Next WGS Satcom Launch Schedule for Friday UTC

On January 20 between 0038 and 0211 UTC, a Delta 4 rocket will liftoff from the Cape with the next Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) satellite.

This WGS mission is the fourth installment of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system. The WGS satellites are an important element of a new highcapacity satellite communications system providing enhanced communications capabilities to our troops in the field for the next decade and beyond. WGS enables more robust and flexible execution of Command and Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4lSR), as well as battle management and combat support information functions. WGS-4 augments the existing service available through the UHF Follow-on, WGS-1, WGS-2 and WGS-3 satellites by providing enhanced information broadcast capabilities.

WGS-4 SATELLITE | Overview

The WGS-4 satellite is an approximately 13,200-lb communications satellite. WGS supports communications links in the 500 MHz range of the X-band and 1 GHz range of the Ka-band spectra. WGS can filter and route up to 4.875 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth. WGS-4, the first Block II satellite, includes a high-bandwidth RF bypass capability in addition to the previous capabilities provided by the Block I satellites. Depending on the mix of ground terminals, data rates, and modulation schemes employed, a WGS satellite can support data transmission rates between 2.4 and 3.6 Gbps. WGS has 19 independent coverage areas that can be positioned throughout its field of view. This includes eight steerable/shapeable X-band beams formed by separate transmit/receive phased arrays; 10 Ka-band beams served by independently steerable diplexed antennas (three with selectable RF polarization); and transmit/receive X-band Earth-coverage beams. WGS can tailor coverage areas and connect X-band and Ka-band users anywhere within its field of view. Four Army Wideband Satellite Operations Centers (WSOC) provide command and control of WGS. Each Global SATCOM Configuration and Control Element (GSCCE) has the capability to
control up to three satellites at a time, using X-band or Ka-band telemetry and command links. Spacecraft platform control is accomplished by the 3rd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO, using WGS mission-unique software and databases. Support technologies for WGS include the xenon-ion propulsion system (XlPS), which is 10 times more efficient than conventional bipropellant systems, highly efficient triple-junction gallium
arsenide solar cells, and deployable radiators with flexible heat pipes. Four 25-cm XlPS thrusters remove orbit eccentricity during transfer orbit operations. The thrusters also used to perform orbit maintenance and any required station-change maneuvers during the mission’s life. The triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells provide on-orbit electrical power for the spacecraft. The deployable radiators’ flexible heat pipes provide increased radiator area, resulting in a
cooler, more stable thermal environment for the spacecraft.

Launch Notification: OTV2 (USA 226)

Courtesy of AGI's Launch Notification e-mails. AGI's E-mails are sent after every launch and include key spacecraft information such as: the date, time, launch site, launcher, international number, name, and owner. Get more information on thousands of satellites and other vehicles by viewing STK models, animations, and our encyclopedic "Spacecraft Digest" database at www.agi.com/scdigest.

New Launch: 2011 March 5, 2246 UTC
Site: Air Force Eastern Test Range, Florida, USA
Launcher: Atlas V
International Designator(s): 2011-010A

SSC Name Owner
37375 OTV 2 (USA 226) US

"Shot into orbit Saturday by a gleaming white and gold Atlas 5 rocket, the U.S. Air Force's second top secret X-37B space plane will push the boundaries of the craft's design and could stay in orbit longer than its predecessor, according to military officials.

"The military isn't divulging what the space plane carries, but it could be shepherding high-tech Air Force experiments, spy sensors and other research payloads."

"Saturday's launch began the second mission of the X-37B, and the Air Force plans to build upon almost eight months of flight experience with a nearly identical craft in 2010.

"Also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, the program is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, a division headquartered in the Pentagon. But the X-37's genesis is from NASA. The space agency still provides engineering support for the space plane's thermal protection system.

"The spokesperson said early post-flight analysis of the first X-37B vehicle indicates it could have stayed in space beyond the craft's 270-day design life. That knowledge could compel managers to keep OTV 2 in orbit longer."

