Chinese broadcasting satellite ends up in wrong orbit after rocket failure

File photo of a previous Long March 3B launch. Credit: Xinhua

Ground controllers could try to salvage a Chinese television broadcasting satellite deployed in a lower-than-planned orbit Sunday by a Long March 3B rocket.

A brief statement from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a state-run contractor for China’s space program, confirmed an anomaly in the Long March 3B rocket’s third stage left the Chinasat 9A communications satellite in the wrong orbit following a liftoff from the Xichang space center.

An investigation into the cause of the launch failure is underway, CASC said.

The contractor said the Chinasat 9A satellite separated from the Long March 3B’s third stage after the anomaly and deployed its electricity-generating solar panels and antennas. The spacecraft is apparently healthy and in contact with engineers on the ground, who are taking “relevant efforts” to control the satellite, according to CASC.

Officials did not elaborate on what went wrong on the Long March 3B’s third stage, which is powered by a dual-nozzle YF-75 engine that burns a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.

Sunday’s launch mishap was the first time one of China’s Long March 3-series rockets has failed to deliver a payload into its intended orbit since August 2009. Variants of the Long March 3 rocket, which include configurations with and without strap-on boosters, logged 49 straight successful launches in the last seven-and-a-half years.

China’s other Long March rockets, which use the same engine technology as the Long March 3-series, have suffered failures in recent years. A Chinese Earth observation satellite was destroyed during the botched launch of a Long March 4C booster Sept. 1, and a Long March 2D placed a pair of commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft into a lower-than-intended orbit in December, but those satellites recovered from the rocket mishap.

A diagram of China’s Long March 3 family of rockets. The Long March 3B, center, features four strap-on boosters. Credit: China Great Wall Industry Corp.

U.S. military tracking data indicated Chinasat 9A is orbiting around Earth at altitudes ranging between 120 miles (193 kilometers) and approximately 10,165 miles (16,360 kilometers), significantly lower than intended.

The rocket’s upper stage aimed to release Chinasat 9A in an egg-shaped elliptical orbit with an apogee, or high point, around 35,800 kilometers (22,300 miles) above Earth.

Chinasat 9A carried its own fuel to circularize its orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator following its deployment from the Long March 3B. If the satellite is able to overcome the altitude deficit after Sunday’s launch, it will have to consume more of its on-board propellant supply than expected, likely shortening its useful life.

In addition to the orbit-raising maneuvers needed to reach its final operating position, Chinasat 9A must also reshape its orbit, which is currently tilted 25.7 degrees to the equator, into one that always hovers over the equator.

The 184-foot-tall (56-meter) Long March 3B rocket lifted off with Chinasat 9A at 1611 GMT (12:11 p.m. EDT) Sunday from the Xichang launch base in southwestern China’s Sichuan province.

The liquid-fueled launcher, comprised of a three-stage core and four strap-on boosters, turned east from Xichang after blasting off at 12:11 a.m. Monday, Beijing time.

Chinese media did not release any photos of the launch, but an amateur video from Xichang shared on Twitter shows the rocket taking off just after midnight.

【ZX-9A】2017年6月19日00:12，长征三号乙运载火箭发射中星9A直播卫星 pic.twitter.com/eUpgbBYehg

— ChinaSpaceflight (@cnspaceflight) 18 de junio de 2017

The early portion of the mission went according to plan, and the Long March shed its four boosters and first stage a few minutes after liftoff. A second stage firing also apparently performed well, and the third stage took over nearly six minutes into the flight for the first of two burns needed to place Chinasat 9A into a geostationary transfer orbit.

The third stage’s first engine firing was expected to cut off around 10 minutes after liftoff to propel Chinasat 9A into a preliminary low-altitude orbit, and a second burn a few minutes later was supposed to send the spacecraft toward its high-altitude target.

Chinasat 9A, with a launch mass estimated in excess of 11,000 pounds (5 metric tons), was scheduled to separate from the Long March 3B’s third stage less than a half-hour after liftoff.

Based on the DFH-4 satellite design built by the China Academy of Space Technology, Chinasat 9A is China’s first domestically-made communications satellite for direct-to-home television broadcasting, according to China Satcom, the craft’s owner and operator.

Chinasat 9A was supposed to enter service later this year in geostationary orbit over the equator at 101.4 degree east longitude, where its orbital velocity would match the speed of Earth’s rotation, making the satellite remain fixed over the same geographic coverage area.

The satellite’s 24 Ku-band transponders are designed to provide television broadcasts and other media services to China Satcom customers in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the company said.

