AEHF-4 - Atlas V 551 (AV-073) - CCAFS SLC-41 - 17.10.2018, 04:15 UTC

[Apollo13]

К.А. пишет:
Зачем использовалась конфигурация РН 551 (ранее спутник выводился конфигурацией 531), если масса КА та же.

Чтобы Фалкон-9 не смог?

[Чебурашка]

AEHF-4

"At separation, the spacecraft is expected to be in an orbit of 8,914 by 35,299 kilometers (5,539 by 21,934 miles, 4,813 by 19,060 nautical miles), inclined at 12.8 degrees "

А в предыдущих запусках какая была финальная орбита?

[Чебурашка]

AEHF-3

The planned separation orbit is 225 by 50,000 kilometers (140 by 31,000 statute miles, 122 by 27,000 nautical miles) at an inclination of 20.9 degrees, with an argument of perigee of 180 degrees.

Вот и ответ на вопрос. 
У AEHF-4 меньше dV для перехода на ГСО.

[tnt22]

Заполняем лакуны:

3:41 a.m. EDT (0741 UTC)

T+plus 3 hours, 26 minutes. Centaur has turned to the proper orientation for the burn.

3:43 a.m. EDT (0743 UTC)

T+plus 3 hours, 28 minutes, 27 seconds. Ignition! Centaur's single Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine is running again for its third firing during this launch, a burn lasting about 100 seconds.

3:45 a.m. EDT (0745 UTC)

T+plus 3 hours, 30 minutes, 7 seconds. The third main engine cutoff, or MECO-3, is confirmed to complete the powered phase of flight today. Centaur has performed its third burn that raised the orbit's low point and reduced orbital inclination for the AEHF-4 payload.

3:46 a.m. EDT (0746 UTC)

T+plus 3 hours, 31 minutes. Centaur is reorienting to the spacecraft deployment attitude.

[tnt22]

3:47 a.m. EDT (0747 UTC)

T+plus 3 hours, 32 minutes, 54 seconds. SPACECRAFT SEPARATION!
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency-4 communications satellite has been deployed into space by the Atlas V rocket's Centaur upper stage for U.S. national security.

AEHF-4 will join three predecessors in geosynchronous orbit to provide global coverage for survivable, protected, anti-jam communications to strategic commanders and tactical warfighters on land, at sea and in the air.

[tnt22]

4:45 a.m. EDT (0845 UTC)

The traditional quick-look post-flight data review of today's mission has occurred at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center following the successful launch of AEHF-4 by the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Today's launch represents the 131st successful mission for United Launch Alliance and our 50th for the Air Force. This flight also marked the 79th mission for the Atlas V and continued its 100 percent success rate.

Liftoff occurred at 12:15:00.2 a.m. EDT at the opening moment of today's two-hour launch window, with winds of 6 knots from the southeast and a temperature of 80 degrees F.

Спойлер

The vehicle performed successfully during its three-and-a-half-hour mission, which included three Centaur burns. The quicklook meeting also reviewed the onboard video camera footage recorded during spacecraft separation.

Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs, presented safe-and-arm pin awards to David Kube, ULA systems test engineer, and Lee Thompson, ULA quality engineer, for their "outstanding contribution and personal dedication to the success of the launch of the fourth Advance Extremely High Frequency satellite."

Also recognized with Atlas V 551 rocket models were ULA mission manager Andy McGill and the Air Force's Col. David Ashley, the AEHF program manager, and Mike Dolan, the government's mission director.

Today's mission occurred on the anniversaries of four previous launches of ULA heritage vehicles -- one Atlas, two Thor vehicles and one Delta, including the 1963 Atlas-Arena with Vela nuclear detection satellites, the 1964 Thor-Agena with a Corona reconnaissance satellite, another Thor-Agena in 1971 with an experimental Air Force satellite and a Delta II in 2007 that deployed the GPS IIR-17M navigation satellite.

