Space UpClose

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

SpaceX Resolves Rocket Issues after Scrub, Rolls Falcon 9 to Florida Pad and Poised for Liftoff with NASA TESS Exoplanet Searcher: Apr 18 Watch Live

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and NASA TESS exoplanet hunter poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 18 at 6:51 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 18 April 2018

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After Mondays planned launch of NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter was scrubbed due to problems with the Falcon 9 rockets Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system, SpaceX and NASA have rescheduled the launch to this evening Wednesday, 18, Florida’s Spaceport.

TESS is scheduled to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:51 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 18 from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The launch window lasts a short 30 seconds.

The rocket was lowered back down at pad 40 after Monday’s scrub about T Minus hours before liftoff so that SpaceX engineers could evaluate an issue with the GNC system.

With the GNC issues apparently resolved, the rocket was raised vertical again early this morning and countdown preparations resumed.

The Falcon 9 and TESS are poised for liftoff at sunset today.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and NASA TESS exoplanet hunter were raised vertical early April 18 after resolving GNC issues. They are poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 18 at 6:51 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Up close view of NASA TESS exoplanet hunter encapsulated inside the nose cone atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 18 at 6:51 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

The weather outlook is excellent with a greater than 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.

TESS is poised for launch from the Florida Space Coast today, Wednesday April 18 on an inspiring mission to discover new Earth like habitable worlds beyond our Solar System.

“It's launch day! @NASA_TESS will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from SLC 40 at
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,” said NASA.

“Everything is progressing smoothly for a 6:51 PM ET liftoff. Weather is holding at 90% "Go".

Check out our gallery of up close images taken today and Monday during the media remote camera setup.

If you can’t personally be here to witness the launch in Florida, you can always watch NASA’s live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The NASA TESS launch coverage will be broadcast on NASA TV beginning at 6:30 p.m. Apr. 18 with additional commentary on the NASA launch blog.

SpaceX will also offer their own live webcast beginning approximately 15 minutes before launch at about 6:35 p.m. EDT.

You can watch the launch live at NASA TV at - http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

You can also watch the launch live at SpaceX hosted Webcast at - spacex.com/webcast

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA’s TESS, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Most Powerful ULA Atlas V Propels AF MilSat Duo to Orbit during Stunning Sunset Liftoff: Gallery

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force Space Command AFSPC-11 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on April 14, 2018 at 7:13 p.m. EDT on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 16 April 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – A duo of military research satellites were successfully propelled to high Earth orbit by the most powerful configuration of the venerable Atlas V rocket during a stunning sunset liftoff on Saturday, April 14, from Cape Canaveral, Florida

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on April 14 right at the opening of the launch window at 7:13 p.m. EDT.

Check out our gallery of launch images.

The Atlas V successfully delivered the payload codenamed AFSPC-11 to geostationary orbit as planned some six hours after a flawless liftoff from the sunshine state.

The AFSPC-11 payload is comprised of a stacked pair of satellites named CBAS and EAGLE

The forward payload is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) Augmented Geosynchronous Experiment), said Air Force officials.

This is the 77th launch of the Atlas V rocket, ULA’s 4th launch in 2018 and the 127th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, National Security, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com

Monday, April 16, 2018

NASA TESS Exoplanet Hunter Poised for Launch to Discover New Habitable Worlds: Watch Live April 16

Up close view of NASA TESS exoplanet hunter encapsulated inside the nose cone atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 16 at 6:32 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 16 April 2018

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter is poised for launch from the Florida Space Coast today, Monday April 16 on an inspiring mission to discover new Earth like habitable worlds beyond our Solar System.

TESS will help answer the biggest question of them all – ‘Are We Alone in the Universe?’

TESS is scheduled to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:32 p.m. EDT Monday, April 16 from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Today’s launch window lasts only a very short 30 seconds.

The goal of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is to search for new Earth’s that could potentially support life.

The TESS spacecraft and SpaceX Falcon 9 carrier rocket passed the Launch Readiness Review (LRR) yesterday, Sunday, April 15, and are on target for a sunset liftoff that is sure to offer spectacular views.

TESS is encapsulated inside the payload fairing.

The integrated rocket and payload were rolled out to pad 41 early today.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and NASA TESS exoplanet hunter poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 16 at 6:32 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Check out our gallery of up close images taken today during the media remote camera setup.

If you can’t personally be here to witness the launch in Florida, you can always watch NASA’s live coverage on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The NASA TESS launch coverage will be broadcast on NASA TV beginning at 6 p.m. Apr. 16 with additional commentary on the NASA launch blog.

SpaceX will also offer their own live webcast beginning approximately 15 minutes before launch at about 6:15 p.m. EDT.

You can watch the launch live at NASA TV at - http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

You can also watch the launch live at SpaceX hosted Webcast at - spacex.com/webcast

TESS is charged with searching for and discovering new Earth and Super Earth sized planets beyond our Solar System that orbit their host stars inside the habitable zones that offer conditions conducive to the origin and evolution of life.