Atlas 5 powers covert reconnaissance payload to orbit on its 70th mission

Performing a successful spacelift mission for the U.S. spy satellite agency, an Atlas 5 rocket delivered a surveillance package into orbit today believed by analysts to be another pair of tandem sleuths to scoop up radio signals from adversarial ships at sea.

Liftoff came at 9:49:51 a.m. local time (12:49:51 p.m. EST; 1749:51 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as the 191-foot-tall vehicle headed for space on its 70th mission.

The kerosene-fed RD-180 main engine powered the rocket off the pad at Space Launch Complex 3-East on South Vandenberg with 860,000 pounds of thrust.

It was a four-minute flight for the first stage before the cryogenic Centaur upper stage took over. The mission went into a news blackout once the 14-foot-diameter nose cone enclosing the payload was jettisoned about five minutes of liftoff.

The Centaur likely conducted two firings separated by a long coast period to achieve the 63-degree orbit for release of the payloads, thought to be two formation-flying satellites that will operate 700 miles above Earth.

The discard stage then was expected to be de-orbited into the Pacific, several hundred miles off Chile, to avoid space junk and a future uncontrolled re-entry.

Official launch portrait. Credit: United Launch Alliance

But analysts and satellite observers agree that today’s launch marked the eighth time since 2001 than an Atlas rocket of some configuration has deployed satellites to refresh the Naval Ocean Surveillance System, or NOSS. It was ULA’s fifth NOSS launch.

“NOSS satellites locate and track ships at sea by detecting their radio transmissions and analyzing them using the TDOA (time-difference-of-arrival) technique,” said Ted Molczan, a respected monitor of spacecraft.

“Normally, under favorable circumstances, these satellites reach magnitude +5, observable with 7×50 binoculars. Occasionally, they brighten to magnitude +2 to +4, readily visible to the un-aided eye. Rarely, they rival the brightest stars.”

Atlas launches for NOSS over the last 15.5 years have come from both Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral in Florida. This was the sixth to originate on the West Coast, and NOSS was the original customer that sparked revitalization of the SLC-3E pad in the late 1990s.

The current era is distinguished by two satellites, launched by the same rocket, working in tandem. The pairs of satellites, weighing an estimated 14,000 pounds at launch, orbit in close proximity to each other as they circle the Earth.

Previous generations of NOSS missions featured three satellites working as triplets. There were 11 of those launches to reach orbit between 1976 and 1996.

The NROL-79 mission logo. Credit: NRO

The NRO is the secretive government agency responsible for the country’s fleet of spy satellites. Agency officials don’t publicly disclose the identities or uses of satellites carried aboard its launches.

The NRO was created in 1961 and operated in total secrecy as a black organization until its existence was declassified in 1992. It began acknowledging in advance the launches of its payloads in 1996.

Today, the agency operates imaging and eavesdropping spacecraft, naval surveillance birds and data-relay satellites for the constellations.

The satellites serve as the country’s eyes and ears, operating in various orbits, to collect data for civilian leadership and warfighters.

“These systems provide the foundation for global situational awareness, and address the nation’s toughest intelligence challenges. Frequently, NRO systems are the only collectors able to access critical areas of interest, and data from overhead sensors provides unique information and perspectives not available from other sources,” according the agency.

“The NRO’s key customers and mission partners include: policymakers, the armed services, the intelligence community, Departments of State, Justice and Treasury, and civil agencies. All of them depend on the unique capabilities NRO systems provide.”

NRO duties range from monitoring the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and tracking international terrorists to developing highly accurate military targeting data and bomb damage assessments.

“With its vigilance from above, the NRO gives America’s policymakers, intelligence analysts, warfighters and homeland security specialists the critical information they need to keep America safe, secure and free,” the NRO says.

The NRO has at least four more launches planned this year.



Today marked the 141st successful Atlas program launch in a row spanning more than two decades, the 70th for an Atlas 5 and the 117th in 123 months for United Launch Alliance.

In its 70 trips to space, the Atlas 5 has performed 26 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 16 commercial missions, 14 for NASA and 14 for the National Reconnaissance Office.

This was the 46th time that the NRO had acknowledging one of its launches in advance since starting that practice in 1996, and the 24th to fly from Vandenberg.

