Vulcan, expected to conduct its first-ever launch no earlier than the second half of 2020.
News Release Issued: Aug 21, 2018 (9:07am EDT)U.S. Air Force Declares Second Lockheed Martin GPS III Satellite "Available for Launch"GPS III Space Vehicle 02 (GPS III SV02) is complete, tested and expected to launch in 2019DENVER, Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the first Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) GPS III satellite prepares to ship to the launch pad, the U.S. Air Force has declared that the second GPS III satellite is complete, fully tested and ready to launch.The Air Force's "Available for Launch" declaration is the final acceptance of Lockheed Martin's second GPS III Space Vehicle (GPS III SV02) – declaring it technically sound and ready to launch. GPS III SV02 will bring new capabilities to U.S. and allied military forces, and a new civil signal that will improve future connectivity worldwide for commercial and civilian users.GPS III SV02 now awaits official call up for launch in Lockheed Martin's GPS III Processing Facility clean room in Denver. In June, the Air Force officially called up its first GPS III satellite for launch."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. "With two GPS III satellites now ready for launch, and the third GPS III expected to be ready by early next year, we're building strong momentum. These satellites will soon begin modernizing the current GPS constellation with new capabilities and more advanced technology."GPS III will be the most powerful GPS satellite ever on orbit. GPS III will have three times better accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III's new L1C civil signal also will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.Lockheed Martin is now in full production on ten GPS III satellites at its GPS III Processing Facility near Denver.In June, GPS III SV03 completed Thermal Vacuum testing, strenuous environmental trials simulating operations in the harshest space environments. In May, the antenna deck was added to GPS III SV04, fully integrating it into a complete satellite ready to begin environmental testing.Right behind GPS III SV04 on the production line, the fifth, sixth and seventh GPS III satellites are in component build-up. The fifth satellite already has its navigation payload and is expected to be fully assembled later this summer. To date, more than 90 percent of parts and materials for all 10 satellites under contract have been received.In April, the company submitted a proposal to the government to build up to 22 additional GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) satellites which would bring even further enhanced capabilities to the GPS constellation's more than four billion users.
Presser: VIASAT SELECTS UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE’S PROVEN ATLAS V ROCKET FOR COMMERCIAL SATELLITE LAUNCHPARIS, Sept. 10, 2018 – Global communications company, Viasat Inc., (Nasdaq: VSAT) announced today it selected United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) proven Atlas V vehicle to launch one of its ViaSat-3 satellite missions. This is the first commercial contract ULA has directly signed since assuming responsibility for the marketing and sales of the Atlas V launch vehicle from Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services earlier this year.The Viasat mission will carry one of the ViaSat-3 series spacecraft and is scheduled to launch in the 2020 - 2022 timeframe from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 551 configuration vehicle, the largest in the Atlas V fleet. The 551 configuration provides the performance to deliver a ViaSat-3 satellite into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit where it can begin on-orbit operations faster than with other available launch vehicles.
Blue Origin has privately acknowledged in conversations with French satellite firm Eutelsat SA [ETLXCE.UL] - its first New Glenn customer - that its 2020 time frame is “very aggressive,” a person with direct knowledge of talks between the companies said.The firms have padded their contract, which covers the launch of a geostationary satellite in the period 2021-2022, so that Blue Origin will incur no penalties if it is late, the person added.Yohann Leroy, Eutelsat’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, declined to discuss details of his company’s contract with Blue Origin, but said he was optimistic New Glenn will be ready to carry his firm’s satellite by the end of 2022.
Expected to occur as soon as early 2019, Spaceflight has arranged the addition of “several undisclosed payloads” but was able to confirm that Israel-based company SpaceIL’s lunar lander spacecraft – deemed Sparrow – will be onboard Falcon 9 come launch,
First Lunar BFR MissionSpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle - an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space.Only 24 humans have been to the Moon in history. No one has visited since the last Apollo mission in 1972. Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17 at 6pm PT.
