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Atlas V 551 : KuiperSat L1 : CCSFS SLC-41 : Q4 2024
by
zubenelgenubi
on 03 Apr, 2024 20:55
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#1
by
StraumliBlight
on 05 Apr, 2024 12:37
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#2
by
zubenelgenubi
on 05 Apr, 2024 15:44
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How close to the vest will Amazon play this launch? At what point in the process will either Amazon, ULA, or Tory Bruno release more information? (Tory and ULA will follow their customer's instructions, of course.)
🤔
Will this launch precede or follow USSF-51?
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#3
by
zubenelgenubi
on 06 Apr, 2024 22:00
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Will this launch precede or follow USSF-51?
Apparently, following:
I'd bump 51 up a spot.
SLC-41:
One Atlas V MLP
One Vulcan VLP
Boeing CFT Atlas V N22 May 7 UTC
USSF-51 Atlas V 551 NET June
Kuiper Flight 1 Atlas V 551 NLT June
Dream Chaser Vulcan VC4L NET September
Seeking correction or clarification
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#4
by
Bean Kenobi
on 07 Apr, 2024 13:23
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Will this launch precede or follow USSF-51?
Apparently, following:
I'd bump 51 up a spot.
SLC-41:
One Atlas V MLP
One Vulcan VLP
Boeing CFT Atlas V N22 May 7 UTC
USSF-51 Atlas V 551 NET June
Kuiper Flight 1 Atlas V 551 NLT June
Dream Chaser Vulcan VC4L NET September
Seeking correction or clarification
If you follow the NET and NLT logic, Kuiper Flight 1 (NLT June) will precede USSF-51 (NET June)
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#5
by
GewoonLukas_
on 11 Apr, 2024 20:11
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#6
by
DanClemmensen
on 11 Apr, 2024 23:39
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#7
by
Rocket Rancher
on 12 Apr, 2024 00:03
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yes, it's called request for wavier.
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#8
by
DanClemmensen
on 12 Apr, 2024 01:05
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yes, it's called request for wavier.
That's not fair to other potential users of that spectrum, and therefore to satcomms customers.
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#9
by
mn
on 12 Apr, 2024 03:22
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yes, it's called request for wavier.
That's not fair to other potential users of that spectrum, and therefore to satcomms customers.
Fairness is really irrelevant here.
The real question is precedent, who requested waivers in the past, were they granted or not and why.
Edit: it has been posted on these forums in the past that such waivers have been granted in the past as a matter of routine. (But I have no idea if that is correct or not)
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#10
by
zubenelgenubi
on 12 Apr, 2024 07:00
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Cross-post:
SLC-41 2024:
One Atlas V MLP
One Vulcan VLP
Boeing CFT Atlas V N22 May 7 UTC
USSF-51 Atlas V 551 NET June
Kuiper Flight 1 Atlas V 551 H2
Dream Chaser Vulcan VC4L Q4
Seeking correction or clarification
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#11
by
StraumliBlight
on 08 May, 2024 18:31
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Beyond Gravity hands over first dispenser tier module to Amazon[May 6th] Back in 2022, Beyond Gravity secured a major contract directly from Amazon to develop and manufacture customized, scalable dispenser systems.
Beyond Gravity was also awarded the contract for the delivery of 38 shipsets to U.S. rocket builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) for its Vulcan rockets that will take Amazon’s Kuiper constellation into space.
While the production of the shipsets – comprising the three composite structures payload fairing, heat shield and interstage adapter – at the Beyond Gravity site in Decatur, Alabama, USA, is in progress, the first dispenser tier module developed and built in Linköping, Sweden was handed over to Amazon.
This is a significant milestone in the long-term collaboration between Beyond Gravity and Amazon and another important step in strengthening the company's position in the fast-growing commercial space markets.
The first dispenser system from Beyond Gravity will be used for the first time on a flight planned this summer.
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#12
by
DanClemmensen
on 08 May, 2024 19:07
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[May 6th] Back in 2022, Beyond Gravity secured a major contract directly from Amazon to develop and manufacture customized, scalable dispenser systems.
