Launch News Delta IV launch with GPS IIF-5, February 20/21, 2014

[boogabooga]

So, yeah there is a Delta IV launch with GPS IIF-5 scheduled for today and I didn't see a thread:

http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Launch.shtml#/44/

This has been postponed since last fall.

They must have fixed whatever was wrong with the Delta IV. (Still issues related to the 2012 upper stage thrust problem?)

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Finally! After 5 months of delays due to additional reviews required to clear the Delta IV rocket for launch due to the upper stage engine leaking problem that nearly doomed one of its siblings more than a year ago, the 25th Delta IV rocket is now finally ready to fly the latest Global Positioning System satellite into space, the 5th of 12 planned satellites of the Block IIF series that will gradually replace older satellites launched in the 1990s. Being the 65th GPS satellite to reach the launch pad, this launch will come right after the 25th anniversary of the launch of the first operational GPS satellite (the 1st in the Block II series) on February 14, 1989 on board the 1st Delta II rocket.

Liftoff is scheduled at 8:40 - 8:59 pm EST on February 20 (01:40 - 01:59 UTC on February 21).

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Launch date:​

| February 20/21, 2014

Launch time:​

| 01:40 UTC / 8:40 p.m. EST / 5:40 p.m. PST

Launch site:​

| SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral AFB, Florida

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[highlight]L[eventtimer]2014-2-21 01:40:00;%c%%ddd%/%hh%:%mm%:%ss%[/eventtimer][/highlight]​

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This is the 25th operational flight of the Delta IV rocket and the 10th to fly in the M+(4,2) configuration with 2 solid rocket boosters and the 4 meter diameter fairing & upper stage.

Viewing the Launch Live:

on the ULA Web site.

• Flash Player Webcast - standard quality
• Flash Player Webcast - low quality (for mobile devices)

Mission Description:

This launch supports the United States Air Force's Global Positioning System (GPS), which is also available to civilian users. The new satellite will occupy the Plane A, Slot 3 location of the navigation network, replacing the GPS-2A-19 satellite in that slot. The old satellite (launched November 1996) will be transferred to slot 5 on the same plane as an extra back-up satellite.​

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Mission Insignia​

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Launch Vehicle:

The Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) consists of a single Delta IV common booster core (CBC), the Delta cryogenic second stage (DCSS), and two solid rocket motors (SRM). The CBC and the DCSS are connected by a composite cylindrical interstage adapter (ISA). The SRMs, 5 ft in diameter and 53 ft long and constructed of a graphite-epoxy composite, are connected to the booster by two ball-and-socket joints and structural thrusters.

The Delta IV booster tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of isogrid aluminum barrels, spun-formed aluminum domes, machined aluminum tank skirts, and a composite center-body. Delta IV booster propulsion is provided by the RS-68 engine system. The RS-68 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and delivers 663,000 lb of thrust at sea level. The booster’s cryogenic tanks are insulated with a combination of spray-on and bond-on insulation and helium-purged insulation blankets.

The Delta IV booster is controlled by the DCSS avionics system, which provides guidance, flight control, and vehicle sequencing functions during CBC and DCSS phases of flight. The boost phase of flight ends 6 seconds after main engine cutoff (MECO), when the separation charge in the interstage adapter is fired and 16 pneumatic actuators push the spent Delta IV CBC stage and the DCSS apart.

The DCSS stage propellant tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of isogrid aluminum ring forgings, spun-formed aluminum domes, machined aluminum tank skirts and a composite inter-tank truss. The DCSS is also a cryogenic liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen-fueled vehicle. It uses a single RL10B-2 engine that produces 24,750 lb of thrust. Like the CBC, the DCSS cryogenic tanks are insulated with a combination of spray-on and bond-on insulation, and helium-purged insulation blankets. An equipment shelf attached to the aft dome of the DCSS liquid oxygen tank provides the structural mountings for vehicle electronics. The structural and electronic interfaces with the satellite are provided via the payload attach fitting (PAF). The GPS missions use a 4-m diameter payload fairing (PLF). The PLF is a composite bisector (two-piece shell) fairing. The vehicle’s height, with the 38.5-ft tall PLF, is approximately 206 ft.

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Launch Sequence:

Launch Updates:

• Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center
• United Launch Alliance Twitter
• ULA launch hotline - dial at: 1-877-852-4321

Photos, videos and Orbiter goodies about this flight will come very soon. :thumbup:

 

[boogabooga]

WOW, 105 degree launch azimuth, but the final orbit is 55 degrees. That is a LOT of plane change going on during the launch. h:

Why not wait half of a day and launch toward the north?

