{"id":37937,"date":"2019-08-15T17:06:05","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T09:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/eastern-range-updates-drive-to-48-launches-per-year-status\/"},"modified":"2019-08-15T17:06:05","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T09:06:05","slug":"eastern-range-updates-drive-to-48-launches-per-year-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/eastern-range-updates-drive-to-48-launches-per-year-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Range updates \u2018Drive to 48\u2019 launches per year status"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Just one week after launching a SpaceX Falcon 9 and a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in less than 35 hours of each other, the 45th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force has provided an update to their goal of supporting a significantly increased launch rate from the Florida spaceport \u2013 with a prime focus on how safety and support play key roles in this initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Part of this drive is the pending requirement that all launch vehicles have Autonomous Flight Termination Systems by 2023 \u2013 including NASA\u2019s forthcoming SLS rocket.<\/p>\n<p><b>Launching once a week on average:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The overall goal of the 45th Space Wing to drive to a capability of supporting at least 48 launches a year was considered a stretch goal a few years back.<\/p>\n<p>Now, that capability is here, with the Range demonstrating last week how they can support rapid turnaround of assets for two launches from the Florida spaceport in a short period of time.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters Thursday, Col. Mark Shoemaker, Commander of the 45th Operations Group, related that \u201cone a week is the average we\u2019re aiming for.&nbsp; Obviously, we might have situations like last week where we do two in 35 hours, and then maybe the next week \u2013 like right now \u2013 we have none.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"AMOS-17 MISSION\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZh82-WcCuo?start=1174&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Col. Shoemaker noted that with next week\u2019s pending Delta IV Medium+ launch, the Eastern Range and 45th Space Wing will have supported four launches in four weeks \u2013 hitting their \u201cone per week\u201d average in the overall goal to drive to 48 launches a year.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by NASASpaceflight of SpaceX\u2019s goal of launching up to 100 times a year from Florida as put forth in their environmental assessment for Starship construction at LC-39A, Col. Shoemaker said, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we can\u2019t support that.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Space tourism guides<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Space Technology<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Spaceflight history books<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA few years ago, 48 [launches a year] was the stretch goal.&nbsp; We haven\u2019t experienced that yet, so to say we can\u2019t do that? I wouldn\u2019t say that.&nbsp; It depends on the missions, and we\u2019re working with the community to make sure we can launch [when needed].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But underlying the anticipated launch rate is the utmost adherence for safety to land, sea, air, and people.&nbsp; Those are the first and foremost components to supporting any operation that occurs on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, a critical component of the \u201cDrive to 48\u201d is maintaining the strict safety standards mandated by the government and diligently upheld by the 45th Space Wing while increasing the launch rate.<\/p>\n<p>And almost all of that work takes place well in advance of launch day.<\/p>\n<p>Enter Paul Rosati, Launch Safety Chief for the 45th Space Wing and the Eastern Range.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62629\" class=\"size-full wp-image-62629\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1431\" height=\"949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467.jpg 1431w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-528x350.jpg 528w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-1170x776.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-780x516.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/NSF-2019-08-08-11-35-56-467-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1431px) 100vw, 1431px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-62629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Atlas V launches 35 hours after the Falcon 9 in a stunningly gorgeous pre-dawn liftoff. (Credit: Mike Deep for NSF)<\/p>\n<p>He and his team are responsible for developing each mission\u2019s specific flight rules and trajectory boundaries as well as assessing day-of launch weather to determine each mission\u2019s day-of Blast Danger Area (BDA).<\/p>\n<p>The BDA is the area of the Cape where no personnel are allowed during launch for safety reasons in the event of a launch failure that scatters debris and toxic matter.<\/p>\n<p>Each rocket\u2019s BDA can fluctuate on launch day based on ground winds, and Mr. Rosati\u2019s team is responsible for overseeing those \u2013 as well as numerous other \u2013 aspects.<\/p>\n<p>Those other aspects include all of the pre-mission planning that must take place for safety regulations \u2013 including building the mission-specific data loads that are turned over to each launch provider and uploaded to the vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>For SpaceX, this includes building the trajectory boundaries that the AFTS (Autonomous Flight Termination System) logic uses to know when to destruct a Falcon 9 if it flies off course.