15.01.2020

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s network of ultra-secure, nuclear-hardened AEHF communications relay stations has arrived in Florida for final preparations for liftoff in March on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the first of nearly 20 U.S. Space Force missions planned for launch in the first year of operations for the new military service.

A military C-5 transport plane flew the AEHF 6 satellite Saturday from Moffett Field, California — near the craft’s Lockheed Martin factory in Sunnyvale — to the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ground crews moved the satellite — safely stored inside a climate-controlled shipping container — to the nearby Astrotech payload processing facility for final pre-launch testing, inspections and fueling.

The launch of the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite is scheduled for mid-March from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard the most powerful version of ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket, known as the “551” configuration, with five strap-on solid rocket boosters and a 5.4-meter (17.7-foot-diameter) payload fairing.

The March launch of the AEHF 6 satellite is next in line for ULA after the scheduled Feb. 5 liftoff of an Atlas 5 rocket with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, a joint U.S.- European science probe to study the physics of the sun.

The AEHF 6 satellite will be the first major U.S. Space Force payload to launch after the creation of the new military branch in December. It joins five previous AEHF satellites launched on Atlas 5 rockets since 2010, continuing and expanding secure communications services for U.S. military commanders and the president provided by the military’s earlier generation of Milstar spacecraft.

The Space Force is comprised of military units that previously operated under the umbrella of the now-defunct U.S. Air Force Space Command, including space wings that manage launch ranges at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The new Space Force military branch remains part of the Department of the Air Force, and also includes the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, which oversees launch and spacecraft procurement and development programs, such as AEHF, GPS and SBIRS satellites for communications, navigation and early warning missions.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of SMC’s launch enterprise,” a Space and Missile Systems Center spokesperson said. “We expect eight to 10 National Security Space Launch missions and nine small launch missions in 2020.”

The National Security Space Launch missions include flights with operational military and intelligence-gathering satellites on ULA’s Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launcher family. The small launch missions planned for liftoff this year will primarily loft experimental, scientific and technology demonstration payloads on light-class launch vehicles.

Here’s a list of the publicly-disclosed Space Force missions scheduled for launch in 2020:

• March: Atlas 5-551 / AEHF 6 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• March: Minotaur 4 / NROL-129 from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia
• April: Falcon 9 / GPS 3 SV03 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• Spring: Electron / STP-27RM from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia
• May: Atlas 5-501 / AFSPC-7 (X-37B space plane) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• June: Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-44 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• Summer: LauncherOne / STP-27VP from a Boeing 747 airborne launch platform staged from Guam
• August: Falcon 9 / GPS 3 SV04 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• September: Atlas 5 / NROL-101 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• 4th Quarter: Delta 4-Heavy / NROL-82 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
• 4th Quarter: Falcon Heavy / AFSPC-44 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida
• 4th Quarter: Atlas 5 / AFSPC-8 (GSSAP 5 & 6) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• 4th Quarter: Minotaur 1 / NROL-111 from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia
• 4th Quarter: Falcon 9 / GPS 3 SV05 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

The first of the Space Force’s small launch missions scheduled for flight this year will take off on a Northrop Grumman Minotaur 4 rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia. The Minotaur 4, derived from the military’s decommissioned Peacekeeper ballistic missile, will fire into orbit with a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which owns the U.S. government’s spy satellites.

The NROL-129 mission on the Minotaur 4 rocket is scheduled for launch from Virginia in March, according to a Space Force spokesperson.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch up to three GPS navigation satellites for the Space Force this year, all from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The first of the three GPS satellites is scheduled for liftoff in April, followed by another GPS mission in the August timeframe. If those two launches occur as scheduled, the Space Force says another GPS satellite could be ready for liftoff in late 2020.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the newest generation of GPS satellites broadcast positioning and timing signals to U.S. military troops, airplanes and naval ships. The GPS network is also used worldwide by civilians for road navigation, commercial air travel, search-and-rescue, and banking transactions.

The first two GPS 3-series satellites launched in December 2018 and August 2019 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 and ULA Delta 4 rockets.

The sixth flight of the Space Force’s X-37B space plane is scheduled for launch in May on an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The reusable Boeing-built space plane resembles a miniature space shuttle, taking off off on top of a conventional rocket and returning to a runway landing at the end of each mission.

The May launch of the next X-37B mission is officially designated as the AFSPC-7 mission. An Atlas 5-501 rocket with a five-meter payload shroud and no solid rocket boosters will deliver one of the two X-37B space planes in the Space Force’s inventory to an orbit several hundred miles above Earth for a top secret mission expected to last months or years.

