AFSPC-5: X-37B OTV-4, ULTRASat, LightSail A - Atlas V 501 (AV-054) - Канаверал SLC-41 - 20.05.2015 15:05 UTC

Автор Salo, 29.03.2015 11:50:59

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Salo

http://www.ulalaunch.com/atlas-v-to-launch-afspc5.aspx?title=Atlas+V+to+Launch+AFSPC-5+for+the+U.S.+Air+Force&Category=2
ЦитироватьAtlas V to Launch AFSPC-5 for the U.S. Air Force

Date/Site/Launch Time: Wednesday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Mission Description: This mission will be launched in support of the national defense.

Launch Notes: AFSPC-5 marks ULA's 96th mission since the company was founded in 2006 and the fifth ULA launch of 2015. AFSPC-5 also will be the 54th Atlas V launch since the vehicle's inaugural mission in 2002


Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 501 will launch the AFSPC-5 mission for the U.S. Air Force.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2015/lightsail-arrives-in-florida.html
ЦитироватьLightSail Arrives in Florida; More Launch Details Revealed
Posted by Jason Davis
2015/03/09 21:32 UTC
Topics: mission status, LightSail
A cadre of CubeSats including The Planetary Society's LightSail spacecraft completed a cross-country journey fr om California to Florida, where they await installation as a secondary payload aboard an Atlas V rocket. NASA and the U.S. Air Force also released the nomenclature of the rocket's primary and secondary payloads, and a preliminary launch date has been set for May 6.
  Read our official press release here.
LightSail, a 3-unit CubeSat about the size of a loaf of bread, is a part of a flock of spacecraft dubbed ULTRASat. ULTRASat contains an array of Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployers, or P-PODS, which are used to spring CubeSats into space. LightSail and its P-POD were integrated to ULTRASat at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. on Jan. 22. ULTRASat has now shipped to Cape Canaveral, where it will be attached to the Atlas V.
The launch date is currently listed as no earlier than May 6. The rocket's primary payload is designated AFSPC-5, an acronym that stands for Air Force Space Command. 
 

Naval Postgraduate School
 ULTRASat ULTRASat contains of a flock of CubeSats that will hitch a ride to orbit in May 2015 aboard an Atlas V rocket. The Planetary Society's LightSail spacecraft was integrated into ULTRASat on Jan. 22, 2015.
 
LightSail is flying under the banner of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites program—ELaNa. This iteration of the program is ELaNa XI, and LightSail is the only ELaNa member booking a ride aboard ULTRASat. The May flight is a shakedown cruise designed to test LightSail's systems ahead of a full-fledged solar sailing demonstration in 2016.
The Planetary Society is finalizing a web dashboard that will display LightSail's ground track and telemetry data. The data will include temperature readings, power levels and rotation rates as LightSail soars around the globe, stabilizing itself using Earth's magnetic field
While LightSail will not be visible to the naked eye during its four-week checkout phase, it may be viewable from some locations around dawn and dusk after the sails are deployed. Visitors to the LightSail dashboard will receive predictions on when the spacecraft will be visible from their location. However, due to atmospheric drag, the 2015 test mission is expected to end just two to ten days after sail deployment.

Visit our new LightSail website
In honor of our May 2015 test flight, we've released a brand new LightSail website. The project's new home includes spacecraft details, a mutli-part history series, and a multimedia gallery.
 
Meanwhile, work progresses on the Society's second LightSail spacecraft, dubbed LightSail-B, which will fly to a circular, 720-kilometer orbit in 2016—high enough to demonstrate controlled solar sailing and create more viewing opportunities. LightSail-B will be paired with Prox-1, a small Georgia Tech spacecraft designed to demonstrate automated rendezvous and inspection techniques.
The lessons learned while preparing for the LightSail test mission are already being applied to LightSail-B. Currently planned improvements include radio upgrades, new stiffener brackets and additional mirrors that will be used for ground-based laser ranging. These upgrades are being performed by Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, the project's prime contractor. Additionally, the second LightSail spacecraft will use a momentum wheel and sun sensors to tack like a sailboat, allowing to turn toward and away from the sun's continual stream of photons.