** ATLAS 5 LAUNCHES FOR NRO **

AV-009: NROL-30 using Atlas 5-401 (June 15, 2007) Cape
AV-015: NROL-24 using Atlas 5-401 (Dec. 10, 2007) Cape
AV-006: NROL-28 using Atlas 5-411 (March 13, 2008) Vandenberg
AV-025: NROL-41 using Atlas 5-501 (Sept. 20, 2010) Vandenberg
AV-027: NROL-34 using Atlas 5-411 (April 14, 2011) Vandenberg
AV-023: NROL-38 using Atlas 5-401 (June 20, 2012) Cape
AV-033: NROL-36 using Atlas 5-401 (Sept. 13, 2012) Vandenberg
AV-042: NROL-39 using Atlas 5-501 (Dec. 5, 2013) Vandenberg
AV-045: NROL-67 using Atlas 5-541 (April 10, 2014) Cape
AV-046: NROL-33 using Atlas 5-401 (May 22, 2014) Cape
AV-051: NROL-35 using Atlas 5-541 (Dec. 13, 2014) Vandenberg
AV-058: NROL-55 using Atlas 5-401 (Oct. 8, 2015) Vandenberg
AV-065: NROL-61 using Atlas 5-421 (July 28, 2016) Cape
AV-068: NROL-79 using Atlas 5-401 (March 1, 2017) Vandenberg

NROL-79 was the first of back-to-back NRO missions by Atlas 5 from the West Coast. NROL-42 is planned for June using a powerful variant with four strap-on solid rocket boosters.

“We are already pressing on with L-42,” said Lt. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander and the Air Force launch director at Vandenberg. “We have received the booster and some other flight hardware. So we will launch L-79 and roll right into L-42. In fact, we are going to start working L-47, a Delta out here, shortly after that. So no rest for the weary here at Vandenberg for a little while.”

The next Atlas 5 will occur from Cape Canaveral on March 19 to send a commercial cargo ship to the International Space Station.

https://spaceflightnow.com

Atlas 5 rocket to launch space station cargo delivery mission in March

File photo of Atlas 5 launch. Credit: ULA

CAPE CANAVERAL — Calling on the Atlas 5 rocket to flex its muscles one more time, Orbital ATK will partner with United Launch Alliance once again to send a massive load of supplies to the International Space Station astronauts early next year.

In what becomes the first rocket flight booked under ULA’s new RapidLaunch contracting service to substantially shorten the time between signing a contract and liftoff, this new launch is scheduled to occur just four months from now.

The Atlas 5 will launch the Cygnus cargo freighter to the station in March, departing from Cape Canaveral on Orbital ATK’s commercial OA-7 cargo-delivery mission.

“This plan…allows NASA to again capitalize on the operational flexibility built into Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft to assure the space station receives a steady and uninterrupted flow of vital supplies, equipment and scientific experiments,” Orbital ATK said in a statement today.

It will be the third such launch for the rocket and automated ship, following successes last December and this past March, as part of Orbital ATK’s space station resupply contract issued by NASA to ensure a steady supply line to the station from U.S. soil.

But with NASA’s other commercial delivery firm — the SpaceX fleet and Dragon capsules — currently grounded and having already missed a planned November cargo run, the agency is relying on Orbital ATK, the Russians and Japanese to bring the needed food, clothing, spare parts and experiments to the space station.

The new Atlas 5 launch will enable Orbital ATK to deliver a heavier load of cargo and NASA believes in the dependability of the rocket.

“Following a successful Antares launch for the recent OA-5 Commercial Resupply Services mission and subsequent rendezvous and berthing of the Cygnus spacecraft with the International Space Station, Orbital ATK has responded to NASA’s needs for enhanced schedule assurance for cargo deliveries and maximum capacity of critical supplies to the space station in 2017 by once again partnering with United Launch Alliance to launch Cygnus aboard an Atlas 5 for the upcoming OA-7 mission in the spring timeframe,” Orbital ATK said in a statement today.

“The company will be ready to support three cargo resupply missions to the station next year, and will work with NASA to finalize the flight schedule.”

Cygnus at the space station. Credit: NASA

A Cygnus reached the station last month with over 5,000 pounds of supplies after launching atop Orbital ATK’s own Antares rocket. It was the first such flight for the booster in two years, a lull instigated by the 2014 explosion of an Antares and Orbital ATK’s decision to replace the main engines with a different design.

But the more-powerful Atlas 5 rocket can launch over 7,700 pounds of provisions inside a Cygnus, and the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday night that NASA has pushed Orbital ATK to buy another Atlas 5 for its greater lift capacity and reliability record.

Sources told Spaceflight Now that the Atlas 5 would launch the OA-7 mission in March and that Orbital ATK was working with Kennedy Space Center to book facility time to process the Cygnus.

It was not immediately clear if NASA or Orbital ATK would pay for the extra costs associated with the Atlas 5 rocket.

Orbital ATK is under contract to deliver over 63,000 pounds of supplies to the space station via 10 missions through 2018. A follow-on contract has awarded a minimum of six missions through 2024.

“Orbital ATK’s remaining missions to be conducted in 2017 and 2018 under the CRS-1 contract will launch aboard the company’s Antares rockets from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia,” the company statement says.

