Lower than a month after the second of two deliberate certification launches, United Launch Alliance is getting a Vulcan rocket prepared for its first nationwide safety mission: United States Area Power 106 (USSF-106).
On Monday, ULA shared pictures of the 109.2-foot-long (33.3 m) booster being hoisted into the Vertical Integration Facility to start the stacking course of. Within the days and presumably weeks to return, the 38.5-foot-long (11.7 m) Centaur 5 higher stage shall be added together with 4 strong rocket boosters and the payload fairings.
The start of the rocket’s integration comes because the U.S. Area Power continues to evaluate information from the Cert-2 mission, which launched on Oct. 4 from Area Launch Advanced 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Area Power Station.
“You don’t must be licensed earlier than you begin all the actions which are concerned in getting a payload prepared and planning its mission and integrating it,” mentioned ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno throughout a media teleconference previous to the launch of Cert-2. “That work is already underway. We simply can’t fly it till we’re licensed and I’d say my buyer could be reluctant to bodily combine it to the rocket, stick it on the rocket till that’s completed both.”
Throughout an Oct. 14 look on the Worldwide Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, Bruno mentioned the problem that got here up with one of many strong rocket boosters (SRBs) in the course of the Cert-2 flight lower than a minute after liftoff.
The booster’s nozzle popped off, forcing the rocket to regulate the output from the Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines to compensate. He famous that the SRB in query continued to fireside, however with much less effectivity than regular, in keeping with Area Information.
“The web impact of that was lower than two p.c of the overall impulse of the booster,” Bruno mentioned.
Spaceflight Now reached out to ULA to see if, since Bruno made these feedback greater than every week in the past, the investigation into what brought about the problem has been resolved. We’ll replace the story as soon as we hear again.
Throughout his prelaunch remarks, Bruno mentioned the anticipated timeline to full certification shouldn’t be lengthy, if they’d a “very clear mission.” He mentioned in that situation, “it’s a brief variety of weeks to get all of it completed,” referring to the evaluation required for certification.
As a result of the Sierra Area Dream Chaser spaceplane wasn’t prepared in time for the Cert-2 launch, ULA accomplished that mission with an inert payload that included some experiments designed to collect information on the efficiency of the Centaur 5 higher stage.
The united states-106 mission will function the primary fully-government payload that ULA will fly on a Vulcan rocket. Whereas the Cert-1 launch that includes Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander was a part of NASA’s Business Lunar Payload Companies (CLPS) program and featured some NASA payloads, it was explicitly thought-about as a business mission.
However, with the profitable completion of the Cert-1 mission, NASA mentioned ULA can start providing up Vulcan for consideration for NASA missions beneath the NASA Launch Companies 2 (NLS-2) contract.
“The necessities for proposing on NLS-II activity orders are to be on the contract and have had one profitable flight,” mentioned Jorge Piquero, the Senior Technical Integration Supervisor for NASA’s Launch Companies Program (LSP), in an emailed assertion to Spaceflight Now. “Certification shouldn’t be required to bid, however shall be required by the point of the awarded mission’s launch.”
As for what the U.S. Area Power is on the lookout for via the certification course of to fly missions for the Nationwide Safety Area Launch (NSSL) program, the Area Programs Command’s (SSC) Assured Entry to Area (AATS) program workplace described its strategy as follows:
“The Authorities labored with business to collectively develop a certification plan that outlines a three-phase strategy with 25 totally different main classes that embody course of evaluation, design and qualification {hardware} and software program analysis, launch web site assessments, and verification and validation to satisfy USSF mission necessities for all mission orbits. The united states at present expects the completion of all Vulcan certification actions in 2024.”
Vulcan’s NSSL period
As soon as certification is full for the Vulcan rocket, there are two missions ULA hopes to launch earlier than the top of the 12 months. First as much as bat is USSF-106, which can then be adopted by USSF-87.
Again in January, in a joint assertion to Spaceflight Now, Col. Doug Pentecost, the SSC’s Deputy Program Government Officer for Assured Entry to Area, and Michael Sanjume, the senior materiel chief for Vulcan Programs and Operations, mentioned that the U.S.-106 mission could be a multi-manifest mission.
Onboard this primary flight of an authorized Vulcan rocket would be the Navigation Know-how Satellite tv for pc-3 (NTS-3) and one other undisclosed payload for the U.S. Area Power.
The NTS-3 spacecraft is predicated on Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar satellite tv for pc bus and was developed by L3Harris Applied sciences. As soon as on orbit, it is going to be managed by the Air Power Analysis Laboratory’s Transformational Capabilities Workplace.
The AFRL mentioned it options an agile positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) payload “to offer an area platform for AFRL and accomplice group experiments and built-in functionality demonstrations.” The spacecraft is designed to function for one 12 months in a near-geosynchronous orbit.
“NTS-3 builds on the legacy of NTS-1 and NTS-2, which have been launched within the 1970’s, and it’ll push the boundary of right this moment’s space-based place, navigation, and timing (PNT) expertise to pave the best way for a extra sturdy, resilient, and responsive structure for satellite tv for pc navigation (SATNAV) expertise,” the AFRL mentioned in a press release.
The satellite tv for pc serves as a backstop for the U.S. Area Power’s World Positioning System (GPS) by creating resiliency towards makes an attempt to jam or spoof GPS. The NTS-3 options a number of atomic clocks to permit for “computerized clock error detection and correction” for the reason that satellite tv for pc’s SATNAV is “critically depending on exact timekeeping.”