Naval Postgraduate School
 ULTRASat enclosed in shipping container A team of engineers at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. prepare ULTRASat to be shipped to Cape Canaveral, Fla., wh ere it will be integrated to an Atlas V rocket for launch.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Salo

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/03/30/mysterious-mini-spaceplane-the-next-atlas-5-payload/
ЦитироватьMysterious mini spaceplane the next Atlas 5 payload       
Posted on March 30, 2015 by Justin Ray

Credit: ULA
 
CAPE CANAVERAL — With its new homeport in renovated NASA space shuttle hangars off in the distance, the Air Force's X-37 mini spaceplane will be launched fr om Cape Canaveral on May 6 for its fourth journey into orbit.
The Orbital Test Vehicle will be the primary payload aboard the next United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the 54th Atlas 5 and ULA's 96th mission overall. The launch has a codename AFSPC 5 for the Air Force Space Command flight No. 5.
Liftoff is targeted some time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT (1300-1700 GMT).
Stacking of the two-stage launcher began today inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Complex 41. The rocket will fly in its 501 configuration, the 6th flight of its type, that features a five-meter nose cone, no solid boosters and a single engine on the Centaur upper stage.
Majestically rising off the launch pad on 860,000 pounds of the thrust, the 196-foot-tall rocket will be powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 main engine for the first four-and-a-half minutes of flight.
The Centaur and its Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 then takes over for a 13-minute burn that places the X-37 mini shuttle into low-Earth orbit.
The Air Force won't yet confirm which of the Boeing-built spaceplanes will be making the voyage. The first craft returned in October fr om a 675-day mission in space following a 224 day trek in 2010. OTV No. 2 spent 469 days in space in 2011-2012 on its only mission so far.
"The program selects the Orbital Test Vehicle for each activity based upon the experiment objectives," said Capt. Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesperson.
"Each OTV mission builds upon previous on-orbit demonstrations and expands the test envelope of the vehicle.  The test mission furthers the development of the concept of operations for reusable space vehicles."
While the first three X-37B missions touched down at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Air Force has acknowledged it was looking at the potential of landing a flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
"Upon completion of the preparations at KSC, the program will have two landing options, one at KSC and one at Vandenberg Air Force Base," Hoyler said.
"OTV is leveraging previous space shuttle investments and the Orbiter Processing Facilities (OPFs) to conduct recovery and refurbishment activities after landing."
Boeing announced in January 2014 and NASA confirmed in October that it was turning over two of the OPF bays to the Air Force. The OPFs were wh ere the NASA space shuttles underwent post-flight deservicing and were readied for the next mission.
"NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Program for use of the center's Orbiter Processing Facility Bays 1 and 2 to process the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle for launch," a NASA press release said.
"Investments will be made to convert the former space shuttle facility, OPF-1, to a facility that would enable the U.S. Air Force to efficiently land, recover, refurbish and re-launch the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle," Boeing said in its press release on Jan. 3, 2014.
KSC has a three-mile-long concrete landing strip wh ere space shuttles landed for three decades. It is the same length as the Vandenberg runway that X-37B has used.
Built in 1975, KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility is a concrete strip 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The runway is located about three miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA's space shuttles landed in Florida 78 times, 20 in darkness.
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

anik

Atlas 5 slips at payload's request
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/10/atlas-5-slips-at-payloads-request/

CAPE CANAVERAL — The next Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral will be delayed two weeks to resolve an undisclosed issue with the payload, United Launch Alliance officials announced Friday.
Liftoff is retargeted for no earlier than May 20 from Complex 41. The launch has been slated for May 6.
"The ULA Atlas 5 launch of the AFSPC 5 mission has been delayed to no earlier than May 20, 2015 at the request of the U.S. Air Force to accommodate a spacecraft issue," ULA said in a statement.
The primary payload is the Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle spaceplane on the secretive program's fourth trip into space.
The rocket will fly in the 501 configuration with a five-meter payload fairing, no solid boosters and a single engine Centaur upper stage.

Брабонт

Который из лётных экземпляров X-37B запускается в этот раз?
Пропитый день обмену и возврату не подлежит

triage

ЦитироватьВиктор Воропаев пишет:
Который из лётных экземпляров X-37B запускается в этот раз?
ранее где-то читал что второй, сейчас не упоминают.

che wi

X-37B launch date firms up as new details emerge about experiment
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/27/x-37b-launch-date-firms-up-as-new-details-emerge-about-experiment/

ЦитироватьCAPE CANAVERAL — All systems are now "go" for launch of the Air Force's X-37B mystery spaceplane on May 20 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.