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

WOW, 105 degree launch azimuth, but the final orbit is 55 degrees. That is a LOT of plane change going on during the launch. h:

Why not wait half of a day and launch toward the north?

Probably because that would drop the first stage over Europe. :uhh: (BTW Atlas V GPS launches do head north directly for a 55 degree inclination orbit)

 

[boogabooga]

First stage doesn't get close to Europe, probably never leaves sight of Florida. No more so than anything going north to the ISS.

Second stage should end up in MEO. It's a curious plan. Three second stage burns... :shrug:

 

[Kyle]

Vehicle is fully fueled for flight as of 17:58 EST

Nearly perfect skies tonight, will be tracking the launch in my telescope.

---------- Post added 02-21-14 at 12:37 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-20-14 at 11:25 PM ----------

Per SFN: "The launch team has completed the steering checks for the RS-68 main engine and RL10 upper stage engine, plus commanding tests with the solid rocket motors."

 

[orb]

Live coverage has started at ULALaunch feed.

 

[orb]

T-4 minutes hold extended due to solar radiation.

 

[orb]

New T-0 at 01:59 UTC.

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[Kyle]

Don't you just hate it when space delays space?

Solar Radiation now GREEN.

 

[orb]

T-4 minutes and counting.

 

[Kyle]

Good launch and a good restart!! RL-10 pulls through again!

 

[ex-orbinaut]

I know! I would really have liked to have taken the drive up to see this launch, as I was in Florida not three days ago, and knew I was going to miss yet another opportunity.

Same wishes from me; GO DELTA, GO GPSIIF-5.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Spacecraft separation has been confirmed!

 

[IronRain]

Could someone please explain the launch profile? It's launched with an azimuth of 105 degrees. It later is reduced to 55 degrees. Is this reduced during the launch itself or in a separate burn? And why would it matter to wait half a day?

Thanks!

 

[boogabooga]

Could someone please explain the launch profile? It's launched with an azimuth of 105 degrees. It later is reduced to 55 degrees. Is this reduced during the launch itself or in a separate burn? And why would it matter to wait half a day?

Thanks!

I have the same question.

The azimuth, not the inclination started as 105 degrees. That's something like 32 degrees inclination. Over the course of the mission, the inclination was increased to 55 degrees.


Cape Canaveral can't launch rockets very far to the South due to dangers posed to the Caribbean Islands. It can however launch to the north to better than 50 degree inclinations. I would think that the more logical thing to do would be to wait half a day and launch into the orbital plane as it can be intercepted heading north.

However, this approach was to launch slightly to the south. From what I saw, all three of the 2nd stage burns (Parking orbit insertion, transfer orbit insertion, and circularization) were out of plane so that each increased the inclination somewhat to the final of 55 degrees.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

I have the same question.

The azimuth, not the inclination started as 105 degrees. That's something like 32 degrees inclination. Over the course of the mission, the inclination was increased to 55 degrees.


Cape Canaveral can't launch rockets very far to the South due to dangers posed to the Caribbean Islands. It can however launch to the north to better than 50 degree inclinations. I would think that the more logical thing to do would be to wait half a day and launch into the orbital plane as it can be intercepted heading north.

However, this approach was to launch slightly to the south. From what I saw, all three of the 2nd stage burns (Parking orbit insertion, transfer orbit insertion, and circularization) were out of plane so that each increased the inclination somewhat to the final of 55 degrees.

Not sure if this is the answer, but..... http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=30866.msg1163216#msg1163216

 

[boogabooga]

I have never heard of a flight constraint of keeping the flight only over water.

That being said, the troubled GPS IIF-3 mission had the same inefficient profile and still had enough margin to complete the mission plus 30 seconds. So they obviously can afford the inefficient profile.

Still, this mission is using 2 SRBs, which are not free. Couldn't a more efficient mission have been flown without the boosters?

 

[MattBaker]

I have never heard of a flight constraint of keeping the flight only over water.

Well, if the second stage has some kind of failure, like it already had a few launches ago, the debris could end up somewhere in Europe or the Middle East, right?

 

[boogabooga]

They used that profile even before the failure.

And to get that far the stage would be going fast enough to burn up anyway. It seems not to be a concern for Atlas.