USA-213 (GPS IIF-1) – Delta IVM+(4,2) – Canaveral SLC-37B – 28.05.2010 03:00 UTC

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11 февраля сабж отправлен на космодром

http://www.insidegnss.com/node/1910

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http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=783960896

February 16, 2010

Boeing + U.S.A.F. — GPS IIF Busts Out And Is Delivered


The GPS IIF advanced navigation satellite at Boeing.Boeing [NYSE], on February 11th, shipped the first Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite from the company's satellite manufacturing facility in El Segundo to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. The nexgen navigation spacecraft will now undergo final preparations for launch.

Space Vehicle 1 (SV-1), the first of 12 GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force, will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle later this year. The GPS IIF system will bring enhanced performance to the GPS constellation by providing twice the navigational accuracy of heritage satellites, more robust signals for commercial aviation and search-and-rescue, and greater resistance to jamming in hostile environments. To prepare for the launch of SV-1, the SV-2 spacecraft in September successfully completed a consolidated system test — a set of one-time, system-level design verification and validation tests involving the space vehicle, the ground-based control segment, and user equipment. In addition, GPS master control stations successfully commanded the space vehicle as they will do when the satellite is in operational orbit. SV-2 was also used as a "pathfinder" to validate transportation equipment and processes, as well as launch-site test procedures and equipment.

"Since the first GPS satellite was launched in 1978, this successful program has demonstrated the value of space assets," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "The GPS IIF system will afford major performance improvements over the legacy satellites and will sustain and dramatically improve the GPS constellation for civil, commercial and defense users alike."

GPS is a space-based, worldwide navigation system providing users with highly accurate, three-dimensional position, navigation and timing information 24 hours a day in all weather conditions. GPS IIF is the product of Boeing's experience with 39 successful satellites from the GPS Block I and Block II/IIA missions and more than 30 years of teamwork with the Air Force. GPS IIF will form the core of the GPS constellation for many years to come. A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space and Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

The GPS IIF advanced navigation satellite at Boeing.

[Космос-3794]

The long-delayed launch of the first U.S. Air Force GPS 2F navigation satellite, now scheduled for May, could be pushed back further due to recently identified technical issues, according to a government watchdog agency.

Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems of Seal Beach, Calif., is the GPS 2F prime contractor, responsible for delivering 12 spacecraft. The program has more than doubled its original $729 million price tag and is already three-and-a-half years behind schedule.

The latest launch date for the first GPS 2F spacecraft could be in jeopardy as new, unspecified problems have arisen, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "Defense Acquisitions — Assessments of Selected Weapons Programs." The audit was completed in January but the report was not released until March 30.
Additional risks remain for the program, the GAO found. The current GPS 2F schedule calls for Boeing to have completed the second through sixth satellites by the time the first is launched and checked out on orbit. If problems are identified during that checkout period, the five craft may have to be modified to correct the issue, the report said. The program faces another deployment schedule challenge in that the main pad from which the satellites will be launched appears to be overbooked for 2011 and 2012, the report said.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., is making progress early on in the development of the next-generation GPS Block 3A satellites, the GAO found. The company was awarded a $3 billion prime contract in May 2008 to build the eight GPS Block 3A satellites. The company finished the satellites' preliminary design review in May 2009 and a critical design review is planned for October, the report said.
As of September 2009, the total program cost estimate was $3.68 billion, $164 million less than was estimated when the contract was awarded.

http://www.spacenews.com/military/100330-gao-gps-launch-schedule-may-slip-further.html

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

May 20/21    Delta 4  •  GPS 2F-1
Launch window: 0329-0348 GMT on 21st (11:29-11:48 p.m. EDT on 20th)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the Air Force's first Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Delayed from late 2009. Delayed from February, May 13 and May 17. [March 26]

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/100401onpad/

Delta 4 rocket now on the launch pad for GPS satellite
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 1, 2010
 
   
File photo of a Delta 4 rocket being installed on the launch. Credit: NASA
 
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket that will deploy the first satellite in a new generation of Global Positioning System satellites was placed atop its Cape Canaveral pad Thursday morning.

The bright orange and white launcher is scheduled for blastoff May 20 during a window extending from 11:29 to 11:48 p.m. EDT.