Officials had delayed the X-37B launch by two weeks — from May 6 to no earlier than May 20 — due to an undisclosed payload issue. Officials on Monday removed their tentative caveat from the May 20 target and firmed it up.

"The ULA Atlas 5 launch of the AFSPC 5 mission has been confirmed on the Eastern Range for May 20, 2015. The U.S. Air Force has confirmed the spacecraft is on track to meet this launch date," ULA said in a statement.

The Atlas 5-501 rocket is stacked inside the Vertical Integration Facility at the Cape's Complex 41 awaiting arrival of the spaceplane for mating to the booster's Centaur upper stage. The Centaur will execute a single firing during launch to ins ert the stubby-winged vehicle into orbit.

Meanwhile, Air Force officials have provided more detail on the propulsion experiment to be conducted on this X-37B mission. It is a Hall thruster electric propulsion test to enable in-space characterization of design modifications that are intended to improve performance to the units onboard Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications spacecraft, officials said Monday.

Produced by Aerojet Rocktdyne, the AEHF satellites' Hall thrusters are 4.5-kilowatt units that use electricity and xenon to produce thrust for maneuvering satellites in space. The novel electric propulsion system produces a whisper-like thrust by ionizing and accelerating xenon gas.

Unlike conventional chemical engines that deliver substantial boosts with each brief firing, the electric system needs the stamina to operate for exceptionally long periods of time to harness its 0.06-pound-thrust in to orbit-changing power.

The divergent systems have their advantages and drawbacks. Although typical engines can maneuver satellites rapidly, they use large amounts of heavy fuel that in turn require a bigger, more expensive rocket to carry the spacecraft. Electric propulsion gives up timeliness for efficiency since its xenon fuel weighs a mere fraction of conventional hydrazine, but you must have patience to reap the rewards.

Each of the AEHF satellites, valued at over $1 billion, is a nuclear-survivable spacecraft that would ensure American leadership with communications in the most hellish scenarios of war imaginable. Three such satellites have been deployed to date, with three more planned.

The on-orbit test plans for the X-37B experiment are being developed by Air Force Research Laboratory and administered by the Rapid Capabilities Office, which runs the X-37B program.

"The experiment will include collection of telemetry from the Hall thruster operating in the space environment as well as measurement of the thrust imparted on the vehicle.  The resulting data will be used to validate and improve Hall thruster and environmental modeling capabilities, which enhance the ability to extrapolate ground test results to actual on-orbit performance," the Air Force said.

"Space is so vitally important to everything we do," said Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, AFRL commander.

"Secure comms, ISR, missile warning, weather prediction, precision navigation and timing all rely on it, and the domain is increasingly contested.  A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge. Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity."

triage

Цитировать http://spacenews.com/launch-date-set-for-4th-flight-of-x-37b-spaceplane/
Launch Date Set for X-37B Spaceplane's 4th Flight
April 24, 2015
...
The Air Force declined to say which of the two X-37B spaceplanes the service will use for the mission.
"The program selects the orbital test vehicle for each activity based upon the experiment objectives,"  Air Force spokesman Capt. Chris Hoyler said. 
....
The Air Force did not say where the upcoming X-37B mission would land, or how long it would remain in orbit. The last X-37B launched into space logged 674 days in orbit before landing last October.
"We are excited about our fourth X-37B mission," Randy Walden, the director of the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, said in an April 24 statement.  "With the demonstrated success of the first three missions, we're able to shift our focus from initial checkouts of the vehicle to testing of experimental payloads."

This flight is aimed at evaluating improvements to the spaceplane's performance and will also include an experimental propulsion system developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the release said.

"We're honored to host these collaborative experiments that will help advance the state-of-the-art for space technology," Walden said.

Цитироватьhttp://www.space.com/29221-x37b-military-space-plane-fourth-mission.html
Mysterious X-37B Military Space Plane to Fly Again Next Month
by Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer   |   April 24, 2015 06:47pm ET
....
The X-37B's payloads and specific activities are classified, so it's unclear exactly what the spacecraft does while zipping around the Earth. But Air Force officials have revealed a few clues about the upcoming mission.