During an initial 2 year long mission, TESS will gradually sweep across the entire sky and conduct a full sky survey by monitoring and investigating over 200,000 of the nearest and brightest stars to search for planets outside our solar system.

“One of the biggest questions in exoplanet exploration is: If an astronomer finds a planet in a star’s habitable zone, will it be interesting from a biologist's point of view?” said George Ricker, TESS principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research in Cambridge, which is leading the mission.

“We expect TESS will discover a number of planets whose atmospheric compositions, which hold potential clues to the presence of life, could be precisely measured by future observers.”

TESS is NASA’s second exoplanet mission and a follow up to the hugely successful Kepler probe which discovered over 2300 exoplanets of all sizes.

To carry out its daunting task, the spacecraft is equipped with 4 identical wide-field science cameras. Their combined field of view will enable the spacecraft to image some 85% of the entire sky during the full sky survey over the first two years.

Scientists plumbing the data gathered by TESS hope to discover on the order of 300 to 500 Earths and Super Earths alone, orbiting in their habitable zones compared to a dozen or so by Kepler.

TESS observations will yield the orbits and sizes of these exoplanets. They will also provide the specific targets for follow up high resolution investigations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and other telescopes to determine the exoplanets masses, compositions and atmospheric constituents.

In turn researchers will use these observations to determine if any of the newly discovered Earths and Super earths and actually Earth like possessing water, oxygen and carbon based molecules for example that can potentially support life.

How will TESS conduct the full sky survey? The sky has been subdivided into 26 observing sectors that basically equate to tileing the sky piece by piece - much like covering your kitchen floor with tiles.

TESS will map the sky one tile at a time by pointing the four cameras to discrete sectors of the sky and then combining them into an overarching panorama of the Universe encircling Earth.

The sky has been divided into 2 hemispheres – southern and northern.

Each hemisphere has been divided into 13 sectors that will be observed one by one. The southern sky of 13 sectors will be imaged initially over the first year, followed by the northern sky of 13 sectors over the second year.

Each of the cameras is equipped with four 16.8 megapixel CCD’s and a seven element optical system.

The cameras are located on the top of the spacecraft inside a protective sunshade to shield the instruments.

TESS will observe each sky sector tile for approximately 28 days of continuous observations.

Each sky tile from a single camera measures 24 degrees by 24 degrees. The 4 cameras combine to simultaneously cover a sector of 24 x 96 degrees.

TESS is the first space science mission launched by SpaceX for NASA.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 will deliver TESS to a highly elliptical Earth orbit never used before by a science mission, Ricker said at the media briefing.

TESS will orbit Earth in 13.7 days in a 2:1 resonance orbit with the moon. The moon orbits earth every 28 days.

The TESS science orbit is extremely stable as a result, thus requiring minimal fuel to maintain. The spacecraft is loaded with enough propellants to continue its observations for 20 years if all goes well with the spacecraft systems.

“TESS is opening a door for a whole new kind of study,” said Stephen Rinehart, TESS project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, which manages the mission. “We’re going to be able study individual planets and start talking about the differences between planets. The targets TESS finds are going to be fantastic subjects for research for decades to come. It’s the beginning of a new era of exoplanet research.”

The $337 million spacecraft was built by prime contractor Orbital ATK.

The kitchen table sized probe weighs 770 pounds (350 g) and measures 12 x 4 x 5 ft (3.7 x 1.2 x 1.5 m).

Up close view of NASA TESS exoplanet hunter encapsulated inside the nose cone atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 16 at 6:32 pm EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT and managed by Goddard. George Ricker, of MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, serves as principal investigator for the mission. TESS’s four wide-field cameras were developed by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. Additional partners include Orbital ATK, NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. More than a dozen universities, research institutes and observatories worldwide are participants in the mission.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Gorgeous Sunset Blastoff Delivers Multi Satellite Payload of Air Force Research Satellites to High Orbit on Mightiest ULA Atlas V

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 14 April 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – Skywatchers were treated to an afternoon delight with the gorgeous sunset blastoff of the mightiest Atlas V rocket from the Florida Space Coast on Saturday, April 14, delivering a multi-satellite payload of research satellites to high earth orbit for the U.S. Air Force by rocket builder United Launch Alliance

“AFSPC-11 is a multi-payload mission,” noted ULA.

The Atlas V successfully delivered the payload codenamed AFSPC-11 to geostationary orbit as planned some six hours after a flawless liftoff from the sunshine state.

The AFSPC-11 payload is comprised of a stacked pair of satellites named CBAS and EAGLE

“Today’s launch is a testament to why the ULA team continually serves as our nation’s most reliable and successful launch provider for our nation’s most critical space assets,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs, in a statement.

