Suffering from one of the most dramatic in space losses of spacecraft in recent years (maybe only topped by Phobos-Grunt), the Russians are in desperate need of some kind of luck in the spaceflight industry after the loss of the latest Progress spacecraft. Their shrinking budget isn't helping any of their flagship projects either.
Well, at least they can still enjoy some of their remaining commercial launch contracts they still have while facing a thinning back log for the time being! Today the Proton rocket is flying its 2nd commercial launch this year with MexSat-1 "Centenario", one of 3 satellites ordered by the Mexican government to drastically improve the nation's broadband and satellite mobile communications infrastructure (
with the smaller MexSat-3 already in orbit since December 2012). The Boeing BSS-702HP satellite contains a large 22-meter diameter L-band reflector for mobile satellite services as well as other fixed communication transponders for general civil and government communication services.
The launch processing also had its hiccups, with it delaying from April 29 due to inspections on the satellite following a flaw found back in Boeing's factory on sistercraft MexSat-2 (which will fly this October as one of the very few current purely commercial payloads on United Launch Alliance's Atlas V). The launch will happen at late morning time in Baikonur, pretty uncommon for the Proton recently!
This is the 2nd commercial mission of the year for ILS and the 89th ILS Proton mission since the first commercial flight of the Proton in April 1996.
This is the 1st SCT satellite launched with Proton and the 12th Boeing-built satellite launched on Proton.
Launch location:
Baikonur Launch pad no. 200/39 46° 2'23.85"N, 63° 1'54.98"E
Launch dates and times:
{colsp=6}Launch times
Time Zone
|
Baikonur / UTC+6
|
Moscow / UTC+3
|
Universal / UTC
|
Washington / EDT
|
Los Angeles / PDT
Launch time (Primary):
|
11:47:39
|
08:47:39
|
05:47:39
|
01:47:39
|
22:47:39
on:
|
May 16, 2015
|
May 16, 2015
|
May 16, 2015
|
May 16, 2015
|
May 15, 2015
{colsp=6}
[highlight][eventTimer]2015-05-16 05:47:39?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] MexSat-1 Launch[/highlight]
Live Coverage Of The Launch:
PAYLOAD
MexSat-1 communication satellite:
Mission Summary
Boeing announced in December 2010 that it has received a contract for approximately $1 billion from the government of Mexico to deliver an end-to-end satellite communications system. The system, known as MEXSAT, will consist of three satellites, two ground sites, associated network operations systems and reference user terminals. MEXSAT will provide secure communications for Mexico’s national security needs, as well as enhanced coverage for the country’s civil telecommunications.
Under the contract, Boeing will deliver a complete turnkey satellite system comprised of Boeing 702HP geomobile satellites MEXSAT-1 and MEXSAT-2 and one extended C- and Ku-band satellite, MEXSAT-3, which will provide fixed satellite services from geosynchronous orbit. MEXSAT-3 is scheduled to launch first, at the end of 2012.
Each Boeing 702HP satellite will supply 14 kilowatts of power through five-panel solar array wings that use high-efficiency, ultra triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. Both satellites will carry a 22-meter L-band reflector for mobile satellite services, complemented by a 2-meter Ku-band antenna.
Boeing also will develop two ground sites in Mexico with advanced beam-forming flexibility to direct mobile user spot beams to government agencies operating in Mexico and its patrimonial seas, including the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The MEXSAT 2 satellite is reportedly the modified SkyTerra 2 satellite.