Atlas 5 was the gap-filler during Orbital ATK’s Antares problem period, prompting the firm to buy one, then two ULA rockets to fulfill its obligations to the space station program.

Flown 65 times since 2002, the Atlas 5 has performed 25 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 14 commercial missions, 13 for the National Reconnaissance Office and 13 for NASA.

The new Cygnus launch will be accommodated by ULA’s plan to bolster its vehicle production and create more launch opportunities on the manifest. A spring launch slot was available for Orbital ATK to reserve on short notice.

http://spaceflightnow.com

Live coverage: Atlas 5 launch delayed by wildfire, Range availability to Sept. 26

Live coverage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight to deploy the commercial WorldView 4 Earth-imaging satellite. 

http://spaceflightnow.com

Vega rocket hauls up quintet of Earth observation satellites

The Vega rocket blasted off at 0143:35 GMT Friday (9:43:35 p.m. EDT; 10:43:35 p.m. French Guiana time Thursday) from the Guiana Space Center. Credit: Arianespace

Europe’s solid-fueled Vega booster vaulted away from a launch pad in the South American jungle late Thursday and deftly delivered five sharp-eyed Earth observation satellites into two different orbits for the Peruvian government and a Google-owned mapping company.

The satellites will help Peruvian authorities control the nation’s borders and combat drug trafficking, and refresh imagery of cities and landscapes for Google Maps.

The PeruSat 1 and four SkySat spacecraft started their journey with a flash as the Vega’s first stage P80 solid-fueled rocket motor ignited right on time at 0143:35 GMT Friday (9:43:35 p.m. EDT; 10:43:35 p.m. French Guiana time) Thursday.

The rocket’s exhaust nozzle swiveled to steer the 98-foot-tall (30-meter) booster to the north from the Guiana Space Center, a sprawling facility managed by the French space agency — CNES — at the edge of the Amazon rainforest.

Within a half-minute, the launcher surpassed the speed of sound, and the Italian-built P80 first stage booster gave way to second and third stage solid rocket motors firing in quick succession. Verbal callouts from the launch control center indicated everything went normally.

The Vega rocket’s Ukrainian-made RD-843 upper stage engine then took control of the flight, firing two times to guide the launcher into the precise polar orbit desired by the four 242-pound (110-kilogram) SkySat aerial imaging platforms owned by Terra Bella, a subsidiary of Google headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Terra Bella’s satellites — SkySat 4, 5, 6 and 7 — separated from the Vega rocket’s upper stage over a ground station in South Korea about 40 minutes after liftoff in an orbit about 310 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth.

The next step in the carefully-choreographed flight sequence was the release of a cover to expose the PeruSat 1 satellite, which rode in the lower position inside the Vega rocket’s Vespa dual-payload adapter system.

Two more RD-843 engine firings were designed to raised the rocket’s altitude to about 419 miles (675 kilometers) and slightly change the orbit’s angle to the equator. Those burns occurred according to plan, launch controllers reported.

The PeruSat 1 reconnaissance satellite, built by Airbus Defense and Space for the government of Peru, deployed as scheduled at 0326 GMT (11:26 p.m. EDT). Confirmation of that event triggered handshakes and applause in the Jupiter launch control center in French Guiana, a few miles away from the Vega launch complex.

Artist’s concept of the four SkySat satellites deploying one after another from the Vega rocket’s upper stage. Credit: Arianespace

Stephane Israel, Arianespace’s chairman and CEO, declared the launch a success in remarks a few minutes later. The Vega launcher, developed by the European Space Agency and primarily manufactured in Italy, is now seven-for-seven since its debut flight in February 2012.

The Vega rocket can loft up to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) into polar orbit. It joins the medium-sized Soyuz and heavy-lift Ariane launchers in Arianespace’s rocket fleet.

“This seventh successful Vega flight since its introduction demonstrates how quickly Vega has convinced the market,” Israel said. “After two new contracts awarded this year, Arianespace can count on nine more Vega launch contracts in its backlog, at the service of both institutional and commercial customers.”

The Vega rocket’s prime contractors, Avio and ELV of Italy, are working on an upgraded version called the Vega C for a maiden flight in 2019.

Thursday night’s launch expanded a growing satellite fleet operated by Google’s Terra Bella company, giving the Silicon Valley firm seven spacecraft fitted with high-resolution cameras that can take rapid-fire pictures many times a second, allowing processors on the ground to string together video clips.

“It was a night of lucky 7s,” said Robert Day, vice president of business development at Space Systems/Loral, which manufactured the Terra Bella satellites. “It was the seventh launch of Vega, the seventh launch of the year for Arianespace, and expanded the constellation to seven Terra Bella satellites.”

