Launch News Atlas V 401 launch with DMSP F19, April 3, 2014

[Cosmic Penguin]

A long-running polar orbit weather satellite constellation serving the troops of the United States will receive its newest member soon with the launch of a fresh satellite. The United States Air Force’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), once a national top-secret program, will refresh its constellation with the launch of DMSP F19, slated to be its 2nd-to-last satellite to be launched into orbit. With a suite of meteorological instruments similar to those working on NOAA's polar weather satellite fleet (latest being the NPP), it provides detailed weather information to USAF (and to a certain extent civilian) meteorologists to provide long term weather forecasting data for tactical planning.

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Launch date:​

| April 3, 2014

Launch time:​

| 14:46-14:56 UTC / 7:46-7:56 a.m. PDT / 10:46-10:56 a.m. EDT

Launch site:​

| SLC-3E, VAFB, California

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Viewing the Launch Live:

Live broadcast will be available at 7:26 a.m. PDT / 10:26 a.m. EDT / 14:26 UTC on launch day on the ULA Web site.

• Flash Player Webcast - standard quality
• Flash Player Webcast - low quality (for mobile devices)

The broadcast [eventtimer]2014-04-03 14:26?will start in|started;%c% %h% hours, %m%[/eventtimer] minutes[eventtimer]2014-04-03 14:26?.| ago.;%c%[/eventtimer]​

Mission Description:

DMSP is a space- and ground-based system used to collect and disseminate timely global
environmental data to the Department of Defense and other governmental agencies. This environmental data consists of visible and infrared cloud cover and other specialized meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical information required to support the war fighter. DMSP satellites “see” environmental features such as clouds, bodies of water, snow, fire, and pollution in the visual and infrared spectra. The data can be used to determine cloud type and height, land and surface water temperatures, water currents, ocean surface features, ice, and snow.
DMSP data are processed on the ground, interpreted by meteorologists, and ultimately used in planning and conducting U.S. military operations worldwide.

Each satellite has an orbital period of about 101 minutes and crosses any point on the Earth up to twice a day, thus providing nearly complete global coverage of clouds every six hours. The visible and infrared sensors collect images of global cloud distribution across a 3,000-km
swath during both daytime and nighttime conditions. The coverage of the microwave imager and sounders are one-half the visible and infrared sensors coverage. They cover the polar regions above 60 degrees twice daily and the equatorial region once daily.

The DMSP is composed of the space segment; the command, control, and communications segment (C3S); and the user segment. The principal function of the space segment is to continually acquire environmental data through its satellite sensors. Mission data downlinks include stored data and real-time transmissions. Raw sensor data are stored onboard the satellite for
delayed transmission to the C3S. Subsequently, the data are relayed to strategic elements of the user segment for ground processing into environmental data records and analysis. Raw data can also be transmitted directly from the space segment to tactical elements of the user segment for
ground processing and analysis.

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Specifications​

Type / Application:​

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• Meteorology

Operator:|

• USAF

Contractors:|

• Lockheed Martin

Equipment:|

• OLS Operational Linescan System
• SSMIS Microwave Imager and Sounder
• SSJ/5 Precipitating Electron and Ion Spectrometer
• SSULI Ultraviolet Limb Imager
• SSUSI Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager and Nadir Airglow Photometer
• SSI/ES-3 Thermal Plasma Instrument
• SSF Laser Threat Warning Sensor

Configuration:|

• Tiros-N bus

Dimensions:|

• 14 feet tall, 25 feet width with solar panels deployed

Launch Weight:|

• ~1200 kg (~2700 lb) - max wet weight at launch

Orbit:|

• SSO (857 km × 857 km; 99° inc.)

Photos:|

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Mission Insignia (clickable)​

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Launch preparations photos:

• 
  DMSP 19 mated to Atlas 5 for launch (PHOTO GALLERY)

Launch Updates:

• Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center
• United Launch Alliance Twitter
• ULA launch hotline - dial at: 1-877-852-4321

Launch Vehicle:

The Atlas 5 was developed by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services as part of the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. Each Atlas 5 rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage and an American-built RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage.

