Space Shuttles For Hubble Mission, Standby, Unharmed By Storm; Shuttle Atlantis Still Set For Liftoff At 1:34 A.M. ET Oct. 8

Tropical Storm Fay, despite its drenching deluge that flooded Florida communities, caused no damage to Space Shuttle Atlantis and the new gear it will carry to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope.

Liftoff for Atlantis still is set for a window opening at 1:34 a.m. ET Oct. 8.

Further, no damage was seen on Space Shuttle Discovery, which will remain behind at Kennedy Space Center KSC, poised on a launch pad in case Atlantis encounters trouble in orbit.

While a space shuttle usually heads to the International Space Station, and can use the station as a life raft if shuttle trouble develops, Atlantis instead will be going to the Hubble to perform a repair and refurbishment upgrade.

The storm forced the closing of KSC for several days last week, when Fay came to a halt off the Florida coast, continuing to pound the state with torrential rains.

Some facilities did sustain minor damage. Most reports are of water intrusion that will require mopping up.

GeoEye Sees Space Imagery Satellite Launch On Sept. 4 From Vandenberg

GeoEye, Inc. [GEOY] will launch the GeoEye-1 satellite next week, on Sept. 4, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the company announced.

That new launch date was set after an earlier plan to launch on Aug. 22 had to be deferred because of a problem. (Please see Space & Missile Defense Report, Monday, Aug. 18, 2008.)

United Launch Alliance (ULA), providing the lifter, initiated the delay because a telemetry data aircraft became unavailable.

ULA required the added time to support receipt of down-range telemetry from the Delta II booster rocket after launch and initial flight from Vandenberg.

The Air Force 30th Space Wing approved the launch delay.

ULA is a joint venture of The Boeing Co. [BA] and Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT].

Proton Breeze M Lifter Orbits Inmarsat-4 F3 Satellite

An Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite was lofted into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by a Proton Breeze M rocket, International Launch Services announced.

The Proton, built by Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, embarked on a 9-hour-3-minute mission. Then the launcher released the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The Inmarsat-4 F3 satellite, a Eurostar 3000GM model built by EADS Astrium, is expected to go into service at 98 degrees West longitude, where it will deliver mobile broadband services over the United States for Inmarsat of London.

AARGM Fired Against Target, Leading Up To Low Rate Initial Production Decision

An AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) was fired at a target, leading up to a low-rate initial production decision on the program, Alliant Techsystems Inc. [ATK] announced.

The test at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake was the second and final live-fire launch needed to support a Milestone C Decision and entry into Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), ATK stated.

Launched from an F/A-18D Hornet strike fighter aircraft, the AARGM detected, identified, located, and guided toward the emitter target using its anti-radiation homing (ARH) receiver, the company reported.

After target radar emissions were purposely shut-down during the flight, AARGM utilized its GPS/INS to guide to the final ARH cue and then employed active millimeter wave (MMW) radar tracking for terminal guidance against the shut-down air defense site. This firing was the fourth of eight planned developmental and the final missile live-fire event leading to a Milestone C LRIP decision for AARGM.

"This result brings us one step closer to delivering an affordable and precise Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability to the U.S., Italian and other allied forces through the upgrade of legacy HARM weapons," Jack Cronin, president of ATK Mission Systems, said.

ATK participated in the test in partnership with the Navy Integrated Test Team, led by the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program Office (PMA-242). The team also includes members from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division — China Lake, the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Md. and the Italian Air Force.

With this firing, AARGM has achieved eleven live fires and numerous captive carry flights against a wide array of targets.

When fielded in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010, AARGM will be the only extended range tactical supersonic multi-role strike weapon in the U.S. and Italian inventory.

AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile that will be integrated on the F/A-18C/D Hornets, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and the Tornado ECR aircraft.

The missile is also designed for compatibility with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (Lightning II), the EA-6B Prowler and U.S. and the Allied F-16 Falcon aircraft. Its advanced multi-sensor system, including an MMW terminal seeker, advanced digital ARH receiver and a GPS/INS, is capable of rapidly engaging traditional and advanced enemy air defense targets as well as non-radar time-sensitive strike targets.

The AARGM MMW seeker can operate in concert with the ARH to counter RF shutdown tactics, or in a stand-alone mode to guide to non-emitting time sensitive targets. AARGM is a network-enabled weapon that will directly receive tactical intelligence information via an embedded receiver and transmits real-time Weapon Impact Assessment (WIA) reports prior to impact. AARGM, the successor to the Navy AGM-88 HARM system, is a U.S. and Italian international cooperative major acquisition program with the Navy as the executive agent.