Initial assembly of the rocket, including mating of the cryogenic upper stage to the Common Booster Core first stage using a precision laser alignment system, was completed in the nearby Horizontal Integration Facility.

After a diesel-powered transporter moved the 165-foot-long rocket to the Complex 37 pad, hydraulic pistons beneath the pad's tilt-table lifted the rocket upright at about 10 a.m. EDT Thursday. The vehicle was stood upright within minutes.

Over the coming weeks, a full pre-launch test program will be carried out and the final rocket assembly steps will be completed by attaching the solid-fuel motors to the first stage and mounting the payload aboard.

The rocket's mission is the safe delivery of the GPS 2F-1 satellite into orbit for the U.S. military. The bird is the first of a dozen new navigation spacecraft that Boeing is building to sustain and upgrade the GPS constellation.

The company shipped the satellite to the launch site inside a C-17 airlifter on February 11 from the manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California. It's now undergoing pre-launch activities at a processing hangar at the Cape.

"The GPS 2F system will afford major performance improvements over the legacy satellites and will sustain and dramatically improve the GPS constellation for civil, commercial and defense users alike," Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, said recently.

The current network of orbiting GPS satellites is comprised of earlier generations made by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Some of the oldest craft still in operation were launched almost two decades ago.

The GPS 2F era is meant to replace aging satellites and keep the navigation signals going strong.

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

May 20/21     Delta 4  •  GPS 2F-1
Launch window: 0329-0348 GMT on 21st (11:29-11:48 p.m. EDT on 20th)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the Air Force's first Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Delayed from late 2009. Delayed from February, May 13 and May 17. [March 26]

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/100429cleanroom/

Shepherding a new era of GPS satellites to orbit
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 29, 2010

A cadre of military and industry workers at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is readying the first-of-its-kind satellite for the Global Positioning System, an advanced bird that will be shipped to the launch pad and bolted atop a Delta 4 rocket next week.

Liftoff of the GPS 2F-1 spacecraft from pad 37B is targeted for May 20 during a launch window extending from 11:29 to 11:48 p.m. EDT.


Credit: Boeing
 
"We're getting goose bumps right now. We're very excited," said Harry Brown, the GPS 2F program's chief engineer at satellite-builder Boeing.

"There is a pride in working GPS, there is a pride in what we do for the nation and we know this is a national asset."

Circling 11,000 miles overhead, the network of GPS satellites emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Originally built as a tool for the U.S. military, the utility has spread across the world as an indispensable commercial service.

Some 60 satellites have been launched for the system over the past three decades, and now the Air Force is poised to deploy the initial satellite in the Block 2F series that features even higher accuracy, enhanced internal clocks, longer life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.

"All in all, the 2F is improved performance, better anti-jam and it's got additional civil signals to help aviation," said Brown.

Choreographing the GPS 2F-1 satellite preparations at the Cape is the 45th Launch Support Squadron, a team of 75 people making certain that a healthy spacecraft gets to orbit safely.

"Traditionally, out of the entire lifetime of the satellite, the year leading up to and including launching the satellite is by far the highest risk area," said Capt. Matt Hale, the squadron's GPS section chief.

"We fall into the 45th Launch Group. The Launch Group is tasked with providing mission assurance capabilities back to SMC, the Space and Missile Systems Center, in L.A. They have program officers that oversee the factories for the satellites and the factories for the rockets. After they go through their development, they ship them down here and our job is to ensure the final integration activities that happen at the launch site occur correctly."

The satellite was flown to Florida inside a C-17 airlifter on February 11 from Boeing's manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California. After arriving at the Skid Strip, it was taken to Area 59 were GPS spacecraft undergo their pre-flight preps.
 
Hale said the work readying the GPS 2F-1 satellite was divided into two phases: an extensive testing period and then the usual launch campaign of activities.

"We have what we call a functional test. We do a test in L.A. before we leave the factory that goes through the whole functions of the spacecraft that ensures we have a baseline. When we bring it over to the Cape, we do another set of that test to ensure during transport all of the characteristics stayed the same. Transport is a very stressful environment for a spacecraft, second only to launch," Hale said.

Engineers then performed an end-to-end combined systems test between the user equipment that will acquire the navigation signals from the satellite once it gets into space, as well as checking the connectivity from the satellite to the ground control hub that operates the spacecraft in orbit.

