Zuma – Falcon 9 – CCAFS LC-40 – 08.01.2018 01:00 UTC

[tnt22]

Виктор Воропаев пишет:
1-2 additional days of delay and the USA 276 orbital plane drifts into the launch window.

Marco

Пока сам др. Марко говорит, что связь этих двух КА не совсем ясна, если она вообще наличествует...

Exactly how (if at all) the two satellites are related to each other remains murky.

Запустят - увидим...

Более подробно здесь (Прим. Др. Марко опирается на диапазон пуска с 01:00 до 03:30 UTC, в прогнозах погоды от 45-го космокрыла всё время фигурирует диапазон на полчаса короче - с 01:00 до 03:00 UTC...)

https://sattrackcam.blogspot.ru/2018/01/a-new-launch-attempt-for-zuma.html

Thursday, 4 January 2018

A new launch attempt for ZUMA

Спойлер

Probable launch trajectory of ZUMA
(click map to enlarge)

If it isn't delayed again, SpaceX will finally launch the secretive classified ZUMA satellite for the US Government on January 6th (January 5th local time in the USA) from Kennedy Space Center pad 40 in Florida. The launch already has slipped one day from the initial January 5 aim.

The satellite was originally to be launched last November (see an earlier post) from Kennedy Space Center pad 39A but was postponed because of  issues with the payload fairing.

The launch hazard zones and the Falcon 9 upper stage de-orbit zone as gleaned from the Maritime Broadcast Warnings are virtually the same as in November, as was to be expected (there is a very small lateral shift in the launch hazard zone, which is probably related to the change in launch pad, but the direction of the area is the same). They are depicted on the map above.

From the launch azimuth (as gleaned from the launch hazard zones) and the location, extent and time window of the Falcon 9 upper stage de-orbit area, ZUMA will be launched into an approximately 50 degree inclined Low Earth Orbit. In the map above, a trajectory has been plotted for launch into a 50 degree inclined, approximately 400 km orbital altitude orbit. The orbital altitude is a bit uncertain and the eventual real orbit might be higher.

The launch window runs from 1:00 UT to 3:30 UT (January 6th). The de-orbit of the Falcon 9 Upper stage happens some 2 hours after launch over the southern Indian Ocean north of Kerguelen, halfway during the 2nd orbital revolution.

As remarked in my earlier post from November, the launch hazard area and the apparent orbit aimed for as decuced from these hazard zones seem to be very similar to that of USA 276, the classified SpaceX launch for the US government from May 2017 which went into a 50 degree inclined, 400 km altitude orbit (see my article in The Space Review of July 2017). Compare the launch hazard zones of these two launches, they are very similar:

Launch hazard area of ZUMA (red) compared to that of USA 276 (blue)
(click map to enlarge)

Back in November there was some speculation that ZUMA might target the ISS orbital plane, just like the odd classified satellite USA 276 appears to have done last year (see my article in The Space Review of July 2017).

For the initial launch date and window in November 2017, the orbital planes of the ISS (and USA 276) would have passed over the launch site during the launch window, allowing a launch into the same orbital plane.

The new launch window for January 6th is the same as it was in November: 1:00 UT to 3:30 UT. This excludes a launch (exactly) into either the ISS or USA 276 orbital planes, as the latter only pass over the Florida launch site after the launch window has ended.

This would seem to suggest that the coincidence in time of the launch window and orbital plane passages in November was indeed coincidence (but there is a "but": see below...).

On January 6th, the orbital plane of USA 276 passes over the launch site around 4:27 UT, an hour after the end of the launch window. The orbital plane of the ISS passes over the launch site around 7:04 UT, some 3.5 hours after the end of the launch window.

The image below shows the spatial separation of the orbital planes for launch on January 6th.  For ZUMA, two planes are given (in red), one for launch at 1:00 UT and one for launch at 3:30 UT, representing the start and end of the launch window:

relative positions of orbital planes of ZUMA (red), USA 276 (blue) and ISS (white)
(click map to enlarge)

The USA 276 orbital plane is actually not too far from the ZUMA orbital plane if launch occurs near the end of the launch window.

The launch already has slipped one day, and a few days further delay would slip the passage of the USA 276 orbital plane back into the launch window, as the moment of orbital plane passage shifts about 24 minutes earlier in time each day. This would happen already with a 3-day delay in launch. And a further delay eventually would do the same for the ISS orbital plane passage after several more days.

At any rate: if launch is near the end of the launch window (i.e. near 3:30 UT), the ZUMA and USA 276 orbits could end up relatively close, albeit not being exactly the same.

Like we pressume USA 276 to be, ZUMA probably is a technology demonstrator, i.e. an experimental satellite to show that a particular technology is feasible.

I could speculate that perhaps ZUMA and USA 276 are part of the same experimental program. As these two spacecraft were built by two different companies (Northrop-Grumman and Ball Aerospace), perhaps they are technology demonstrators in competition for a follow-up contract. But this is pure speculation.

Exactly how (if at all) the two satellites are related to each other remains murky. Maybe future orbital behaviour will shed some light on what ZUMA is doing.