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[tnt22]

https://www.ulalaunch.com/about/news/2018/10/17/united-launch-alliance-successfully-launches-aehf-4-mission
https://www.ulalaunch.com/about/news-detail/2018/10/17/united-launch-alliance-successfully-launches-aehf-4-mission

United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches AEHF-4 Mission

Atlas V AEHF-4 Mission Information Page
Atlas V AEHF-4 Mission Overview
Photos: Atlas V AEHF-4

50th Launch for the U.S. Air Force

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., (Oct. 17, 2018 ) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) mission for the U.S. Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on Oct. 17 at 12:15 a.m. EDT. The launch of AEHF-4 marks ULA's 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force; ULA's first Air Force mission was Space Test Program-1 (STP-1), launched March 8, 2007.
 
"ULA's unparalleled record of successfully launching and placing payloads in orbit signifies our profound commitment to national defense," said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. "We remain the only launch provider capable of placing our customers' payloads into any national security space orbit, anytime, which we've proudly exhibited through 50 launches for the U.S. Air Force."

Спойлер

"Over the past 12 years, the men and women of ULA have reliably delivered dozens of Air Force payloads into orbit from GPS to WGS, and SBIRS to AEHF," said Gen. Jay Raymond, commander of Air Force Space Command. "ULA's unprecedented 100 percent launch success has directly contributed to our national security. Congratulations to the entire launch team on a successful 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force."
 
This mission launched aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) 551 configuration vehicle, which includes a 5-meter large Payload Fairing (PLF) and stands at 197 ft. tall.
 
Producing more than two and a half million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the Atlas V 551 configuration rocket is the most powerful in the Atlas V fleet. The 551 rocket has launched groundbreaking missions for our nation—from the critically important Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) constellation to historic science missions including New Horizons, the first mission to Pluto, and the Juno mission to Jupiter.
 
The AEHF system, developed by Lockheed Martin, provides vastly improved global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters.
 
"Today's launch exemplifies ULA's ongoing commitment to 100 percent mission success," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs."My sincere thanks to the entire ULA team and our mission partners who made this, our 50th launch for the U.S. Air Force, possible."
 
AEHF-4 is ULA's eighth launch in 2018 and 131st successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

ULA's next launch is the NROL-71 mission for the National Reconnaisance Office on a Delta IV Heavy rocket. The launch is scheduled for Nov. 29 from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

With more than a century of combined heritage, ULA is the world's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 130 satellites to orbit that provide Earth observation capabilities, enable global communications, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, and support life-saving technology.

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[tnt22]

Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno 5 ч. назад

131

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 5 ч. назад

S/C Sep for AEHF-4 following launch on ULA's Atlas V 551 from SLC-41!

ARTICLE:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/atlas-v-551-aehf-4-launch-us-air-force/ ...

- by William Graham

Photo by Nathan Barker (@NASA_Nerd) for NSF. Screenshot from KSA/NSF webcast @KSpaceAcademy / http://twitch.tv/dasvaldez 

[tnt22]

The Aerospace Geek‏ @ThAerospaceGeek 7 ч. назад

The @ulalaunch Atlas V 551 put on one incredible display tonight! Few things are better than the hellfire and fury of an RD-180 and 5 @northropgrumman Graphite Epoxy motors!
Photo by editor @mhaskell24 @torybruno #AEHF4 #AtlasV #ATLAS #USAF

[tnt22]

Atlas V AEHF-4 Launch Highlights

United Launch Alliance

Опубликовано: 17 окт. 2018 г.

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the U.S. Air Force AEHF-4 Satellite lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 17, 2018.

(2:07)

[Старый]

Однако мощная завеса у РД-180.

[tnt22]

https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-10-17-New-Lockheed-Martin-Built-Protected-Communications-Satellite-Confirmed-Online-in-Orbit-Following-Successful-Launch?_ga=2.230361756.1665222911.1539789887-776346214.1539789887

New Lockheed Martin-Built Protected Communications Satellite Confirmed Online In Orbit Following Successful Launch
Fourth Satellite Will Complete Global Coverage for Advanced Extremely High Frequency Constellation

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) protected communication satellite, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) for the U.S. Air Force, was successfully launched today at 12:15 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket. Lockheed Martin confirmed signal acquisition at 3:47 a.m. ET.

