{"id":13868,"date":"2018-04-14T19:45:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T11:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-afspc-11-mission\/"},"modified":"2018-04-14T19:45:29","modified_gmt":"2018-04-14T11:45:29","slug":"launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-afspc-11-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-afspc-11-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch timeline for Atlas 5\u2019s AFSPC 11 mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to loft three military satellites for the U.S. Air Force on a mission codenamed AFSPC 11. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a six-hour flight to a near-geostationary orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, is set for liftoff during a launch window Saturday that opens at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) and closes at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT Sunday).<\/p>\n<p>The AFSPC 11 mission will be the 77th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the third Atlas 5 launch of 2018.<\/p>\n<p>A military communications satellite named CBAS, or Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, is the forward payload in the Atlas 5\u2019s upper shroud. A spacecraft named EAGLE, which contains several military experiments including a separating subsatellite named Mycroft, is in the aft position inside the Atlas 5 payload fairing.<\/p>\n<p>The artist\u2019s concepts posted below show generic payload illustrations used on previous missions.<\/p>\n<p>Read our mission preview story for details on the launch.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mFbD3bOyNso?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31649\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31649\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31649\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_1.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_1-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31649\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After igniting its RD-180 main engine at T-minus 2.7 seconds, the Atlas 5 rocket fires its five solid rocket boosters and rises away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, with approximately 2.6 million pounds of thrust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:00:34.4: Mach 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31650\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31650\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31650\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_2.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_2-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31650\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 rocket exceeds the speed of sound, flying on a launch azimuth of 89.9 degrees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:00:45.9: Max-Q<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31651\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31651\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31651\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_3.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_3-300x139.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31651\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:01:47.0: Jettison SRBs<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31652\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31652\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31652\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_4.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_4-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31652\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Having burned out of propellant approximately 20 seconds earlier, the five spent Aerojet Rocketdyne-built solid rocket boosters are jettisoned once dynamic pressure conditions are satisfied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:03:31.0: Payload Fairing Jettison<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31653\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31653\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31653\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_5.jpg 675w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a5_timeline_5-300x173.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31653\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 rocket\u2019s payload fairing, made in Switzerland by Ruag Space, is jettisoned in a clamshell-like fashion once external heating levels drop below predetermined limits after climbing through the dense lower atmosphere. The Forward Load Reactor deck that connected the payload fairing\u2019s structure to the Centaur upper stage is released five seconds after the shroud\u2019s jettison.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:33.5: Main Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30828\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30828\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30828\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_beco.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_beco.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_beco-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_beco-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_beco-678x378.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30828\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:39.5: Stage Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30829\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30829\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30829\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_staging1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_staging1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_staging1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_staging1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_staging1-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:49.5: Centaur Ignition 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30830\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30830\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30830\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes1-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30830\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and the AFSPC 11 payloads into an initial parking orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:10:50.7: Centaur Cutoff 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30831\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30831\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30831\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco1-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco1-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco1-678x385.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a 12-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:22:57.4:<\/strong><strong> Centaur Ignition 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30832\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30832\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes2-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes2-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes2-678x387.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Producing 22,900 pounds of thrust, the Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the payload into a highly elliptical transfer orbit from the parking altitude achieved earlier in the launch sequence. This burn lasts nearly six minutes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:28:46.3: Centaur Cutoff 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30833\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30833\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30833\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco2-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco2-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco2-678x377.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30833\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The second Centaur firing places the AFSPC 11 payloads into an elliptical transfer orbit stretching more than 20,000 miles above Earth, beginning a five-hour coast period for the mission\u2019s final orbital adjustment maneuver.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+5:34:46.2: Centaur Ignition 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30834\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30834\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30834\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes3.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes3-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes3-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_mes3-678x385.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30834\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After a three-hour coast, the Centaur\u2019s RL10 engine reignites for a roughly two-and-a-half minute firing to raise the AFSPC 11 payloads\u2019 perigee, or orbital low point, and reduce its inclination to 0 degrees over the equator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+5:37:22.4: Centaur Cutoff 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30835\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30835\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30835\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco3.jpg 900w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco3-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco3-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/a5_meco3-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30835\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The powered phase of flight is concluded as the Centaur reaches the planned circular near-geostationary orbit at an altitude of approximately 24,233 miles (39,000 kilometers). The Centaur stage then begins re-orienting itself for deployment of the AFSPC 11 payloads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+6:57:24.3: Spacecraft Separation Window Closes<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31681\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31681\" style=\"width: 897px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31681\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/goes_s_sep_anim.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"897\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/goes_s_sep_anim.jpg 897w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/goes_s_sep_anim-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/goes_s_sep_anim-768x407.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/goes_s_sep_anim-678x359.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31681\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The window for deployment of the AFSPC 11 mission\u2019s two main payloads \u2014 the Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM satellite and the EAGLE spacecraft \u2014 closes and the Atlas 5 mission ends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to loft three military satellites for the U.S. Air Force on a mission codenamed AFSPC 11. This timeline shows the major mission events planned over a six-hour flight to a near-geostationary orbit. The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine and five solid rocket boosters, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[864,2976,1056,724,2977,1708,2978,2979],"class_list":["post-13868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aerojet-rocketdyne","tag-afspc-11","tag-air-force-research-laboratory","tag-atlas-5","tag-av-079","tag-complex-41","tag-continuous-broadcast-augmenting-satcom","tag-eagle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}