by United Launch Alliance has removed its first operational Vulcan Rocket Tuesday, stimulating two military satellites in the room in the first US Space Force-Gesanctional flight from a new launcher that will eventually replace the Atlas 5 of the company and the already retired deltas.
Equipped with four permanent stake boosters for extra starting power, the two with methane felt BE-4 engines of the 198 feet high Vulcan thunder at 20:56 EDT, immediately the rocket away from Pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Rocket, who makes his first flight for the American space troubles, climbs majestically away from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to start a military mission with a high priority. / Credit: United Launch Alliance
Bows over the Atlantic Ocean on an eastern route, the Vulcan set up a spectacular celestial light show while it roared up on top almost 3 million pounds of thrust and a beam brilliant exhaust that is visible for kilometers kilometers.
The four strap-on boosters were thrown away about 90 seconds after the launch, three and a half minutes later followed by burnout and separation of the first phase of the Vulcan of 109 feet high first phase.
The two hydrogen-driven aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engines of the Centaur Second phase have taken over from there, but in accordance with the standard policy for military missions, ULA ended the launch commentary at that time and the rest of the flight was secretly performed.
It was believed that at least two satellites are on board: one fully classified spacecraft and an experimental satellite that will perform tests of upgraded atomic bells and navigation technology that can lead to more accurate, Jam-proof worldwide positioning system for military and commercial users.
Both satellites were on their way to Geosynchronous course 22,300 miles above the equator, where spacecraft lasts 24 hours to complete one job, making it idle in the air.
The impression of an artist from the NTS-3 experimental navigation technology satellite. / Credit: Air Force Research Laboratory
GPS satellites work in 12,500 miles high jobs, but navigation technology satellite 3, or NTS-3, will work from his much higher bass using an advanced phased Array antenna that can lead electronically direct signals to recipients in multiple locations in broad regions.
The NTS-3 antenna. / Credit: Air Force Research Laboratory
It is the first experimental navigation satellite of the Pentagon, because GPS for walkers were launched in the 1970s. Together with the NTS-3 satellite, designed and built by L3HARRIS Technologies, the program includes a operating system and recipients based on the ground by software that makes quickly reprogramming possible for upgrades or to use different signals.
“GPS is such an integral part of our lives today,” says Joanna Hinks, a senior space engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory on Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. “You probably use it all in a way that you didn’t even realize your morning.
“And with NTS-3 we will experiment with a number of different technologies that look at how we can continue to evolve and expand GPS to ensure that it remains the gold standard that our war fighters need.”
While the main goal of the flight launches the USSF-106-Payloads, the launch marked an important milestone for United Launch Alliance.
It was the third launch of the powerful new Vulcan after two test flights last year and the first to “certified” by the Space Force to wear expensive satellites of national security and other expensive military spacecraft.
The United Launch Alliance Vulcan Rocket on the road 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during pre-launch preparations. / Credit: SpaceFlight now
“This mission is directly on the way to the Geosynchronous job and will be one of our longest missions so far,” said Gary Wentz, ULA Vice President of Government and Commercial Programs. “This is the only purpose of this vehicle. It is deliberately designed to support these missions that directly inject to Geo for the Space Force.”
The Vulcan replaces ULAs already retired Delta family from missiles and the venerable Atlas 5, which is powered by a Russian-built RD-180 First phase engine. Criticism of the use of ULA’s use of Russian engines for launches of American military satellites and NASA spacecraft helped to feed the congress pressure for a new all-American launcher.
Thirteen Atlas 5s are left in the inventory of ULA, they are all planned for civil launches such as UA, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, goes to an all-Vulcan fleet.
In the meantime, SpaceX dominates the world launch market with its partially reusable and very successful kerosene-driven Falcon 9 and Triple-Core Falcon Heavy Rockets. So far, SpaceX has launched 97 Falcon 9s this year.
But ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said the first phase of the Vulcan, using powerful BE-4 engines of Blue Origin ownership of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos-en de High-Power-Bovenste phase make the rocket particularly suitable for launching serious military payloads.
“It is specifically designed for these exotic jobs that are mainly for the government,” he said. “And this specific mission is the typical example. It is a direct injection with Geosynchronous job. That means it is a very, very long -term mission.”
He said that the first phase in fact delivers the centaur to space with a full load of floating gas “to go from Leo (low-earth track) to somewhere else, such as all the way to the geo-belt, which is 20 times higher. And what that translates into capacity (is) certainly more mass and accuracy than easily done by others.”
Although he did not mention SpaceX or his Falcon Heavy by name, or Ula’s retired Delta 4 Heavy, Bruno said: “If you are a typical three-core heavy launch vehicle and … really derived from a vehicle that is optimized for that Leo-Mission, you have to spend three cores, and you will have to spend them all.
“And here is the really complicated rocket science. You know, one core is cheaper and more efficient than three replaceable cores. It is literally that simple.”
The fact that, in combination with the High-Energy Centaur-above stage, ULA gives the possibility to launch heavy loads directly to high courses without satellites having to use their own bow and limited floating gas-underway.
ULA expands its ground infrastructure and expects to launch nine flights in 2025 and reach a cadence of two a month by the end of the year. The company expects to launch between 20 and 25 flights in 2026.
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