Shotwell had only praise for the next-generation launch vehicle, which is targeting initial hop tests in late 2019 and its first full launches as early as 2021, a delay of several months from previous schedule estimates targeting hops in early 2019 and orbit by 2020.
ICON Launch Delayed; New Launch Date to ComeBob GranathPosted on September 14, 2018ICON spacecraft artist renderingNASA and Northrop Grumman have decided to delay the launch of the agency’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, to allow time to address a quality issue with a vendor-supplied electrical connector on the launch vehicle. Northrop Grumman does not expect an extended delay and will work with the range to determine a new launch date. The ICON spacecraft will launch aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Shouldn't the first 10 GPS III satellites be Block A (GPSIIIA-(01 to 10)) and the second block of 22 sats Block F (GPSIIIF-(01 to 22))?
Quote from: soltasto on 09/12/2018 09:21 amShouldn't the first 10 GPS III satellites be Block A (GPSIIIA-(01 to 10)) and the second block of 22 sats Block F (GPSIIIF-(01 to 22))?To Clear things up.No because Block lettering was removed by order because Block's B and C were cancelled. GPS-IIIF equals GPS-III Follow-On and is a new competition and will fly with technology planned previously for B and C in addition to technology that baselined for future GPS-III blocks D, E et cetera. Depending upon the final requirements GPS-III Follow-On may be redesignated GPS-IV.
GPS IIIF are only at proposal stage maybe FY 2026. I find many more refs calling first 10 satellites GPSIII-SV01 to GPSIII-SV10 rather than using GPSIIIA-01 to -10 naming.eg http://gpsworld.com/lockheed-martin-submits-proposal-for-u-s-air-force-gps-iiif-program/
Quote from: Rik ISS-fan on 09/15/2018 02:13 pmI read/saw in the ISS R&D 2018 conference proceedings that Bartolomeo will be launched as a FRAM payload.http://youbenefit.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/20180620/Bartolomeo.pdfFrom this document, provided by you, page 15 QuoteBartolomeo scheduled for launch with SpX-20 in January 2020
I read/saw in the ISS R&D 2018 conference proceedings that Bartolomeo will be launched as a FRAM payload.
Bartolomeo scheduled for launch with SpX-20 in January 2020
FALCON 9The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral is on November TBD at the earliest.Upcoming launches include the second flight of the Falcon Heavy from pad 39A carrying the Arabsat6A communication satellite as early as November. A Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the next Dragonresupply mission to the ISS, CRS-16, on November 27 at the earliest, in the afternoon EST if thatday. And a Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the first Block III GPS satellite on December 15 at theearliest, likely in the morning EST. Other upcoming launches include a Falcon 9 with the first CrewDragon capsule on an uncrewed demonstration mission, DM-1 to the ISS, from pad 39A. And a Falcon9 from pad 40 with the Es'Hail-2 communication satellite for Qatar.
FALCON 9The next SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral is TBD. Upcoming Falcon 9 launches include the Es'Hail-2 communication satellite for Qatar as early as late 2018. A Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the next Dragon resupply mission to the ISS, CRS-16, on November 27 at 4:19pm EST. The first stage will land back at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after launch. The launch time gets 22-25 minutes earlier each day. A Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the first Block III GPS satellite on December 15, likely at 9:08am EST. And a Falcon 9 will launch from pad 39A with the first Crew Dragon capsule on an uncrewed demonstration mission, DM-1 to the ISS, on December at the earliest.
The next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, flying with the maximum five SRBs, will launch AEHF-4 for the US Air Force on October 17 at 12:15am EDT. The launch window stretches two hours to 2:15am EDT. ...A Falcon 9 from pad 40 will launch the first Block III GPS satellite on December 15, likely at 9:08am EST.
Date: October 26, 2018Launch Window: 4:00 a.m. -- 5:30 a.m. EasternMission: ICON (Ionospheric Connection Explorer
Then, a two-SRB Atlas 5 is scheduled to launch on the first uncrewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS on late January at the earliest, at around 2pm EST.
