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Back at Cape Canaveral, the next Atlas launch from here will be a mission for NASA to dispatch the Radiation Belt Storm Probes on a space physics research project August 23. Liftoff is targeted for 4:08 a.m. EDT.
"Congratulations to the NRO and to all the mission partners involved in this critical national security launch," said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Mission Operations. "This launch marks an important milestone as we celebrate the 50th successful Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) mission, with 31 Atlas 5 and 19 Delta 4 missions flown since August 2002."
"Twelve of the 50 EELV launches have been NRO missions and these have been vital to our overall mission of delivering on commitments critical to our national security," said Bruce Carlson, director, National Reconnaissance Office. "I thank and congratulate ULA and the EELV program for the tremendous performance and achievement of this very impressive and noteworthy milestone."
Topped with the high-energy Centaur upper stage, Atlas rockets have been used since the 1960s to dispatch ground-breaking missions for NASA, including the Surveyors to the Moon, Mariner flights to Mars, Venus and Mercury, and the Pioneers that were the first to visit Jupiter and beyond.
In its newest era, the Atlas 5 rocket sent the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to the red planet in 2005, propelled the New Horizons probe toward Pluto and the solar system's outer fringes in 2006, doubled up with the dual Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and LCROSS impactor to the Moon in 2009, hurled Juno to Jupiter last August and dispatched the car-sized Curiosity rover on the Mars Science Lab mission in November.
Today marks the 31sth flight for Atlas 5, born of the Air Force's competition to develop next-generation Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles. In its previous 30 missions since debuting in August 2002, the tally shows 10 flights dedicated to the Defense Department, 9 commercial missions with communications spacecraft, five with spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office and six for NASA.
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"Last year we executed the most aggressive launch campaign in over 25 years. We successfully launched six satellites in seven months and this year with the same determination we're scheduled to launch four more in five months," Betty Sapp, the NRO's principal deputy director, said in testimony before Congress this spring.
"These successful launches are a very important and visible reminder of the space reconnaissance mission the NRO started over 50 years ago, and continues with such great success today. We are committed to smart acquisition investments and practices to ensure the continued coverage and availability of our vital national security systems and we work tirelessly to deliver these systems on time and within budget."
Last year's remarkable launch surge used various types of Atlas and Delta rockets to launch replacement satellites into virtually all of the NRO's networks of imaging, eavesdropping, surveillance and data-relay spacecraft, plus the small Minotaur booster lofted a research and development payload.
"From launching and operating the most technically-capable systems to continued operations of legacy satellites the NRO remains the premier space reconnaissance organization in the world," said Sapp.
The identities of the satellites going up this year are not disclosed to the public. But NRO Director Bruce Carlson recently said the upcoming deployments will refresh the agency's ability to continue guarding U.S. national security.
"The launch of these systems will not only improve on the NRO's capabilities, they will also help reduce the overall age of our constellation and better deal with today's and tomorrow's global threats," he said.
The latest forecast now calls for scattered clouds at 3,200 feet, a scattered-to-broken deck at 18,000 feet, isolated showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 20 gusting to 25 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
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The Common Core Booster stage's liquid oxygen tank is the largest tank to be filled today. It holds 48,745 gallons of cryogenic oxidizer for the RD-180 main engine.
The liquid oxygen -- chilled to Minus-298 degrees F -- will be consumed during the launch by the Centaur's single RL10 engine along with liquid hydrogen to be pumped into the stage a little later in the countdown. The Centaur will perform undisclosed number of firings to propel the payload into its intended orbit this morning.
Clocks have one more built-in hold planned at T-minus 4 minutes. That pause will last 25 minutes during which time the final "go" for launch will be given. All remains targeted for liftoff at 8:28 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41.
In the next couple of minutes, chilldown thermal conditioning of the mobile launch platform upon which the rocket stands will begin. This is meant to ease the shock on equipment when supercold cryogenic propellants start flowing into the rocket.
Loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the Atlas 5 rocket will be getting underway a short time from now.
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Meteorologists keep managers advised when rules go "red" and "green" throughout the countdown. This current thick cloud rule violation won't hold up fueling or other operations for now, but obviously would need be "green" by launch time.
