РН Вулкан - Vulcan Centaur heavy-lift launch vehicle (Планов громадье в ULA)

[tnt22]

ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 6 ч. назад

.@BigelowSpace and United Launch Alliance Announce Agreement to Place a B330 Habitat in Low Lunar Orbit http://bit.ly/2xMFi0i 



Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 5 ч. назад

ULA Presser: Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance Announce Agreement to Place a B330 Habitat in Low Lunar Orbit by the end of 2022 to serve as a lunar depot. Well I guess we'll just have to write that up into an article!

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 3 ч. назад

ARTICLE: ULA and Bigelow expand association with lunar depot plan - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/10/ula-bigelow-expand-association-lunar-depot-plan/ ...

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ULA and Bigelow expand association with lunar depot plan

[tnt22]

Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 6 ч. назад

If NASA has $2.3 billion, Bigelow Aerospace and ULA believe they can establish a "lunar depot" as soon as 2022:

http://spacenews.com/bigelow-and-ula-announce-plans-for-lunar-orbiting-facility/

Bigelow and ULA announce plans for lunar orbiting facility
by Jeff Foust — October 17, 2017


An illustration of the proposed lunar depot, using a Bigelow Aerospace B330 module and launched by United Launch Alliance using its Vulcan rocket and ACES upper stage. Credit: Bigelow Aerospace

WASHINGTON — Bigelow Aerospace and United Launch Alliance said Oct. 17 that they are cooperating on the development of a habitat orbiting the moon that they hope to build in a public-private partnership with NASA.

The companies said they are working together on a concept for a "lunar depot" using an expandable module provided by Bigelow and launched by a next-generation ULA rocket that could support both NASA and commercial uses as soon as 2022.

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Under the concept, a ULA Vulcan 562 rocket would launch the Bigelow B330 module into low Earth orbit. The module would remain in Earth orbit for up to a year to undergo tests and be visited by crews.

ULA would then launch two more Vulcan rockets, each placing an Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) upper stage in orbit. One of the ACES would refuel the other, which would then dock with the B330 and send the module into a low lunar orbit.

The announcement build upon existing work between the two companies to study launching B330 modules, originally on the Atlas 5, Bigelow Aerospace President Robert Bigelow said in an Oct. 17 interview. He said his company decided to shift to the Vulcan vehicle and then build upon its capabilities, such as the ACES upper stage that is intended to also serve as a refuelable space tug.

"There is synchronicity between what ULA has in the way of capabilities and what we're doing," Bigelow said. "We decided to collaborate and prepare a proposal that the White House and NASA could accept as part of an overall space plan."

Bigelow emphasized he saw this proposal as a public-private partnership. He estimated NASA's share of the costs to be $2.3 billion, in addition to the "hundreds of millions" being spent by both Bigelow Aerospace and ULA. "It's executable within four years of receiving funding and NASA giving us the word," he said.

The lunar depot would be available for both NASA and commercial uses, according to Bigelow. It could be visited by NASA Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System, but he said it's possible other spacecraft, like a version of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, could also provide transportation to and from the facility.

The depot, he said, is not intended to be a replacement for the Deep Space Gateway, the proposed cislunar habitat announced by NASA earlier this year. That facility would consist of several modules, including some potentially provided by international or commercial partners, and support lunar missions as well as prepare for later expeditions to Mars.

"It is not interfering with the gateway," he said. That gateway will likely be more expensive than his proposed lunar depot and operate in a different orbit. The longer time needed to develop the gateway — current NASA concepts don't anticipate completing the core gateway until the mid-2020s — make it "subject to cancellation by the next administration."

Bigelow said the initial depot could be supplemented by additional modules, or even other depots in different orbits, but that the companies want to keep the concept relatively simple for now. "We're trying to keep it simple to get it done," he said.

Prior to the public announcement of the lunar depot concept, Bigelow said the companies had briefed several "key" but unidentified people in the U.S. government about it. "They're excited about this," he said, adding he believed that Jim Bridenstine, nominated to become NASA administrator in September, would also support something like this.

He acknowledged, though, that the depot is "not a done deal" and will require support from the government as part of development of a new space exploration strategy. "We need to create an appetite for this," he said. "In the end, it's up to what President Trump wants to do and what Vice President Pence wants to do."

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[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 7 мин. назад

More! NASA selects United Launch Services LLC (ULS) to provide launch services for the Landsat 9 mission. Targeted for a contract launch date of June 2021, while protecting for the ability to launch as early as Dec. 2020, on an Atlas V 401 rocket from SLC-3E at Vandenberg.