The largest rocket in ULA’s fleet — the Delta 4-Heavy — is scheduled for launch in June from pad 37 at Cape Canaveral with a classified NRO spy satellite. The purpose of the spacecraft planned for liftoff on the Delta 4-Heavy’s NROL-44 mission has not been disclosed, but previous large NRO spy satellites launched on Delta 4-Heavys from Cape Canaveral have been designed to intercept radio and electronic signals for U.S. government intelligence analysts.

The Air Force last year announced new contracts procured through the military’s Rapid Agile Launch Initiative, or RALI, program aimed at securing relatively low-cost launch services with new commercial small satellite launchers.

At least two of the RALI missions are scheduled for launch in 2020.

The STP-27RM mission will carry the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Monolith technology demonstration microsatellite into orbit on top of a Rocket Lab Electron booster. The mission is planned for liftoff in the spring timeframe, and will mark the first Rocket Lab launch from the company’s new launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

A rideshare launch with multiple small satellites is planned for the summer on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne booster, which is scheduled for an inaugural test flight in the coming months. The air-launched rocket will fire into orbit from a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet after taking off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

Two additional orbital RALI missions are also scheduled this year, but their launch vehicles and launch schedules have not been announced. A rideshare launch with multiple experimental small satellites for the military’s Space Test Program is also planned for liftoff this year on an unidentified rocket.

The Space Force’s small launch program also plans to perform a Minotaur 1 rocket launch in late 2020 from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Minotaur 1 mission for the National Reconnaissance is designated NROL-111, and no information has been disclosed about its payload.

There are two suborbital missions on the Space Force’s small launch manifest this year.

Several more Space Force missions are being readied for launches in the second half of 2020.

ULA will launch an Atlas 5 rocket in the September timeframe with a classified payload for the NRO. The launch from Cape Canaveral, codenamed NROL-101, is scheduled after the departure of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission on an Atlas 5 flight in July.

Another Space Force mission is also on ULA’s Atlas 5 manifest in late 2020, according to a military spokesperson. The AFSPC-8 mission from Cape Canaveral will carry the fifth and sixth satellites for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, or GSSAP, which is designed to help the military track and observe objects in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above Earth.

The Space Force’s launches on Atlas 5 rockets this year will be scheduled among several other critical Atlas 5 missions on ULA’s 2020 manifest. Besides the Solar Orbiter and Mars 2020 launches for NASA, ULA is on contract with Boeing to launch the first piloted flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew capsule with three astronauts heading for the International Space Station.

A launch date for the Starliner’s first crewed mission has not been announced.

Just one Space Force launch is planned this year from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the usual launch site for military surveillance satellites heading into polar orbit.

ULA is planning to launch a Delta 4-Heavy rocket some time between October and the end of the year from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg with the National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-82 mission.

The fourth flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket — the most powerful launcher in the world currently in operation — is also scheduled before the end of 2020 with the Space Force’s AFSPC-44 mission. Little is known about the purpose of the payloads on the AFSPC-44 launch, but officials have indicated the mission will loft at least two satellites into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit.

The Falcon Heavy will lift off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the only SpaceX launch site configured to launch the heavy-lifter.

SpaceX is building three new boosters for the triple-body Falcon Heavy rocket’s AFSPC-44 mission.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 16.02.2020

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Fifth anti-jamming satellite available to war fighters

The fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite was officially transferred to Space Operations Command Feb. 3, marking its final milestone

“This was very much a team effort from our industry partners and dedicated Government professionals, with their focus on mission success this major milestone was accomplished,” said Col John Dukes, senior materiel leader for the Space Production Corps’ Geosynchronous Orbit Division, in a statement. “AEHF satellites play a critical role for the warfighter and the defense of our nation. Space is fundamental to our way of life, our economy relies on space and this reliance will continue to grow.”

Built by Lockheed Martin, AEHF-5 was launched Aug. 8, 2019, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket.

AEHF is intended to replace the MILSTAR constellation in providing protected, anti-jamming satellite communications to high-priority United States military assets and its international partners in Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Australia. Just one AEHF satellites has three time more capacity than the whole MILSTAR constellation put together, and the entire AEHF constellation will provide 10 times more throughput and increase coverage.

The sixth and final AEHF satellite has been transported to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for an scheduled Mar. 19 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket.