The AFRL mentioned there are three mutually-interdependent methods that tie into the NTS-3 demonstration mission:
- An area-based experimental satellite tv for pc
- Floor-based command and management system
- Agile software-defined consumer receivers (SDR)
“Finally, consumer tools is the place the impression of recent navigation applied sciences and built-in SATNAV capabilities are felt by our warfighters and any adjustments to the sign being broadcast from house should be communicated to and coordinated with the consumer section,” the AFRL wrote.
“NTS-3 will exhibit new SDR options and the flexibility to successfully carry out on-orbit reprogramming throughout system segments in the course of the experimental mission, together with varied sign modulations, transmitting information in numerous methods, and altering broadcast parameters on a pre-defined schedule.”
In response to L3Harris, the satellite tv for pc options 5 important parts:
- Energetic Electronically Steerable Phased Array (AESA)
- Agile Waveform Platform (AWP), consisting of Enhanced Sign Processors (ESP) and Floor Mission Purposes (GMA)
- Cion Antenna/Receiver, created in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Hosted Payload Processor (HP2)
- Modular, Scalable Bus-agnostic Payload
Whereas the precise worth of the mission is proprietary to ULA, in keeping with the authentic activity order award introduced in August 2020, the 2 mission awarded to ULA on the time (USSF-51 and USSF-106) had a mixed worth of $337 million.
Within the batter’s field
Following the U.S.-106 mission shall be USSF-87, which was initially scheduled to launch within the fourth quarter of FY23, in keeping with the SSC’s authentic announcement of its project to ULA in March 2021.
As first reported by Aviation Week, the payload for this mission is anticipated to be a pair of satellites for the Geosynchronous Area Situational Consciousness Program (GSSAP).
“GSSAP satellites acquire house situational consciousness information permitting for extra correct monitoring and characterization of artificial orbiting objects,” in keeping with the U.S. Area Power. “From a near-geosynchronous orbit, it has a transparent, unobstructed and distinct vantage level for viewing Resident Area Objects (RSOs) with out the interruption of climate or the atmospheric distortion that may restrict ground-based methods.”
The primary pair of those satellites was launched from Cape Canaveral greater than a decade in the past on July 28, 2014, and achieved operational functionality standing on Sept. 29, 2015. Since then there have been two extra launches of satellite tv for pc pairs in 2016 and 2022.
An Aug. 2023 press launch from the U.S. Area Power’s Area Operations Command (SpOC) introduced that two extra launches have been scheduled for 2024 and 2027.
“The capabilities offered by GSSAP help security and allow avoidance as we function in house,” mentioned Mr. Mike Anthony, Area Operations Command Mission Space Crew Chief, within the launch. “Area is important to our safety and prosperity and is a part of our on a regular basis life. Our capacity to function safely and successfully shouldn’t be solely integral to international pursuits however can be important to nationwide protection.”
Competing with SpaceX
Whereas all 50 missions within the NSSL Part 2 already awarded between ULA and SpaceX, the competitors for launches beneath the brand new NSSL Part 3 is now underway. The duty orders are break up into two important buckets: Lane 1 and Lane 2.
NSSL Part 3 Lane 2 activity orders shall be partitioned equally to Part 2, wherein about 60 p.c will go to 1 launch supplier, 40 p.c to a different and 7 missions shall be put aside for a 3rd entrant. The awardees shall be those that are in a position to ship payloads to any orbital regime required by the U.S. Area Power and/or the Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace.
Lane 1 in the meantime will see activity order awards issued yearly, which is designed to permit for extra sturdy and common competitors to assist diversify the launch market. Nevertheless, the primary 12 months activity order was introduced final week with all 9 missions going to SpaceX.
These launch service activity orders (LSTOs) have a complete worth of about $733.6 million. Seven of the missions will help the launch of the Area Growth Company’s (SDA) house automobiles as a part of its Tranche 2 Transport Layer satellite tv for pc constellation.
4 of these launches will raise off from Vandenberg Area Power Base and the opposite three will launch from Cape Canaveral Area Power Station.
There can even be a pair of missions for the NRO, which can launch within the fourth quarters of FY25 and FY26.
Previous to the announcement and the launch of Cert-2, Bruno mentioned he was optimistic in how ULA will truthful relating to the project of the Part 3 missions. He mentioned as a result of they designed the Vulcan rocket to be optimized for missions launching to excessive vitality orbits, like direct injection into geosynchronous, which requires a multi-hour higher stage coast, that they are going to be aggressive.
“We have now optimized round that prime vitality orbit and there’s an terrible lot of missions in Part 3 which are of that nature,” Bruno mentioned. “So, that helps us really feel like we’re in an excellent, aggressive place, together with numerous different issues.”
Bruno additionally pointed to the ramp up of launching Vulcan to a fee of 25 instances or extra per 12 months throughout 2025.
“We’re excited to kick off our revolutionary NSSL Part 3 Lane 1 effort with two activity orders that help vital NRO and SDA missions,” mentioned Lt. Col. Douglas Downs, SSC’s materiel chief for Area Launch Procurement, in a press release. “Trade stepped as much as the plate and delivered on this competitors. Our revolutionary dual-lane technique is enabling a streamlined course of from mission acquisition to launch, getting our belongings on orbit for our warfighters’ profit extra shortly. Plus, with the flexibility to on-ramp new suppliers and methods yearly, we count on to see rising competitors and variety.”
Area Programs Command mentioned that there shall be not less than 30 NSSL Part 3 Lane 1 missions up for award over the course of the five-year base ordering interval. It added that the chance to obtain launches will proceed within the not too distant future, stating that “The following alternative for suppliers to on-ramp their rising methods to the Lane 1 IDIQ contract will happen later this 12 months adopted by a number of extra Job Order RFPs for launch companies within the third quarter of FY25.”