"The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO) are investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on Mission 4," Capt. Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman, told Space.com via email.  

"AFRCO will also host a number of advance materials onboard the X-37B for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the durability of various materials in the space environment," Hoyler added
.....
If Air Force officials know how long OTV-4 is going to last, they're not saying.

"The X-37B is designed for an on-orbit duration of 270 days," Hoyler said. "Longer missions have been demonstrated. As with previous missions, the actual duration will depend on test objectives, on-orbit vehicle performance and conditions at the landing facility."
......

triage

US Air Force's Next X-37B Space Plane Mystery Mission to Test Thruster
Цитировать http://www.space.com/29282-air-force-x37b-space-plane-thruster.html
May 01, 2015 12:00pm ET

The U.S. Air Force will test an innovative spacecraft thruster this month when it launches the latest mystery mission of its robotic X-37B space plane.

A Hall thruster will be one of the payloads riding on the X-37B space plane when it launches on May 20, Air Force officials revealed this week. The mission, called AFSPC-5, will lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using an Atlas V rocket provided by launch provider United Launch Alliance. The exact mission details of the Air Force's X-37B space planes, also known as Orbital Test Vehicles, have to date been shrouded in secrecy.
Спойлер

The details about the Hall thruster experiment aboard the upcoming X-37B mission, which will be the fourth of its kind, were outlined by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space and Missile Systems Center, and Rapid Capabilities Office.

The Hall thruster is a modified version of thrusters used on the Space and Missile Systems Center's three Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellites. It is a type of electric propulsion device that ionizing and accelerating a noble gas, typically xenon, to produce thrust. WhileHall thrusters generate relatively low thrust when compared to that of conventionally fueled rocket engines, they make up for it in fuel economy with a much greater specific impulse.

While producing comparatively low thrust relative to conventional rocket engines, Hall thrusters provide significantly greater specific impulse, or fuel economy.

This results in increased payload carrying capacity and a greater number of on-orbit maneuvers for a spacecraft using Hall thrusters rather than traditional rocket engines, according to an update from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Once in orbit, the X-37B toted experiment will include collection of telemetry from the Hall thruster operating in the space environment as well as measurement of the thrust imparted on the vehicle.

The resulting data will be used to validate and improve Hall thruster and environmental modeling capabilities. The in-space test will provide data to contrast ground test results to actual on-orbit performance, Air Force officials said.

"A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge," AFRL commander Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello said in the Air Force statement. "Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity."

The on-orbit test plans are being developed by AFRL and administered by the Rapid Capabilities Office.
.....
[свернуть]

Sam Grey

Интересно, он что, какие-то дополнительные солнечные батареи раскрывать будет?

Nilk


Sam Grey

ЦитироватьNilk пишет:
А предыдущий-то сел? Или летает до сих пор?
В октябре прошлого года сел, после 675 дней на орбите.

Nilk

ЦитироватьSam Grey пишет:
В октябре прошлого года сел, после 675 дней на орбите.
Так долго летал, что я устал за ним следить  :)

snek

Космический челнок X-37B испытает новый ионный двигатель на эффекте Холла
http://newsdiscover.net/news/read/Kosmicheskij_chelnok_X_37B_ispytaet_novyj_ionnyj_dvigatel_na_effekte_Holla.html


