OTV-5 (X-37B) - Falcon 9 - Kennedy LC-39A - 07.09.2017, 14:00 UTC

[mik73]

АниКей пишет:

 SpaceX запустила убийцу российских спутников

Почему-то вспомнился старый анекдот

 Мужчина в автобусе обращается к женщине:
"Рыбка,пробей билетик,пожалуйста.
Женщина думает:
"Рыбка значит рыба,рыба значит щука, щука значит хищник,
хищник значит зубы, зубы значит собака...ТОВАРИЩИ!!!
Он меня с..кой обозвал!!!"

[Georgea]

АниКей пишет:

Вошли снизу
SpaceX запустила убийцу российских спутников

https://lenta.ru/articles/2017/09/08/x37b/

Лучше, чем вчерашняя.

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 51 мин. назад

Unofficial: The Falcon 9 Booster (B1040) that landed after the OTV-5 launch has been secured in the LZ-1 Hangar. http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43585.msg1721307#msg1721307 ...

[tnt22]

Robin Seemangal‏Подлинная учетная запись @nova_road 1 ч. назад

The statement from the 45th Space Wing regarding Irma prep following the launch of the #SpaceX Falcon 9. The booster is secure.

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/09/09/photos-falcon-9-rocket-lifts-off-and-lands-at-cape-canaveral/

Photos: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off and lands at Cape Canaveral
September 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A on Thursday, then its first stage booster touched down on a nearby landing target after sending a U.S. Air Force X-37B spaceplane toward orbit.

Спойлер

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket lifted off from pad 39A at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with the U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane, a robotic miniature space shuttle that can operate without a crew for years in orbit, then return to landing on a runway.

It was the 41st launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since the first version of SpaceX's primary launcher debuted in June 2010, and the 13th Falcon 9 flight of the year.


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: James Murati


Credit: James Murati


Credit: James Murati


Credit: James Murati


Credit: SpaceX


Credit: SpaceX

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

DEIMOS IMAGING‏ @deimosimaging 9 ч. назад

#DEIMOS2 caught Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone1 at around 15:58 UTC, September 7, less than 2hours after #Falcon9's first stage landed there!

[triage]

Читая ленту

 https://lenta.ru/articles/2017/09/08/x37b/
00:06, 8 сентября 2017
Вошли снизу
SpaceX запустила убийцу российских спутников
...
О последнем старте известно, что вместе с X-37 в интересах ВВС США запущено несколько кубсатов. Сообщается, что вторая ступень Falcon 9 вошла в атмосферу планеты под увеличенным углом, вероятно, малые спутники выпущены где-то над Австралией. Выведены ли эти аппараты на орбиту из грузового отсека мини-шаттла или отсоединились непосредственно от ракеты, неизвестно, трансляция пуска после отделения первой ступени прекратилась.
...

все у них смешалось, начитались зарубежных изданий... 
Началось с 

 http://www.afspc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1297016/air-force-preparing-to-launch-fifth-orbital-test-vehicle-mission/
...
This mission carries small satellite ride shares and will demonstrate greater opportunities for rapid space access and on-orbit testing of emerging space technologies.
...

Ничего лишнего на орбите не обнаружили?

[tnt22]

pnetmon пишет:
Ничего лишнего на орбите не обнаружили?

Судя по картинке ниже на "лишних" даже нумерация не зарезервирована
 
Вариантов немного, напрашиваются два
- запустили, но ничего не сообщили (сомнительно);
- "курочка в гнезде, яичко в ..." - запустят позднее (если малыши в лапте).
Ну или крайний вариант - запустили попуткой неудачно...

[triage]

написанное сообщение ушло в астрал

tnt22 - спасибо. это я иронизировал над сообщением Ленты... а то у них версия еще и что при запуске запустили из лаптя....
Австралия наверное взялась из этого

 https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/09/spacex-first-x-37b-launch-falcon-9/

Спойлер

The first burn of the second stage was likely to last around seven minutes. It is not clear, and unlikely to be confirmed by SpaceX or the US Air Force, whether this was the only burn prior to spacecraft separation, or whether the stage fired again to raise its orbit or increase orbital inclination.
While airspace closures are consistent with the launch targeting a low Earth orbit with inclination of approximately 43 degrees, airspace reserved for the second stage's reentry suggested that it was to be entering the atmosphere from a more highly-inclined trajectory.
It is not clear whether this inclination change would occur before or after the X-37B separates, although the Air Force has indicated that OTV-5's orbit will have greater inclination than any previous X-37B mission – and a 43-degree orbit was used by OTV-3.

[свернуть]

Another purpose for the inclination change could be to deploy secondary payloads into a different orbit. After spacecraft separation, the second stage will make at least one burn, to deorbit itself. The hazard area for second stage reentry shows that this event will take place to the South of Australia. Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMS, show that this hazard area is active from 17:54 to 22:26 UTC (13:54 to 18:28 EDT), suggesting that reentry will occur around three-and-a-half to four hours after liftoff.