Terra Bella has informally named the satellites deployed Thursday after Star Wars characters: R2D2, Luke, C3PO and Leia.

Artist’s concept of Terra Bella’s SkySat satellites. Credit: Terra Bella

Formerly called Skybox Imaging, Terra Bella has its roots in an idea proposed by four Stanford University graduates in 2009. The first SkySat spacecraft launched in 2013, followed by two more in 2014 and June 2016.

“We’ve launched three satellites individually and are now thrilled to more thn double the size of our constellation with a single launch,” said Paul Day, a program manager at Terra Bella. “In fact, the launch of four SkySats aboard this Vega rocket gives Terra Bella the largest commercial constellation of sub-meter imaging satellites ever.”

The Terra Bella satellites add to Google’s vast imagery catalog, which help improve popular applications such as Google Maps, according to Luc Vincent, director of GEO imagery at Google.

“My team is responsible for imagery captured by our users by cars — like with Street View — by airplanes and by satellites,” Vincent said. “Now, with these four extra satellites (in) the Terra Bella constellation, that will contribute to this vision, to this effort of organizing the world, mapping the world, through imagery.”

Each SkySat platform is about the size of a dorm room refrigerator and can capture imagery of objects smaller than 3 feet — about 90 centimeters — and record high-resolution video, a unique capability in the commercial Earth observation market. Larger satellites, such as DigitalGlobe’s WorldView 4 craft launching from California on Friday, have cameras with sharper viewing capabilities, but Terra Bella’s distinction comes from the relatively low cost and wide coverage of its fleet of compact orbiting observatories.

“We have the largest commercial coordinated constellation of high-resolution satellites,” Vincent said. “This will enable us to have unprecedented capability to revisit places on a daily basis. So places that matter, we can hopefully take pictures of them daily with this constellation, and hopefully even more often once we have more satellites.

“This will allow us to search for patterns of change in the physical world to help address global economic, environmental and humanitarian challenges,” Paul Day said.

The SkySat satellites carry a Swedish-developed propulsion system fueled by environmentally-friendly “green” propellant. The thruster package burns an ammonium dinitramide (ADN) based liquid propellant, replacing the toxic hydrazine more commonly flown on satellites.

ECAPS, the company which builds the SkySat propulsion module, says the high performance green propulsion system offers better performance than conventional hydrazine maneuvering jets, and the units are easier to transport and prepare for launch.

Six more SkySats are scheduled for launch in early 2017 aboard an Orbital ATK Minotaur-C rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Terra Bella has ordered another eight satellites from Space Systems/Loral, but launch arrangements for those spacecraft have been been announced.

Artist’s concept of PeruSat 1. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space

Engineers at a ground station in Peru planned to take control of the 948-pound (430-kilogram) PeruSat 1 satellite soon after Thursday’s launch. After ensuring PeruSat 1’s solar panels extended and ensuring the spacecraft is healthy, the ground team will uplink commands for the satellite to boost its orbit to an altitude of around 432 miles (695 kilometers) to begin operational service.

Built in 24 months by Airbus Defense and Space in Toulouse, France, the PeruSat 1 satellite is designed for a 10-year lifetime. The French government helped facilitate the agreement for Airbus to provide the spacecraft and ground systems, train engineers, and transfer technological know-how under contract to CONIDA, the Peruvian national space agency.

Peruvian officials plan to apply PeruSat 1 observations in the defense and civilian sectors. It is Peru’s first major satellite program, and the most capable Earth-observing spacecraft owned by a Latin American country.

“This is not only about injecting a satellite into orbit, but it is about operating this satellite to guarantee the development and the safety of our country,” said Mag Carlos Rodriguez Pajares, head of the Peruvian space agency.

PeruSat 1’s silicon carbide optical imaging instrument has a top resolution of 2.3 feet, or 70 centimeters. Peruvian authorities want to use the satellite to monitor agricultural growth, support urban planning, help enforce Peru’s borders, respond to natural disasters, and combat drug trafficking.

Speaking to guests at the French Guiana launch base Thursday, Pajares said PeruSat 1 will also detect illegal mining and logging damaging the delicate rainforest ecosystem in remote parts of the country.

“Thanks to this satellite, we are going to be on the map… We have a presence in Antarctica, we are known for tropical rainforests, and we are now going to become a space country,” Pajares said. “This is what we are celebrating today with PeruSat, a satellite which will make it possible for us to go beyond, to go further into the stars.”

