{"id":12147,"date":"2020-10-27T20:03:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T12:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/atlas-5-launch-from-cape-canaveral-scheduled-for-next-week\/"},"modified":"2020-10-27T20:03:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T12:03:50","slug":"atlas-5-launch-from-cape-canaveral-scheduled-for-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/atlas-5-launch-from-cape-canaveral-scheduled-for-next-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlas 5 launch from Cape Canaveral scheduled for next week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The National Reconnaissance Office\u2019s top secret payload is lifted atop ULA\u2019s Atlas 5 rocket Monday inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

United Launch Alliance teams mounted a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on top of an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral Monday in preparation for a liftoff scheduled just after sunset Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

The Atlas 5 launcher is set to blast off from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:58 p.m. EST (2258 GMT) next Tuesday, Nov. 3. That\u2019s around 22 minutes after sunset at the Florida spaceport.<\/p>\n

The Election Day launch \u2014 codenamed NROL-101 \u2014 will be the first Atlas 5 rocket flight to be powered by a new model of strap-on solid rocket boosters built by Northrop Grumman. The Northrop Grumman boosters replace solid-fueled motors from Aerojet Rocketdyne that flew on previous Atlas 5 rockets.<\/p>\n

The Atlas 5 flight from pad 41 is going ahead next week as ULA continues resolving launch pad infrastructure issues at the company\u2019s other Cape Canaveral launch facility. Those problems have delayed the flight of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket with a different NRO spy satellite since late August, and caused ULA to swap the order of its missions to have the next Atlas 5 flight go first.<\/p>\n

The most recent culprit for the Delta 4-Heavy launch delays has been an issue with the swing arms on the pad.<\/p>\n

Tory Bruno, ULA\u2019s president and CEO, tweeted Oct. 20 that the company is fixing a mechanical issue with the swing arms on pad 37B.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working through the hydraulics on the swing arms, replacing several dozen valves, a couple thousand gallons of hydraulic fluid, and several other important items,\u201d Bruno tweeted. \u201cWe will set a flight date soon. Mission success is the priority.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The launch delays have raised concerns with aging infrastructure at the Delta 4 launch pads. ULA has only five more Delta 4-Heavy missions in its backlog through 2023 before the Delta rocket family is retired in favor of the company\u2019s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do more, not less, to maintain the Delta pads today,\u201d Bruno tweeted. \u201cHowever, with the low launch tempo, and advanced age, they seemed to have crossed a threshold, so we will change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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File photo of ULA\u2019s Delta 4-Heavy rocket on pad 37B before a previous launch attempt for the NROL-44 mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Delta ground systems are more than 20 years old, Bruno added, and \u201ccoping with a low launch tempo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said ULA engineers are evaluating Delta 4\u2019s launch pad systems to identify how to \u201creset their life\u201d with preemptive refurbishment and replacements, along with periodic activations and testing in between missions.<\/p>\n

The next Delta 4-Heavy launch \u2014 designated NROL-44 \u2014 is now expected to lift off some time after the company\u2019s next Atlas 5 mission set for Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Read more about the NROL-44 launch delays in our earlier story.<\/p>\n

The launch campaign for the next Atlas 5 mission began with the raising of the rocket\u2019s first stage \u2014 tail number AV-090 \u2014 on its mobile launch platform inside the Vertical Integration Facility near launch pad 41 on Sept. 11. In the following days, technicians installed the rocket\u2019s three GEM 63 solid-fueled boosters on the bottom of the bronze first stage.<\/p>\n

Workers then added the rocket\u2019s Centaur upper stage, already integrated with the bottom part of the Atlas 5\u2019s payload fairing, made by RUAG Space in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Last week, ULA transferred the Atlas 5 rocket to pad 41 for a fueling test and practice countdown. The ULA team loaded the Atlas 5\u2019s first stage with its flight supply of RP-1 kerosene fuel, which will remain aboard the rocket through launch.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 21, the Atlas 5 team ran through countdown procedures and filled the rocket\u2019s first stage with its load of super-cold liquid oxygen. The Atlas 5\u2019s Centaur upper stage was also loaded with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as the practice countdown continued through pre-launch checkouts, polling, and final status checks before cutoff of the sequence just prior to the point of engine ignition.<\/p>\n

The rocket was then drained of its hydrogen and oxygen propellants and returned to the VIF a quarter-mile to the south of pad 41.<\/p>\n

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The National Reconnaissance Office\u2019s top secret payload is lifted atop ULA\u2019s Atlas 5 rocket Monday inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The classified payload for the NROL-101 mission was mounted on top of the Atlas 5 rocket Monday, capping assembly of the 206-foot-tall (63-meter) launch vehicle.<\/p>\n

The launch scheduled next week will mark the 86th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the fourth Atlas 5 to blast off in the \u201c531\u201d configuration with three solid rocket boosters and a 5.4-meter-diameter (17.7-foot) payload fairing.<\/p>\n

It will be ULA\u2019s fifth mission of 2020.<\/p>\n

The new GEM 63 motors set to debut on the Atlas 5 mission next week measure 66 feet (20 meters) long and 63 inches (1.6 meters) wide. They can produce 373,800 pounds of thrust at maximum power. The GEM 63 boosters will ignite on the launch pad and burn for 94 seconds, consuming 97,500 pounds (44.2 metric tons) of pre-packed solid propellant before jettisoning to fall into the sea.<\/p>\n

The GEM 63 booster design is an evolution of the 60-inch GEM 60 motor built by Northrop Grumman for ULA\u2019s Delta 4 rocket family. There are no more Delta 4s left to fly that require the GEM 60 solid rocket booster.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman, through its predecessors ATK and Orbital ATK, also supplied smaller strap-on boosters for the now-retired Delta 2 and Delta 3 rocket families.<\/p>\n

The boosters give an extra push to rockets carrying heavier payloads into orbit, or missions that need to place satellites into high-altitude orbits. The Atlas 5 rocket can launch with any number of solid-fueled boosters between zero and five, depending on the requirements of each mission.<\/p>\n