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First West Coast Atlas 5 rocket pointed skyward BY JUSTIN RAY SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: March 21, 2005 From the brink of nothingness to a hopeful future, Lockheed Martin's Atlas rocket program at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has experienced the ultimate swing of emotions over the past two years. Now, a new rocket stands on the launch pad.
The Atlas 2AS rocket was being retired in favor of the next-generation Atlas 5, which wasn't coming to Vandenberg, instead launching only from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With Atlas no longer lifting off from Vandenberg, Boeing's new Delta 4 rockets would have all West Coast business under the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. Both EELVs were designed to be cheaper and easier to operate over previous U.S. boosters. But then the EELV scandal broke. Boeing was found to possess reams of Lockheed Martin proprietary documents, and the Air Force imposed harsh penalties. The military ended Delta 4's Vandenberg monopoly, spurred Lockheed Martin to build a competing launch pad for Atlas 5 and reassigned some satellite deployment missions. Today, Atlas 5 has six launches scheduled from the West Coast to carry on the Atlas history at the site. The Space Launch Complex-3 East pad used by the now-retired Atlas 2AS rockets has undergone a rapid facelift to support the much larger Atlas 5 vehicles. Since breaking ground for the overhaul 14 months ago, crews have completed the major construction work and transitioned to preparations for the first launch.
"We are ushering in a new era of Atlas operations here on the West Coast," said Jim Sponnick, Lockheed Martin Atlas Program vice president. "Seeing a new Atlas 5 on the pad caps a period of sustained construction, test and validation, and signifies a major milestone accomplishment by a very dedicated team." The first stage -- with its powerful, dual-nozzle RD-180 engine -- was erected Tuesday. The barrel-like interstage hardware was hoisted Wednesday, followed on Thursday by the Centaur upper stage. The fourth day of stacking operations saw the so-called "boat tail" segment mounted atop the Centaur to serve as the interface between the upper stage and rocket's nose cone. A series of engineering exercises and rehearsals are planned in the coming months to check out the rejuvenated launch pad. Testing the connections between rocket and ground systems comes first. Then, the initial fueling operation will be conducted to pump super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants into the vehicle. One strap-on solid rocket booster, the payload and the nose cone will be installed later to complete the 191-foot tall vehicle for flight. The rocket, known as AV-006, will fly in the Atlas 5-411 configuration. That model is distinguished by a four-meter diameter nose cone, the one solid motor and single-engine Centaur. Earlier plans called for this launch to use a 401-version rocket with no SRBs. However, one booster has been added to provide additional thrust during the first 90 seconds of ascent. The mission will deliver a classified satellite cargo into Earth orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff is expected sometime next spring, pending readiness of the payload. "Space Launch Complex-3 East will soon begin to launch many critical payloads for our government customers as we perform our mission to provide assured to space for the nation," Sponnick said. "Hats off to the construction team for the outstanding job they have done in getting the new pad ready." The pad modifications, which included raising the mobile service tower, building a launch platform for the rocket to stand upon and beefing up the flame trench, have progressed without any serious setbacks. "We had to have everybody marching in synch with us, and they did do that," said Rick Beach, Lockheed Martin's director of the Vandenberg Atlas 5 program. "Attaboys for the Air Force team to be able to accomplish that and I know they're proud of their participation too. I think a lot of people were very surprised to see it could come together like this." Vandenberg is the primary U.S. launch site to place satellites into polar orbits that fly above most of the planet's surface. |
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This sequence of images from a sound-activated still camera fitted with a fisheye lens was stitched together to provide a unique perspective of the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasting off from Complex 41 with the Inmarsat spacecraft.
The fifth Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket blasts off to deploy the Inmarsat 4-F1 mobile communications spacecraft into orbit. (2min 35sec file)
An extended length clip follows the Atlas 5 launch from T-minus 1 minute through ignition of the Centaur upper stage and jettison of the nose cone. (6min 43sec file)
An onboard video camera mounted to the Atlas 5 rocket's first stage captures this view of the spent solid-fuel boosters separating.
This view of the Atlas 5 launch was recorded from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. (1min 27sec file)
Preview the launch of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Inmarsat 4-F1 communications spacecraft with this narrated animation package. (3min 47sec file)
Andrew Sukawaty, CEO of Inmarsat, provides a detailed overview of the company and its newest satellite to be launched aboard Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket. (13min 53sec file)
Michel LeMoine, satellite program director at Astrium, gives a technical oveview of the Inmarsat 4-F1 spacecraft and its mission during the pre-launch news conference. (8min 59sec file)
The Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket launches at 7:07 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral carrying the AMERICOM 16 communications spacecraft. (6min 22sec file)
The sunrise launch of Atlas 5 is shown in this view from the Kennedy Space Center press site at Complex 39. (QuickTime file)
Riding on its mobile launching platform, the Atlas 5 rocket is rolled from its assembly building to the launch pad at Complex 41 just hours before the scheduled liftoff time carrying AMC 16. (4min 41sec file)
Mission officials hold the pre-launch news conference in Cape Canaveral on Thursday, Dec. 16 to preview the flight of Atlas 5 with AMC 16. (40min 41sec file)
Preview the launch of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 rocket carrying the AMERICOM 16 communications spacecraft with this narrated animation package. (2min 52sec file)
This narrated movie provides an overview of the Lockheed Martin-built AMC 16 spacecraft for operator SES AMERICOM. (3min 30sec file)
Lockheed Martin's last Atlas 2AS rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft on August 31. (3min 59sec file)
The Atlas launch team in the Complex 36 Blockhouse celebrate the history of pad 36A in a post-launch toast. The Atlas 2AS rocket flight was the last to launch from the pad, which entered service in 1962. (2min 09sec file)
The classified NRO payload is deployed from the Centaur upper stage to successfully complete the launch. (1min 56sec file)