ЦитироватьБеспилотный космический самолет X-37B, который является одной из секретных технологий ВВС США, готовится к очередному запуску в рамках миссии Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) 4. Как обычно запуск, назначенный на 20 мая 2015 года, будет производиться с космодрома на мысе Канаверал и когда этот небольшой космический корабль выйдет на околоземную орбиту он произведет "боевые" испытания нового ионного двигателя на основе эффекта Холла.
Космический корабль X-37B, который напоминает Шаттл в миниатюре, является одним из двух идентичных аппаратов, построенных компанией Boeing Phantom Works. В настоящее время эти два космических корабля совершили три длительных космических полета, пробыв на околоземной орбите 1367 суток в общей сложности. Задачи, которые решали эти аппараты в космосе, покрыты тайной, а руководства американских ВВС отделывается лишь отговорками об испытаниях технологий космических аппаратов многократного использования.
Ионные двигатели Холла, которые помогут кораблю X-37B выполнить его миссию, являются ионными двигателями, весьма похожими на ионные двигатели, которые позволили исследовательскому космическому аппарату Dawn побывать возле астероида Веста, добраться до карликовой планеты Церера, установив по пути рекорд скорости перемещения в космическом пространстве. Ионные двигатели используют электроны для ионизации атомов инертного газа, ксенона, которые затем ускоряются при помощи электрических полей и вырабатывают реактивную тягу. Хотя вырабатываемая ионным двигателем сила тяги эквивалентна весу листа бумаги, двигатель чрезвычайно эффективнее и может непрерывно работать в течение многих лет, разгоняя космический аппарат до очень высоких скоростей.
Экспериментальный ионный двигатель Холла был разработан совместными усилиями специалистов Научно-исследовательской лаборатории ВВС США (Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL), центра Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) и управления Rapid Capabilities Office (CRO). Он, в сущности, является модернизированным вариантом двигателей, используемых на первых трех спутниках системы военной космической связи Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF).
Когда, находясь на околоземной орбите, космический корабль X-37B включит ионный двигатель, начнется передача на Землю потока телеметрических данных, которые будут содержать информацию о функционировании и режимах работы двигателя, о силе вырабатываемой им тяги и о многом другом. Собранные в ходе экспериментального запуска данные будут использоваться для улучшения конструкции очередных ионных двигателей, которые уже будут предназначаться для фактической работы на орбите.

Петр Зайцев

Очередное подтверждение, что программа никому задаром не нужна - уже пускают эксперименты NASA, лишь бы была ПН.

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/05/06/nasa-gives-more-information-on-its-experiment-aboard-the-x-37b/

Salo

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/05/08/photos-atlas-5-and-x-37b-mated-together-for-upcoming-launch/
ЦитироватьPhotos: Atlas 5 and X-37B mated together for upcoming launch       
Posted on May 8, 2015 by Justin Ray
          
CAPE CANAVERAL — The Air Force's miniature space shuttle and its ride to orbit have been joined together inside an assembly building at Cape Canaveral in preparation for launch May 20.
The X-37B spaceplane will be boosted into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, flying in its 501 varient with a big payload fairing and no solid boosters.
Stacking of the 196-foot-tall rocket was completed Thursday as crews hoisted the payload, already encapsulated in its 18-foot-diameter nose cone, into position aboard the Centaur upper stage.
The spaceplane, also known as an Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, had been prepared for flight at a separate facility. It is carrying at least two experiments — a NASA materials exposure investigation and an Air Force electric propulsion thruster test.
The fully assembled Atlas vehicle will be rolled out aboard its mobile launch platform from the Vertical Integration Facility to the pad at Complex 41 on May 19.
It will be the fourth flight of an X-37B into orbit. Atlas 5 rockets have launched the three previous flights as well.
See our earlier launch coverage.





"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Безумный Шляпник

Азимут пуска отличается от трех предыдущих запусков.

NAVAREA IV 377/2015 (11,14,26)  
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. ROCKETS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 201505Z TO 201730Z MAY,  ALTERNATE 211518Z TO 211744Z MAY IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-36N 080-36W, 28-43N 080-19W, 28-41N 080-19W, 28-35N 080-26W, 28-34N 080-29W, 28-34N 080-35W.
   B. 31-39N 073-56W, 32-18N 072-17W, 32-12N 072-14W, 31-31N 073-53W.
   C. 36-17N 059-50W, 36-36N 058-31W, 36-30N 058-28W, 36-10N 059-49W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 211844Z MAY 15.
( 150350Z MAY 2015 )

Безумный Шляпник

А вот сюда видимо должна упасть 2-я ступень ракеты:

HYDROPAC 1602/2015 (61,75)  
SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN. SPACE DEBRIS.
DNC 03.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 201735Z TO 201939Z MAY, ALTERNATE 211748Z TO 211953Z MAY IN AREA BOUND BY
   49-00S 073-48E, 54-18S 095-42E, 56-24S 094-24E, 51-06S 072-00E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 212053Z MAY 15.
( 150318Z MAY 2015 )

Безумный Шляпник

В общем, пуск по азимуту, соответствующему наклонению 40 градусов. Предположительно, после отделения X-37B ступень выполнит маневр для увеличения наклонения до 56 градусов, там отложит кубсаты и затопится в Индийском океане к востоку от Кергелена.