Beyond Gravity was also awarded the contract for the delivery of 38 shipsets to U.S. rocket builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) for its Vulcan rockets that will take Amazon’s Kuiper constellation into space.
While the production of the shipsets – comprising the three composite structures payload fairing, heat shield and interstage adapter – at the Beyond Gravity site in Decatur, Alabama, USA, is in progress, the first dispenser tier module developed and built in Linköping, Sweden was handed over to Amazon.
This is a significant milestone in the long-term collaboration between Beyond Gravity and Amazon and another important step in strengthening the company's position in the fast-growing commercial space markets.
The first dispenser system from Beyond Gravity will be used for the first time on a flight planned this summer.
The announcement is not explicit about which rocket will launch this summer. Vulcan is the only rocket name in the announcement, and they mention a contract to deliver 38 dispensers to ULA, but they also state that the dispensers are customizable for "other rockets". Thus, this announcement may be about a summer launch on Vulcan or a summer launch on Atlas V. I think we need to wait and see.
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#13
by
gongora
on 08 May, 2024 19:46
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they mention a contract to deliver 38 dispensers to ULA
The 38 sets to ULA were Vulcan components, not the dispensers. (Also if that's the entire dispenser the first flight will have fewer sats, I'd expect multiple tiers in the final version)
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#14
by
seb21051
on 08 May, 2024 20:25
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One wonders whether SX will buy some from these folks or make their own for the (provisional) 3 launches AZ ordered.
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#15
by
StraumliBlight
on 08 May, 2024 20:48
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#16
by
edzieba
on 09 May, 2024 12:59
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they mention a contract to deliver 38 dispensers to ULA
The 38 sets to ULA were Vulcan components, not the dispensers. (Also if that's the entire dispenser the first flight will have fewer sats, I'd expect multiple tiers in the final version)
The photographed tier has bolt locations for additional tiers to be stacked atop it (rather than an end blank) so this is not the full dispenser.
One wonders whether SX will buy some from these folks or make their own for the (provisional) 3 launches AZ ordered.
I can think of no good reason to contract SpaceX to design and build a brand new custom dispenser vs. having Beyond Gravity build additional tiers of the existing dispenser and sticking them on a correctly sized payload adapter. F9 payload fairing internal diameter is within a few cm of Atlas V's (4.57m vs. 4.6m), so no chance to squeeze an extra satellite per tier in.
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#17
by
DanClemmensen
on 09 May, 2024 13:08
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they mention a contract to deliver 38 dispensers to ULA
The 38 sets to ULA were Vulcan components, not the dispensers. (Also if that's the entire dispenser the first flight will have fewer sats, I'd expect multiple tiers in the final version)
The photographed tier has bolt locations for additional tiers to be stacked atop it (rather than an end blank) so this is not the full dispenser. One wonders whether SX will buy some from these folks or make their own for the (provisional) 3 launches AZ ordered.
I can think of no good reason to contract SpaceX to design and build a brand new custom dispenser vs. having Beyond Gravity build additional tiers of the existing dispenser and sticking them on a correctly sized payload adapter. F9 payload fairing internal diameter is within a few cm of Atlas V's (4.57m vs. 4.6m), so no chance to squeeze an extra satellite per tier in.
Based on a vague and possibly incorrect recollection of some NSSL discussions on this forum, I thought the Atlas, Vulcan, and Falcon 9 used the same payload interfaces?
Also, I would have guessed that Amazon contracted for the full F9 launch and would provide the integrated payload, so this would be an Amazon responsibility, not a SpaceX responsibility.
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#18
by
Asteroza
on 09 May, 2024 22:38
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they mention a contract to deliver 38 dispensers to ULA
The 38 sets to ULA were Vulcan components, not the dispensers. (Also if that's the entire dispenser the first flight will have fewer sats, I'd expect multiple tiers in the final version)
The photographed tier has bolt locations for additional tiers to be stacked atop it (rather than an end blank) so this is not the full dispenser. One wonders whether SX will buy some from these folks or make their own for the (provisional) 3 launches AZ ordered.