[tnt22]

ULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch 18 мин. назад

NASA Selects United Launch Alliance Reliable Atlas V Rocket to Launch Landsat 9 Mission http://bit.ly/2zmgvwv 

http://www.ulalaunch.com/nasa-selects-ula-reliable-atlasv-for-landsat9.aspx

NASA Selects United Launch Alliance Reliable Atlas V Rocket to Launch Landsat 9 Mission

Centennial, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2017) –  NASA's Launch Services Program announced today that it sel ected United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) proven Atlas V vehicle to launch the Landsat 9 mission, the ninth in the satellite program providing the longest continuous global record of Earth's surface. This award resulted from a competitive Launch Service Task Order evaluation under the NASA Launch Services II contract.

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"We are honored that NASA has entrusted ULA with launching this critical land imaging satellite," said Tory Bruno, ULA's president and chief executive. "ULA's world-leading performance and reliability, paired with the tremendous heritage of 74 consecutive successful Atlas V launches, provides the optimal value for our customer. We look forward to working together again with our mission partners at NASA's Launch Services Program, Goddard Space Flight Center and the U.S. Geological Survey in the integration and launch of this significant mission, contributing to the international strategy for examining the health and state of the Earth."

The Landsat 9 mission is scheduled with a contract launch date of June 2021 while protecting for the ability to launch as early as December 2020 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket.

ULA also launched NASA's Landsat 8 mission in 2013 fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard an Atlas V rocket. ULA and ULA heritage vehicles have launched more than 30 missions for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center team. Since 2000, Atlas and Delta have performed more than 60 consecutive successful launches for NASA.

The Landsat program is a multi-satellite partnership between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor, understand, and manage the land resources needed to sustain human life. Landsat is the only U.S. satellite system designed and operated to repeatedly observe the global land surface at a moderate scale that shows both natural and human-induced change. Every day, Landsat satellites provide essential information to help land managers and policy makers make wise decisions about our resources and our environment.

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 120 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system.

For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch.

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[Apollo13]

Tory Bruno‏Verified account @torybruno  36m36 minutes ago

CDR in December. Tooling is the factory. First hardware in fab. pad mods underway

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/23/spacex-ula-win-nasa-contracts-to-launch-earth-observation-satellites/

SpaceX, ULA win NASA contracts to launch Earth observation satellites
October 23, 2017 Stephen Clark


NASA has sel ected a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (left) and a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket (right) to launch the Sentinel 6A/Jason-CS and Landsat 9 satellites in 2020 and 2021. Credit: SpaceX and ULA

NASA has sel ected SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to deliver to orbit a joint U.S.-European oceanography mission and the next land imaging satellite in the Landsat series on Falcon 9 and Atlas 5 rockets.

The space agency announced the contracts Thursday, splitting awards between the two U.S. companies certified to launch NASA's large robotic space missions. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center made the selections after separate competitive procurements.

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The Landsat 9 satellite will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket as soon as December 2020, NASA announced last week. The contracted launch date is in June 2021, but ULA will be ready to launch six months earlier, assuming the spacecraft is ready.

The $153.8 million launch contract encompasses ULA's Atlas 5 rocket, which will fly in its basic 401 configuration without any solid rocket boosters, and other mission-related costs.

Landsat 9 will launch into a polar orbit fr om Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg.

An Atlas 5 rocket deployed Landsat 8, the newest Landsat satellite, into orbit in February 2013. Landsat 9 is designed to be a near-copy of Landsat 8, joining the Landsat fleet in polar orbit 438 miles (705 kilometers) above Earth.

"We are honored that NASA has entrusted ULA with launching this critical land imaging satellite," said Tory Bruno, ULA's president and chief executive. "ULA's world-leading performance and reliability, paired with the tremendous heritage of 74 consecutive successful Atlas 5 launches, provides the optimal value for our customer.

"We look forward to working together again with our mission partners at NASA's Launch Services Program, Goddard Space Flight Center and the U.S. Geological Survey in the integration and launch of this significant mission, contributing to the international strategy for examining the health and state of the Earth," Bruno said in a statement.


Artist's concept of the Landsat 9 satellite in orbit. Credit: NASA/Goddard

The Landsat series has amassed an uninterrupted record of moderate-resolution imagery since 1972, helping scientists, surveyors and the public track changes in crop patterns, forests, urban sprawl and water usage.

Built by Orbital ATK, Landsat 9 will be operated by the U.S. Geological Survey once in orbit. The mission is expected to cost approximately $900 million, according to a NASA budget document published earlier this year.