Quelle: C4ISRNET

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Update: 13.03.2020

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Final AEHF satellite mated to Atlas 5 launcher at Cape Canaveral

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. Space Force’s network of secure, jam-resistant AEHF communications satellites has been installed on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral for liftoff March 26.

Built by Lockheed Martin, the spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Atlas 5’s payload shroud — built in Switzerland by RUAG Space — and transported to the Vertical Integration Facility near Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad Wednesday.

The AEHF 6 satellite was raised atop the Atlas 5 on its mobile launch platform inside the VIF. Tory Bruno, ULA’s CEO, confirmed Thursday on Twitter that the spacecraft “is resting comfortably atop the ‘Mighty Atlas.'”

The addition of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency payload capped assembly of the 83rd Atlas 5 launcher.

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket is scheduled for liftoff March 26 during a two-hour window opening at 2:57 p.m. EDT (1857 GMT). Earlier this week, ULA announced a two-day delay in the AEHF 6 launch to March 21 “due to an off-nominal valve reading during launch vehicle processing.”

“Additional time is needed for the team to replace and retest the valve,” ULA said in a statement.

ULA said Friday that the launch would be pushed back again to March 26 after teams needed “additional time to complete the booster valve replacement and retest.”

The Atlas 5 slated to launch the AEHF 6 satellite is flying in the “551” configuration with five strap-on solid rocket boosters and a 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) diameter payload fairing.

The AEHF 6 satellite will be the first major U.S. Space Force payload to launch after the creation of the new military branch in December. It joins five previous AEHF satellites launched on Atlas 5 rockets since 2010, continuing and expanding secure communications services for U.S. military commanders and the president provided by the military’s earlier generation of Milstar spacecraft.

The Space Force is comprised of military units that previously operated under the umbrella of the now-defunct U.S. Air Force Space Command, including space wings that manage launch ranges at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The new Space Force military branch remains part of the Department of the Air Force, and also includes the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, which oversees launch and spacecraft procurement and development programs, such as AEHF, GPS and SBIRS satellites for communications, navigation and early warning missions.

The AEHF fleet is a follow-on to the Air Force’s Milstar satellite network, and the sixth satellite will be the final craft in the constellation. The AEHF satellites are designed to operate at last 14 years.

Northrop Grumman supplies the communications payloads for the AEHF satellites, each of which provides more capacity than the entire five-satellite Milstar constellation, which launched in the 1990s and 2000s. The AEHF satellites are cross-linked with one another, allowing the network to beam signals around the world without going through a ground station.

The Atlas 5 rocket will deliver the AEHF 6 satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit, then the spacecraft will use its own engine to circularize its orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) above the equator.

After reaching a preliminary orbit, the Atlas 5 will deploy a secondary payload named TDO 2 around 31 minutes after liftoff. Based on a suitcase-sized 12U CubeSat platform, TDO 2 carries multiple U.S. government payloads that will provide optical calibration capabilities, which will support space domain awareness, according to the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center.

“The mission of TDO 2 is to support space domain awareness through optical calibration and satellite laser ranging,” SMC said in a statement. “This capability will assist the nation’s warfighters in performing their critical missions.”

The TDO 2 spacecraft was manufactured by Georgia Institute of Technology and sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratory, according to SMC. It is mounted to the aft end of the Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage.

A similar secondary payload named TDO 1 accompanied the AEHF 5 satellite into orbit on a previous Atlas 5 launch in August 2019.

Quelle:SN

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Update: 16.03.2020

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Space and Missile Systems Center’s multi-manifest satellite vehicle ready for integration on AEHF-6 mission

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --

The Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise Mission Manifest Office delivered a fully tested and integrated multi-manifest small satellite vehicle, known as TDO-2, to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station March 6 for integration on the Advance Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-6 mission.

AEHF-6, slated for liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket, will mark the final satellite in the AEHF constellation, and the first launch for the newly formed U.S. Space Force.

TDO-2 is the alpha numeric name of the multi-manifest small satellite vehicle flying with the AEHF-6 mission, is carrying multiple U.S. Government payloads that will provide optical calibration capabilities, which will support space domain awareness. The mission of TDO-2 is to support space domain awareness through optical calibration and satellite laser ranging. This capability will assist the nation's warfighters in performing their critical missions. TDO-2 was manufactured by Georgia Institute of Technology and sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratory.

The payload is integrated on the aft-end of the Centaur upper stage where it will deploy the TDO-2 multi-manifest satellite vehicle approximately 31 minutes after launch. TDO-2 will deploy after the second main engine cut off (MECO 2) and prior to the anchor AEHF satellite, which is only the second time this event has occurred during a National Security Space Launch mission. Previously a hosted payload was deployed prior to AEHF-5 successfully separating.