[tnt22]

Cees Bassa‏ @cgbassa 6 ч. назад

The #OTV5 X-37B space plane, launched by @SpaceX in September 2017, has been found after 218 days in orbit. The orbital inclination of 54.5 deg is much higher than with previous X-37B missions. The Northern hemisphere has morning visibility. More info at https://bit.ly/2HyzCZi 

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Apr-2018/0065.html

From: C. Bassa via Seesat-l <seesat-l_at_satobs.org> 
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2018 05:23:07 +0200

Спойлер

Код Выделить Развернуть

Conditions were foggy, so I had to use the DSLR with a 50mm F/1.8 lens
to take 10s exposures near Vega, which was still visible. OTV-5 was
seen visually and photographically about 100s late on Ted's
estimate. From the photographic images I obtain these observations:

42932 17 052A   4171 P 20180413022602034 28 25 1847320+460969 37 S
42932 17 052A   4171 P 20180413022603034 28 25 1851322+452652 37 S

The timing is only accurate to about a second as the camera clock was
used (synchronized manually).

Using these observations and those of April 11th yields this circular
orbit:

OTV-5                                                    356 x 357 km
1 42932U 17052A   18101.12966830  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    03
2 42932  54.4698 145.3095 0001000   0.0000 103.9817 15.71178726    00
# 20180411.13-20180413.10, 9 measurements, 0.009 deg rms

Allow for some uncertainty in the orbit as it is assumed to be
circular, and there may be timing offsets in the photographic
measurements I have not accounted for.

However, my rough magnitude esimate was around 2nd or 3rd magnitude
when passing near Vega, so it should be easily visible. Even with
light fog it was bright and easy to spot.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Setup: EOS70D, 50mm F/1.8, 10s _at_ 800ISO, manual timing/aiming
IOD format: http://www.satobs.org/position/IODformat.html
COSPAR 4171: 52.8344N, 6.3785E, 10m (WGS84)
------------------------------------------------------------------

Regards,
   Cees

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

http://spaceflight101.com/x-37b-otv-5-identified-in-orbit/

Secretive X-37B Space Plane Discovered in Orbit after Staying Hidden for 218 Days
 April 13, 2018

Image: Boeing Phantom Works

It circled the Earth in obscurity for more than half a year, now the semi-secret X-37B OTV 5 space plane has been conclusively identified by amateur satellite observers in a circular orbit around 355 Kilometers in altitude. The orbit's inclination at 54.5 degrees is much different fr om previous OTV missions and in part responsible for the craft remaining undiscovered for so long.

Спойлер

X-37B, conducting its fifth orbital flight, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on September 7, 2017. In the typical secrecy surrounding the Air Force's X-37B program, the launch was shown until separation of the protective payload fairing and confirmation of successful orbital insertion was provided a short time later but operational aspects of the mission like the craft's operating orbit, intended mission duration and specifics on the payloads it carries were not disclosed.


Falcon 9 Blasts off with OTV 5 – Photo: SpaceX

Given the hush-hush nature of its missions, X-37B is a target of intense observation by the amateur satellite community and the orbital dynamics of all four prior OTV missions were closely watched. Typically, the spacecraft was spotted in orbit within a few days after launch; however, there were several cases wh ere observers lost track of the spacecraft due to unexpected orbital maneuvers.

X-37B OTV 5 proved to be a tougher nut to crack as it was clear from the outset that the spacecraft would operate from a different orbit than its predecessors: "The fifth OTV mission will be launched into, and landed from, a higher inclination orbit than prior missions to further expand the X-37B's orbital envelope," the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office said in a statement before the craft blasted off atop Falcon 9.


OTV 5 Observation from the Netherlands – Credit: Cees Bassa

The safety zones identified for the September 7 Falcon 9 launch were of little use for narrowing down the orbit as the departure path from Florida pointed to a 43-degree orbit while the second stage re-entry/splashdown area was consistent with a 60-70° orbit – indicating there was plenty of out-of-plane maneuvering by the launch vehicle either before or after separation of the five-metric-ton spacecraft.

Observer Russell Eberst based in Scotland reported an unidentified object on October 3rd, 2017 in a Low Earth Orbit in the neighborhood of 55 degrees, between 350 and 450 Kilometers in altitude. With only a single observation, margins for the orbit's altitude, inclination and right ascension were quite high, requiring follow-up observations to further constrain the orbit. A false detection in early November threw observers off the X-37B's tail and no conclusive observations were reported through April 2018.


OTV 5 Orbit Plane over LC-39A at 14 UTC, September 7, 2017 – Image: Spaceflight101/JSatTrak

Dr. Cees Bassa, a professional radio astronomer and hobbyist satellite tracker from the Netherlands, reported an unidentified object on April 11 in a 54.5-degree orbit at an altitude of around 355 Kilometers. Further study of his observations showed the object was the same observed by Russell Eberst back in October and Bassa was able to observe and measure the object again on Thursday in an orbit of roughly 356 by 357 Kilometers, inclined 54.47 degrees.

Tracking elements of OTV 5 are available here; the northern hemisphere currently has morning visibility.

