[SatNews] Mission Dress Rehearsal was completed today, Monday and everything is progressing toward the GPS IIF-9 launch for the United States Air Force. The mission is set to liftoff on a ULA Delta IV rocket on Wednesday, March 25 from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Today’s L-2 forecast continues to show an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. The 18-minute launch window opens at 2:36 p.m. EDT.
Weather Forecast
Launch day overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20 percent
Primary concern(s): Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Clouds24-hour delay overall probability of violating weather constraints: 30 percentPrimary concern(s): Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Clouds
LAUNCH – MARCH 25, 2015
BARS AND TONE – 1:36 P.M.
PROGRAM START – 2:06 P.M.
LAUNCH WINDOW – 2:36 – 2:54 P.M.
TRANSMISSION FOR DIGITAL HIGH DEFINITON
SATELLITE: SES 2
TRANSPONDER: 21
BAND: C-Band Digital
ORBITAL POSITION: 87 degrees west
CARRIER: SES Americom
HD BANDWIDTH: 18 MHz (half transponder ‘AB’)
DOWNLINK FREQ: 4111 MHz (Horizontal)
UPLINK FREQ: 6336 MHz (Vertical)
SYMBOL RATE: 13
FEC: ¾
DATA RATE: 17.9705
DVBS-QPSK
MPEG-2
AUDIO EMBEDDED
Web cast is available at http://www.ulalaunch.com
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) will deliver the GPS IIF-9 satellite to semi-synchronous circular orbit. Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of satellites that provides navigation data to military and civilian users worldwide. The system is operated and controlled by the 50th Space Wing, located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
Jim Sponnick, VP, Atlas and Delta Programs said, "The ULA team is proud to be the launch provider for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Global Positioning System (GPS) Directorate by delivering replenishment satellites aboard Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. GPS IIF-9 is one of the next generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users."
GPS utilizes 24 satellites, in six different planes, with a minimum of four satellites per plane, positioned in orbit approximately 11,000 miles
above the Earth’s surface. The satellites continuously transmit digital radio signals pertaining to the exact time (using atomic clocks) and exact location of the satellites. The GPS IIF series have a design life of 12 years. With the proper equipment, users can receive these signals to calculate time, location, and velocity. The signals are so accurate that time can be measured to within a millionth of a second, velocity within a fraction of a mile per hour, and location to within feet. Receivers have been developed for use in aircraft, ships, land vehicles, and to hand carry.
The ULA team is focused on attaining Perfect Product Delivery for the GPS IIF-9 mission, which includes a relentless focus on mission suc- cess (the perfect product) and also excellence and continuous improvement in meeting all of the needs of our customers (the perfect delivery).
As a result of increased civil and commercial use as well as experience in military operations, the USAF has added the following capabilities and technologies to the GPS IIF series to sustain the space and control segments while improving mission performance:
- Two times greater predicted signal accuracy than heritage satellites.
- New L5 signals for more robust civil and commercial aviation.
- An on-orbit, reprogrammable processor, receiving software uploads for improved system operation.
- Military signal “M-code” and variable power for better resistance to jamming hostile environments, meeting the needs of emerging doctrines of navigation warfare
