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Delta
2 Launches GPS 2R-8
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More
Information: |
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(source: USAF) |
A Delta 2-7925
successfully launched Global Positioning Satellite 2R-8 from Cape
Canaveral, pad 17B, at 18:06 UTC on January 29. The satellite will
replace GPS 2A-18 (SVN 22). GPS 2R-8 (SVN 56) will be deployed
into the GPS constellation's Plane B, Slot 1. The satellite will
be placed in a MEO orbit at an altitude of 20,200 km (10,900 nmi)
inclined at 55 degrees. The launch is priced at US$50 million.
The fairing
carries a "Let's Roll" logo as a tribute to commemorate
the passengers of Flight 93, who prevented the 9/11 hijackers from
carrying out an attack on Washington, D.C. targets, by forcing the
plane to crash into a Pennsylvania field. Each Air Force base has
been allowed to place the design on one vehicle.
This is the
eighth Block 2R satellite, of a block order of 21, to be supplied
by Lockheed Martin. The 2032 kg (4478 lbm) satellite design is
based on Lockheed Martin’s AS-4000 series satellite bus, with a
design life of 10 years. The Block 2R satellites offer
improvements over the previous blocks of satellites, having the
ability to determine their own position by performing
inter-satellite ranging with other 2R vehicles, adding
reprogrammable satellite processors to enable problem fixes and
upgrades in flight, and increased satellite autonomy and radiation
hardness. Block 2R spacecraft have the ability to be launched into
any of the required GPS orbits at any time with a 60-day advanced
notice and requires far fewer ground contacts to maintain the
constellation. These improvements result in increased accuracy for
GPS users with a cost reduction of 33 percent per satellite over
the previous generation of Block 2A satellites. Block 2R
satellites will replace Block 2/2A satellites as they reach the
end of their service life. Block 2R satellites cost US$44 million.
The
28 kg (62 lbm) XSS-10 microsatellite is an auxiliary payload which
will be used to demonstrate satellite navigation technology and
inspect the Delta 2's second stage after it separates. The
experimental micro-satellite is attached to the second stage. The
XSS-10 craft will separate from the spent stage about 16 hours
after launch to perform autonomous maneuvers around the rocket
body for several hours. The entire mission will last approximately
24 hours. The XSS-10 is the first in a series of future
micro-satellites the USAF plans to use for inspection, rendezvous
and docking and close-up maneuvering around other space objects.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is building and
demonstrating this new class of low-cost “micro” satellites.
This satellites is being flown under the Experimental Spacecraft
System (XSS) Microsatellite Demonstration Project.
The GPS
system is separated into six orbital planes, requiring a minimum
of four satellites in each, to operate. GPS 2R-8
should enter service in 30 to 45 days.
Table
1: GPS Satellite Planes/Slots
Click
on individual cells for more information on the satellite.
Note:
Nomenclature used in this table: Block number (2, 2A or
2R), satellite within block. In parentheses, USAF space vehicle
number of GPS satellite. GPS 2R-1 (42) was destroyed in a
Delta launch failure on January 17, 1997.
 The Global
Positioning System (GPS) network is operated by the U.S. Air Force
to provide highly accurate position, speed and timing information
to military forces around the world, and is used by a growing
number of commercial products. The NAVSTAR Global Positioning
System is managed by the NAVSTAR GPS Joint Program Office at the
Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base,
California. The USAF
50th Space Wing located at Falcon Air Force Base, Colorado,
operates and controls the system.
NAVSTAR
GPS stands for Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global
Positioning System.
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