Спойлер

The AEHF system provides global, survivable, highly secure and protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. The satellite will now move into a testing phase prior to hand over to the Air Force. With four satellites in orbit, the AEHF constellation completes a geostationary ring and will be able to deliver global coverage.

"It's good to return with our mission partners to see the culmination of expertise, skill and partnership that we have worked diligently toward to make this AEHF launch a success," said Mike Cacheiro, vice president of Protected Communication Systems at Lockheed Martin. "This is a substantial milestone for AEHF, and as we look ahead, we continue to improve and upgrade this mission to deliver these vital communications capabilities to the Air Force."

AEHF also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Lockheed Martin is on contract with the Air Force to deliver the fifth and sixth satellites and upgraded the Mission Planning ground system. Lockheed Martin contributed payload system engineering, mission control ground software, solar arrays and the LM A2100 spacecraft bus, which is a dependable and low-risk platform for commercial, civil and military satellites. All AEHF satellites are assembled at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif. facility.

One AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar constellation. Individual data rates increase five-fold, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. In addition, AEHF affords national leaders anti-jam, always-on connectivity during all levels of conflict.

The AEHF team includes the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the payload provider.

For additional AEHF information, photos and video visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/aehf

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[tnt22]

НОРАД зафиксировал два объекта запуска (пока без идентификации, официальных TLE не предвидется)

[tnt22]

Отделение КА AEHF-4

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/10/17/air-forces-fourth-aehf-communications-satellite-successfully-launched-from-florida/

Air Force's fourth AEHF communications satellite successfully launched fr om Florida
October 17, 2018 | Stephen Clark


An Atlas 5 rocket carrying the U.S. Air Force's fourth AEHF secure communications satellite lifts off at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT) Wednesday from Cape Canaveral. Credit: United Launch Alliance

A $1.8 billion U.S. Air Force communications satellite rode a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, joining three similar craft perched more than 22,000 miles above Earth to ensure government leaders can remain in contact with military commanders in the worst-case scenario of nuclear war.

The Air Force relay satellite, built by Lockheed Martin with payload contributions by Northrop Grumman, will join three other Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites to form a global network military officials say will be resilient to jamming, cyber attacks, and even nuclear war.

Спойлер

"This is the nation's only strategic and tactical protected communications satellite network," said Mike Cacheiro, Lockheed Martin's vice president of protected communications and AEHF program manager. "It's also the only system that survives through near nuclear burst and can provide communications through scintillated environments that other communications systems could not.

"So on a really bad day, you really want to have this system in place," Cacheiro said in a conference call with reporters before Wednesday's launch.

The AEHF 4 satellite, weighing around 13,600 pounds (6,170 kilograms), lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT) after an apparently flawless countdown.

Powered by a Russian-made RD-180 main engine and five Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters, the Atlas 5 rapidly climbed away from Florida's Space Coast with 2.6 million pounds of thrust, turning toward the east over the Atlantic Ocean en route to the AEHF 4 satellite's eventual perch in geostationary orbit over the equator.

The five strap-on solid-fueled motors dropped away from the Atlas 5's kerosene-burning core stage less than two minutes into the flight, and the launcher's Swiss-made nose fairing jettisoned around three-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.

Soaring into the rarefied environment of space, the Atlas 5's first stage shut down and detached in the fifth minute of the mission, leaving the rocket's Centaur upper stage — powered by a hydrogen-fueled RL10C-1 engine — to send the AEHF 4 spacecraft into an "optimized" geostationary transfer orbit.

The previous three AEHF satellites launched on Atlas 5 rockets in 2010, 2012 and 2013, but they flew on a version of the Atlas 5 with three strap-on boosters. Air Force officials decided to launch AEHF 4, and two more follow-on satellites planned for liftoff in 2019 and 2020, on the most powerful Atlas 5 variant with five solid rocket motors.


This still from a ULA animation shows the AEHF 4 satellite separating from the Atlas 5 rocket's Centaur upper stage. Credit: United Launch Alliance

The extra lift capability enabled by the two additional solid rocket boosters allowed the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage to deposit the AEHF 4 satellite closer to its final operating position in geostationary orbit.

