january, 2018

Event Details
Launch Date: January 12, 2018 Launch Window: 21:00-01:00 UTC Launch Vehicle: Delta IV M+(5,2)
Event Details
Launch Date: | January 12, 2018 |
Launch Window: | 21:00-01:00 UTC |
Launch Vehicle: | Delta IV M+(5,2) |
Launch Operator: | United Launch Alliance |
Launch Site: | SLC-6 Vandenberg Air Force Base, California |
Payload: | NROL-47 |
Payload Operator: | U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) |
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket will launch the classified NROL-47 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, operator of all American intelligence-gathering satellites and their support assets. The launch vehicle and launch site indicate NROL-47 will join the Future Imagery Architecture, flying under the code name Topaz as a radar reconnaissance satellite operating from an unusual retrograde orbit inclined 123 degrees. This will be the last flight of the Delta IV M+(5,2) version with two Solid Rocket Boosters and a five-meter second stage & payload fairing as United Launch Alliance begins to retire the single-stick Delta IV versions.
Delayed from December 2017:
(Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017) The ULA Delta IV rocket carrying the NROL-47 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is delayed in order to perform additional validation of the software and systems associated with Common Avionics. Common Avionics is a newly designed suite of avionics, flight software and ground systems that will fly on both Atlas V and Delta IV. This upgraded command and control system was designed to reduce cost and improve reliability. NROL-47 will be the first flight of the Common Avionics system on Delta IV. The vehicle and spacecraft remain stable. Launch of the NROL-47 mission is scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Delayed from January 10, 2018 due to winds & January 11 due to technical issues
Mission Resources:
? Launch Vehicle Overview: Delta IV M+(5,2)
? Payload Overview: Topaz – Future Imagery Architecture
Time
(Friday) 21:00 UTC
Location
Space Launch Complex 6
Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6, Luner Road, Lompoc, CA, United States