The next Vega launch is scheduled for Dec. 8 with Turkey’s Gokturk 1A reconnaissance satellite. Arianespace’s next mission is set for Oct. 4, when an Ariane 5 will lift off with the Sky Muster 2 and GSAT 18 communications satellites for Australia and India.

http://spaceflightnow.com

Rocket Launch: United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy NROL-37

• When: June 11, 2016 at 1:51pm
• Where:Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Space Launch Complex 37BRocket Launch: United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy NROL-37
• MISSION

Hear and feel the mighty roar of United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket launch as it lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The most powerful version of the Delta IV family will carry the NROL-37 satellite with a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Liftoff of the World’s largest rocket, @ulalaunch #DeltaIV carrying #NROL satellite pic.twitter.com/9WwyI9VdXj

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) 11 de junio de 2016

LAUNCH VIEWING

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers the closest public viewing of launches. Availability of viewing opportunities and locations is dependent upon the scheduled launch time and is subject to NASA and/or U.S. Air Force approval.

Launch viewing opportunities for NROL-37 are available at Apollo/Saturn V Center, LC-39 Observation Gantry and the main visitor complex with bleacher seating and launch commentary.

Animation

Un vídeo publicado por United Launch Alliance (@ulalaunch) el 26 de May de 2016 a la(s) 12:26 PDT

Apollo/Saturn V Center

The Apollo/Saturn V Center features live launch commentary and open lawn and bleacher seating overlooking the scenic Banana River. Food and retail are available for purchase and indoor restroom facilities are accessible. The launch viewing area at Apollo/Saturn V Center is accessible for visitors with daily admission tickets as first come, first served, until capacity is reached. No additional launch viewing transportation tickets are required.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Located at the main visitor complex, viewing adjacent to Space Shuttle Atlantis® is included in daily admission. The viewing area offers guests a view of the rocket once it clears the tree line. Bleacher seating and live launch commentary are provided

Prepare for Launch Day

LC-39 Observation Gantry

LC-39 Observation Gantry offers a premium, up-close view of the rocket on the launch pad and during lift off. You can feel the force of the launch and hear the roar of the engines from the launch pads at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This area features lawn and bleacher seating and live launch commentary. The package includes launch transportation, a light snack and souvenir t-shirt. Launch Viewing/Transportation Tickets to LC-39 Observation Gantry are available for $49 in addition to daily admission. Tickets are available online or by calling 855-475-8415. Tickets for LC-39 are available for purchase beginning Monday, June 6 at 9 am EDT. 

For launch transportation and viewing opportunities, tickets become available for purchase approximately two weeks prior to the launch date. You must purchase a general admission ticket or an annual pass in order to use launch transportation/viewing tickets. The link to purchase launch transportation/viewing tickets will appear on the ticket web page when tickets become available – use the Buy Tickets Now link on this page.

Launch date, time, and viewing opportunities are subject to change. Launches can be affected by technical and mechanical issues as well as range operations and weather, either in advance or at the last minute. Learn more about our Launch Scrub Policy.

LAUNCH VEHICLE: 

The Delta IV family of launch vehicles meet customer requirements to launch high-priority U.S. Air Force (USAF), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), NASA, and commercial payloads to orbit. The Delta IV launch system is available in five configurations: the Delta IV Medium (Delta IV M), three variants of the Delta IV Medium-Plus (Delta IV M+), and the Delta IV Heavy (Delta IV H). Each configuration is comprised of a common booster core (CBC), a cryogenic upper stage and either a 4-m-diameter or 5-m-diameter payload fairing (PLF). Every Delta IV configuration is available to service the requirements of current and future satellite programs

Video Complete

Designed and manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, the throttleable RS-68A engine on the Delta IV is the largest existing hydrogen-burning engine. Conceived using a simplified design approach, the resulting engine requires 80 percent fewer parts than the space shuttle main engine. RL10 engines and propulsion systems, also manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, are used to power both Delta IV and Atlas V rockets to their second stages. 

https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com

Falcon 9 rocket poised for launch Friday

launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with SpaceX’s eighth operational Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station

#ICYMI, @SpaceX #Dragon is headed to @Space_Station w/ habitat prototype, medical research: https://t.co/ZpU8qIR8Y3https://t.co/hIOQt7aJym

— NASA (@NASA) 8 de abril de 2016

A Falcon 9 rocket sits on its launch pad this week awaiting liftoff Friday at 2043 GMT (4:43 p.m. EDT). Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX ready to return to the space station

Ground crews loaded time-critical experiments, including 20 mice to help scientists study muscle atrophy, into SpaceX’s commercial Dragon cargo capsule Thursday, a day before a launch planned from Cape Canaveral toward the International Space Station.

The last-minute additions to the Dragon spacecraft’s pressurized cabin also include fresh food and other goodies for the space station’s six-man crew. The rocket will be rotated vertical on its launch pad overnight.

