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Atlas V on SLC-41 after being flushed due to unexpected system response from remotely operated ground system liquid oxygen valves.
Trevor Mahlmann for Ars
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An Atlas V 531 rocket with the NROL-101 payload on the launch pad was seen on Monday before returning to the vertical integration facility for further repairs / verifications of the payload environmental control system.
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Super-telephoto view of the upper duct of the ECS (Environmental Control System) after repair on 4 November 2020
Trevor Mahlmann for Ars
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Close-up of NROL-101 fairing illustration. Elven script translates to “Goodness Persists”.
Trevor Mahlmann for Ars
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This is the first flight of the Atlas V with the GEM-63 solid rocket thruster. ULA aims to build a flying experience before the GEM-63XL flies to Vulcan as early as next year.
Trevor Mahlmann for Ars
Update 6:15 pm EST: A problem with ground systems has gotten United Launch Alliance back. Before the Atlas V launch window opened on Wednesday evening, an issue with the ground system’s liquid oxygen valves could not be resolved in time for a launch attempt from Florida.
The company will now stop for 48 hours to address the issue, which would allow SpaceX to attempt the launch of a GPS III satellite for Space Force on Thursday.
Original post 11:25 am EST: The United Launch Alliance returns Wednesday to one of its two main pavilions at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to try to stop a series of recent launch scrubs due to various issues, mainly related to ground systems.
The company’s Atlas V rocket is expected to take off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 5:54 PM EST (10:54 PM UTC), carrying a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mission is called NROL-101 and its final orbit is classified. There is a 70% chance of favorable conditions.
The venerable Atlas V rocket, which has flown 85 missions since its debut in 2002, will test the new hardware with this flight. For the first time, the Atlas V will use solid rocket boosters built by Northrop Grumman instead of the Aerojet Rocketdyne. These GEM-63 boosters cost less than the previously used booster. United Launch Alliance plans to use an extended version of this booster, the GEM-63L, on its Vulcan rocket, which could make its first flight in about a year.
Perhaps the biggest question in today’s launch attempt is whether the Atlas V rocket will take off. This mission was originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday, but after launching on Monday, the company discovered a problem with an environmental control system duct. This may have been damaged during high winds at the launch site on Monday. After being returned to its hangar, where the conduit was replaced, the Atlas V rocket returned to the pad on Tuesday.
So far so good: Wednesday morning the company says everything is on track for an Atlas V takeoff later in the day.
United Launch Alliance could do with a successful takeoff. It’s been a rough couple of months as the company struggled to launch another mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, a major customer that pays a premium to get its high-cost satellites into space.
This NROL-44 mission, due to a Delta IV Heavy rocket launch on a nearby platform, has been cleaned up half a dozen times since late August. Most of these scrubs were due to problems with ground support equipment and often occurred within seconds of the scheduled takeoff time. This raised doubts about the aging infrastructure at Delta’s Florida launch site. A new launch date has not yet been set for the mission, which the US government had hoped to bring into space in June.
The company’s webcast for today’s launch is expected to begin about 20 minutes before takeoff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aynKNh6cvnI
NROL-101 mission.
Picture of Trevor Mahlmann’s directory for Ars
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