"The covert space plane blasted off inside the Atlas rocket's pointy 17-foot [5.2-m] diameter nose cone at 5:46 p.m. EST (2246 GMT). The 20-story rocket let out a deep rumble as it streaked away from Florida's Space Coast into a clear blue sky, disappearing from view about four minutes into flight.

"The Atlas first stage's Russian main engine accelerated the rocket to the edge of space in four-and-a-half minutes, before turning off and giving way to a hydrogen-fueled RL10 engine on the rocket's Centaur upper stage.

"The military stopped releasing real-time updates on the mission when the upper stage engine shut down, but the Air Force and United Launch Alliance, the Atlas rocket's builder and operator, announced the flight was a success."

"Resembling a miniature space shuttle orbiter, the 29-foot [8.8-m]-long stubby-winged ship is hauling classified cargo inside a payload bay no bigger than the bed of a pickup truck. After launch, the space plane is programmed to open its clamshell-like cargo bay doors and deploy a solar panel to charge its batteries.

"The X-37's cost and specific mission are top secret, but military officials proudly boast of the space plane's ability to return experiments from space."

"With a powerful main engine, a renewable energy source and electromechanical control surfaces, the 11,000-pound [5,000-kg] spacecraft can stay in orbit much longer than NASA's space shuttle orbiters. But its cargo capacity is just a fraction of the shuttle's lift ability, limiting the X-37's potential use in launching or retrieving satellites.

"But the X-37B could still test spy satellite technology and do other research. And its engine has enough thrust and fuel to chase down other satellites in orbit, yielding some analysts to predict the space plane could rendezvous with another spacecraft and take pictures of it.

"Seasoned satellite observers don't believe there was any such in-orbit rendezvous on the X-37's first mission, which spanned nearly eight months from launch through landing Dec. 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

"The craft could also ferry into orbit materials science payloads, experimental reconnaissance sensors, innovative communications instruments, navigation technologies, or a variety of other potential cargo."

DoD AEHF-1 Launch Scheduled for Tomorrow

According to Kevin Fetter on the SEESAT newsgroup, the first AEHF communications satellite is scheduled for launch tomorrow Aug 14 between 1106-1306 UTC.

I have complete details on this satellite in a previous post here on the MMP at
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2010/08/aehf-1-milsat-may-launch-next-week.html

You can download the launch mission book in pdf at http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/docs/missionbooklets/AV/av_aehf1_mob.pdf

There will be a webcast of the Atlas launch at http://mfile.akamai.com/29730/live/reflector:58048.asx?bkup=58227

The first AEHF & Sbirs satellites will launch around July 30 and in early 2011

Amy Butler wrote the story below on the AWST website:

The U.S. military and intelligence community launch manifest is ramping up to a fast pace to deploy several first-of-fleet models for communications, missile warning and navigation.

The first Boeing GPS IIF, which will deploy a new safety-of-life civil signal, is slated for launch May 21, and the second is expected around Nov. 18.

The first and only Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite, made by a Boeing/Ball Aerospace team, will launch in July from a Minotaur IV from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. SBSS is the first satellite designed to surveil spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit from low Earth orbit, and it is needed to fill a gap in space situational awareness data.

The first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) satellites, both made by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, will launch around July 30 and in early 2011, respectively.

As the Pentagon prepares for these seminal launches, The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) also is preparing for the “most aggressive launch schedule that this organization has undertaken in the last 25 years,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. (ret.) Bruce Carlson, NRO director, during a speech at last month’s National Space Symposium. He says that several “very large, very critical” satellites are awaiting launch in the next 12-18 months for the NRO. “We simply have to get them off,” he said, underscoring how urgently they are needed. Carlson also expressed concern for the industrial base, and says he plans to boost he amount of science and technology spending coming from NRO.

You can read the entire story at
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/05/07/02.xml

Military Satellite Launch: RADUGA-1M 2

Launch notification below courtesy of Analytical Graphics.

New Launch: 2010 January 28, 0018 UTC
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton-M
International Designator(s): 2010-002A

SSC Name Owner
36358 RADUGA-1M 2 CIS

"A Proton rocket launched overnight Thursday with a Russian defense ministry satellite to relay communications between troops and military commanders.

