A new US Air Force satellite was sent into space. This was with the help of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. This rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral on Thursday. The amazing impressive rocket has a height of 60 meters (or 197 feet). It is powered by a strong mighty RD-180 engine fueled with kerosene and a quintet of strap-on rocket boosters. The loud thunderous launch took place in the morning at 6.13 a.m. People that woke up early had a chance to see it as it traveled over Florida.
Atlas V (5) is the fifth major version in the Atlas rocket family. This expendable launch system was originally engineered by Lockheed Martin and is now operated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed and Boeing. Each Atlas V rocket consists of two main stages. The mass of Atlas 5 is 590,000 kg. The cost per launch is expensive. It was US$110 million in 2016. The first flight was on August 21, 2002. With a combined output of 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the Atlas 5 rocket raced through the sky as it carried a valuable payload: the fifth AEHF communications satellite (Advanced Extremely High Frequency). This will provide a secure and potent communications protocol for the military and government representatives.
A small investigation delayed the launch for 30 minutes. Experts investigated issues related to the GPS mounted in the rocket and the steering system for the first stage. The problems were fixed and the rocket launched. Some of the components released from the rocket fell into the Atlantic Ocean. The upper stage of the rocket released the first booster after four and a half minutes and a hydrogen-fueled engine offered enough power to propel the Lockheed Martin AEHF 5 satellite into the desired transfer orbit. Ground controllers could communicate the satellite. The mission was deemed to be a success.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled to carry Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule into space. This would be on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station.
ReplyDeleteThe 52.4-meter tall rocket is propelled by an RD-180 main engine and 2 solid rocket boosters. It is set for liftoff at Friday, Dec. 20. This would be from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad.
The important AEHF 5 mission will be the 81st flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the 2nd Atlas 5 launch of 2019.
The Starliner spacecraft is built and owned by Boeing. It is designed to carry up to 5 astronauts to the International Space Station in its initial configuration. NASA is paying Boeing approximately $5 billion to develop the Starliner vehicle.
The first Starliner launch will fly with no astronauts on-board. It’s good to verify the performance of the spacecraft’s systems.