Landsat 9 will carry two instruments — an operational land imager and a thermal infrared sensor — similar to Landsat 8. Additional funding for the project in NASA and USGS budgets last year helped move forward Landsat 9's target launch date fr om 2023 to the end of 2020.

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[tnt22]

http://astronautical.org/events/vonbraun/

Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium

October 24-26, 2017
Huntsville, Alabama

Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 4 ч. назад

Vern Thorp, ULA: we are in discussions with Orbital ATK about flying more Cygnus missions on Atlas 5. #vonbraun


4 ч. назад

Thorp: decided to make some enhancements to Centaur stage that Vulcan will initially use; could delay first launch by few months. #vonbraun

[silentpom]

какие-то подробности есть? двухмоторный возражают?

[Salo]

Доработка Центавра требует времени.

[Чебурашка]

Двухмоторный Центавр для Старлайнера нужен

[Salo]

 Peter B. de Selding‏ @pbdes
Atlas 5 commercial marketing/sales handed over to @ulalaunch from @LockheedMartin Commercial Launch Services. It'll be interesting to see what pricing leeway ULA will have.
  8:35 - 22 янв. 2018 г.  

[Apollo13]

Интересное про Vulcan, ACES и IVF

https://www.reddit.com/r/ula/comments/7rkrgd/ula_slide_deck_at_aiaa_scitech_2018/

Because of ITAR we aren't allowed to say much in detail but the system successfully pressurized a flight like tank with liquid cryogen about 9 months ago. The ICE, compressors, high power motors, heat exchangers and various valves are about 90% through design and look beautiful. The AM technology is everywhere. Fabrication this year.

http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Published_Papers/Commercial_Space/Transportation_Enabling_a_Robust_Space_Economy_AIAASciTech2018.pdf

[Чебурашка]

Apollo13 пишет:
http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Published_Papers/Commercial_Space/Transportation_Enabling_a_Robust_Space_Economy_AIAASciTech2018.pdf

Эпичная битва между этим лысым из ULA (забыл как зовут)  и  Элоном  нашим Маском в рисовании картинок в PowerPoint-е 

ULA поняла, что проигрывает  и наняла опытных художников, которые ещё Constellation при Мише Гриффине рисовали.

[Чебурашка]

Гы... Судя по картинке  два "Вулкана" со стыковкой на LEO  дают практически столько же на отлётную к Луне, сколько один SLS-1B

Лысый из ULA копает под саму NASA 

[Not]

Чебурашка пишет:Эпичная битва между этим лысым из ULA (забыл как зовут) и Элоном нашим Маском в рисовании картинок в PowerPoint-е    

ULA поняла, что проигрывает и наняла опытных художников, которые ещё Constellation при Мише Гриффине рисовали.

Не вижу битвы, честно говоря. ULA совершенно разумно акцентирует внимание на криогенном КВРБ, там где у Маска конь довалялся до вишневого родстера с кожаным салоном. Про первую же ступень, та что у Маска во главе угла, - пофигистичное "BE-4 or AR-1"

[Чебурашка]

Вчера, Маск сказал, что съест шляпу, если ULA со своим Вулканом полетит с правительственными нагрузками раньше 2023 года.
А тот лысый из  ULA Тони Бруно вызов принял.

Ваши ставки, господа. Кто будет шляпу есть?

[LRV_75]

Прикольно.

Ставлю на ULA

[triage]

Чебурашка пишет:
Вчера, Маск сказал, что съест шляпу, если ULA со своим Вулканом полетит с правительственными нагрузками раньше 2023 года.

Чуть по другому, а то и многое можно назвать правительственной нагрузкой, например того же НАСА.

https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/todays-tidbits-february-13-2018/
...
SpaceX-ULA Space Race Means Someone Will be Eating a Hat

During his press conference following the Falcon Heavy launch last week, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk talked about how that success might spur other countries and companies to reach for new heights. They would be competitors to SpaceX, but that's OK. "We want a space race. Races are exciting."

He now has one.

During an exchange on Twitter, Musk said that he would "eat my hat with a side of mustard" if the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) new Vulcan rocket with a Centaur upper stage launched a national security payload before 2023. ULA President Tory Bruno joined the conversation with a single word — "Wow." Others chimed in asking if Bruno was accepting the challenge and he said "yes." The exchange continued, with suggestions as to what hats should be eaten. It all seems to be in good fun, but serious at the same time. For example, Musk asserted that the cost of a ULA Delta IV Heavy launch is $600 million. Bruno corrected him that it's $350 million. Follow the thread: @elonmusk and @torybruno. It's too long to reproduce, but here's a sample.
....