For a further discussion of the ZUMA mission, see my earlier post from November 2017. Some TLE estimates for the orbit are here.

[свернуть]

Posted by SatTrackCam Leiden at 1/04/2018 04:57:00 pm

[tnt22]

А Сокол всё ещё без ПН на СК

Julia‏ @julia_bergeron 42 мин назад

Zuma booster is still on the pad as of 5:50 p.m. EST today. Weekend may be a better outlook. Still has to be lowered and mated for launch. #justlaunchalready @NASASpaceflight

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 40 мин. назад

No official new launch date yet (from SpaceX). Technically NET Saturday, but is increasingly looking like NET Sunday. Sunday is when those Upper Level winds are much more acceptable. And remember, Zuma is the priority so Falcon Heavy dates won't be until after Zuma goes uphill.

[tnt22]

01/05/2018 02:36

The 'headless' Falcon 9 remains upright on launch complex 40 this evening with no official update on the planned launch date from SpaceX.

[tnt22]

Updated: 01/05/2018 03:08

...
An additional Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), where the rocket was fully fuelled, took place this evening with a T-0 at around 6:30pm EST.

[tnt22]

SpaceX - Zuma Status Report 01-04-2017

USLaunchReport

Опубликовано: 4 янв. 2018 г.

Cold and Windy on the Cape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn3q1aVI3zUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn3q1aVI3zU (2:11)

[tnt22]

01/05/2018 03:24

An image of the Falcon 9 during this evening's countdown rehearsal test. The launch pad strongback is pictured here retracted and vapors are visible as the vehicle vents its super-cold cryogenic propellants.

[tnt22]

SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 22 мин назад

Team at the Cape completed additional propellant loading tests today. Extreme weather slowed operations but Falcon 9 and the Zuma spacecraft are healthy and go for launch—now targeting January 7 from Pad 40 in Florida.

=> 2018-01-08 (UTC)

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 2 ч назад

Zuma's Falcon 9 booster is off the pad. That's a very good sign for the path to Sunday's attempt.

HoosierWeather‏ @HoosierWeather 2 ч назад

Best I can do for a #SLC40 pic. @NASASpaceflight

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 2 ч. назад

For new people confused why this is "a good sign", it marks the completion of WDR tests and now allows for rollback to the HIF for mating with the encapsulated Zuma. They will then rollout again - as an "integrated stack" - probably Sunday morning, for the countdown.

[tnt22]

Полигон вновь будет открыт 20918-01-07 (м.в.)


Обновлена

Airspace Closure Area

[tnt22]

Обновлена

Launch Hazard Area
 

Объявлена резервная дата пуска - 2018-01-08 (м.в.)

[tnt22]

Прогноз погоды L-2

Falcon 9 ZUMA L-2 Forecast

80% GO

[tnt22]

Прогноз погоды L-1

L-1 Forecast 7 Jan Launch.pdf
 
80% GO

[tnt22]

Выпущен новый пресс-кит миссии:

zumapresskit_2018.pdf - 272.4 KB, 2 стр, 2018-01-06 18:19:28 UTC

[tnt22]

http://www.spacex.com/webcast

ZUMA MISSION

SpaceX is targeting launch of the Zuma spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The two-hour primary launch window opens at 8:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 7, or 1:00 UTC on Monday, January 8. A backup two-hour launch window opens at 8:00 p.m. EST on Monday, January 8, or 1:00 UTC on Tuesday, January 9.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will attempt to land at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. You can watch the launch live below and find more information about the mission in our press kit..

[tnt22]

SpaceX будет транслировать пуск:

На сайте компании

spacex.com/webcast

или

на ТыТрубе

youtube.com/watch?v=0PWu3BRxn60

[tnt22]

Есть небольшие изменения (по сравнению с начальным вариантом осени 2017 г.)

 

[tnt22]

01/07/2018 01:31

The weather forecast for Sunday evening's two-hour Falcon 9 launch window looks favorable, with the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicting an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

Спойлер

"Sunday will see an increase in clouds with easterly winds bringing isolated shower bands to the spaceport," forecasters wrote in an outlook issued Saturday. "The primary weather threats are cumulus clouds and thick clouds with the onshore flow. Maximum upper-level winds will be from the northwest at 90 knots near 40,000 feet."

The launch window opens at 8 p.m. EST Sunday (0100 GMT Monday). SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral with the U.S. government's mysterious Zuma payload, and the first stage will attempt to land back on Florida's Space Coast less than 10 minutes later.

[свернуть]

Conditions at launch time should be mostly cloudy with isolated rain showers, northeast winds at 20 to 25 mph, and a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

[tnt22]

Robin Seemangal‏Подлинная учетная запись @nova_road 12 мин. назад

Good morning from #SpaceX SLC 40 at Cape Canaveral! The secret Zuma payload is slated to liftoff atop the Falcon 9 during a two-hour window opening at 8PM Eastern.
: @JRouRouRou

Спойлер

[свернуть]

[Зловредный]

Идут к своей цели -- 12 часов от вывоза до пуска?