<\/p>\n<p>They are also the trajectory boundaries that the manual FSS operators use for Atlas V and Delta IV rockets to know when to manually flip the destruct command switches in the event one of those rockets flies off course.<\/p>\n<p>And the difference between those two systems \u2013 automated and manual \u2013 is striking from a time perspective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn AFTS, or the AFSS (Autonomous Flight Safety System) as we call it, saves 50% of the time and cost compared to manual systems,\u201d stated Mr. Rosati.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62780\" class=\"size-full wp-image-62780\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/image.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-62780\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Range Operations Support for the 45th Space Wing. (Credit: Chris Gebhardt)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose AFSS parameters are uploaded to the vehicle\u2019s black box, and we have a very high degree of confidence in that because it\u2019s all hands-off for us during an AFSS launch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But AFSS isn\u2019t the most time-critical element in the \u201cDrive to 48\u201d.&nbsp; As Mr. Rosati elaborated, the Range\u2019s ability to support an increased flight rate heavily relies on the new, upgraded computers, equipment, and software the Range bought.<\/p>\n<p>This is most strikingly seen in the Risk Analysis that must go into all launches.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to this equipment\/software improvement, it would take Mr. Rosati and his team 60 days to perform all the needed Risk Analyses for each mission \u2013 including BDA determination as well as air and sea space safety closure zones.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it takes his team just 30 days to perform those same assessments.<\/p>\n<p>The new software\/equipment has also allowed his team to create \u201cstandard packages\u201d for each Range user \u2013 meaning that SpaceX has their standard packages and ULA has their own that are pre-determined and then applied to specific missions.<\/p>\n<p>This is important because Mr. Rosati and his team no longer have to start from scratch for each mission; they can use pre-made packages of information that don\u2019t change from Falcon 9 to Falcon 9 mission or Atlas V to Atlas V flight.<\/p>\n<p>Moreso, Mr. Rosati and his team have also been able to create flight trajectory templates for the various launch corridors that are routinely used \u2013 such as due east missions and ISS northeast azimuth launches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a vehicle\u2019s flying east in the same configuration [over and over again], they\u2019re flying in corridors.&nbsp; We now no longer have to make those over and over again. We take those missions that come in, check that they fit in the [east] template \u2013 that they\u2019re not going to hit destruct lines on those templates \u2013 and if they aren\u2019t, we say \u2018you can go ahead and fly this mission on this template.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62781\" class=\"size-full wp-image-62781\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/image-copy.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-62781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Monitoring not just Cape land, but the sea and air space around the space center. (Credit: Chris Gebhardt)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that cuts out almost half our pre-mission lead time by going to templating,\u201d related Mr.&nbsp; Rosati.<\/p>\n<p>But the Risk Analysis is just one part of the overall \u201cDrive to 48\u201d.&nbsp; The AFTS and AFSS do play major support staff roles in increasing the Range\u2019s rapid turnaround ability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith AFSS, we no longer have someone sitting on a console ready to press a button.&nbsp; We no longer have to configure all that ground equipment. That saves a lot of time,\u201d said Mr. Rosati.<\/p>\n<p>To this end, Mr. Rosati revealed that the Eastern Range has implemented a new requirement that all Range users have AFTS or AFSS on their rockets by 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon family of rockets already have that, and new entries like Vulcan from United Launch Alliance and New Glenn from Blue Origin will have AFSS built into their designs.<\/p>\n<p>NASA, on the other hand, will have to add this capability to their SLS rocket, and Mr. Rosati said NASA is tracking that debut for the Artemis 3 mission in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>When asked what happens if a Range user is unable to meet that deadline, Mr. Rosati said that the user will be charged to use the manual Flight Safety Systems.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey won\u2019t be prevented from launching, but they will have to pay for the manual systems themselves.&nbsp; That will no longer be offered free of charge,\u201d related Mr. Rosati.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just one week after launching a SpaceX Falcon 9 and a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in less than 35 hours of each other, the 45th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force has provided an update to their goal of supporting a significantly increased launch rate from the Florida spaceport \u2013 with a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37938,"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":[7841,7871,8019,7766,8297,675,728],"class_list":["post-37937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-39a","tag-39b","tag-cape","tag-ksc","tag-slc-37b","tag-slc-40","tag-slc-41"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37937"}],"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=37937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}