"We verified the vehicle in terms of the performance and signal characteristics, made sure the user segments would actually lock up and acquire the signal, and verified that the control system had controllability of the satellite," Brown said.

"We've had very few issues with the vehicle's performance. It's really operated well."

The earlier generations of GPS satellites that launched from the Cape -- Blocks 2, 2A and 2R -- went through Area 59 before reaching Complex 17 where the Delta 2 rockets blasted off. In advance of the 2F era, the satellite accommodations were upgraded with modifications that included stricter cleanliness, security changes, a larger door at entrance of the main bay and installation of a more-precise crane.

"Most of the existing capabilities were there. It was just improving the current capabilities to tailor it to the spacecraft a little more," Hale said.

Area 59 features two large buildings where GPS 2F-1 has traveled through during the past couple of months en route to the launch pad, Hale said.

"We have the NAVSTAR Processing Facility, the NPF, that's where the testing is done and the very first portion of processing is done. Then we move over to the DPF, the DSCS Processing Facility, that's where we do our major processing of the satellite."

But unlike the previous generations that rode on smaller rockets, the GPS 2F craft will be delivered into orbit atop the Delta 4 and Atlas 5 fleets of boosters in the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. That presents a major change in the way the satellites are launched and affords the ground team a streamlined, if not simpler, task of getting the satellites in flight-ready condition.


An artist's concept depicts GPS 2F-1 and its Delta 4 rocket. Credit: ULA
 
The Delta 2 rockets, although highly reliable, weren't powerful enough to inject the GPS satellites directly into the orbiting constellation. The three-stage vehicles released the craft into a highly elliptical orbit stretching from 100 miles at its closest point with Earth to some 11,000 miles at its highest point, which is the altitude where the GPS network resides. The newly-launched satellites were themselves fitted with a solid-fuel kick motor that ignited a few days into flight and finished the job of propelling the craft into a circular orbit.

United Launch Alliance's powerful Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets will haul the GPS 2F satellites directly to their desired destinations, bypassing the circuitous route of the past. So instead of taking days to reach the GPS orbit, the new 2F-1 satellite will get there in three-and-a-half hours on launch night.

And without having to deal with that kick stage, the Cape team's work is vastly simplified because it doesn't have put the satellites through stringent spin-balancing and attaching the motor.

What's more, the two-piece shroud that serves as the rocket's nose cone will be brought into the cleanroom and placed around the satellite instead of doing that work at the pad like Delta 2 did. The encapsulated GPS 2F-1 payload will be driven to the pad already buttoned up to launch.

Before the satellite meets the Delta 4, the past few weeks have involved installing the batteries, loading the maneuvering propellant, working with the adapter hardware needed to mount GPS 2F-1 onto the rocket and putting the final touches on the separation system that will release the craft from the launcher.

"It's all tedious work that has to be done with precision," Brown said.

Departure from the cleanroom hangar is targeted for next week, when a motorized trailer carries the 3,400-pound satellite up the road to Complex 37. It will be hoisted into the pad tower and bolted atop the rocket's second stage. Interface testing will follow to make sure the electrical connections are good. A rehearsal of the satellite's countdown sequence is planned, too.


An artist's concept shows a GPS 2F satellite in Earth orbit. Credit: Boeing
 
Boeing is slated to build a dozen Block 2F satellites to replace the current orbiting birds as they age, keeping the navigation signals going strong for years to come.

"The importance is sometimes assumed, but it is worth noting. There are both military and civil applications for GPS. It is a very critical national asset in both regards. From the military perspective, it's pretty easy to envision that. We use it to obtain precision navigation and timing," said Hale.

"I think sometimes what people don't understand are the civil applications. One that I like to highlight that a lot of people don't realize is the global economy is completely underpinned by the timing signals that the GPS constellation provides. So all bank-to-bank transactions or your ATM transactions have a GPS time tag on them that allows our economy to operate."

The Air Force could launch the GPS 2F-2 satellite as early as November using an Atlas 5 rocket from Complex 41.

"Sustainment is the primary purpose of our launches. We have a constellation of satellites in orbit, so we are sustaining the existing constellation and incrementally bringing new capabilities on orbit. So the impact having a single 2F on orbit with the 2F-1 you might not see directly a day after the launch, but what you will see is GPS 2F launches will incrementally improve the capabilities to meet the warfighters' needs of tomorrow," Hale said.

