The Air Force’s investigation into a launch anomaly during the Oct. 4 GPS IIF satellite liftoff is delaying several missions.
Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Green-Lanchoney said Wednesday the Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3), NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K) and Wideband Global Satellite-5 (WGS-5) missions have been pushed back. Green-Lanchoney said missions after WGS-5 are under review pending the results of the investigation.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) chief Gen. William Shelton Oct. 11 ordered an Accident Investigation Board (AIB) to investigate why an upper stage engine on a Delta IV RL-10B-2 rocket did not perform as expected during the GPS IIF launch. During the launch, the rocket’s second stage engine did not perform as expected, even though the Delta IV delivered the GPS IIF satellite into its proper orbit. The Delta IV is developed by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT].
Shelton said Nov. 7 the service still hasn’t identified the root cause of that anomaly (Defense Daily. Nov. 8).
NASA’s website yesterday had a date of Jan. 18 for TDRS-K launch. NASA spokesman Tret Perrotto said yesterday the exact launch date is now under review, but TDRS-K remains tentatively scheduled for launch in late January. Boeing signed a contract in 2007 to build two, third generation TDRS spacecraft for launch in 2012 and 2013, according to NASA. An option for a third TDRS spacecraft was executed in 2011. TDRS provides around-the-clock communications to NASA’s most critical missions in in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Kennedy Space Center’s website has Nov. 27 as the date for the OTV-3 launch. OTV, or X-37, is a reusable unmanned spacecraft. OTV also is a Boeing effort.
WGS is to provide broadband communications connectivity for the United States and its allies, including tactical communications for ground forces and relaying data and imagery from airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. WGS is DoD’s highest-capacity communications satellite system and can process more than 3.6 gigabits per second of data (Defense Daily, July 9).