This initial pause was designed to give the team some margin in the countdown timeline to deal with technical issues or any work that could fall behind schedule before fueling starts. But all is going very smoothly this morning.
The final hold is scheduled to occur at T-minus 4 minutes.
In the pre-fueling briefing to mission managers, the latest forecast still calls for broken decks of clouds at 3,200 and 6,000 feet, isolated showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 20 gusting to 25 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
If you are in the local Cape Canaveral area and would like to watch today's Atlas 5 rocket launch in person, check out this authoritative viewing guide on where to go.
This morning's mission will deploy a hush-hush payload for the secretive government agency that designs and operates the country's fleet of orbiting spy satellites.
The next Atlas on the schedule, slated for Aug. 2 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, will serve the NRO as well.
The outlook for launch time calls for broken decks of clouds at 3,200 and 6,000 feet, isolated showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 20 gusting to 25 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
The countdown clocks have started ticking, beginning a seven-hour sequence of work that will prepare the rocket, payload and ground systems for today's blastoff at 8:28 a.m. EDT (1228 GMT).
The launch team has begun powering up the rocket to commence standard pre-flight tests. Over the subsequent few hours, final preps for the Centaur's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen systems will be performed, along with a test of the rocket's guidance system and the first stage propulsion and hydraulic preps, internal battery checks and testing of the C-band system used to track the rocket as it flies downrange, plus a test of the S-band telemetry relay system. The Complex 41 site will be cleared of all personnel around 5:15 a.m.
A planned hold begins just after 5:30 a.m. when the count reaches T-minus 120 minutes. Near the end of the hold, the team will be polled to verify all is in readiness to start fueling the rocket for launch.
Supercold liquid oxygen begins flowing into the Centaur upper stage around 6:15 a.m., followed by the first stage filling at 6:30 a.m. Liquid hydrogen fuel loading for Centaur will be completed a short time later.
A final hold is scheduled at the T-minus 4 minute mark. The pause will give everyone a chance to finish any late work and assess the status of the rocket, payload, Range and weather before proceeding into the last moments of the countdown.
Today's launch window extends from 8:28 to 9:27 a.m. EDT (1228-1327 GMT).
And check out this sunset collection from Complex 41 on Monday evening.
The latest forecast shows a 70 percent chance of allowable weather conditions to launch the Atlas 5 on Wednesday, but only a 50 percent chance on the backup opportunities Thursday and Friday.
"Isolated coastal showers are, again, impacting the coast, but the threat for The high pressure area to the Northeast with a broad area of low pressure to the South continues to cause easterly winds over the next few days with a coastal shower threat each morning with a decreasing threat each afternoon. Winds strengthen today and persist through Wednesday, causing a concern for lift off winds," the forecast team reports.
"Also, significant sunspot activity continues to pose a threat for Earth-directed M- and X-class flares, and the Air Force Space Weather Operation Center is forecasting a 25 percent chance of an M-class flare and a 5 percent chance of an X-class flare. An X-class flare or strong M-class flare could cause a proton flux concern.
"Our primary concerns for launch are a cumulus cloud rule violation, elevated proton flux associated with a solar flare, and liftoff wind."
The outlook for the hour-long launch window calls for scattered low- and high-level clouds, isolated showers in the vicinity, good visibility, easterly winds of 18 to 23 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
"On Thursday and Friday, the broad area of low pressure to the south and associated trough lifts north bringing an in-flux of moisture over Central Florida with an increased threat of coastal showers. Cumulus clouds become more of a concern on Thursday and Friday with the significant increase in moisture and on-shore flow," meteorologists report.
Liftoff will be possible during a window of 8:28 to 9:27 a.m. EDT (1228-1327 GMT).
"Isolated coastal showers are, again, impacting the coast, but the threat for lightning is still low. The high pressure area to the northeast continues to cause easterly wind over the next few days, and the coast will have morning showers decreasing each afternoon," the forecast team reports.
"Winds will increase by Wednesday causing a concern for lift off wind. Also, significant sunspot activity continues to pose a threat for Earth-directed M- and X- class flares, and the Air Force Space Weather Operation Center is forecasting a 40 percent chance of an M-class flare and a 5 percent chance of an X-class flare. An X-class flare or strong M-class flare could cause a proton flux concern.
