Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (Aug. 13, 2014) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the WorldView-3 satellite for DigitalGlobe launched at 11:30 a.m. PDT today from Space Launch Complex-3. Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services procured the Atlas V for this mission. This is the fourth successful launch in six weeks and the 87th successful mission since ULA was formed in December 2006. Photo: United Launch Alliance and Lockheed Martin
[SatNews] …a picture perfect launch today of a satellite that will be providing perfect pictures.
United Launch Alliance's Statement
United Launch Alliance Atlas V Launches WorldView-3 Satellite
for DigitalGlobe
Tenth Successful ULA Launch of 2014
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., (Aug. 13, 2014) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the WorldView-3 satellite for DigitalGlobe launched at 11:30 a.m. PDT today from Space Launch Complex-3. Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services procured the Atlas V for this mission. This is the fourth successful launch in six weeks and the 87th successful mission since ULA was formed in December 2006.
“Congratulations to our commercial mission partners Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services and Digital Globe for today’s spectacular launch of the Atlas V carrying the WorldView-3 satellite,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Atlas and Delta Programs. “The team’s dedication to mission success, one launch at a time, brought us to today’s successful launch, delivering WorldView-3 to provide the next generation in earth imaging capabilities for DigitalGlobe.”
This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 configuration vehicle, which includes a 4-meter-diameter payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine, and the Centaur upper stage was powered by a single Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10A engine.
“This launch marks ULA’s tenth successful launch of fifteen planned this year,” said Sponnick. “The ULA team remains focused mission success and on-time deliveries for our customer’s most valuable payloads.”
WorldView-3 is the first multi-payload super-spectral, high resolution commercial satellite for earth observations and advanced geospatial solutions. This high spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery is used for civil government mapping, land use planning, disaster relief, exploration, defense, intelligence, visualization and simulation environments.
ULA's next launch is the Atlas V CLIO mission for the U.S. Government from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 80 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system. ULA – Bringing rocket science down to Earth.
ATK's Statement
ATK Products Support Search for New Sources of Minerals and Fuels
Atlas V Rocket Successfully Launches WorldView-3 Satellite for DigitalGlobe
ATK (NYSE: ATK) provided critical launch vehicle and payload hardware for the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Commercial Launch Services launch of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 satellite aboard an Atlas V.
Operating at an expected altitude of 617 km, the WorldView-3 satellite is the first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite for Earth observations and advanced geospatial solutions. Its data-rich imagery will enable customers to search for new sources of minerals and fuels, manage forests and farms and accelerate DigitalGlobe’s living digital inventory of the surface of the earth. Ball Aerospace (NYSE: BLL) designed and built the WorldView-3 satellite for DigitalGlobe.
"The highly engineered ATK products supporting both the Atlas V rocket and the WorldView-3 satellite are a testament to our portfolio of products and their integration capability," said Blake Larson, president of ATK’s Aerospace Group. "They demonstrate not only ATK’s continued affordable innovation and execution excellence, but our leadership in the aerospace market."
ATK’s contributions to the Atlas V and WorldView satellite include cutting-edge technologies from across the company. Contributions include a large composite faring and retro motors for the rocket, and critical components on the satellite.
For the Atlas V rocket, ATK produced the 10-foot diameter composite heat shield, which provides higher performance with lower weight, and essential protection for the first stage of the launch vehicle from engine exhaust temperatures in excess of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The assembly was fabricated using advanced fiber placement manufacturing techniques at ATK's Iuka, Mississippi facility. This is the 46th Atlas V launch using ATK-built composite structures.
This launch also marked the 13th successful flight of ATK produced retro motors. Eight of these solid motors supported separation of the spent first stage. The Atlas retrorocket is built at ATK’s Missile Defense and Controls facility in Elkton, Maryland.
For the WorldView satellite, ATK’s Beltsville, Maryland facility provided the heat pipe and thermal strap assembly to provide temperature control. As a leader in space thermal control technology, ATK has delivered over 50,000 heat pipes to the space industry with 100 percent on-orbit mission success.
ATK is an aerospace, defense and outdoor sports and recreation company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico and internationally. News and information can be found on the Internet at.
DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 payload for Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services went up today, Wednesday, August 13, from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 11:30 a.m. PDT. SatNews.com will be providing information updates.
WorldView-3 will enhance the industry-leading constellation with the addition of 8 high-resolution SWIR bands as well as the 12 bands of CAVIS. With these additions, customers will be provided with dramatically more information in every image collected.
With dedicated launch sites, orbital insertion accuracy, and 116 consecutive successful launches to date, Atlas is unmatched for performance, reliability and schedule assurance. WorldView-3 is the first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite for Earth observations and advanced geospatial solutions.
Operating at an expected altitude of 617 km, WorldView-3 will have an average revisit time of less than one day and will be capable of collecting up to 680,000 square kilometers of imagery per day, further enhancing DigitalGlobe's capacity for rapid and reliable collection. The range of customer applications enabled by the DigitalGlobe constellation is expanded by WorldView-3's ability to sense both the visible spectrum as well as deeper into the infrared spectrum. Its data-rich imagery will enable customers to search for new sources of minerals and fuels, manage forests and farms, and accelerate DigitalGlobe's exploitation of Geospatial Big Data™—a living digital inventory of the surface of the earth.
Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] Commercial Launch Services (LMCLS) is the exclusive provider of Atlas rockets to all non-U.S. government customers. With dedicated launch sites, unparalleled orbital insertion accuracy, and 116 consecutive successful launches to date, Atlas is unmatched for performance, reliability and schedule assurance.
WorldView-3 is the first multi-payload, super-spectral, high-resolution commercial satellite for Earth observations and advanced geospatial solutions. Operating at an expected altitude of 617 km, WorldView-3 will have an average revisit time of less than one day and will be capable of collecting up to 680,000 square kilometers of imagery per day, further enhancing DigitalGlobe’s capacity for rapid and reliable collection. The range of customer applications enabled by the DigitalGlobe constellation is expanded by WorldView-3’s ability to sense both the visible spectrum as well as deeper into the infrared spectrum. Its data-rich imagery will enable customers to search for new sources of minerals and fuels, manage forests and farms, and accelerate DigitalGlobe’s exploitation of Geospatial Big Data™ – a living digital inventory of the surface of the Earth.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.
