Jacques van Oene
March 22nd 05, 09:49 AM
LOCKHEED MARTIN'S FIRST ATLAS V ROCKET STACKED VERTICALLY ON NEW WEST COAST
LAUNCH PAD
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF., March 21, 2005
Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) first West Coast Atlas V rocket has
successfully completed "booster on stand" (BOS) operations with the flight
vehicle that will launch a national security payload next year. The
successful BOS operation involved vertically stacking the rocket's booster
stage, Centaur upper stage, and connecting segments at the newly refurbished
Space Launch Complex 3 East.
"We are ushering in a new era of Atlas operations here on the West Coast,"
said James V. Sponnick, Lockheed Martin Atlas Program vice president.
"Seeing a new Atlas V on the pad caps a period of sustained construction,
test and validation, and signifies a major milestone accomplishment by a
very dedicated team."
The first Atlas V to fly from Vandenberg is an Atlas V 411 vehicle,
designated AV-006. At a total height of 191.2 feet (58.3 meters) tall, the
400 series Atlas V is equal in height to a 19-story building. The liftoff
thrust for this vehicle will be 1,075,700 pounds, 70% more than the liftoff
thrust of the Atlas IIAS, which previously flew three missions from SLC-3E
before its retirement and final flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in August 2004.
BOS operations began with stacking the booster followed by erection of the
two interstage adapters, the stretched 38.5 feet-tall- (11.68 meters)
Centaur upper stage, and the "boat tail," which is the segment between the
vehicle and the payload fairing. BOS operations took four days to complete,
which is standard for Atlas V. Completion of BOS kicks off a period of
further test and validation called "pathfinding" to ensure that the team,
the vehicle and the facilities are prepared for the first launch.
Atlas V at Vandenberg SLC-3E will use a stationary launch pad with mobile
service tower, in contrast to the facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, where the rocket is stacked in a Vertical Integration Facility and
then rolled to the launch pad only 12 hours before launch. Several of the
former SLC-3E facilities were retained in the refurbishment, while
integrating many improvements from the Atlas V program on the East Coast.
Many of the same engineers and contractors from the Cape Canaveral launch
pad project were involved in SLC-3E project, which further contributed to
the speed and efficiency at which the team was able to conduct the
refurbishment.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., is
one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space
Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of
advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers.
Chief products include a full-range of space launch systems, ground systems,
remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government
customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet
ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.
Contact:
Julie Andrews, 321-853-1567; email,
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
LAUNCH PAD
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF., March 21, 2005
Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) first West Coast Atlas V rocket has
successfully completed "booster on stand" (BOS) operations with the flight
vehicle that will launch a national security payload next year. The
successful BOS operation involved vertically stacking the rocket's booster
stage, Centaur upper stage, and connecting segments at the newly refurbished
Space Launch Complex 3 East.
"We are ushering in a new era of Atlas operations here on the West Coast,"
said James V. Sponnick, Lockheed Martin Atlas Program vice president.
"Seeing a new Atlas V on the pad caps a period of sustained construction,
test and validation, and signifies a major milestone accomplishment by a
very dedicated team."
The first Atlas V to fly from Vandenberg is an Atlas V 411 vehicle,
designated AV-006. At a total height of 191.2 feet (58.3 meters) tall, the
400 series Atlas V is equal in height to a 19-story building. The liftoff
thrust for this vehicle will be 1,075,700 pounds, 70% more than the liftoff
thrust of the Atlas IIAS, which previously flew three missions from SLC-3E
before its retirement and final flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in August 2004.
BOS operations began with stacking the booster followed by erection of the
two interstage adapters, the stretched 38.5 feet-tall- (11.68 meters)
Centaur upper stage, and the "boat tail," which is the segment between the
vehicle and the payload fairing. BOS operations took four days to complete,
which is standard for Atlas V. Completion of BOS kicks off a period of
further test and validation called "pathfinding" to ensure that the team,
the vehicle and the facilities are prepared for the first launch.
Atlas V at Vandenberg SLC-3E will use a stationary launch pad with mobile
service tower, in contrast to the facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, where the rocket is stacked in a Vertical Integration Facility and
then rolled to the launch pad only 12 hours before launch. Several of the
former SLC-3E facilities were retained in the refurbishment, while
integrating many improvements from the Atlas V program on the East Coast.
Many of the same engineers and contractors from the Cape Canaveral launch
pad project were involved in SLC-3E project, which further contributed to
the speed and efficiency at which the team was able to conduct the
refurbishment.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., is
one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space
Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of
advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers.
Chief products include a full-range of space launch systems, ground systems,
remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government
customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet
ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.
Contact:
Julie Andrews, 321-853-1567; email,
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info