"There is a lot of importance attached to the GPS constellation and it's ability to be accurate and be available at all times. So our efforts here are in support in that critical national and worldwide asset."

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Где можно прочитать про конструкцию антенн этого спутника?

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Буклет миссии:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=20962.0;attach=219637  2,5 Мб

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Delta 4 rocket ready to launch new era for GPS
The first satellite in a new generation for the Global Positioning System, years in the making and built with enhancements users eagerly want, awaits a Friday night blastoff into orbit atop a Delta 4 rocket.

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/100428launchtimeline.html

GPS 2F-1 launch timeline

T-0:00:05.5    Engine start
   The RS-68 main engine begins to ignite as the liquid hydrogen fuel valve is opened, creating a large fireball at the base of the rocket. The engine powers up to full throttle for a computer-controlled checkout before liftoff.

T-0:00:00.0    Liftoff
   The rocket's two strap-on solid rocket motors are lit, the four hold-down bolts are released and the Delta 4 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's pad 37B. The pad's three swing arms retract at T-0 seconds.

T+0:01:00.2    Max-Q
   The vehicle experiences the region of maximum dynamic pressure. Both solid motors and the RS-68 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine continue to fire as the vehicle heads downrange, arcing over the Atlantic along a 105-degree flight azimuth.

T+0:01:40.0    Jettison solid motors
   Having used up all their solid-propellant and experienced burnout six seconds ago, the two strap-on boosters are jettisoned from the Delta's first stage. The spent casings fall into the ocean.

T+0:04:05.6    Main engine cutoff
   The hydrogen-fueled RS-68 rocket engine completes its firing and shuts down to finish the first stage burn.

T+0:04:11.6    Stage separation
   The Common Booster Core first stage and the attached interstage are separated in one piece from the Delta 4's upper stage. The upper stage engine's extendible nozzle drops into position as the first stage separates.

T+0:04:26.1    Second stage ignition
   The upper stage begins its job to place the GPS 2F-1 satellite into space with the first of three firingsby the RL10B-2 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine.

T+0:04:36.5    Jettison payload fairing
   The four-meter diameter composite payload fairing that protected the GPS 2F-1 cargo atop the Delta 4 during the atmospheric ascent is no longer needed, allowing it to be jettisoned in two halves.

T+0:12:11.5    Upper stage shutdown
   The RL10 upper stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached satellite reach a parking orbit.

T+0:21:17.4    Restart upper stage
   After a 9-minute coast period, the upper stage is reignited to raise the apogee to the medium-Earth orbit altitude.

T+0:24:34.4    Upper stage shutdown
   At cutoff time for the second burn, the upper stage will reach the intermediate transfer orbit where it coasts for the next three hours.

T+3:20:44.6    Restart upper stage
   The upper stage reaches the proper point in space and reignites the the RL10 engine to circularize the orbit.

T+3:22:22.5    Upper stage shutdown
   The powered phase of the Delta 4's mission to reach the GPS constellation concludes. The targeted circular orbit is 11,047 nautical miles with an inclination of 55 degrees.

T+3:28:53.0    Begin spin-up
   The next step in preparing for deployment of the payload is gently spinning up the stage like a top.

T+3:33:03.0    Separate spacecraft
   The GPS 2F-1 satellite is released into space from the Delta 4 rocket to begin a new era of upgrading the orbiting navigation network.

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/100428track.html

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

May 21/22     Delta 4  •  GPS 2F-1
Launch window: 0325-0343 GMT on 22nd (11:25-11:43 p.m. EDT on 21st)
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the Air Force's first Block 2F navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The rocket will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two solid rocket boosters. Delayed from late 2009. Delayed from February, May 13, May 17 and May 20. [May 18]

22 мая с 03:25 по 03:43 ЛМВ.

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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/status.html

1800 GMT (2:00 p.m. EDT)
Weather forecasters have boosted the odds of acceptable conditions during tonight's window to 90 percent.

The outlook foor launch time includes some scattered low and high clouds, good visibility, easterly winds of 8 to 12 knots and a temperature around 75 degrees F.

