45th Space Wing launches satellite

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (AFNS) -- The 45th Space Wing successfully launched a United Launch Alliance-built Delta IV rocket carrying the sixth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite at 8:29 p.m., Aug. 7 from Space Launch Complex 37B here.

A combined team of military, government civilians and contractors from across the 45th SW provided support to the mission, including weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety and public affairs.

The satellite will provide additional wideband satellite communications coverage for U.S. defense forces and international partners, to include Australia, which supported the cost of the sixth spacecraft under a partnership agreement.

The WGS system provides anytime, anywhere communication for the warfighter through broadcast, multicast, and point-to-point connections.

WGS is the only military satellite communications system that can support simultaneous X and Ka band communications, with crossbanding that makes it transparent to the warfighter to communicate across terminal types.

WGS provides essential communication services, allowing Combatant Commanders to exert command and control of their tactical forces, from peacetime to military operations. Tactical forces will rely on WGS to provide high-capacity connectivity to the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN)

Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno the commander of the 45th SW praised the entire, mission-focused team on the outstanding results.

"I am proud of the hard work of the 45th Space Wing, the Space and Missile Systems Center, United Launch Alliance, Boeing, our industry and mission partners and everyone involved in this
WGS-6 launch," said Armagno, who also served as the Launch Decision Authority for the second time in less than three weeks.

The 45th SW also launched a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket carrying the second Mobile User Objective System satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, for the U.S. Navy from here July 19.

"Once again, our entire team worked hand-in-hand to make this another successful launch for the U.S. Air Force and our nation," Armagno said.

Air Force sends mystery mini-shuttle back to space

 

A top-secret X-37B mini-space shuttle has blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Air Force launched the unmanned spacecraft Tuesday aboard an Atlas V rocket with an on-time liftoff at 1:03 p.m. at Launch Complex 41.

The Atlas rocket and its Centaur upper stage performed flawlessly through the first 17 minutes and 34 seconds. The mission then switched into a classified mode, and an information blackout followed.

It's the second flight for this original X-37B spaceplane. It circled the planet for seven months in 2010. A second X-37B spacecraft spent more than a year in orbit. The two previous secret flights were in roughly 200-plus-mile-high orbits. These spacecraft are capable of autonomous atmospheric reentry and landing. The first two missions concluded on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The military isn't saying much if anything about this new secret mission. But one scientific observer, Harvard University's Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, speculates the spaceplane is carrying sensors designed for spying and likely is serving as a testbed.

First geosynchronous satellite arrives in Florida for May launch

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- Officials with the Air Force's Space Based Infrared Systems program completed a program milestone recently, successfully delivering the first geosynchronous satellite, known as GEO-1, to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The delivery of GEO-1 sets the path for final checkout of the space vehicle before launch.

The satellite will be processed in the Defense Satellite Communications System Processing Facility. Work began March 4, when the satellite was hoisted from the shipping container and positioned into the high bay.

Final launch preparation activities include a launch-base confidence test to verify satellite integrity after shipment, an intersegment test to verify communication compatibility from the satellite to the on-orbit operations center and final battery reconditioning for launch. Following these activities, the satellite will be fueled and prepared for integrated processing with the Atlas V booster.

"The SBIRS team has met or exceeded all significant program objectives leading to this important milestone, and there is great enthusiasm and excitement across our entire workforce," said Col. Roger Teague, the director of the Infrared Space Systems Directorate's Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. "We are positioned well to successfully launch the first SBIRS satellite."

The GEO-1 satellite is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral AFS in early May.

The satellite was transported from the Lockheed Martin satellite integration facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., via a C-5 Galaxy.

The C-5 crew from the 22nd Airlift Squadron at Travis AFB, Calif., ensured GEO-1 was transported safely and according to the time-sensitive schedule. Security support was provided by the California Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing.

"Safe transport of the SBIRS satellite was paramount and the total force government and contractor team worked tirelessly to ensure mission success," Colonel Teague said.

The SBIRS program is designed to replace the Defense Support Program satellite constellation. The program is designed to provide significantly enhanced capabilities to support missile warning, missile defense, battlespace awareness and technical intelligence missions.

Engineers expect the state-of-the-art SBIRS sensors to provide enhanced operational capability for the warfighter and technical community.

Active KSC/CCAFS STS-133 Support Freqs

Our monitor MC down on the Spacecoast passed along the following active freqs monitored yesterday in and around the Cape. Thanks MC.

