Replace Nov. 7, 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC): Including remark from ULA CEO Tory Bruno, data about subsequent steps.
Replace Nov. 6, 9:10 p.m. EST (0210 UTC): ULA scrubbed the launch and can goal a brand new, but to be introduced, launch date.
United Launch Alliance halted its Atlas 5 countdown for a second night time in a row, scrubbing the launch of the ViaSat-3 F2 satellite tv for pc. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral House Power Station was scheduled for 10:16 p.m. EST (0316 UTC), however the valve problem that prevented a launch Wednesday night time remained persistent on Thursday.
Launch Director James Whelan scrubbed a launch try Wednesday night time when a vent valve on the Atlas 5’s first stage liquid oxygen tank didn’t work correctly throughout ultimate pre-launch checkouts. Somewhat greater than an hour earlier than the Thursday night time window opened, ULA mentioned it was foregoing the launch try.
“The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 carrying the ViaSat-3 F2 mission for Viasat is scrubbed for tonight’s launch try as a result of a reoccurrence of the difficulty with the Atlas 5 booster liquid oxygen tank vent valve,” the corporate wrote. “The crew will consider the {hardware}, and we’ll launch a brand new launch date when out there.”
At ULA’s Superior Spaceflight Operations Middle (ASOC), 4 miles south of the launch pad, launch controllers began the countdown for Thursday’s try shortly earlier than 3 p.m. EST. The liquid oxygen tank on the Centaur higher stage reached flight ranges and liquid oxygen loading on the booster was underway when the scrub was known as shortly after 9 p.m. EST.
Skies at Cape Canaveral have been additionally overcast Thursday afternoon, with thick clouds and rain showers within the space. Launch Climate Officer Brian Belson from the forty fifth Climate Squadron on the House Power’s House Launch Delta 45 downgraded the outlook for launch, giving 50-50 odds of assembly the launch climate guidelines, with thick-layered clouds and rain being the first considerations.
In response to a social media query regarding the scrub on Thursday, ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno pointed to points associated to the climate.
“Each scrubs have been for a similar problem, the booster’s LOX vent valve. We imagine it absorbed moisture through the latest excessive rain on the pad and firmed ice throughout cryo tanking,” Bruno wrote on X, previously Twitter. “Gave it a great shot at drying and biking in between makes an attempt. Will want a extra concerned repair.”
A number of sources mentioned that further work gained’t be potential on the launch pad, so the rocket will return to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF), situated a couple of third of a mile away from the pad itself.
Nestled contained in the rocket’s 5.4-meter diameter payload fairing is the 6-metric-ton ViaSat-3 F2 satellite tv for pc, manufactured by Boeing. When the mission is able to launch, the Atlas 5’s hydrogen-fueled Centaur higher stage will hearth 3 times and use the good majority of its propellant to ship the satellite tv for pc on its method right into a geostationary switch orbit. This so-called Minimal Residual Shutdown will impart most velocity on the satellite tv for pc as soon as it’s deployed 3.5 hours into flight, probably extending its lifetime.
That is the second satellite tv for pc within the ViaSat-3 collection. It follows the launch of the primary spacecraft by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2023. That satellite tv for pc, ViaSat-3 F1, suffered a problem with its antenna, which each delayed the beginning of service and resulted in a diminished capability.
Viasat officers mentioned this new satellite tv for pc will present Ka-band community capabilities, including greater than 1 terabit per second (Tbps) of capability to the corporate’s community over the Americas.
Following months of on-orbit testing at its working location of 79 levels West longitude, the ViaSat-3 F2 spacecraft is predicted to enter service in early 2026.