"Combination of surface high pressure to the north and developing low pressure over the eastern Bahamas will provide an easterly flow regime over the region. Deep layered moisture will be limited but may be sufficient to produce an isolated thunderstorm along the east coast sea breeze as it pushes inland during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms will be concentrated over the western half of the Florida Peninsula by late afternoon and evening.

"There is a very small potential for lingering anvil clouds associated with any thunderstorms that do develop to be in the area during the launch window, in addition to cumulus clouds over the near coastal waters. The Anvil Cloud Rule and Cumulus Cloud Rule will be the primary concerns for both launch day, and the next day in the event of a 24-hour launch delay."
1540 GMT (11:40 a.m. EDT)
The 330-foot tall mobile service tower has been retracted from the Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral's pad 37B for tonight's launch that will place the GPS 2F-1 satellite into Earth orbit.

The wheeled structure just moved along rail tracks to its launch position about the length of a football field away from the rocket. The 9-million pound tower shielded the Delta from the elements during the its stay on the pad, provided workers 360-degree access to the various areas on the vehicle and was used to attach the strap-on solid motors and the payload during the launch campaign. The tower is 90-feet wide and 40-feet deep.

Crews will spend the next couple of hours securing the complex for launch before leaving the danger area around the pad. All workers must be clear of the area for the start of hazardous operations in the countdown, which include fueling the vehicle later this afternoon.

The Terminal Countdown will begin ticking at 4:55 p.m. EDT, leading to the multi-hour process of loading the Delta 4's Common Booster Core first stage and the second stage with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants.

Testing of communications links between the rocket and Air Force Eastern Range will occur after fueling is accomplished. Steering checks of the first stage RS-68 engine and second stage RL10 powerplant are on tap in the last hour of the count.

A 15-minute build-in hold is slated for T-minus 5 minutes, during which time teams will go through final polling to grant clearance to launch. The Delta 4 will transition to internal power as the count resumes, ordnance will be armed and the propellant tanks pressurized as clocks target the main engine ignition time at T-minus 5.5 seconds.

Liftoff remains scheduled for 11:25 p.m. EDT, the opening of an 18-minute window that extends to 11:43 p.m. EDT (0325-0343 GMT).

If you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)

[us2-star]

Кино где будет?  :oops:

[Чебурашка]

Пуск пернесён на воскресенье, 23 мая 2010 года.
Окно 11:17 to 11:35 p.m. EDT  (07:17 - 07:35  24 мая по Москве)

[Salo]

Поправьте заголовок темы пожалуйста. :wink:

[Salo]

24 мая.  :wink:

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d349/status.html

2101 GMT (5:01 p.m. EDT)
SCRUB! The launch team has been instructed to stand down and not proceed with the countdown tonight. The next attempt will made on Monday evening.

2047 GMT (4:47 p.m. EDT)
The countdown has begun anew for the Delta 4 rocket and GPS 2F-1 spacecraft. The launch team just commenced the Terminal Countdown sequence for tonight's 11:17 p.m. EDT liftoff.

Fueling the rocket with its cryogenic propellants will start in a little while, pending final approval to proceed this evening.

1330 GMT (9:30 a.m. EDT)
The Delta and GPS teams are gearing up for another shot launching the first spacecraft in the new generation tonight at 11:17 p.m. EDT.

The weather forecast for tonight's launch window now calls for a 90 percent chance of "go" conditions. The outlook predicts scattered low and high clouds, good visibility, northeasterly winds of 8 to 12 knots and a temperature around 75 degrees F.

"Overall pattern influencing Florida will not change over the next couple of days. Combination of surface high pressure to the northeast and low pressure over the eastern Bahamas will provide an easterly flow regime over the region," Air Force meteorologists say.

"Deep layered moisture will be remain limited but may be sufficient to produce an isolated thunderstorm along the east coast sea breeze as it pushes inland and merges with the west coast sea breeze during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms that do develop will be concentrated over the western half of the Florida peninsula by late afternoon and evening. Persistent easterly flow could result in a few showers developing over the near coastal waters as well.

"There remains a very small threat for a lingering anvil cloud and cumulus clouds to be in the area during the launch window. The Anvil Cloud Rule, Cumulus Cloud Rule and Flight through Precipitation Rule will be the primary concerns for both launch day, and the next day in the event of a 24-hour launch delay."

[Salo]

Следующая попытка видимо в ночь с понедельника на вторник. 25 мая по Москве.