Launch News Luch-5A and AMOS-5 atop Proton-M/Briz-M on December 11, 2011

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We have a double shot of two Russian-built satellites today.

903b2804b5fe.jpg


Luch-5A will be first of the triple GEO spacecraft (another two will be Luch-5B and Luch-4) that are to form Russian analog of American TDRS or Chinese Tian Lian system. They will perform tracking and data relay for satellites, manned spaceships in LEO, launch vehicles and their upper stages. It will restore data and command relaying fuctionality that had previously been carried out by series of Altair and first generation Luch satellites launched through second half of the 80's and first half of the 90's (later all these satellites deteriorated and stopped working). Luch's primary bands will be Ku and S beaming with 7 standard transponders and two high-gain tracking antennae.

AMOS-5i-sat.jpg


AMOS-5 is a telecommunications satellite built by Russia's Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Co. for Space Communication Ltd., an Israeli satellite operator. The spacecraft will establish a new orbital position for Spacecom at 17° East, providing a full range of satellite services over Africa. Together with AMOS-2 and AMOS-3, co-located at the 4° West orbital hot spot, and AMOS-4 scheduled for launch in 2012 to serve Asia and Russia, AMOS-5 will enhance Spacecom's satellite coverage over the Middle East and Europe, while adding the emerging African markets to its service portfolio.

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SpaceCom-logo.jpg


Launch location:

Baikonur Launch pad no. 81/24 46° 4'15.38"N, 62°59'5.11"E

81_24.png


Launch dates and times:

[table="head"]{colsp=6}Launch times

Time Zone|
Australia - Sydney/AEST
|
Baikonur / UTC+6
|
Moscow / UTC+4/
|
Universal / UTC
|
Washington / EST

Launch time (Primary):
|
10:17:00 p.m.​
|
17:17:00​
|
15:17:00​
|
11:17:00​
|
6:17:00 a.m.​

on:
|
Dec. 11, 2011
|
Dec. 11, 2011
|
Dec. 11, 2011
|
Dec. 11, 2011
|
Dec. 11, 2011

{colsp=6}
[highlight][eventTimer]2011-12-11 11:17:00?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Luch-5A & AMOS-5 joint launch[/highlight]​

{colsp=6}
[eventTimer]2011-12-11 20:11:10?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] Luch-5A Separation From the Launch Vehicle​

{colsp=6}
[eventTimer]2011-12-11 20:52:05?before|after;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds %c%[/eventTimer] AMOS-5 Separation From the Launch Vehicle​
[/table]

Live Coverage Of The Launch:


PAYLOAD 1

Luch-5A (pronounced like "Lootch", means a beam, a ray) tracking, telemetry and data relay satellite:

Luch5A.jpg


Mission Summary

[table="head"]{colsp=2}Summary
Parameter|Value
Working Orbit:​
|GEO
Orbital Location:​
|16° West
Coverage:​
|Atlantic hemisphere
Inc at separation:​
|
[/table]

Luch-5A is an element of the Luch multi-purpose data relay system developed for the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, under the nation's Federal Space Program.

The new relay satellite is designed and manufactured by Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Co. in collaboration with the Russian space industry and foreign partners.

Luch-5A will retransmit data from low-flying spacecraft in altitudes of 2,000 kilometers above Earth's surface or lower, including the International Space Station and primarily the lab's Russian segment, as well as other space objects such as launch vehicles and upper stages.

The satellite will track its targets during their powered and coast flight phases that cannot be monitored from Russia and then make online transmissions to Russia's receiving stations.

With its two large S-band and Ku-band high-gain antennas, Luch-5A will accurately pinpoint and track low-flying objects. The satellite carries seven S-band и Ku-band transponders and can transmit commands to tracking spacecraft.

Also, Luch-5A is capable of receiving COSPAS-SARSAT signals and relaying them to ground stations. The satellite will transmit GLONASS positioning corrections, boosting the navigation system's accuracy.

Russia has registered three orbital locations for its Luch data relay constellation - 16° West over the Atlantic, 95° East over the Indian Ocean, and 167° East over the Pacific.

Weighing approximately 950 kilograms, Luch-5A is built on Reshetnev's Express-1000N unpressurized platform.