Liftoff is set for 4:43:32 p.m. EDT (2043:32 GMT) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad, roughly the moment the plane of the space station’s orbit passes over the Central Florida rocket facility.

The two-stage, 213-foot-tall rocket will release the Dragon spacecraft in orbit about 10 minutes later, then the supply ship will extend two power-generating solar array wings and begin pursuing the station, aiming for arrival early Sunday.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and European Space Agency flight engineer Tim Peake will grapple the gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule around 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Sunday as it flies in formation just underneath the orbiting research complex.

The commercial delivery by SpaceX will be the fourth mission to fly to the space station in three weeks, coming after the arrival of a fresh three-man crew on a Soyuz capsule, and resupply flights by Russia’s Progress refueling freighter and Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo carrier.

“One of the biggest things from an on-orbit operations point-of-view is the fact that this will bring to a close a very busy season of visiting vehicles,” said Kirk Shireman, NASA’s space station program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “When Dragon arrives on Sunday morning, it’ll close a series of four visiting vehicles in four consecutive weeks.”

For managers in charge of keeping the space station stocked with supplies, the rapid-fire cadence of visiting spaceships is welcome news.

“It’s very important to have a very regular supply chain, not only from a consumables standpoint, but even more importantly from the standpoint of research and utilization,” Shireman said. “It’s critical that we have a constant supply chain coming up and coming back down.”

For SpaceX, the launch marks the Dragon’s first flight since a rocket failure in June 2015 destroyed a cargo carrier heading for the space station. The last Dragon mission to reach the outpost was in April last year.

File photo of a Dragon spacecraft during a rendezvous with the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The space station’s other two principal resupply vessels — the Cygnus and the Progress — were lost in launch failures in the months preceding SpaceX’s mishap last year. Astronauts and cosmonauts had to delve into their food reserves while the spaceships were grounded, but Shireman said the research lab is now in the best shape it’s been in since the rash of cargo launch failures disrupted the supply chain.

“This flight in particular is important to our overall research program on the ISS,” said Julie Robinson, NASA’s program scientist for the International Space Station. “SpaceX is a workhorse for us, carrying many late-load payloads. This capability allows us to conduct important biological research with live animals.”

Another much-needed capability only offered by SpaceX’s Dragon is its capacity to bring back research specimens, such as urine and blood samples from the astronauts, and plant and animal tissue from other biological experiments.

“Not only will we be carrying an enormous amount of cargo up to the International Space Station, we’ll bring down critical science samples as well as failed hardware from the ISS, as well as removing some trash,” Shireman said.

The Dragon spaceship will launch with 6,913 pounds (3,136 kilograms) of cargo.

Nearly half of the supply load’s weight comes from a novel experimental habitat built by Bigelow Aerospace, an entrepreneurial firm based in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Founded by real estate investor Robert Bigelow, the company has aspirations to build a commercial space station in Earth orbit using expandable modules that can launch inside tight volumes, then deploy and inflate to full size in space.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will ride to the station inside the Dragon cargo craft’s rear trunk section. After arrival, the space station’s robotic arm will grab the module and move it to an attach point on the complex.

The soft-sided module will be inflated and pressurized in late May or early June for a two-year test run to see how well it withstands the harsh environmental of space with extreme temperature swings and the threat of impacts by micrometeoroids and tiny fragments of space junk.

Technicians install the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module into the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX

More than 1,400 pounds of science experiments will fly to the station inside the Dragon spaceship’s internal compartment.

They include a habitat with 20 female mice for an experiment developed by Eli Lilly, the Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm, to investigate how an antibody made in the company’s laboratories might inhibit muscle loss.

“This experiment has implications for spaceflight and longer-term space missions, but for us, the interest is because of patients on Earth who have muscle-wasting diseases,” said Rosamund Smith, Eli Lilly’s principal investigator for the muscle atrophy experiment. “This can be things ranging from ALS, muscular dystrophy, some types of cancer and even the frail elderly undergo muscle-wasting, and there are many similarities between the muscle-wasting that occurs on Earth in those disaseaes and that (which) occurs in space.”

Astronauts will help collect data on the function of the mice’s muscles, then euthanize the specimens and prepare tissue samples for return to Earth aboard the Dragon spacecraft when it comes home May 11.

The returning Dragon will also come back with blood and urine samples collected from astronaut Scott Kelly, who completed a nearly year-long expedition on the space station in early March.

NASA hopes to study how the 340-day mission affected Kelly’s physiology in preparation for even longer voyages to Mars.

