No description available.
Launch Date
10/17/2018
Launch Site
CC SLC41
,
Launch Vehicle
Atlas V 551 C (Atlas 5 Family)
The AEHF-4 satellite launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
After AEHF-4 reaches orbit, the AEHF constellation will form a ring around geostationary Earth orbit.
AEHF-4 was processed at Astrotech prior to launch, according to Lockheed Martin Flickr postings referenced in the thread.
A Spaceflight Now article linked on August 2, 2017 reported two satellite launches planned for the fall, AEHF-4 and SBIRSGEO4, were being delayed to 2018.
The April 29, 2019 Lockheed Martin release reported the AEHF-4 on-orbit test activated the payload built by Northrop Grumman and was the first AEHF test to have all six AEHF operational terminals communicating over extended data rate (XDR).
Forum-posted mission parameters for AEHF-4 included an orbit of approximately 8,914 km x 35,299 km with an inclination of 12.8 degrees using three Centaur burns.
An Air Force release dated September 7, 2018 indicated the AEHF-4 launch window opened shortly after midnight EDT (0400 UTC) on October 17, 2018.
A NOTAM created October 12, 2018 specified launch hazard airspace and closure times for the AEHF-4 launch as 17 Oct 02:15 2018 until 17 Oct 06:42 2018.
As of March 6, 2016, an Atlas V launch (AEHF-4) had been characterized in the thread as slipping to January 26, 2017.
A Lockheed Martin news release dated October 8, 2018 stated AEHF-4 would complete a worldwide ring of AEHF satellites to deliver global extended data rate (XDR) coverage for the U.S. Air Force and partner nations Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Lockheed Martin encapsulated AEHF-4 into its payload fairing on September 26, 2018 in anticipation of an October 17 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
United Launch Alliance described the AEHF-4 mission as using an Atlas V 551 launch vehicle.
Lockheed Martin shipped AEHF-4 aboard a C-5 Galaxy aircraft on 2018-07-27 from Sunnyvale, California, to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The AEHF-4 satellite launched on 2018-10-17 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.