“I want to thank the entire ULA team, and the phenomenal teamwork of our mission partners.”

ULA utilized the most powerful version of the Atlas V - dubbed 551- for the AFSPC-11 mission.

The first stage is powered by Russian-made RD-180 engines are augmented with 5 Aerojet-Rocketdyne solid rocket motors generating 2.6 million pounds of liftoff thrust.

The second stage is powered by a single RL10C-1 engine producing 22,900 lb of thrust. The payload is encapsulated inside the short version of the payload fairing that is 5 m (17 ft) in diameter.

Overall the two stage rocket measures 197 feet tall (60 m).

The two publicly announced payloads on board are named CBAS and Eagle and stacked on top of one another inside the 5 meter (17 ft) diameter payload fairing.

“Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11, is a multi-manifested mission,” according to a ULA fact sheet.

“The forward spacecraft is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (ESPA Augmented GEO Laboratory Experiment).”

“Managed by the Military Satellite Communications Directorate of the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, the CBAS Satellite is a military satellite communications spacecraft destined for geosynchronous orbit to provide communications relay capabilities to support our senior leaders and combatant commanders,” the Air Force said in a statement.

“The mission of CBAS is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links.”

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com

Friday, April 13, 2018

ULA Ready to Launch USAF Technology Testing Satellites On Most Powerful Atlas V on Apr 14: Watch Live

A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the Air Force Space Command AFSPC-11 mission is poised for liftoff on April 14, 2018 after being rolled from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex-41 on April 13. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com

Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 13 April 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL –
Rocket maker United Launch Alliance (ULA) is set to launch a pair of technology testing and demonstration satellites for the U.S. Air Force on Saturday evening, April 14, from the Florida Space Coast using the most powerful version of the firms Atlas V rocket to deliver the mission codenamed AFSPC-11 to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

And the weather outlook for Saturday’s near sunset dinnertime blastoff looks quite favorable!

The 20-story tall Atlas V rocket and secretive AFSPC-11 payload encapsulated inside the massive nose cone were rolled out to pad 40 this morning Friday, April 13 about 1800 feet (500 m) from the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) standing erect atop the mobile launch platform.

Liftoff of the Air Force Space Command AFSPC-11 mission on the ULA Atlas V is slated for 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) on Saturday, April 14 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Plus AFSPC-11 is the first of 2 exciting and nearly back to back launches this weekend. NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter blasts off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Monday evening, April 16.

“Everything is progressing toward the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11 mission,” said ULA in an update this evening.

“The ULA Launch Readiness Review was completed earlier today, and we're on track to launch the AFSPC-11 mission for the @usairforce on April 14.”

The launch window last 2 hours until 9:12 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT April 15, Sunday).

In case of any delay for weather or technical reasons a backup launch opportunity exists on Sunday, April 15 at approximately the same time.

You can watch the launch live via a ULA webcast.

The ULA webcast starts at 6:53 p.m. EDT, or about 20 minutes prior to the planned liftoff.

The ULA Webcast is available at:

www.ulalaunch.com and www.youtube.com/unitedlaunchalliance

ULA is utilizing the most powerful version of the Atlas V - dubbed 551- for the AFSPC-11 mission.

The first stage is powered by Russian-made RD-180 engines are augmented with 5 Aerojet-Rocketdyne solid rocket motors generating 2.6 million pounds of liftoff thrust.

The second stage is powered by a single RL10C-1 engine producing 22,900 lb of thrust. The payload is encapsulated inside the short version of the payload fairing that is 5 m (17 ft) in diameter.

Overall the two stage rocket measures 197 feet tall (60 m).

Up close view of the nose cone housing the pair of USAF satellites comprising the AFSPC-11 mission for the USAF slated for liftoff on a ULA Atlas V from pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 14, 2018. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com

The two publicly announced payloads on board are named CBAS and Eagle and stacked on top of one another inside the 5 meter (17 ft) diameter payload fairing.

“Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11, is a multi-manifested mission,” according to a ULA fact sheet.

“The forward spacecraft is referred to as CBAS (Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM) and the aft spacecraft is EAGLE (ESPA Augmented GEO Laboratory Experiment).”

“The mission of CBAS is to augment existing military satellite communications capabilities and broadcast military data continuously through space-based, satellite communications relay links.”

“The AFSPC-11 mission team is led by the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.”

The weather prognosis is currently very favorable for launch day April 14, 2018

The latest L Minus 1 day weather forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for Saturdays near sunset blastoff at launch time, said U.S. Air Force Air Force Meteorologists with the 45^th Space Wing Weather Squadron on Patrick Air Force Base.

The primary concerns are for Cumulous Clouds.

In case of a delay for any reason technical or weather the backup launch opportunity is Sunday, April 15

However the weather forecast is rather horrible with an 80 percent unfavorable chance. The primary concerns are for Lightning, Cumulous Clouds and Ground Winds.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com