WGS-6 - Delta IV-M+(5,4) - Canaveral SLC-37B - 08.08.2013

[Salo]

8-го августа.

[Salo]

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2680

Boeing Ships 6th Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite for Launch


EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 17, 2013 -- Boeing [NYSE] is progressing with the expansion of the U.S Defense Department's highest capacity communications satellite constellation, recently shipping its sixth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite, pictured here in the company's El Segundo facility, for a scheduled launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., later this year.

Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Air Force on WGS-6, the Australian Defence Force will have global access to the WGS on-orbit constellation.

This is the second WGS satellite Boeing has delivered for launch this year. WGS-5 is ready to launch on May 22.

WGS-6 will undergo tests, fueling and integration in Titusville, Fla., before being launched. Once in service, the satellite will expand bandwidth capacity, coverage and flexibility for American and allied military forces.

[Lesobaza]

А где можно найти Launch Scedule? 8-е августа подтверждается?

[Lesobaza]

Вот ведь ж лень!!

Гугль в помощь:

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/

[Space Alien]

ULA Delta 363 WGS-6 in the foreground performing WDR at SLC-37, CCAFS, FL with ULA Atlas AV-040 MUOS-2 rolling to the pad at SLC-41, CCAFS, FL which launched on Friday, July 19th, 2013 at 9:00am EDT. Credit: ULA, ulalaunch.com

[che wi]

Из буклета:

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_07_26_2013_p04-02-601012.xml

WGS Upgrades Loom As Next Spacecraft Prepares For Launch
By Guy Norris
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

July 26, 2013

Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Patrick Corkery

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Air Force's sixth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite is on track for its scheduled launch on Aug. 7 following its successful mating to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral on July 23.
The satellite will provide additional wideband satcom coverage for U.S. defense forces as well as those of Australia, which supported the cost of the sixth spacecraft under an interoperability agreement extending to 2029. The planned launch comes only three months after that of the delayed WGS-5, representing the closest spacing yet seen between satellite missions of this type. Preparations continue toward launch with an integrated system test to validate vehicle/payload interfaces on July 25. "We will then be loading propellant for the attitude control system under the second stage next week," adds Jim Sponnick, United Launch Alliance vice president of Atlas and Delta programs.
Following launch, the initial control and acceptance testing of WGS-6 will be handled from the mission control center at Boeing's El Segundo site in California. From there "we will control both WGS-5 and WGS-6 until handover to the Air Force. After launch we go into a chemical transfer phase for around two weeks," says Boeing WGS Program Director Mark Spiwak. The burn inserts the satellite into an initial orbit for sensor, systems and solar panel deployment. "Then we go into xenon ion-powered ascent mode, which lasts from two-and-a-half to three months, to get to the test orbit. Then there is around two to four weeks of on-orbit test before handover to the Air Force before the end of the year," he adds.
Dave Madden, Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center executive director, says WGS-5 is "on its way to GEO [Geostationary Earth orbit], while WGS-6 is the final Block 2 standard." The pair will join the four existing WGS satellites, which all remain operational. The first spacecraft, WGS-1, was launched in October 2007 and was joined by the other Block 1 satellites, WGS-2 and -3, in 2009. The first Block 2, WGS-4, was launched in January 2012.
The next set of four satellites — WGS-7, 8, 9 and 10 — are "in production," with WGS-7 due for launch in 2015, Madden says. Following the lead established by Australia with WGS-6, a group of five nations including Canada, Denmark, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and New Zealand will share the use of WGS-9 with the U.S. "All have immediate access to the constellation now," Madden says.

[Lesobaza]

Радуга на подлёте к Мысу.
(Twin Islands)

[G.K.]

Вы летите именно этот пуск смотреть вживую?

[Lanista]

Lesobaza, везет же!

[Lesobaza]

G.K. пишет:
Вы летите именно этот пуск смотреть вживую?

Да. Осталось площадку найти, откуда смотреть, свободную от крокодилов

[G.K.]

Lesobaza пишет:
Да.

А почему именно этот, если не секрет?

[Lesobaza]

Ready to go!!

И днём..



.. и ночью

[Sharicoff]

Гильзы после себя не забудьте собрать - пусть потом в Пентагоне гадают о происхождении "посторонней частицы".  

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d363/preps/#.Ufy2law2PTo

Delta 4 rockets readied for two launches in August
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: July 31, 2013
 
  The payloads are attached and final preparations are underway for two national security satellites heading for different orbits aboard United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rockets in August, one from Cape Canaveral, the other at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.