Cacheiro said the orbit reached on Wednesday's mission will allow the AEHF 4 satellite to more quickly arrive in its perch in geostationary orbit. Like most geostationary communications satellites, AEHF 4 will use an on-board engine to maneuver into its final orbit.

The cost of adding two boosters to the Atlas 5 rocket was outweighed by the benefits of deploying AEHF 4 in a higher orbit, Cacheiro said.

"The money's well worth (it) in terms of the impact to the satellite and the overall program," Cacheiro said. "It surely will provide a savings in fuel for additional life, but it's really also a question of how quickly we get to (geostationary) orbit."

The Centaur's third engine firing Wednesday, timed for nearly three-and-a-half hours after liftoff, aimed to place the AEHF 4 spacecraft in an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit with an apogee, or high point, of 21,933 miles (35,299 kilometers), a perigee, or low point, of 5,539 miles (8,914 kilometers), and an inclination of 12.8 degrees.

United Launch Alliance confirmed the rocket deployed the AEHF satellite into an on-target orbit at 3:47 a.m. EDT (0747 GMT), and Lockheed Martin said ground controllers immediately established a radio link with the new spacecraft.

"It's good to return with our mission partners to see the culmination of expertise, skill and partnership that we have worked diligently toward to make this AEHF launch a success," said Cacheiro said in a post-launch statement. "This is a substantial milestone for AEHF, and as we look ahead, we continue to improve and upgrade this mission to deliver these vital communications capabilities to the Air Force."


The AEHF 4 satellite during pre-launch processing at Cape Canaveral. Credit: Lockheed Martin

The AEHF 4 satellite was expected begin raising its orbit to circularize its altitude more than 22,000 miles over the equator, wh ere its velocity will match the rate of Earth's rotation, giving the new craft a fixed geographic coverage zone. Other post-launch steps planned for the satellite include the extension of its power-generating solar arrays, and deployment of multiple antennas.

The AEHF fleet replaces the Air Force's aging Milstar network, which consists of five satellites launched on Titan 4 rockets from 1994 through 2003. The new system introduces higher data rates and other improvements to the Milstar network.

"When we have the fourth AEHF satellite launched oand transitioned to operatins, we've achieved our baseline constellation of four satellites around the Earth, and that will give us the ability, if we choose, to use the extended data rate, or XDR code, which is 10 times the data rate that we currently use on the Milstar constellation."

The AEHF satellites are cross-linked in orbit, allowing the spacecraft to relay signals to one another. Each satellite also carries gimbaled dish antennas to reach users on-the-move, phased array antennas with beams can be steered electronically rather than mechanically, and nulling antennas to provide "extremely high anti-jam capability to in-theater users," according to Northrop Grumman, which developed the AEHF communications payload.

"At a time when the military is facing evolving jamming and cyber threats, protected communications capabilities are more important than ever," Cacheiro said. "Advanced EHF is built to withstand and overcome even the toughest and most sophisticated jamming threats that are out there. For that reason, it is central to our assured resilient communciations for our warfighters and our commanders-in-chief.

"Advanced EHF is not only incredibly secure," he continued. "It delivers unprecedented speed and bandwidth for protected communications. In fact, one Advanced EHF satellite provides ths same capacity of the existing constellation of five Milstar satellites that we have on-orbit today.

"At a time when you want to deliver videos from our warfighters, what used to take days now takes hours," Cacheiro said. "What used to take hours for data messages now takes minutes. For voice data, what used to take minutes now takes seconds. We are truly bringing unprecedented capability to the warfighter."

The AEHF satellites are designed for 14-year service lives.


Artist's concept of an AEHF satellite in orbit. Credit: U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin

The AEHF system's highest data rate service, XDR+, will not be available until 2020, when the military services will have the ground terminals needed to use the full capability of the AEHF satellites, officials said.

"With this fourth satellite, it's gonna form a ring around geosynchronous orbit and allow the constellation to transition to XDR+," Cacheiro said. "Whether it's the president, forward deployed troops in peace or war, our promise to the customer, the Air Force, and to the warfighter is to provide systems that become national assets."