The Atlas 5 launcher will fly in the so-called 401 configuration, denoting a 4-meter payload fairing, no strap-on solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage.

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Specifications​

Gross mass:​

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• 338640 kg (746570 lb)

Payload:​

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• 7095 kg (15641 lb) SSO
• 4950 kg (10910 lb) GTO

Height:​

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• 58.30 m (191.20 ft)

Diameter:​

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• 3.81 m (12.49 ft)

Span:​

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• 3.81 m (12.49 ft)

Thrust:​

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• 3827.00 kN (860343 lbf)

Launch Timeline & Ground Track:

Weather Forecast for Vandenberg AFB, California on April 3, 2014 (8 a.m.)

Partly to mostly cloudy. High near 16C. Winds W at 15 to 25 kmh.

Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
6 AM|8°C|6°C|87%|0%|0%|6%|1018 hPa|6 km/h E|

Clear

Links:

• United Launch Alliance: DMSP F19 page
• Spaceflight Now: A blast from the past - Military weather satellite finally set to launch
• Spaceflight Now: Atlas/DMSP F19 information sheet
• ULA: Atlas V/DMSP F19 Mission Booklet
• NOAA NGDC: Earth Observation Group
• Weather forecast for VAFB

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Good video from the USAF Space and Missile Systems Center about the history of DMSP (and sorry that it's on a certain social site ): Link

T-1 hour.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Webcast starting now....

 

[Castor]

Liftoff!

 

[orb]

The spacecraft separated successfully. :thumbup:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Pre-launch:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m-UUpo4Pr8"][Atlas V] Launch of DMSP F19 Weather Satellite on Atlas V 401 Rocket[/ame]

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

 

[boogabooga]

It's interesting when real launches do things you might not expect from the standpoint of orbital mechanics and efficiency.

For such a high LEO, (~850km), one might expect to launch into an elliptical transfer orbit and do a second Centaur circularization burn at apogee.

This one just sort of muscled its way up to 850km with a single burn.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Whoops, looks like the solar array on the satellite can't fully deploy! A problem linked with the 15 years of storage time it has spent on Earth?

It's interesting when real launches do things you might not expect from the standpoint of orbital mechanics and efficiency.

For such a high LEO, (~850km), one might expect to launch into an elliptical transfer orbit and do a second Centaur circularization burn at apogee.

This one just sort of muscled its way up to 850km with a single burn.

That's because the Atlas V (and the Delta IV that launched DMSP F17 in 2006) are way overkill for sending DMSP satellites into orbit - by a factor of 6 for the 401 - such that the Centaur can simply climb to 850 km and pitch down to circularize the orbit from there on. Heck it still has way enough propellant to actually send itself into solar orbit (!) (same procedure was done during the launch of DMSP F18 in 2009). Apparently because the USAF buys the rockets in a bunch they decided to order EELVs for launching the DMSPs even when the smallest Delta II can launch it.

 

[Urwumpe]

Whoops, looks like the solar array on the satellite can't fully deploy! A problem linked with the 15 years of storage time it has spent on Earth?

That's possible, but doubtful. The gimbals are "lubricated" by Teflon and don't dry out, but dirt could theoretically accumulate in them.

More likely is a manufacturing error or a pyrotechnic launch restraint, that failed to fire properly (these pyrotechnics are all installed shortly before launch)

 

[MattBaker]

Apparently because the USAF buys the rockets in a bunch they decided to order EELVs for launching the DMSPs even when the smallest Delta II can launch it.

Sounds a bit like filling the launch manifest of the EELVs, even a Minotaur IV should be enough and is way cheaper, even if you buy EELV launches a dozen at a time.

Or were the contracts for this satellite made back in the 90s and now they had to stick with it?