satellite in record time


The U.S. Space Force’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron formally accepted Global Positioning System III Space Vehicle 04 from the spacecraft manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, in what is referred to as operational acceptance on Dec. 1, 2020. This was done only one month after SpaceX launched the satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Nov. 5, 2020, setting a new record for the USSF due in part to the efforts of the operators who work in the 2 SOPS. (U.S. Space Force Courtesy Photo, 45th Space Wing Public Affairs)
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Peterson-Schriever Garrison, Colo. --

The U.S. Space Force’s 2nd Space Operations Squadron formally accepted Global Positioning System III Space Vehicle 04 from the spacecraft manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, in what is referred to as operational acceptance on Dec. 1, 2020. This was done only one month after SpaceX launched the satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Nov. 5, 2020, setting a new record for the USSF due in part to the efforts of the operators who work in the 2 SOPS.

2 SOPS, a component of Space Delta 8 headquartered at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, performs the command and control missions for the GPS satellite constellation. The acceptance of this satellite helps 2 SOPS accomplish their mission of providing position, navigation and timing around the globe through an increasingly contested, degraded and operationally limited environment.

The squadron played a huge role in the satellite’s rapid acceptance, as well as its continued day-to-day operations.

“2 SOPS engineers typically begin preparing for acceptance six months prior to the GPS III launch date,” said 1st Lt. Mary McLaughlin, 2 SOPS navigation payload analyst. “This includes implementing operating system updates, pre-launch compatibility testing, powering on the payloads after launch and monitoring the satellite to ensure it is appropriately modeled by our algorithms and producing acceptable signals for users.”

In order to ensure the satellite remains part of a healthy constellation, 2 SOPS operators perform daily contacts to check the health and make updates.

“We upload a fresh navigation message, and dump data that is stored on the satellite,” McLaughlin said. “Operators also monitor the signals broadcasted by the constellation and perform necessary actions to maintain accurate modeling of position and timing.”

Like military aircraft and ships, military spacecraft receive new designators upon operational acceptance. Known as GPS III SVO4 during the acquisitions period, the satellite is now operationally known as SVN-77.

SVN-77 brings a multitude of operational enhancements to the 2 SOPS and Space Delta 8 missions, and was designed to have a more flexible architecture that allows for easier implementation of on-orbit updates.

“Some benefits of SVN-77 are a longer lifespan and more advanced automation,” McLaughlin said. “This enables the satellite to perform immediate safing actions when faults are detected by the software. This allows 2 SOPS to adapt to changing mission requirements efficiently and safely.”

As more satellites are introduced into the constellation, improvements will be seen by users worldwide. The signal produced is more accurate and harder to jam, and a new civil signal that is compatible with international navigation systems will become available.

Captain Collin Dart, 2 SOPS engineering analysis flight commander, reiterated the importance of SVN-77’s operational acceptance, “SVN-77 marks the 23rd vehicle in the GPS constellation that provides M-Code signal across the globe, leaving just one more GPS III vehicle until 2 SOPS and the Space and Missile Systems Center meet the Initial Operational Capability of 24 M-Code capable vehicles in order to provide full global coverage to warfighters and users.”

USSF’s GPS satellites provide services to more than 4 billion military and civilian customers worldwide. Operators from 2 SOPS work to ensure this capability remains a secure, reliable asset to civilian life and military missions across the globe.