File photo of a Boeing-made WGS satellite. Credit: ULA
 
 The Air Force's sixth Wideband Global SATCOM high-capacity communications satellite was loaded aboard its Delta 4 at the Florida spaceport's Complex 37 pad last Tuesday, July 23 for blastoff Aug. 7. The WGS 6 spacecraft, financed entirely through a partnership with Australia, will join a constellation of satellites now comprising the Defense Department's primary communications network for connectivity to forces around the world.
The Boeing-built satellite, already encapsulated in the rocket's composite nose cone, was moved from the commercial Astrotech processing facility in Titusville for mating to the launch vehicle.
The rocket will fly in the Delta 4 Medium+(5,4) configuration, which features a five-meter upper stage and payload fairing, plus four strap-on boosters for added thrust, to lift the 6.5-ton satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The 49-minute launch window on Aug. 7 opens at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT), shortly after sundown.

[Lesobaza]

Дельта с расстояния примерно 7 миль. Ближе вертолёт не пустили...

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d363/preview.html#.UgFKkqw2PTo

Delta 4 set for international launch Wednesday night
BY JUSTIN RAY][/SIZE]
Posted: August 6, 2013

  A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket and its military communications satellite payload, both bought by Australia, will thunder to orbit Wednesday night fr om Cape Canaveral in an international collaboration to strength partnerships between the U.S. and its allies.


Liftoff time is 8:29 p.m. EDT. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now
 
The spacecraft is the sixth in a growing constellation of Wideband Global SATCOM satellites, but the bird was purchased through an agreement that enabled Australia to gain access to the worldwide coverage provided by the U.S.-operated system. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT) from Complex 37B at the Florida spaceport. The evening's nighttime launch opportunity extends 49 minutes to 9:18 p.m. EDT (0118 GMT).
See our Mission Status Center for live updates throughout the countdown Wednesday and streaming video of the launch.
Mission managers held the launch readiness review Tuesday morning and granted approval to proceed into the count.
Weather forecasters predict an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff, which will be ULA's seventh of the year and second using the Delta 4 to launch a WGS satellite.
Signed in 2007 between the U.S. military and the Australian Defence Force, the agreement runs through 2029, giving Australia a slice of the communications bandwidth available from the entire high-capacity fleet of WGS satellites that will span the globe.
The Australians contributed $707 million to WGS, funding the rocket and satellite going up Wednesday, plus sustainment costs of the system.
"The cooperation we've had with Australia has been extremely successful," said Dave Madden, the MILSATCOM director at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center.
"It really helps all parties. It brings down our overall operating costs to operate the constellation and provides the capabilities to the U.S. (and) it provides critical capability that Australia needed to support its infrastructure as well as its warfighters. Third, it created interoperability between our forces. When we are deployed together we are operating on the same system. It really was a win-win, I believe, for all parties."


An artist's concept of WGS antenna arrangement. Credit: Boeing

The Air Force has launched five WGS satellites since 2007, with four currently in operation and the fifth nearing geosynchronous orbit for testing and checkout following its liftoff May 24. "WGS is providing satcom for warfighters worldwide, both in X- and Ka-band. All of the services are using WGS, to include our international partners," Madden said.
A five-nation deal signed last year is funding the upcoming WGS 9 satellite and brings Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand into the system.
Boeing is building the WGS constellation, which is replacing the aging Defense Satellite Communications System spacecraft. Each WGS has 10 times the capacity of a DSCS satellite, allowing users to process and receive data quicker than ever before.
"Every day, WGS helps save and improve the lives of users worldwide by providing critical comm links with the DOD and allied forces. This launch will be another important step in advancing these capabilities," said Mark Spiwak, Boeing's WGS program director.
ULA has launched the previous five WGS satellites, the first two occurring aboard Atlas 5 rockets and the more recent ones using Delta 4.
Wednesday's rocket will be flying in the Delta 4 Medium+ (5,4) version, which has a five-meter-diameter upper stage and nose cone, plus four strap-on solid-fuel boosters. The vehicle stands 217 feet tall.
It will take nearly 41 minutes from liftoff until spacecraft deployment into a supersynchronous transfer orbit. Boeing controllers will spend about three months using the satellite's conventional chemical engines and xenon thrusters to maneuver the craft into its test slot.
Madden said WGS 6's operational point in space has not been determined.
"I'm not sure wh ere we are going to end up putting it. But from Australia's standpoint it doesn't matter because they've bought into a percentage of the constellation," he said.
"Symbolically, it would have been nice to say this one goes right over Australia, they could look up and say that was the one we bought, but it really doesn't matter to them, what they care about is the bandwidth and worldwide coverage."

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d363/track.html#.UgFLuKw2PTo

Delta 4 launch ground track
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: Aug. 3, 2013

This map illustrates the ground track that the Delta 4 rocket will follow during launch. Credit: ULA

[G.K.]

А какую переходную орбиту они заявляют? Чего-то трек на ГПО не похож. "хвостика" не вижу...

[Брабонт]

Суперпереходная - см. буклет миссии (выше).