"The silver launcher blasted off at 0018 GMT Thursday (7:18 p.m. EST Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, kicking off a nine-hour mission that included multiple burns of the Breeze M upper stage.

"The Proton thundered into crystal clear skies and shed its first stage about two minutes after liftoff as planned. The second and third stages completed their roles in the launch 9 minutes into the flight, before giving way to the Breeze M upper stage.

"The Breeze M deployed the military satellite around 0919 GMT (4:19 a.m. EST) Thursday, and Russia declared the launch successful.

"The payload is believed to be a modernized Raduga, or Globus, communications satellite designed to link Russian troops and senior military commanders. The spacecraft can relay messages through small mobile terminals deployed on the battlefield, Russian defense officials said.

"The Raduga fleet is stationed in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles [35,900 km] above Earth."

Source: Spaceflight Now, "Proton blasts off with Russian military payload"

Sea Launch Deploys Military Spacecraft for Italy

SICRAL 1B, an Italian military communications satellite that will be shared with NATO and allied countries went into orbit this morning atop an international rocket launched from a platform floating in the Pacific Ocean. More details at http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/sicral1b/

And from Jonathan's Space Report at http://planet4589.org/space/jsr/latest.html

Italy's second military communications satellite, SICRAL 1B, was launched on Apr 20 by a Boeing-Sea Launch Zenit-3SL from the floating Odyssey launch platform in the equatorial Pacific. The satellite was built at Thales Alenia/Torino. The SICRAL (Sistema Italiano per Comunicazioni Riservate ed Allarmi, Italian System for Classified Communications and Alarms) 1B satellite supplements SICRAL 1A launched in 2001 Feb on an Ariane 4.

SICRAL 1B is an improved Thales Alenia Italsat-3000 design; the satellite is 7.8m high and the solar panels span 24.4m. Mass is 3038 kg full, 1680 kg dry. (thanks to Guiseppina Piccirilli of Thales Alenia (I) for details).

The Torino (Turin) plant of Thales Alenia built the ELDO STV satellites in the 1960s, when it was part of FIAT. In 1969 it became part of Aeritalia, in 1990 part of Alenia Spazio, in 2005 part of Alcatel Alenia Space, and in 2007 Thales Alenia.

The Zenit-3SL's lower two stages put the Blok DM-SL upper stage in a -1949 x 233 km x 0.0 deg trajectory; the two DM burns went to an elliptical 200 x 14108 km x 0.0 deg intermediate orbit and then an 8528 x 35596 km x 0.0 high-perigee geostationary transfer orbit. Three debris objects have been cataloged in the transfer orbit - this is unusual for Zenit-3SL launches.

Indian Rocket Launches Israeli-Built Spy Satellite

India launched a closely-guarded Israeli-built radar spy satellite today to begin gathering valuable intelligence data from a 342-mile-high perch above the planet, regardless of lighting and weather conditions. More on this story at http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0904/20pslv/

And from Jonathan's Space Report at http://planet4589.org/space/jsr/latest.html

India's PSLV-C12 launch put the RISAT-2 satellite in orbit on Apr 20. RISAT-2 is a Tecsar-class radar imaging satellite that India bought from Israel to make up for delays in the Indian-built RISAT-1.

The PSLV took off at 0115 UTC from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island north of Chennai, and the first three stages placed the PS4 fourth stage with its payloads on a suborbital trajectory of about -1000 x 560 km x 20 deg. After a few minutes coast, the package reached apogee at 0130 UTC over the equator at 116 deg E, and the PS4 yawed to burn the vehicle into a 455 x 557 km x 41.1 deg orbit. The third stage reentered over the ocean east of Australia at around 0146 UTC.

RISAT-1 separated from the PS4 at 0132 UTC, and two minutes later Anusat, a small 40 kg imaging satellite from Anna University in Chennai, was also ejected from the stage.