I can think of no good reason to contract SpaceX to design and build a brand new custom dispenser vs. having Beyond Gravity build additional tiers of the existing dispenser and sticking them on a correctly sized payload adapter. F9 payload fairing internal diameter is within a few cm of Atlas V's (4.57m vs. 4.6m), so no chance to squeeze an extra satellite per tier in.
Based on a vague and possibly incorrect recollection of some NSSL discussions on this forum, I thought the Atlas, Vulcan, and Falcon 9 used the same payload interfaces?
Also, I would have guessed that Amazon contracted for the full F9 launch and would provide the integrated payload, so this would be an Amazon responsibility, not a SpaceX responsibility.
All three rockets support EELV main payload interfaces. If you want fungibility you go for that. If you are willing to customize per rocket rather than use EELV interfaces you might be able to shave some weight. There's a high probability of an EELV interface based dispenser, but I haven't seen a confirmation though?
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#19
by
seb21051
on 10 May, 2024 02:52
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So, having dispensers like this one shown, what can one assume is the shape of the packaged sat?
More or less a square or rectangular? The dispenser obviously looks more like what SX uses for its Transporter delivery system (mostly cubesats, or something similar in shape) than for its Starlink sats.
I remember seeing the boxes the test kuipers came in, and they suggested more square or cube type vehicles.
One wonders then why SX has migrated to flatpack; possibly because they are more easily handled and more can be carried within such a volume?
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#20
by
Asteroza
on 10 May, 2024 04:18
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So, having dispensers like this one shown, what can one assume is the shape of the packaged sat?
More or less a square or rectangular? The dispenser obviously looks more like what SX uses for its Transporter delivery system (mostly cubesats, or something similar in shape) than for its Starlink sats.
I remember seeing the boxes the test kuipers came in, and they suggested more square or cube type vehicles.
One wonders then why SX has migrated to flatpack; possibly because they are more easily handled and more can be carried within such a volume?
SpaceX flatpack came when the Starlink team got fired for being slow (and many of those fired team members ended up at Kuiper). Flatpack does avoid some deployer mass, but at its core tenet the phased array antenna is the most important aspect of the sat and needs the most area. If you want a non-folding phased array, that's really the only way to increase the area of one dimension easily. Having the array upright introduces other inconveniences in design.
We know from OneWeb and Iridium designs that trapezoidal cross section sats pack tighter around a central deployer column style so it may be that, otherwise fairly rectangular. This assumes no big deployable antennas, such as a folding phased array similar to SAR sats, or a large deployable reflector of some kind.
There was a novel Blue Origin patent for a clipped diamond style flatpack sat allowing three sats per layer, but that's unlikely to fly with this deployer.
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#21
by
Steven Pietrobon
on 11 May, 2024 04:22
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#22
by
zubenelgenubi
on 20 May, 2024 04:10
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Cross-post:
Yesterday I shared a flock of Centaur IIIs. Here’s a herd of Atlas’. #CrowdedFactory
Interesting reply tweets
<snip>
https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1792299526230802773
Can you reveal when Atlas V launch Kuiper will use which length fairing?
We use our long fairings for that mission.
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#23
by
GewoonLukas_
on 23 May, 2024 15:27
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#24
by
StraumliBlight
on 27 Jun, 2024 20:05
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Project Kuiper updateWe expect to ship our first completed production satellites this summer, and we’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA.
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#25
by
zubenelgenubi
on 30 Jul, 2024 20:26
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Busy fourth quarter at SLC-41:
Project Kuiper update
We expect to ship our first completed production satellites this summer, and we’re targeting our first full-scale Kuiper mission for Q4 aboard an Atlas V rocket from ULA.
United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches 100th National Security Mission
July 30, 2024
[...]
ULA’s next launch is the second certification flight (Cert-2) of the Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida [ currently Sep 16]. Vulcan will also launch USSF-106 and USSF-87, two critical NSS missions, to orbit later this year.