The satellite's two 4.2 meter umbrella-shaped antennas are comprised of composite spikes covered with gold-plated flywire and fitted with precision tracking electromechanical actuators.

The Luch-5A spacecraft is based on new technical solutions introduced by Reshetnev ISS and its partners. They are:

  • the craft's honeycomb structure has built-in heat pipes;
  • thermal control via heat pipes;
  • solar arrays with gallium arsenide multi-junction cells;
  • static Earth orientation instrument;
  • high-precision star sensor.

Thales Alenia Space contributed with their power amplifier units for transponders.

Sumitomo/NEC provided low noise amplifiers and Mayak system transmitters.

Coverage Map

I-7.jpg


[table="head"]Characteristics|
Luch-5A

Customer:​
|
  • Roscosmos

Prime contractor:​
|
  • JSC "Information Satellite Systems" Reshetnev Company
    logo_iss.jpg

Platform:​
|
  • Express-1000 (unpressurized, 3-axis stabilized)

Mass at Separation:​
|
  • 1 140 kg

Dry Mass:​
|
  • 950 kg

Dimensions (stowed):​
|
  • ?

Payload:​
|
  • 7 transponders: Ku, S, L, P, with 23-59.6 dBW EIRP

Antennas:​
|
  • umbrella high-gain, steerable and omnidirectional, one antenna is Ku band (throughput 150 Mbit/s), another is S-band (5 Mbit/s).

Power:​
|
  • No less than 2 200 W, out of which 1 500 W are supplied to the payload.

Life time:​
|
  • 10 years

|
luch-5b__1.jpg
[/table]

PAYLOAD 2

AMOS-5 communications satellite:

amos5.jpg


Mission Summary

[table="head"]{colsp=2}Summary
Parameter|Value
Working Orbit:​
|GEO
Orbital Location:​
|17° East
Coverage:​
|Pan-African Beam and 3 shaped African beams + Europe and Middle East
Inc at separation:​
|
[/table]

This new satellite will support pan-African coverage, featuring a high-power C-band beam and three regional Ku-band beams. With multiple powerful transponders and an excellent vantage point, AMOS-5 will offer a variety of satellite communications services, including VSAT communications and broadband Internet, telephony, data trunking, direct-to-home broadcasting and video distribution.

Based on Reshetnev's Express-1000N medium class platform, the AMOS-5 satellite will carry 18 C-Band and 18 Ku-Band transponders. The spacecraft will generate 5.6 kW of payload power during its 15-year service life. AMOS-5's communications payload and antennas are supplied by Reshetnev's long term partner Thales Alenia Space.

Coverage Map

amos_ku1_b.jpg


amos_ku2_b.jpg


[table="head"]Characteristics|
Luch-5A

Customer:​
|
  • Spacecom Ltd. (Israel)

Prime contractor:​
|
  • JSC "Information Satellite Systems" Reshetnev Company
    logo_iss.jpg

Platform:​
|
  • Express-1000N (unpressurized, 3-axis stabilized)

Mass at Separation:​
|
  • about 1 800 kg

Dry Mass:​
|
  • 1 600 kg

Dimensions (stowed):​
|
  • ?

Payload:​
|
  • C band: 14 x 72 MHz, 4 x 36 MHz
  • Ku band: 18 x 72 MHz

Power:​
|
  • No less than 5 600 W

Life time:​
|
  • 15 years

|
800px-AMOS-5_Satellite_--_with_star_background.jpg
[/table]



Launch Vehicle:

[table="head"]{colsp=2}Characteristics

proton-m_en.jpg
|[table="head"]{colsp=2}
Proton-M / Briz-M

Prime contractor:​
|
  • Khrunichev Space Centre
    khrunichev_logo.gif

GRAU Index:​
|
  • 8K82KM

Height:​
| 58.2 m with upper stage and payload fairing

Diameter:​
| max 7.4 m

Liftoff mass:​
| 705 metric tonnes

Payload mass:​
| ~22 tonnes at LEO

1st stage:​
|
  • 6 X RD-275 engines
  • Empty 30.6 tonnes
  • Propellants 419.41 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
  • Thrust in vacuum 1069.8 tonnes of force
  • Thrust at sea level 971.4 tonnes of force