"Our primary concerns for launch are a cumulus cloud rule violation, elevated proton flux associated with a solar flare, and liftoff wind."
The outlook for the hour-long launch window calls for scattered low- and high-level clouds, isolated showers in the vicinity, good visibility, easterly winds of 18 to 23 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
The odds of acceptable weather for the backup launch opportunity Thursday are 60 percent, with cumulus clouds, proton flux and ground winds the areas for concern. For Friday, similar odds and concerns are forecast.
"Thursday and Friday, moisture will increase in the mid-levels of the atmosphere; therefore, cumulus clouds become more of a concern," meteorologists report.
Today's rollout comes exactly one month after the rocket's pre-flight assembly for this NROL-38 mission began in earnest. The first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket was erected atop the mobile launch platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility on May 18.
Over the past 24 hours, technicians successfully removed and replaced a faulty ground support equipment duct in the environmental control system, which necessitated yesterday's rocket rollback to the VIF and a rescheduling to the launch date.
The two mobile trailers connected to the launching platform, which were part of the convoy during this morning's rollout, soon will be hooked up to power and communications systems at the pad. These trailers provide conditioned air to the payload and communications with the rocket during the rollout and the countdown. They are protected from the blast of launch by a concrete structure on the north-side of the platform.
Within the next hour, the auto couplers between the pad and platform will be engaged to route umbilical connections from the ground to the rocket for Monday's fueling of the booster with cryogenic propellants.
Later today, the undercarriages used to move the mobile platform will be disconnected and the "trackmobiles" pulled free.
Ground crews will secure the rocket for a quiet Tuesday leading into Wednesday's launch opportunity. Countdown clocks will start ticking about seven hours before liftoff time.
Wednesday's 59-minute launch window opens at 8:28 a.m. and closes at 9:27 a.m. EDT.
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This half-hour drive uses a pair of specially-made "trackmobiles" to carry the rocket's 1.4-million pound mobile launching platform along rail tracks connecting the assembly hangar and the pad.
The Atlas was moved from the nearby Vertical Integration Facility to the Complex 41 pad Saturday morning. After uncovering an environmental control system duct problem, officials determined the rocket platform needed moved back into the VIF to perform this repair.
Technicians will get to work fixing the issue today, then return the vehicle to the pad on Monday, give the crew its sleep-sync day on Tuesday and launch on Wednesday, with the countdown starting a little after 1 a.m.
Wednesday's launch is targeted to occur at 8:28 a.m. EDT (1228 GMT).
Weather forecasters, in their most recent outlook issued yesterday, predicted a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions for a Wednesday morning launch. Cumulus clouds and gusty winds were the worries.
Meteorologists expected scattered low- and high-level clouds, isolated showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 14 gusting to 20 knots and a temperature of 77 degrees.
The Atlas 5 program at the Florida spaceport uses a "clean-pad" concept with minimal infrastructure. Instead, stacking of the rocket stages and pre-flight work is accomplished inside the user-friendly confines of the VIF building. The mobile launch platform transports the Atlas between the hangar and the pad, a distance of just 1,800 feet.
Three times in the history of the Atlas 5 program has a rocket been forced to roll back for technical reasons. Those instances were driven by circumstances that required hardware removal-and-replacement jobs be performed in the 30-story-tall VIF.
The previous rollbacks occurred on the Hellas Sat mission in 2003 to replace data instrumentation unit, the WGS 2 flight in 2009 to replace a leaky liquid oxygen valve and Intelsat 14 also in 2009 to replace an ordnance control assembly.
The most recent rollback, the program's fourth overall, occurred earlier this year due to an extended wait for Range availability after weather thwarted initial launch opportunities on the MUOS 1 flight.
Here is the United Launch Alliance statement on the delay:
"The launch of an Atlas 5 carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is delayed. Following the vehicle roll to the launch pad yesterday, the team identified an issue with an environmental control system duct that failed near its connection to the Mobile Launch Platform. The vehicle will be rolled back to the Vertical Integration Facility for removal and replacement of the duct prior to launch. The launch is now planned for Wednesday, June 20 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida."