А вот и шапочка Бруно, о шапочке Маска можно догадываться

 https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/963239762390732800
Tory Bruno‏@torybruno
2:33 - 13 февр. 2018 г.
For some odd reason, I've been getting a lot of questions today about what hat I wear... I have two favorites. Here's one.

шляпка 2

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=35754.500
Re: ULA's new Launch Vehicle
« Reply #502 on: 03/15/2015 11:47 PM »
Jeepers, is a poll really necessary to answer this question? The answer is "yes, it is a new LV"...
...
- DoD: Per Tory Bruno, first flight will occur in 2019 with new engine and rocket certified in 2022-2023 for national security payloads. If it is not "new", then why would it have to go through such certification?
...

[zandr]

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4987347

ULA планирует запустить новую тяжелую ракету в 2020 году
ВАШИНГТОН, 26 февраля. /Корр. ТАСС Анатолий Бочинин/. Американский консорциум United Launch Alliance (ULA) ведет разработку технологии, которая позволит существенно удешевить запуски ее будущей тяжелой ракеты-носителя Vulcan, первый старт которой ожидается уже в 2020 году. Об этом изданию Business Insider рассказал глава консорциума Тори Бруно.
"Первый полет Vulcan произойдет в середине 2020 года", - сказал он, добавив, что цена одной ракеты составит около $100 млн. Это на 70% меньше, чем у тяжелой Delta IV.
Вопрос стоимости отправки больших грузов на орбиту, в частности, к Международной космической станции, - один из ключевых в конкурентной борьбе между ULA, являющимся совместным предприятием американских корпораций Boeing и Lockheed Martin, и частной компаний SpaceX.
В начале февраля с космодрома на мысе Канаверал (штат Флорида, США) SpaceX запустила свою сверхтяжелую ракету Falcon Heavy. Стоимость носителя составляет $90 млн, тогда как одна Delta IV обходится в $350 млн. Такая разница в цене обусловлена тем, что ступени Falcon Heavy - не расходный материал, после отделения они совершают посадку и их можно использовать повторно. Эта технология - одно из самых известных достижений SpaceX.
Delta IV может доставить на низкую орбиту почти 32 тонны грузов. "Иногда недостаточно просто сказать: "Эй, у меня правда большая ракета". Порой вам нужно, чтобы ракета могла сделать что-то достаточно уникальное и необычное, уже достигнув орбиты", - заметил Бруно.
Ожидается, что грузоподъемность Vulcan увеличат до 40 тонн. И хотя полезная нагрузка Falcon Heavy составляет целых 70 тонн, в ULA считают, что смогли найти ряд решений, выгодно отличающих их продукцию от носителей компании Илона Маска.
В первую очередь речь идет о второй ступени, которую в ULA хотят сделать многофункциональной. На Falcon Heavy в качестве топлива для верхней ступени используется специальный ракетный керосин, который в космосе замерзает за несколько часов. На Vulcan же хотят применить криогенный кислород и водород, которые более устойчивы к экстремально низким температурам.
В результате вторую ступень можно будет оставить на орбите и использовать в дальнейшем. "Практично будет вновь заправлять их в космосе и использовать для других целей, или же просто в качестве шаттлов для тяжелых грузов, которые нужно подхватить на низкой орбите, и затем направить в любую точку Солнечной системы", - полагает Бруно. Такая схема, в частности, может быть использована для доставки чего-либо на Луну в случае ее дальнейшего освоения.
Есть в ULA задумки и насчет первых ступеней ракеты. Возвращать их целиком, как это делает SpaceX, не планируют. Речь идет о безопасном возврате самой дорогой их части - двигателя. Технология SpaceX имеет серьезный недостаток - для успешной посадки первой ступени нужен запас топлива, но его не остается при большой загрузке ракеты. В таких случаях ступени просто безвозвратно падают в океан.
"У вас получится сохранить не всю стоимость ускорителя, но большую часть. Самый дорогой компонент ускорителя - это ракетный двигатель. Это примерно две трети от общей стоимости", - пояснил глава ULA. В теории механизм спасения двигателя работает следующим образом - после доставки груза на орбиту двигатель отделяется и вокруг него надувается конусовидная защитная оболочка, которая позволяет ему войти в атмосферу невредимым, скорректировав угол падения. После этого раскрывается парашют. В небе его крюком цепляет транспортный вертолет, чтобы не дать двигателю упасть в воду или в другую агрессивную среду.
Delta IV должна быть "отправлена в отставку" после 2020 года, на который запланирован первый запуск Vulcan. Вторая ступень, которую можно будет дозаправить, согласно плану, впервые будет запущена в 2023 или в 2024 году, первая ступень с отделяемыми двигателями - несколько позже.