Proton Conducts Russian Military Commsat Launch

Aviation Week and Space Technology is reporting a Proton K Block DM-2 rocket launch at 7:10 AM Moscow time on Feb. 28, that has placed in orbit a Raduga-1 military communications satellite. Russian space officials said the 2 metric-ton spacecraft separated without incident. Also known as the Globus-1, Raduga-1 was developed by Reshetnev ISS to provide communications for the Russian government and strategic armed forces.

You can get more details at http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/PRO030209.xml

Raduga/Globus mil communication satellite launched

Information courtesy of the RussianForces.org Blog

On December 9, 2007 Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket from the launch pad No. 24 of the launch complex No. 81 of the Baykonur launch site. The launch took place at 03:16 MSK (00:16 UTC). The rocket, which was equipped with a Briz-M upper stage, deployed the satellite on an intermediate orbit with inclination of about 49 degrees. The satellite, which has not yet received official designation, appears to be a military communication relay satellite of the Globus-1/Raduga-1 class that will be eventually moved to a geosynchronous orbit. The satellite was given an international designation 2007-058A and the NORAD number 32373.

Satellites of this class normally receive a Raduga designation, so it is expected to become Raduga 1-8 (although it still may get "Cosmos" designation - in 2004 its predecessor, Raduga 1-7, was briefly designated as Cosmos).

The satellite will join two other active Raduga/Globus satellites - Raduga 1-5 (26477, launched on 28 August 2000, deployed in 45E) and Raduga 1-7 (28194, 27 March 2004, 85E). Raduga 1-4 (25642, 28 February 1999, 35E) ended its operations in November 2005, and Raduga 1-6 (26936, 6 October 2001, 70E) – in February 2006.

It should be noted that although it was officially announced that this launch was carried out “in the interest of the Ministry of Defense”, it was not included in the list of military launches for 2007 that were discussed in December 2006 and January 2007. Information about the launch became public only in October 2007. UPDATE 09/12/07: Space Forces representative was quoted as saying that the satelltie was given an official designation Cosmos-2434. According to the Space Forces, the launch is part of a flight test program of a new type of satellites.

Space Shuttle mission cancelled until January 2

STS-122 Space Shuttle mission (Atlantis) to the International Space Station carrying the ESA Columbus module has been cancelled and rescheduled for a January 2 launch. The postponement will give engineers time to evaluate false readings from the engine cutoff sensor system that measures liquid hydrogen in the external tank.

Of the four engine cutoff sensors, ECO sensor number three gave false readings during Sunday's launch attempt. The sensor system is one of several that protect the shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low.

Atlantis' scheduled launch on Thursday was delayed after two of the four engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors in the shuttle's external fuel tank gave false readings. A third sensor failed after the tank was drained of fuel.

Shuttle Mission Launch Scrubbed for Dec 6

The launch of STS-122 for this afternoon has been scrubbed due to fuel sensor issues. There will be a news conference to discuss the issues involved with this scrub - time to be announced.

First Russian Glonass Navsat Launch of 2007

Russia successfully launched Proton-K rocket from the Baykonur launch site (launch pad 24 in launch complex 81) on 26 October 2007 at 07:35:24 UTC carrying three Glonass navsats.

The rocket, equipped with DM-2 upper stage, delivered the three Glonass-M navigation satellites into orbit. The satellites have been deployed into semi-synchronous circular orbits with altitude of about 19130 km and the inclination of 64.8 degrees.

2007-052A 32275 Cosmos 2431 Glonass number 718
2007-052B 32776 Cosmos 2432 Glonass number 719
2007-052C 32777 Cosmos 2433 Glonass number 720

These satellites are deployed in the third orbital plane of the Glonass constellation. The launch was originally scheduled on 25 October 2007, but was postponed because of a Kazakhstan holiday that day. Previous launch of Glonass satellites took place on 25 December 2006.

According to the Russian Strategic Nuc Forces blog they are expected to launch three more Glonass-M satellites on 25 December 2007.

You can find an updated and complete constellation table for the Glonass navsats at:
http://russianforces.org/blog/2007/10/three_glonassm_navigation_sate_1.shtml