2nd stage:​
|
  • 1 X RD-0211 engine 3 X RD-0210 engines
  • Empty 11.4 tonnes
  • Propellants 156.113 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
  • Thrust in vacuum 237.4 tonnes of force

3rd stage:​
|
  • 1 X RD-0213 engine & 1 X RD-0214 vernier engine
  • Empty 3.7 tonnes
  • Propellants 46.562 tonnes (UDMH and NTO)
  • Thrust in vacuum 59.36 (core) + 3.15 (vernier) tonnes of force

Upper Stage:​
|
briz2b.gif

  • GRAU Index: 14S43
  • Common Name: Briz-M
  • Designer & Manufacturer: Khrunichev Space Centre
  • Dimensions: Length 2.654 m, Diameter 4 m
  • Empty Mass 2.2 tonnes
  • Propellants 6 660 kg UDMH + 13 260 kg N2O4
  • Flight time: no less than 24 hours

  • Main Engine: 1 X 14D30
  • Thrust in vacuum 2.0 tonnes of force
  • ISP 328.6 s
  • Main engine restarts: up to 8 times

  • Precision Manoeuvering Engines: 4 X 11D458
  • Thrust in vacuum 400 N each
  • ISP 252 s

  • RCS Engines: 12 X 17D58E
  • Thrust in vacuum 13.3 N each
  • ISP 274 s

Payload Fairing:​
|
  • Diameter 4.35 m
  • Length 11.6 m

[/table]
[/table]

The vehicle's reliability statistics according to http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/log2011.html#rate:

Code:
================================================================ 
Vehicle     Successes/Tries Realzd Pred  Consc. Last     Dates    
                             Rate  Rate* Succes Fail    
================================================================
Proton-M/Briz-M  47    51    .92  .91      5    08/17/11 2001-

Luch-5A and AMOS-5 Ascent Timeline

Total payload stack mass = 3 137 kg

[TABLE="head"]Event|Time rel lift-off|Time Moscow|Time UTC|Comment
Lift-off|00:00:00|15:17:00|11:17:00|
1st/2nd Stage Separation|00:02:06|15:19:06|11:19:06|
2nd/3rd Stage Separation|00:05:34|15:22:34|11:22:34|
Payload Fairing Separation|00:05:44|15:22:44|11:22:44|
3rd Stage/Breeze M Separation|00:09:41|15:26:41|11:26:41|
1st Burn Ignition|00:11:15|15:28:15|11:28:15|
1st Burn Shutdown|00:15:38|15:32:38|11:32:38|1st Burn's Duration 00:04:23
2nd Burn Ignition|01:07:35|16:24:35|12:24:35|
2nd Burn Shutdown|01:25:21|16:42:21|12:42:21|2nd Burn's Duration 00:17:43
3rd Burn Ignition|03:28:55|18:45:55|14:45:55|
3rd Burn Shutdown|03:46:53|19:03:53|15:03:53|3rd Burn's Duration 00:17:58
4th Burn Ignition|08:40:26|23:57:26|19:57:26|
4th Burn Shutdown|08:53:00|00:10:00 (on Dec 12)|20:10:00|4th Burn's Duration 00:12:34
Separation of Luch-5A|8:54:10|00:11:10|23:11:10|In orbit inclined at 5° to GEO
5th Burn Ignition|09:33:08|00:50:08|23:50:08|
5th Burn Shutdown|09:33:55|00:50:55|20:50:55|5th Burn's Duration 00:00:45
Separation of AMOS-5|09:35:05|00:52:05|20:52:05|in GEO
[/TABLE]

Weather forecast for Baikonur, Kazakhstan on December 11, 2011 (5 p.m.)