Further confidence of the object being X-37B OTV 5 came through back-propagating the orbital elements to the time of the mission's launch on September 7 showing close proximity of the orbit's plane to the Cape Canaveral launch site.

The orbital inclination of 54.5 degrees is in line with the Air Force's statement of OTV-5 operating from a higher inclination than previous OTV flights. The ~355-Kilometer orbital altitude is also in family with previous OTV missions: OTV 1 spent the majority of its mission around 330 Kilometers in altitude, OTV 2 exhibited frequent maneuvers between 270 and 450 Kilometers, OTV 3 flew around 390 Kilometers in altitude and OTV 4 spent most of its mission around 350 Kilometers in altitude, though at a lower inclination than the first three missions.


Photo: Boeing/Astrotech (OTV-1)

The fact that observations of OTV 5 from October still are a good match with those from this week indicate the spacecraft has maintained its 355-Kilometer orbit for the last half year.

What the spacecraft might be up to in this type of Low Earth Orbit, some 50 Kilometers lower than the International Space Station, is pretty much unknown. As with the previous X-37B flights, only very few details on the OTV 5 mission are being shared with the public and most of what resides in the vehicle's 2.1 by 1.2-meter payload bay will remain secret.

One payload on the OTV 5 mission that was publicly acknowledged is the Air Force Research Laboratory Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader that will test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipe technologies over a long-duration space flight. Three oscillating heat pipes are part of the package to evaluate the technology for future applications in space as it could offer lighter and less expensive thermal control solutions for satellite missions. The goal of the OTV-5-mounted experiment will be to evaluate the technology's initial thermal performance and monitor it over an extended period to assess long-term degradation.


Image: Boeing

The Air Force also said the OTV 5 mission hosts small satellite ride shares to demonstrate greater opportunities for rapid space access; however, no additional objects have been cataloged under the OTV 5 mission's international designator 2017-052 up to this point.

The planned duration of the OTV 5 mission was not revealed beforehand but the U.S. Air Force stressed on numerous occasions that the duration of X-37B missions is driven by a number of operational constraints including the performance of the spacecraft and the requirements of the different experiments flying on the mission. The presence of a heat pipe experiment – a component that has to function over periods of many years on future operational missions – could indicate that the OTV 5 mission may be of extended duration. OTV 4 set a new endurance record for the program, remaining in orbit for 718 days, indicating OTV 5 may not be returning to Earth any time soon.

[свернуть]

[tnt22]

Dr Marco Langbroek‏ @Marco_Langbroek 9 ч. назад

This image compares the orbital planes of the previous four #X37B OTV missions (red) to that of the current OTV-5 mission (white):

[Александр Репной]

Интересно, в связи с чем его так здорово перебросили по наклонению 54.5°?

[Старый]

Александр Репной пишет:
Интересно, в связи с чем его так здорово перебросили по наклонению 54.5°?

Дык широта Воронежа, улица Лизюкова Калуги и Рязани.

[Старый]

Где наш космополит Михалыч? Счас он прийдёт и скажет что увеличение наклонения полностью ложится в его теорию "космоносца".

[Безумный Шляпник]

Держим в уме, что от этой твари еще кубсаты планировали отделять. Ждем с нетерпением.

[Старый]

Безумный Шляпник пишет:
Держим в уме, что от этой твари еще кубсаты планировали отделять. Ждем с нетерпением.

Ваня сказал что если всё в порядке то кубосаты не отделяем и возвращаем назад. Для чего ноги/крылья/хвост и предназначены.

[tnt22]

Jonathan McDowell @planet4589 · 6 ч

During the past week, the USAF OTV 5 spaceplane seems to have lowered its orbit again to 316 x 319 km x 54.5 deg, according to data posted by Ted Molczan. This is similar to the orbit it was in in APr-Jul 2018


6 ч

In Aug-Sep 2018 OTV-5 went up to 388 x 394 km, and then in Nov 2018 to Feb 2019 it operated in a 340 x 349 km orbit until this latest maneuver.

[К.А.]

Интересно сколько у него топлива на борту?

[tnt22]

http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=154946

Finally An Image Of X-37B / OTV-5 Space Plane 
Taken by Ralf Vandebergh on July 2, 2019 @ the Netherlands


Click photo for larger image

Details:

I have been hunting for the OTV-5 since months and saw it visually in May. When I tried to observe it again mid June, it didnt meet the predicted time and path. It turned out to have maneuvered to another orbit. Thanks to the amateur satellite observers-network, it was rapidly found in orbit again and I was able to take some images on June 30 and July 2. This most recent pass was almost overhead. The OTV is a small version of the classic Space Shuttle, it is really a small object, even at only 300 km altitude, so dont expect the detail level of ground based images of the real Space Shuttle. Considering this, the attached images succeeded beyond expectations. We can recognize a bit of the nose, Payload Bay and tail of this mini-shuttle with even a sign of some smaller detail.

Images were taken through a 10 inch F/4,8 aperture Newtonian telescope with an Astrolumina ALccd 5L-11 mono CMOS camera. Tracking was fully manually through a 6x30 finderscope.