NASA’s Shuttle and Rocket Missions

Updated — August 22, 2008 – 12:30 p.m. EDT

Legend: + Targeted For | *No Earlier Than (Tentative) | **To Be Determined

2008 Launches

Date: October +

Mission: TacSat-3

Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Minotaur Rocket

Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility – Goddard Space Flight Center

Description: NASA will support the Air Force launch of the TacSat-3 satellite, managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate. TacSat-3 will demonstrate the capability to furnish real-time data to the combatant commander. NASA Ames will fly a microsat and NASA Wallops will fly the CubeSats on this flight in addition to providing the launch range.

Date: Oct. 5

Mission: IBEX

Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL Rocket

Launch Site: Reagan Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll

Launch Window: 12:41 to 12:48 p.m. EDT

Description: IBEX’s science objective is to discover the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium and will achieve this objective by taking a set of global energetic neutral atom images that will answer four fundamental science questions.

Date: Oct. 8 +

Mission: STS-125

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A

Launch Time: 1:34 a.m. EDT

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility

Landing Date and Time: Oct. 18 – 9:37 p.m. EDT +

Description: Space Shuttle Atlantis will fly seven astronauts into space for the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During the 11-day flight, the crew will repair and improve the observatory’s capabilities through 2013.

Date: Nov. 10 +

Mission: STS-126

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Launch Time: 9:31 p.m. EST

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility

Landing Date and Time: Nov. 25 – 3:55 p.m. EST +

Description: Space Shuttle Endeavour launching on assembly flight ULF2, will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the International Space Station.

Date: Nov. 20 *

Mission: STSS Demonstrators Program – Missile Defense Agency

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Launch Complex 17, Pad A

Description: STSS Demonstrators Program is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator and is part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors and interceptors. To be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency.

Date: Dec. 16 *

Mission: GOES-O

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta IV

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Launch Complex 37

Description: NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are actively engaged in a cooperative program, the multi-mission Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series N-P. This series will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations, and science.

2009 Launches

Date: 2009

Mission: Ares I-X Test Flight

Launch Vehicle: Ares I-X

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39B

Description: The Ares I-X test flight is NASA’s first test flight for the Agency’s new Constellation launch vehicle — Ares I. The Ares I-X flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Date: Jan. 15

Mission: OCO

Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC 576-E

Description: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is a new Earth orbiting mission sponsored by NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program.

Date: Feb. 4

Mission: NOAA-N Prime

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC-2

Description: NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting satellite developed by NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA uses two satellites, a morning and afternoon satellite, to ensure every part of the Earth is observed at least twice every 12 hours. NOAA-N will collect information about Earth’s atmosphere and environment to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe.

Date: Feb. 12 +

Mission: STS-119

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Discovery launching on assembly flight 15A, will deliver the fourth starboard truss segment to the International Space Station.

Date: Feb. 27 *

Mission: LRO/LCROSS

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Launch Complex 41

Description: LRO will launch with the objectives to finding safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology. The Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite mission is seeking a definitive answer about the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at either the Moon’s North or South Pole.

Date: April 10

Mission: Kepler

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Launch Complex 17 – Pad 17-B

Description: The Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery mission, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone.

Date: April 30

Mission: STSS ATRR – Missile Defense Agency

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC-2

Description: STSS ATRR serves as a pathfinder for future launch and mission technology for the Missile Defense Agency. To be launched by NASA for the MDA.

Date: May 15 +

Mission: STS-127

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the exposed facility of Japan’s Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.

Date: June 15

Mission: Glory

Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base – Launch Pad SLC 576-E

Description: The Glory Mission will help increase our understanding of the Earth’s energy balance by collecting data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere and how the Sun’s irradiance affects the Earth’s climate.

Date: July 30 +

Mission: STS-128

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Atlantis will use a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to carry experiment and storage racks to the International Space Station.

Date: Sept. 15 *

Mission: Mars Science Laboratory

Description: The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life and to determine the planet’s habitability.

Date: Oct. 15 +

Mission: STS-129

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Discovery will deliver components including two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station’s robotic arm to the International Space Station.

Date: November +

Mission: WISE

Description: The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) will survey the entire sky in the mid-infrared with far greater sensitivity than any previous mission or program ever has. The WISE survey will consist of over a million images, from which hundreds of millions of astronomical objects will be catalogued.

Date: Dec. 10 +

Mission: STS-130

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the International Space Station.

2010 Launches

Date: Jan. 26

Mission: SDO

Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station – Launch Complex 41

Description: The first Space Weather Research Network mission in the Living With a Star (LWS) Program of NASA.

Date: Feb. 11 +

Mission: STS-131

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Atlantis will carry a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the International Space Station.

Date: April 8 +

Mission: STS-132

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Discovery mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module.

Date: May 31 +

Mission: STS-133

Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center – Launch Pad 39A

Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver critical spare components including antennas and gas tanks to the International Space Station.

Source: NASA