Time|Temps|Wind Chill|Heat Index|UV Index|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Clouds|Visibility|Wind|Weather
5 PM|-11°C|-13°C|-11°C|0 Low|-13°C|80%|0%|0%|41%|16KM|NNE 1.34 m/s|
wx_66.png
P Cloudy

Sunrise and Sunset times for the location of launch

Times are local.
Event|Time
Astronomical twilight begins|08:29
Nautical twilight begins|09:06
Civil twilight begins|09:43
Sunrise|10:16
Transit (sun is at its highest)|13:40
Sunset|19:03
Civil twilight ends|19:36
Nautical twilight ends|20:14
Astronomical twilight ends|20:50


References
http://www.federalspace.ru
http://tvroscosmos.ru
http://www.tsenki.com/launch_services/help_information/launch/2011/?EID=88633
http://www.khrunichev.ru
http://tihiy.fromru.com/Rn/RN_Proton.htm
http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/glonass/innovation-glonass-11405?page_id=4
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/luch-5b.htm
http://kbhmisaeva.ru
http://cosmopark.ru
http://www.tsenki.com
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com
http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru
http://www.spacelaunchreport.com
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Forecast.aspx
 
Last edited:
Good, Phobos-Grunt failure showed us how much such a satellite network is necessary.
 
Pictures of pre-launch activities

11.11.2011

Luch-5A spacecraft in the assembly building

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1321020850.jpg


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1321020885.jpg


Luch-5A and AMOS-5

1321020879.jpg


1321020870.jpg


23.11.2011

Stacking on the adapter

IMG_5892.JPG


29.11.2011

Incapsulation of the stack

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1322554679.jpg


1322554696.jpg


30.11.2011

Preparing for integration

1322645946.jpg


1322645936.jpg


07.12.2011

Tanking of the Briz-M upper stage

1m.jpg


1323172221.jpg


IMG_6964m.JPG


IMG_6971m.JPG


09.12.2011

Rolling out and erection on the pad

IMG_4038_1.JPG


IMG_4109_1.JPG


Proton_Amos-5.jpg


IMG_4218_1.JPG


10:12:2011

Eclipsing Moon over the launch complex

78c7b931597a.jpg


Videos of pre-launch activities

Assembly building activities


Rolling out and erection

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT8Hzwp-mfg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT8Hzwp-mfg[/ame]
 
liftoff !!

---------- Post added at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 AM ----------

1/2 separation !

---------- Post added at 11:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:19 AM ----------

Picture of the liftoff. No sound from the video feed, so no idea how the launch is going now that the rocket is out of sight... Activity around the pad seems normal, though, and the public is smiling, rather a good sign I guess.

 
According to space-center.ru/PDA/PDADefault.aspx,

3rd Burn Ignition fact. T+12535 nom. T+12535 dev. 0
3rd Burn Shutdown fact. T+13613 nom. T+13609 dev. -4
APT jettison fact. T+13694 nom. T+13690 dev. -4
 
The upper composite now moving in its transfer orbit, has been catalogued as object 2011-074A/37950 by SpaceTrack.org.

Few screenshots from Khrunichev COOPI:

a4ccb3eb0e4f.jpg


2d3a08a8b226.jpg


41d50d791dd7.jpg


72f885981765.jpg


An amateur photograher has taken a picture of reentering payload fairing parts in Eastern Kazakhstan / Russian Altay Krai (Exclusion Zone 327)

f09c603dabecf891c2b3e7e82cca9d36.jpg


Few seconds later, the second stage has come down:

8125c9dcdfeda59c88871b0f98814ec5.jpg


e9bc18636bf9826bcf353fcf6134f1c7.jpg
 
Separation of Luch-5A is confirmed at T+32050, 14 seconds ahead of schedule! :thumbup:

Awaiting the final burn delivering the second satellite into the target orbit and acquiring of control over the Luch!

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9b3262e7b5d6.jpg
 
Last edited:
Good, with that success and if the forecoming TMA launch is flawless, Russia can save a rather poor year of spaceflight (Briz failures, R7 Blok-I failure, Phobos-Grunt) :thumbup:
 
http://www.iss-reshetnev.ru/?cid=news&nid=1379

Two spacecraft has been lauched from Baikonur spaceport with a Proton-M launch vehicle with Briz-M upper stage. The launch campaign has been finalized. All deployable mechanical parts of both satellites have deployed. Luch-5A and AMOS-5 are executing initial attitude keeping mode.

That's it. Congrats!
 
Two satellites share one rocket launch into orbit

[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=+2]Two satellites share one rocket launch into orbit[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA, SANS-SERIF][SIZE=-2]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: December 11, 2011[/SIZE][/FONT]

spacer.gif



An Israeli-owned telecommunications bird and a Russian data relay satellite that will route communications with the International Space Station and other low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft shared a Proton rocket ride Sunday.