What differentiates the AEHF network from other military communications satellite programs is its ability to withstand threats.

"Our spacecraft has been designed to be strategically hardened ... It actually is designed to keep things from coming in and radiation from penetrating," Cacheiro said.

"One of the very unique elements of the Advanced EHF program can be equated to almost machine learning or artificial intelligence," he said. "We have autonomous detection and recovery, so for every event that occurs, our satellite is programmed to counter that event with a specific action.

"That's a pretty intense capability, so if there's a near event, our satellite detects it, safes itself, and contnues to support its mission," Cacheiro said.

AEHF 4 was supposed to launch last year, but the Air Force requested Lockheed Martin modify a part on the satellite to meet a new mission requirement, according to Cacheiro, who declined to identify the new requirement publicly.

The AEHF system is a joint program between the U.S. military, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Australian government could join the partnership soon, Ashley said

Lockheed Martin built the first three AEHF satellites in a block buy from the Air Force, but the military waited until 2013 to order the fourth AEHF spacecraft, raising the AEHF 4 satellite's unit cost to $1.8 billion. Two more AEHF satellites, AEHF 5 and 6, are set for launch on Atlas 5 rockets in July 2019 and March 2020, according to Ashley.

The Air Force has spent more than $10 billion on the AEHF program since its inception, including research and development, production and launch costs, according to Pentagon budget documents.

ULA's next launch is scheduled for Nov. 29 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, when a Delta 4-Heavy rocket — the biggest in the company's launcher fleet — will carry a top secret U.S. government spy satellite into orbit.

Wednesday's launch was the fifth and last Atlas 5 flight of the year. The next Atlas 5 mission is expected no earlier than March with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew capsule, which will be flying on an unpiloted demo mission to the International Space Station ahead of a crewed test flight later next year.

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[zandr]

Старый пишет:
Однако мощная завеса у РД-180.

http://engine.space/press/pressnews/2379/

Сегодня, 17 октября в 07:15 московского времени с базы ВВС США на мысе Канаверал (Флорида) состоялся пуск ракеты-носителя Atlas V.
Успешный пуск ракеты-носителя Atlas V обеспечил жидкостный ракетный двигатель РД-180, входящий в состав первой ступени.
Это 85-е успешное использование ЖРД РД-180 в составе американских ракет-носителей семейства «Атлас».

[tnt22]

https://www.patrick.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1664937/atlas-v-aehf-4-successfully-launches-from-ccafs/

Atlas V AEHF-4 successfully launches from CCAFS
45th Space Wing Public Affairs / Published October 17, 2018


United Launch Alliance's Atlas V AEHF-4 rocket lifts off from the pad October 17, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. This was the fourth communications satellite in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) series for the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

Спойлер

United Launch Alliance's Atlas V AEHF-4 rocket as it launches October 17, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. This was the fourth communications satellite in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) series for the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)


United Launch Alliance's Atlas V AEHF-4 rocket successfully launched October 17, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. This was the fourth communications satellite in the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) series for the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

[свернуть]

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. --

[tnt22]

Объекты запуска идентифицированы

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/10/18/photos-atlas-5-rocket-lifts-off-with-air-forces-aehf-4-satellite/

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off with Air Force's AEHF 4 satellite
October 18, 2018 | Stephen Clark

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket fired into the night sky over Cape Canaveral just after midnight Wednesday, carrying the U.S. Air Force's fourth AEHF communications satellite designed to enable secure voice, video and data links between U.S. and allied forces.

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT) Wednesday, riding 2.6 million pounds of thrust from its RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters.

The fourth Lockheed Martin-built Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite rode the Atlas 5 rocket skyward inside a 17.7-foot-diameter (5.4-meter) payload shroud.

Three-and-a-half hours after liftoff, the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage released the AEHF 4 spacecraft into an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit. The AEHF 4 satellite will maneuver into a circular geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator in the coming weeks, joining three other AEHF spacecraft designed to ensure U.S. government leaders and military commanders remain in contact, even during the nightmarish scenario of a nuclear war.

Спойлер

Read our full story on the Atlas 5 launch Wednesday


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: United Launch Alliance


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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