SpaceX targets drone ship for Falcon 9 booster landing

SpaceX engineers will again attempt to recover the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage after Friday’s liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

An ocean-going platform departed a mooring at Port Canaveral earlier this week, heading for the planned landing point about 185 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the launch pad.

Officials hope to master rocket landings on the barge — called a drone ship by SpaceX — as the company intends to ramp up its launch rate and start flying used boosters in a bid to cut the cost of its missions.

Congrats to the @SpaceX team & @ElonMusk! Way to stick the landing & send #Dragon to @Space_Station. https://t.co/TCJCQljJBZ

— NASA (@NASA) 8 de abril de 2016

Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of flight reliability, said the company hopes to prove it can recover rockets on the drone ship following a successful return-to-launch-site landing demonstration after a blastoff in December.

“On this particular flight, we decided we wanted to go for the drone ship and see if we could get a successful landing on the drone ship, partly also because the next two or three flights are going to be drone ship landings — there’s no choice there,” Koenigsmann told reporters Thursday. “It’s a good opportunity for us to refine our drone ship landing capabilities and get this done because in the long run, that’s certainly something we need to demonstrate over and over again to get the first stages back.”

File photo of SpaceX’s rocket landing platform. Credit: SpaceX

Koenigsmann said SpaceX can retrieve the first stage at a landing site onshore after about one-third to one-half of Falcon 9 flights. The rocket is not technically capable of returning to the coast after heaving hefty satellites into high-altitude orbits, such as large telecommunications satellites.

The rocket is traveling too fast on such missions to turn around and come back to land. That is when the drone ship is required, allowing the first stage booster to continue arcing downrange.

SpaceX’s landings at sea have not been successful to date.

The landing platforms are about the size of a football field and require underwater control thrusters to stay in position. Trailing support boats are staffed with engineers and rocket experts to assist with the recovery after landing.

“If you have a drone ship out there, it’s going to be more expensive,” Koenigsmann said. “We know how much that it is. On the flip side, if you land on land, you don’t have to wash it and get the salt off. So there’s less refurbishment on the land side.

“Our goal is to get to very minimal refurbishment at all, and to fly the rockets after an inspection as soon as possible,” he said.

When SpaceX’s behemoth Falcon Heavy launcher begins flying, it will further ease the need for landings at sea. Its two liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, each roughly equivalent to a Falcon 9 first stage, will always be able to return to landing onshore, Koenigsmann said.

http://spaceflightnow.com

LIVE: Soyuz rocket to launch Resurs P3 Earth observation satellite

Launch of Resurs-P #3 on Russian Soyuz 2-1B
A Soyuz 2-1B rocket will launch the third Resurs P3 Earth observation satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 13.

The Resurs series of Earth observation satellites are being used for collecting remote data for Russian civilian Earth observation agencies and foreign customers. The Resurs-P satellites are based on their military counterparts and deliver a similar image resolution.

https://ruptly.tv

LAUNCH,SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver SES-9

Date Fri, Mar 4 2016 8:35 PM ART — Fri, Mar 4 2016 10:06 PM ART

About 

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver SES-9, a commercial communications satellite for SES, to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). SES is a world-leading satellite operator that provides satellite-enabled communications services to broadcasters, Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, and business and governmental organizations worldwide using its fleet of more than 50 geostationary satellites. SpaceX is targeting an evening launch of SES-9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The approximately 90-minute launch window opens on February 25 at 6:46 pm ET. The satellite will be deployed approximately 31 minutes after liftoff. 

http://livestream.com

SPACEX , LAUNCH SES-9

livestream.com

 

   SpaceX

Date

 SpaceX

Unfortunately upper-level winds continue to exceed acceptable limits and are expected to get worse as we approach tonight’s launch window, so we are forgoing today’s launch attempt. Winds are forecast to exceed acceptable limits through Thursday. Our team will continue working with the Air Force’s Launch Weather Officer to evaluate the best available opportunity for flight in the coming days.

SES-9 

Science & Technology / Space · Less event details

Date

Tue, Mar 1 2016 8:35 PM ART — Tue, Mar 1 2016 10:05 PM ART

About

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver SES-9, a commercial communications satellite for SES, to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). SES is a world-leading satellite operator that provides satellite-enabled communications services to broadcasters, Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, and business and governmental organizations worldwide using its fleet of more than 50 geostationary satellites. SpaceX is targeting an evening launch of SES-9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The approximately 90-minute launch window opens on February 25 at 6:46 pm ET. The satellite will be deployed approximately 31 minutes after liftoff.

   SpaceX,

  SpaceX,

Falcon 9 with SES-9 satellite are vertical on Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

   SpaceX

Official SpaceX mission patch for the SES-9 mission.

http://livestream.com