The outlook at launch time includes scattered low- and high-level clouds, a chance of isolated showers in the area, good visibility of 7 miles, easterly winds of 14 to 18 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
"A front is over Central Florida and will gradually progress south today. There is still a chance for one more day of afternoon thunderstorms since the atmosphere is moist and unstable," Air Force meteorologists report.
"For the weekend and into early next week, the front migrates well south and a high pressure area will build to the north causing easterly flow over the Space Coast. With this weather regime, morning coastal showers may occur, but afternoon thunderstorms remain inland and along the west coast of the Florida peninsula," the latest forecast says.
The two mobile trailers connected to the launching platform, which were part of the convoy during this morning's rollout, soon will be hooked up to power and communications systems at the pad. These trailers provide conditioned air to the payload and communications with the rocket during the rollout and the countdown. They are protected from the blast of launch by a concrete structure on the north-side of the platform.
Within the next hour, the auto couplers between the pad and platform will be engaged to route umbilical connections from the ground to the rocket for Monday's fueling of the booster with cryogenic propellants.
Later today, the undercarriages used to move the mobile platform will be disconnected and the "trackmobiles" pulled free.
Ground crews will secure the rocket for a quiet Sunday leading into Monday's launch opportunity. Countdown clocks will start ticking about seven hours before liftoff time.
Monday's 59-minute launch window opens at 8:26 a.m. and closes at 9:25 a.m. EDT.
If you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates sent to your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
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Read our full story.
Riding atop a mobile launching platform, the 19-story-tall booster is moving to Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 for a hush-hush launch to deploy a classified spacecraft for the nation's spy satellite agency.
This slow half-hour drive from the 30-story Vertical Integration Facility to Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 pad uses a pair of specially-made "trackmobiles" to carry the rocket's 1.4-million pound mobile launching platform along rail tracks for the 1,800-foot trip.
The two-stage rocket and the NROL-38 payload were put together inside the assembly building over the past month in preparation for this rollout event. The Atlas 5 is designed to spend minimal time at the launch pad, which does not include a service gantry like other sites.
The early morning launch time on Monday and giving the crew a day of rest on Sunday drove the rollout to occur this morning.
First motion for the rollout is targeted for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Watch this page for updates and photos!
Managers gathered earlier today for the formal assessment of the hardware, state of pre-launch processing, support network and weather forecast before giving the consensus to press ahead with countdown. Those operations start with Saturday's rocket rollout to the Complex 41 pad starting at 10 a.m. EDT.
Monday's liftoff of the Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral is targeted for 8:26 a.m. EDT, the opening of a 59-minute launch opportunity extending to 9:25 a.m. EDT.
The launch weather outlook predicts an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions. There's only a slight threat of violating one of the cumulus cloud rules
The latest prediction for launch time includes scattered low- and high-level clouds, a chance of isolated showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 10 to 15 knots and a temperature around 77 degrees F.
This flight builds on the legacy of the Atlas vehicle's 401 configuration, which has flown a dozen times in the past decade with the combination of a four-meter payload fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.
Depending on a payload's weight and desired orbit, mission planners add strap-on solid boosters to the United Launch Alliance-made rocket to incrementally increase the vehicle's performance.
But this cargo, a hush-hush satellite for the NRO known only as the NROL-38 mission, is satisfied with the lifting power of the basic Atlas 5 design.
The vehicle will fly eastward away from the Cape. Details about the ascent, its duration and the number of Centaur fairings are not revealed given the secretive payload.
The Russian RD-180 first stage main engine will ignite at T-minus 2.7 seconds, shooting a giant cloud of steam from the pad's main exhaust duct while undergoing a check to ensure its vital signs are healthy.
Rising off the pad in a slow, majestic fashion, the 19-story Atlas vehicle will deliver a thunderous display visible for miles around.
Information about the launch will be available though the first stage of flight, initial ignition of the Centaur and jettison of the nose cone about five minutes after liftoff. At that point, the mission will go into the now-standard news blackout for NRO launches.
Check out this photo gallery of the NROL-38 payload being hoisted atop the Atlas 5 rocket last week.
Liftoff will be possible during a window of 8:26 to 9:25 a.m. EDT (1226-1325 GMT), the Air Force announced today.
"A front will move through Central Florida today causing afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Friday, the front continues to push south as a high pressure area builds in from the north. The Space Coast will remain cloudy with a brisk northeast wind. Isolated showers remain possible with a reduced chance of thunderstorms," the forecast team reports.