KSC Kennedy Space Center
CCAFS Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

46.650 CCAFS JTF Air - Test counts
118.625 CCAFS Tower - OMAHA 13 (CBP UAV)
121.500 CCAFS - Test counts
121.750 KSC NASA Ground
126.650 KSC Weather / Shuttle Training Aircraft
128.550 KSC NASA Tower
133.750 Patrick AFB Tower
133.800 CCAFS Cape Control
138.450 CCAFS DoD Cape - Test counts
152.285 Spaceport USA Food Service repeater output
152.345 Spaceport USA Security repeater
152.375 Spaceport USA Bus Tour repeater
152.405 Spaceport USA Maintenance repeater
152.420 Spaceport USA Ops repeater
156.600 Marine Channel 12 Port Ops - CG CUTTER KINGFISHER
156.800 Marine Channel 16
157.100 Marine Channel 22A
157.150 Marine Channel 23A - STATION PONCE INLET
157.125 Marine Channel 82 - ALERT (Volusia County) with RESCUE 1
157.175 Marine Channel 81 CG Auxiliary
162.325 Coast Guard CG 111 - SECTOR JACKSONVILLE / STATION PORT CANAVERAL
255.500 Patrick AFB Rescue Ops - JOLLY ##
259.700 A-G 1 - Comm checks
264.800 CCAFS Cape Control - RADIO MAINT
282.800 CCAFS SAR - Test Counts
284.000 KSC NASA Tower
296.800 A-G 2 - Comm checks and test counts
321.000 Patrick AFB KING OPS / MacDill AFB Lightning Ops
344.600 Patrick AFB Metro
411.7375 KSC Direct 8 ctcss 131.8
413.250 KSC Net 500
416.500 CCAFS Range Destruct - Data
452.175 United Launch Alliance P25 repeater

NRL Launches Nano-Satellite Experimental Platforms

By Daniel Parry - Naval Research Laboratory, Office of Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNS) -- Two Naval Research Laboratory Naval Center for Space Technology designed and built nano-satellites were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Dec. 8, as secondary payloads on a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies, Inc., Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The satellites have been deployed to evaluate nano-satellites as a platform for experimentation and technology development.

Known as the CubeSat Experiment (QbX), the two 3U (30x10x10 cm) CubeSat buses were built by Pumpkin, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., and provided to the NRL by the National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) Colony Program Office.

This is the first flight of the Pumpkin-built Colony I spacecraft bus and is being used to evaluate the performance of the vehicle as a platform for experimentation.

Engineers from the NRL Spacecraft Engineering department are in the checkout phase of the 3U CubeSats. The NRL developed tracking, telemetry and command (TTC) radio is fully functional, providing reliable two-way data transfers and the flight software ported from previous and ongoing NRL programs to the Pumpkin Colony I processor is providing an on board scheduler for routine vehicle control and operation.

"Currently, the spacecraft are healthy, and experimentation and checkout are continuing," said Dr. Stephen Arnold, NRL Spacecraft Engineering department electronics engineer. "Deployments, including arrays and antennas, were successful and verified shortly after launch."

Spacecraft attitude is controlled by, and operates in, a novel "Space Dart" mode. Due to the low orbit (300km) atmospheric drag provides a stabilization torque that, used with reaction wheels and torque coils, provides stable pointing to within five degrees of Nadir throughout the orbit. The system has been verified on both vehicles and is providing a stable platform for continued experimentation.

"It is expected that the QbX vehicles will remain in orbit for approximately 30 days," said Arnold. "After which, they will succumb to the effects of atmospheric drag and be destroyed during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere."

The primary payload launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 was the Dragon Module. Developed by SpaceX and sponsored by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, the Dragon Module is an initiative to develop private spacecraft to ferry cargo to and from the International Space Station.

Flight software, antennas, and the TTC radio were built and integrated by the NRL, as was the developmental communications payload. Environmental testing of the completed package was also performed at NRL. Ground stations on the east and west coasts provide coverage for command loads and data collection.

So what is the Stave doing at CCAFS?

In recent years an F-15 aircraft from Eglin AFB (maybe the 40FLTS) has deployed every six months to the Cape Canaveral AFS for some testing "Project." They use the callsign Stave #.

A monitor reported this week that they are back at the Cape and operating on 282.325 MHz UHF Milair. I find this frequency selection a bit odd since this is a nationwide ATC allocation.
They are also using TG 16976 on the NASA trunk radio system. See our complete profile of this system in our free online monitor aid the Monitoring NASA and Space Communications Guide, available for free at our newly revamped MT website at http://www.monitoringtimes.com.

So can anybody down in those parts shed some light on this semi-annual venture by a F-15 from Eglin to CCAFS? Let me know, drop some mail in the masthead.

Cape Canaveral Restricts Areas to Secure Shore

WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has changed the restricted area around Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Patrick Air Force Base, so the corps will be able to secure its shoreline. Regulation amendments enlarge a restricted area in the Banana River and establish a new restricted area in the Atlantic Ocean. The agency also removes a restricted area in the Banana River.

The CCAFS 45th Space Wing Commander will respond to threats to the station by closing restricted areas.