The MMO is increasing space warfighting domain flexibility by enabling the “swap-out” capability of multi-manifest satellites late in the integration process. The AEHF-6 mission will demonstrate this “swap-out” capability by having two qualified and compatible multi-manifest satellites vehicles ready to be substituted, if needed, as late as one month prior to launch. Considering the historical integration timeline for traditional satellites is approximately 24 months, this is just another example of how SMC is driving integration flexibility and responsiveness into the National Security Space planning process and rapidly delivering capability to the warfighter.

Part of SMC’s Launch Enterprise, the MMO is blazing the way for innovation in the space warfighting domain and continuing the SMC tradition of innovation in space.

The Space and Missile Systems Center, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California, is the U.S. Space Force’s center of excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. SMC’s portfolio includes space launch, global positioning, military space vehicle communications, defense meteorological space vehicles, range systems, space vehicle control networks, space-based infrared systems, and space situational awareness capabilities.

Quelle: USAF

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Update: 23.03.2020

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Launch of Atlas V 551 with payload AEHF-6

Mission Live Updates

Mar 26 - Atlas V 551 : AEHF-6 Launch site Cape Canaveral AFB, FL
Launch Date Mar 26
From Launch Pad LC-41
Launch Window : NET 21 March 2020
United Launch Alliance will launch an Atlas V carrying the sixth and last Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) spacecraft into orbit.
The Atlas V will fly in the 551 configuration with a single core booster, 5 solid rocket boosters, a 5 metre Payload Fairing and a single Centaur upper stage.
The Lockheed Martin-built Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) spacecraft are managed by the U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center. AEHF satellites provide global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms.

Quelle: AS

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Update: 24.03.2020

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Weather looks good for ULA Atlas V launch from Cape Canaveral

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will fly into favorable skies when it lifts off from Cape Canaveral with a military communications satellite this week, Air Force weather forecasters said Monday.

If schedules hold for the 2:57 p.m. Thursday liftoff from Launch Complex 41, the Atlas V set to its most powerful configuration will fly into 80% "go" conditions, according to the latest forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron. Teams have a two-hour window to launch the sixth and final Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, or AEHF-6.

The only noted concern for the window is the possible presence of thick cumulus clouds over the launch pad. If the launch pushes to Friday, weather conditions are expected to be roughly the same.

With five strap-on solid rocket motors, the 197-foot-tall rocket is expected to quickly vault off the pad with more than 2.5 million pounds of thrust, leaving behind a miles-long exhaust plume as it flies into the afternoon sky.

The Lockheed Martin-built AEHF spacecraft, designed to replace the aging MILSTAR constellation first launched in the mid-1990s, will provide communications capabilities for U.S. forces and allies like Canada and the United Kingdom. A single AEHF satellite has more performance than the entire five-satellite legacy constellation.

The five previous AEHF satellites were all launched from the Cape in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 and 2019. Atlas V has been responsible for boosting the entire constellation to orbit.

On the coronavirus front, ULA said it is monitoring the situation and limiting employee contact where possible.

"We have taken a number of steps to maintain launch operations for AEHF-6, including limiting the size of meetings, increasing remote capacity, and limiting on-site personnel to mission essential," spokesperson Heather McFarland said in a statement.

Air Force officials at the Cape, meanwhile, continue monitoring the situation and preparing teams for operational changes. The 45th Space Wing is expected to provide an in-depth update on its status during a briefing Tuesday morning.

Quelle: Florida Today

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Update: 25.03.2020

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Atlas V Primed for First U.S. Space Force Launch Thursday with AEHF-6

For only the second time this year, the roar of an Atlas V will break the early afternoon stillness of Cape Canaveral on Thursday, when United Launch Alliance (ULA) aims to deliver its first major payload to orbit on behalf of the newly-inaugurated U.S. Space Force. Liftoff of AEHF-6—the sixth and final member in a fleet of Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellites, to afford America’s civilian leaders fast and secure links with worldwide military assets—is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at 2:57 p.m. EDT.

Coming a little over six weeks since the successful launch of Solar Orbiter, this mission marks the 11th use of the Atlas V in its most powerful configuration, the 551, as well as the 500th use of an RL-10 upper-stage engine.

Quelle: AS

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Update: 26.03.2020

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Start von Atlas 5 mit AEHF-6 Satelliten

Quelle: ULA, USAF