For space explorers
For space explorers
Two major military space and intelligence operations vital to U.S. national security and future combat operations are underway this week. Continue reading
The fifth and final 7.5-ton Lockheed Martin/NAVY Mobile User Objective System satellite (MUOS-5) is headed toward geosynchronous orbit following a spectacularly thunderous launch on June 24 from Cape Canaveral onboard ULA’s most powerful version of the Atlas-V rocket.
With the final MOUS satellite moving into place we have “launched the future” of all military communications, said the NAVY. Continue reading
The most powerful version of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V fleet is set for liftoff on 2.5 million lbs thrust June 24 from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 41, carrying the last of five Lockheed Martin /Navy Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) communications spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Continue reading
Being grounded for the last several months due to an investigation into an engine anomaly on the OA-6 launch, ULA’s workhorse Atlas-V booster is ready to return to flight later this month, tasked with delivering a 7.5-ton NAVY satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. Requiring the full potential of the Atlas-V, with five strap-on motors, MUOS-5 will roar to space from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral AFS as soon as next Friday, following a Senate deal this week on the future of the booster’s controversial RD-180 engine.
Liftoff is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT June 24; the launch window extends to 11:14 a.m EDT. Continue reading
The fourth in a Lockheed Martin-built five-ship fleet for a next-generation, narrowband tactical military satellite communications system was officially accepted by the U.S. Navy this week, following successful completion of the satellite’s on-orbit testing. Launched on Sep. 2, the 7.5-ton Mobile User Objective System-4 (MUOS-4) satellite extends a new, $7 billion secure military communications network (MUOS) for U.S. military forces on the move, expanding the network’s coverage now around nearly the entire planet.
With on-orbit testing now complete the satellite is ready to relocate to its 22,000-mile-high on-orbit operational slot in preparation for operational acceptance next spring. Continue reading
A Russian RD-180-powered United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V 551 rocket successfully launched the 7.5-ton Lockheed Martin/Navy Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 4) satcom into geosynchronous transfer orbit early today. The launch success comes as the Pentagon and Congress grow increasingly alarmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin could halt deliveries of RD-180 engines before the U.S. can field a replacement, around 2021.
“The threats are real,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, told the Senate Armed Services strategic subcommittee. The RD-180 situation is “disgraceful,” said full committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona).
In spite of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ULA is being allowed to procure an additional 18 RD-180s to carry Atlas-V operations to about 2021, by when SpaceX, ULA’s new Vulcan rocket, and perhaps other competitors can assure competition and heavy satellite access to space. Continue reading
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket is poised to fire the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-4) satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., as early as Wednesday, Sept. 2, following a delay from Aug. 31 due to hazardous weather from defunct tropical storm Erika.
The 200-plus-foot-tall rocket was rolled from its Vertical Integration Facility to nearby Launch Pad-41 shortly after 8:30 a.m. EDT this morning. Liftoff is targeted for 5:59 a.m. EDT Wednesday, at the opening of a 44-minute launch window extending to 6:43 a.m. EDT. Continue reading
The fourth in a Lockheed Martin-built, five-ship fleet for a next-generation, narrowband tactical military satellite communications system is now stacked atop its 206-foot-tall United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket for an early morning twilight liftoff attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. next Monday.
The U.S. Navy’s flight-ready 15,000 pound Mobile User Objective System-4 (MUOS-4) satellite, encapsulated in its 5.4-meter (17.7-foot) bullet-like payload fairing, was transported from Astrotech Space Operations (where it had undergone final testing and preparations for flight) to the Atlas Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) on the morning of Aug. 19. Continue reading
The fourth in a Lockheed Martin-built, five-ship fleet for a next-generation, narrowband tactical military satellite communications system has been encapsulated in its 5.4-meter (17.7-foot), bullet-like payload fairing for an early morning nighttime liftoff atop a 206-foot-tall United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station later this month.
The U.S. Navy’s 7.5-ton Mobile User Objective System-4 (MUOS-4) arrived in Florida on June 28 onboard a C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft via Lockheed’s Sunnyvale, Calif., facility and nearby Moffett Federal Airfield, courtesy of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base. Continue reading
The fourth in a Lockheed Martin-built, five-ship fleet for a next-generation, narrowband tactical military satellite communications system has arrived in Florida for its August launch. The U.S. NAVY’s 7.5-ton Mobile User Objective System-4 (MUOS-4) arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft via Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, Calif., facility and nearby Moffett Federal Airfield on June 28, courtesy of the 60th Air Mobility Wing of Travis Air Force Base.
“MUOS allows troops all over the world to talk, text and share mission data seamlessly, while traveling, like a cellular network, without having to worry about where they are in relation to a satellite,” said Iris Bombelyn, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for narrowband communications. “MUOS-4 will complete our near global coverage, reaching further north and south toward the poles than ever before.” Continue reading
The third in a Lockheed Martin-built five-ship fleet for a next-generation, narrowband tactical military satellite communications system was officially accepted by the U.S. Navy this week, following successful completion of the satellite’s on-orbit testing. Launched on Jan. 20, the 7.5-ton Mobile User Objective System-3 (MUOS-3) extends a new, secure military communications network (MUOS) for U.S. military forces on the move, expanding the network’s coverage now over more than three-quarters of the planet, and now the satellite is ready to go operational.
“MUOS is a game-changer in communications for every branch of our military, which all have mobile users who will benefit from these new capabilities,” said Iris Bombelyn, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for narrowband communications. “This latest satellite will expand the MUOS network’s coverage over more than three-quarters of the globe, including significantly more coverage north and south than the current legacy voice-only system.” Continue reading
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully begun the delivery of one of its largest and heaviest payloads—the latest member of the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) constellation of next-generation narrowband tactical satellites—on a journey into geostationary transfer orbit, with an eventual apogee of 22,240 miles (35,790 km). Liftoff of the 206-foot-tall (62.8-meter) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., occurred at 8:04 p.m. EST Tuesday, 20 January, about 21 minutes into the 44-minute “window.” The launch was slightly delayed, due to Eastern Range command interference issues and high-level winds, both of which were subsequently cleared. Powered uphill by the Russian-built RD-180 engine of its core stage and supplemented by five strap-on, solid-fueled boosters, this was only the fifth occasion in the Atlas V’s 13-year history that it has flown in its most powerful “551” configuration. Orbital insertion of the MUOS-3 payload was expected a little under three hours into the mission. Continue reading