Author Topic: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech  (Read 1285 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,284
Orlando Business Journal 12/13/2018 By Matthew Richardson

SpaceX's 21st and last launch of 2018 will be a big one.

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based rocket firm owned by billionaire Elon Musk will use its Falcon 9 rocket to shoot the U.S. Air Force's Lockheed Martin Corp.-built GPS III satellite to orbit on Dec. 18 The launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40 at 9:24 a.m.

Unlike most SpaceX launches, the booster will not make an attempt to land, explained Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability. "It was a customer requirement to have all the performance for the challenging mission," he said during a SpaceX's post launch mission press conference on Dec. 5.

This launch will be the first third-generation of the Global Positioning System satellite. But many more will follow. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) got a $7.2 billion contract to build 22 GPS III satellites. The space devices are important to the U.S. Air Force, as itheywill provide better accuracy and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities. Spacecraft life will extend to 15 years —25 percent longer than any of the GPS satellites in orbit today.

More: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2018/12/13/florida-launch-spacex-to-send-lockheed-built.html


Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,284
Re: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2018, 02:17:30 am »
Air Force launch commander ‘not confident’ GPS 3 will lift off Wednesday
Space News by Sandra Erwin — December 18, 2018

https://spacenews.com/air-force-launch-commander-not-confident-gps-3-will-lift-off-as-scheduled/

Quote
The commander of the 45th Space Wing that oversees launch operations at Cape Canaveral said calling off the GPS 3 mission Dec. 18 was the right thing to do.

WASHINGTON — SpaceX on Tuesday scrubbed the Falcon 9 launch of the Air Force’s first GPS 3 satellite. The next opportunity is Wednesday morning but the commander of the 45th Space Wing said Tuesday afternoon that he was “not confident” Falcon 9 will be cleared by then for a second attempt.

“We saw some sensors today that gave us a little bit of an alarm so we decided to hold the launch at that time,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess said during a media teleconference call Tuesday afternoon. Also on the call were Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Lt. Gen. John Thompson, the commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.

The Air Force is forecasting acceptable weather Wednesday morning at Cape Canaveral, Florida, but Schiess said the Air Force and SpaceX were working through some technical issues that could further delay the launch.

SpaceX spokesman James Gleason did not respond to an email seeking comment. In a statement immediately after Tuesday’s scrub, SpaceX blamed sensor readings for the scrub and said the launch team would try again Wednesday. “SpaceX team called a hold due to an out of family reading on first stage sensors,” SpaceX said via Twitter on Tuesday. “Vehicle and payload remain healthy; next launch attempt is tomorrow at 9:07 EST, 14:07 UTC.”

More at link above

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,284
Re: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2018, 03:59:13 pm »
SpaceX Aborts First Pentagon Mission Again, No Future Launch Data Given

SpaceX tweeted its decision hours before the launch window opened at 9:07 a.m. ET. Tuesday's mission at Cape Canaveral, Fla. was aborted by the flight computer on board just as time ran out in the launch window.

Offline GtHawk

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,641
  • Gender: Male
  • I don't believe in Trump anymore, he's an illusion
Re: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2018, 12:22:29 am »
Less than 90 minutes to go, will we have a liftoff or another hold?

https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/delta-iv-nrol-71

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,284
Re: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2018, 02:02:33 am »
Less than 90 minutes to go, will we have a liftoff or another hold?

https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/delta-iv-nrol-71


Quote
5:40 p.m. PST (8:40 p.m. EST; 0140 UTC)

This is Delta Launch Control. ULA Launch Director Lou Mangieri has announced that we will not continue with today’s launch attempt. The team will prepare for a 24-hour recycle.

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,284
Re: SpaceX to send Lockheed-built satellite up with Harris Corp. tech
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2018, 07:52:24 pm »
SpaceX launches first GPS 3 satellite
by Caleb Henry — December 23, 2018
https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-first-gps-3-satellite/

SpaceX launched the U.S. Air Force’s newest GPS satellite Dec. 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket, completing the company’s 21st and final launch of the year.

The rocket lifted off at 8:51 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, Florida, following technical and weather-related delays that pushed the mission out five days. Its payload, the first GPS 3 satellite from Lockheed Martin, separated from the rocket one hour and 59 minutes later.

The launch was a double milestone for SpaceX, setting a new record over last year’s 18 launches, and fulfilling the company’s first defense mission competed through the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.

SpaceX’s record annual performance, which included the first-ever launch of a Falcon Heavy, was nonetheless short of the company’s initial forecast of 30 to 40 launches. SpaceX has increased its launch cadence rapidly, up from eight missions in 2016 and six in 2015 (Falcon 9 failures in both those years limited launch rates).

More at link above