"For the weekend and into early next week, the high remains to the north and easterly flow will continue over the Space Coast. With this weather regime, morning coastal showers may occur, but afternoon thunderstorms remain inland and along the west coast of the Florida peninsula. Saturday, coastal showers are likely in the morning decreasing by the afternoon. There is slight chance of a morning thunderstorm, but weather is generally favorable for the mobile launch platform roll.
"This weather pattern continues through Monday, with morning coastal showers and winds from the east-northeast. Our primary concern for launch is a cumulus cloud rule violation."
The outlook for the hour-long launch window calls for scattered low- and high-level clouds, isolated showers in the vicinity, good visibility, easterly winds of 10 to 15 knots and a temperature around 78 degrees F.
The odds of acceptable weather for launch are 80 percent on Monday and the backup opportunity Tuesday, with cumulus clouds the only worry. For Wednesday, clouds and also a slight concern for winds drop the odds to 70 percent.
Now topped with its secret satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, the United Launch Alliance-built rocket is targeting liftoff some time between 8 and 10 a.m. EDT (1200-1400 GMT) from the Cape's Complex 41 pad.
The exact time has not yet been revealed, given the hush-hush nature of the mission.
The Launch Readiness Review is planned for Friday, which gives approval to transport the the 19-story rocket aboard its mobile platform from the vehicle assembly building to the pad. Rollout is slated for Saturday 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
Sunday is set aside as a crew rest day before the launch team assembles to start the 7-hour countdown sequence early Monday.
Known only as NROL-38, the payload belongs to the secretive government agency that designs and operates the country's fleet of orbiting spy satellites.
More often than not, the purpose of any NRO launch is the rejuvenation of the existing constellation by replacing an aging orbiting asset with a new satellite or bringing the next generation on line.
The rocket flying this satellite to orbit is the 401-version of the Atlas 5 family, distinguished by the bronze-color first stage, stretching 107 feet long and 12.5 feet in diameter, and equipped with a dual-nozzle RD-180 main engine that will burn kerosene fuel and supercold liquid oxygen during the initial four minutes of flight.
The stage was erected onto the mobile launch platform at the Vertical Integration Facility on Friday, May 18, kicking off what was quick pre-flight processing flow and the first Atlas 5 campaign to delete the countdown dress rehearsal and fueling exercise.
The following week at the VIF, technicians hoisted the barrel-like interstage adapter into place and then attached the workhorse Centaur upper stage that will deliver the satellite into its intended orbit.
The stage, 41.5 feet long and 10 feet wide, will use a single Pratt & Whitney-built RL10A-4-2 liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine that develops a thrust of about 22,300 pounds and features the capability for in-space restarting to shape the orbit and altitude as desired. The exact number of burns on this launch and the targeted orbit are secrets.
Encapsulating the payload is the rocket's four-meter-diameter nose cone.
Marking a milestone for the EELV program, this will be the 50th launch in the decade of flight for Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.
Born as rivals in the 1990s, the two modular systems were conceived to carry all of the military's satellite fleets -- from the smallest weather satellites to the biggest craft produced by the NRO.
The Air Force sought, developed, funded and now enjoys the fruits of the EELV program, phasing out its use of the medium-class Delta 2, the intermediate Atlas 2 and heavy-lift Titan 4 rockets.
The maiden missions for both EELV rockets occurred in 2002 under the direction of their original parent companies -- Lockheed Martin for Atlas and Boeing for Delta.
But in subsequent years, the Air Force pushed for the creation of United Launch Alliance to operate both rocket lines, ensuring they remained viable and alive, while reducing overhead costs and erasing duplication in efforts between the two aerospace giants.
To date, the combined record for both EELV systems includes 19 launches dedicated to the Defense Department, 13 commercial flights, 11 missions with spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office and six for NASA.
The 51st EELV launch will follow fast with a Delta 4-Heavy on another NRO deployment mission scheduled from Cape Canaveral on June 28 during a period between 5:30 and 10:30 a.m. EDT (0930-1430 GMT).
Watch this page for complete live coverage of Monday's launch.
See our separate Delta journal for more on that mission.