11proton400277.jpg

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2]The Proton rocket blasts off today. Credit: Roscosmos TV[/SIZE][/FONT]

The Amos 5 and Luch 5A satellites roared off the snowy launch pad aboard a Proton rocket equipped with a Breeze M upper stage at 1117 GMT (6:17 a.m. EST) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Unlike other commercial Proton flights managed by U.S.-based International Launch Services, the mission Sunday was a Russian government operation for the Khrunichev-built booster. It was the 372nd Proton rocket launch since 1965, the 9th this year and the third in the past three years to carry two communications satellites stacked atop each other in a dual-deployment.

Soaring into a preliminary orbit within 15 minutes after the Proton's three lower stages fired in sequence and an initial burn by the upper stage, the flight began several trips around the world over several hours as the Breeze M motor systematically maneuvered the payloads higher and higher.
About 9 hours after launch, the Luch 5A data relay satellite was released from its anchor atop the Amos 5 at 2011 GMT (3:11 p.m. EST) to restore some space-to-ground communications capability for the Russian space agency.

Similar in concept to NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, the Luch 5A will operate 22,300 miles above Earth to provide connections to lower-orbiting spacecraft beneath it, like the Russian segment of the International Space Station and the country's other satellites when they are flying outside of ground-based tracking stations.

Russia's previous generations of data relay satellites have gone out of service due to age. Sunday's launch is meant to recreate that utility and give Russian flight controllers more visibility to space assets when they are outside the very limited coverage area of ground-tracking sites.

The country has available orbital slots at 16 degrees West longitude over the Atlantic, 95 degrees East over the Indian Ocean and 167 degrees East over the Pacific to operate the satellite. The Luch 5B is slated to go up next year.

Manufactured by Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Co., Luch 5A has high-gain, steerable and omnidirectional antennas to communicate in Ku- and S-band frequencies for routing telemetry signals, relaying commands to spacecraft and tracking rocket boosters in flight.
The craft weighed approximately 2,500 pounds at launch and has a 10-year design life.

The lower passenger aboard the Proton's satellite stack was Amos 5, the latest spacecraft in the growing communications fleet for Israeli operator Space-Communication Ltd. of Tel Aviv. The 3,500-pound bird separated from the Breeze M upper stage nearly 10 hours after liftoff at 2052 GMT (3:52 p.m. EST) to successfully complete the day's ascent.

Better known as Spacecom, the firm already operates a pair of satellites providing direct-to-home television, video distribution and broadband Internet services across the Middle East and Europe, with a western reach over the Atlantic to shores of North America.

Now, the new Amos 5 spacecraft will go into service at the 17-degree East location in geostationary orbit to grab a share of the emerging satellite services market in Africa.

Built by Russia's Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems Co., the satellite is outfitted with C- and Ku-band transmission beams to blanket Africa and connect with Europe and the Middle East.

Direct television broadcasting, cellular telephone routing and Internet are among the services to be offered through Amos 5, which has 18 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders and a 15-year service life.

The next and final Proton launch of the year will be a commercial ILS mission with the SES 4 satellite that is headed for an orbital parking spot above the Atlantic to provide telecommunications services to the Americas, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Liftoff is targeted for Dec. 26 from Baikonur.
 
Accroding to NK forum, allocation of satellites in Luch system will be such:

Luch-5A (just launched) = 95° East
Luch-5B (mid-2012) = 16° West
Luch-5V (probably, 2014) = 167° East

In addition, a heavier and more powerful Luch-4 spacecraft able to provide inter-spacecraft communication and mobile Internet services will be launched later to take up one of these GEO slots when any of the Luch-5 satellites expires its service time.
 
http://www.iss-reshetnev.ru/?cid=news&nid=1395

AMOS-5 operating tests are under way. C-Band capability test have been successfully passed. ISS Reshetnev specialists are doing Ku band antenna tests. Upon their completion, the satellite's control will be trasferred to Israeli customer company before end of January.

Luch-5 has arrived in its working station at GEO. The platform has passed initial tests. The satellite is kept in stand-by mode until more quality assurance tests are performed.
 
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