{colsp=2}Summary
Parameter
|
Value
Working Orbit:
|
GEO
Orbital Location:
|
113° West
Coverage:
|
Mexico
ApA at separation:
|
35786 km
PeA at separation:
|
8985 km
Inc at separation:
|
20.1°
Characteristics|
MexSat-1
Customer:
|
- Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, Government of Mexico
Prime contractor:
|
Platform:
|
Mass at Separation:
|
Dry Mass:
|
Stabilization:
|
Dimensions (stowed):
|
Batteries:
|
- Two wings each with five panels of ultra triple junction gallium arsenide solar cells, providing 13 kW at end of life
Payload:
|
- L-band transponders
- Ku-band transponders
- C-band transponders
Life time:
|
Coverage:
|
|
Launch Vehicle:
{colsp=2}Characteristics
|
{colsp=2}
Proton-M / Briz-M
Prime contractor:
|
GRAU Index:
|
Height:
| 58.2 m with upper stage and payload fairing
Diameter:
| max 7.4 m
Liftoff mass:
| 705 metric tonnes
Payload mass:
| ~22 tonnes at LEO
1st stage:
|
- 6 X RD-275 engines
- Empty 30.6 tonnes
- Propellants 419.41 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
- Thrust in vacuum 1069.8 tonnes of force
- Thrust at sea level 971.4 tonnes of force
2nd stage:
|
- 1 X RD-0211 engine 3 X RD-0210 engines
- Empty 11.4 tonnes
- Propellants 156.113 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
- Thrust in vacuum 237.4 tonnes of force
3rd stage:
|
- 1 X RD-0213 engine & 1 X RD-0214 vernier engine
- Empty 3.7 tonnes
- Propellants 46.562 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
- Thrust in vacuum 59.36 (core) + 3.15 (vernier) tonnes of force
Upper Stage:
|
- GRAU Index: 14S43
- Common Name: Briz-M
- Designer & Manufacturer: Khrunichev Space Centre
- Dimensions: Length 2.654 m, Diameter 4 m
- Empty Mass 2.2 tonnes
- Propellants 6 660 kg UDMH + 13 260 kg N2O4
- Flight time: no less than 24 hours
- Main Engine: 1 X 14D30
- Thrust in vacuum 2.0 tonnes of force
- ISP 328.6 s
- Main engine restarts: up to 8 times
- Precision Manoeuvering Engines: 4 X 11D458
- Thrust in vacuum 400 N each
- ISP 252 s
- RCS Engines: 12 X 17D58E
- Thrust in vacuum 13.3 N each
- ISP 274 s
Payload Fairing:
|
- Diameter 4.35 m
- Length 11.6 m
The vehicle's
reliability statistics according to
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/log2015.html#rate:
Code:
================================================================
Vehicle Successes/Tries Realzd Pred Consc. Last Dates
Rate Rate* Succes Fail
================================================================
Proton-M/Briz-M 73 81 .90 .89 4 10/21/14 2001-
MexSat-1 Ascent Profile
The Proton-M first three stages place the orbital unit (OU), which consists of a Breeze-M upper stage, adapter system and MexSat-1, into a 51.5° inclination suborbital trajectory.
Proton-M powered flight lasts 582 seconds. The OU powered flight begins at the moment of the third stage separation.
Immediately after the separation of the third stage booster, the Breeze-M stability engines start, damping the angular velocities of the third stage separation and then providing orbital unit orientation and stability during coast flight along a suborbital trajectory to await the first burn. The upper stage follows a five-burn injection profile.
MexSat-1 Ascent Timeline
Event|Time rel lift-off|Time UTC|Comment
Ignition Start Sequence|-00:00:02.5|05:47:36.5|
Stage 1 Ignition (40% thrust)|-00:00:01.75|05:47:37.25|
Command Stage 1 (100% thrust)|-00:00:00.9|05:47:38.1|
Maximum Dynamic Pressure|00:01:02|05:48:41|
1st/2nd Stage Separation|00:02:00|05:49:39|
2nd/3rd Stage Separation|00:05:27|05:53:06|
Payload Fairing Separation|00:05:47|05:53:26|
3rd Stage/Breeze M Separation|00:09:42|05:57:21|
1st Burn Ignition|00:11:46|05:59:25|
1st Burn Shutdown|00:16:13|06:03:52|1st Burn's Duration 00:04:27
2nd Burn Ignition|01:07:33|06:55:12|
2nd Burn Shutdown|01:25:19|07:12:58|2nd Burn's Duration 00:17:46
3rd Burn Ignition|03:28:30|09:16:09|
3rd Burn Shutdown|03:41:49|09:29:28|3rd Burn's Duration 00:13:19
APT Jettison|03:42:39|09:30:18|
4th Burn Ignition|03:44:06|09:31:45|
4th Burn Shutdown|03:48:18|09:35:57|4th Burn's Duration 00:04:12
5th Burn Ignition|08:51:33|14:38:12|
5th Burn Shutdown|08:59:27|14:44:27|5th Burn's Duration 00:06:15
Spacecraft Separation|09:13:00|15:00:39|
Weather forecast for Baikonur, Kazakhstan on May 16, 2015 (11 a.m.)
Becoming partly cloudy after some morning rain. High near 25C. Winds NW at 15 to 30 km/h. Chance of rain 80%.
Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
11 AM|20°C|11°C|57%|10%|0%|66%|1007 hPa|19 km/h NW|
Mostly Cloudy
References
http://www.federalspace.ru
http://tvroscosmos.ru
http://www.khrunichev.ru
http://www.ilslaunch.com
http://tihiy.fromru.com/Rn/RN_Proton.htm
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/mexsat-1.htm
http://www.sct.gob.mx
http://www.tsenki.com
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://english.wunderground.com/q/locid:KZXX0055