NASA Orders Additional Launch From Boeing Delta Rocket Program
A
decision made Wednesday by NASA to exercise an existing contract
option to launch the Mars Exploration Rover 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II
rocket in 2003 capped a banner year for the Boeing Delta program.
The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on a Delta II during a
21-day window that opens on June 27, 2003. The option being exercised
is part of the NASA Launch Services (NLS) contract awarded to Boeing
in June.
The contract includes three firm launches and five options for
launch services, along with a 10-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite
Quantity (ID/IQ) contract for Delta II, Delta III or Delta IV launch
services. This is the first of the five options to be exercised.
The 40th year of operation for the Boeing Delta team was full of
major milestones for the entire Boeing Delta family.
“Looking back on the year, we are extremely pleased with the
accomplishments of the Delta team,” said Gale Schluter, vice president
and general manager of Boeing Expendable Launch Systems.
“Our people, and our industry partners around the world, have made
the Delta name recognizable as a leading space transportation program.
As we move forward into next year, we not only have a full launch
manifest, but we will be readying ourselves for the first Delta IV
launch in early 2002.”
According to Schluter there are 11 Delta II launches scheduled for
2001. Included in next year’s manifest are seven NASA launches, three
launches for the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System and one
commercial launch.
2000 Highlights
Delta II
The Delta II team began the year with the successful launch of
four Globalstar satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
(CCAFS), Fla. The launch concluded a two-year effort in which Delta II
rockets carried 28 of the 52 satellites launched for the system. The
launch team continued its string of successes with three launches for
the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System and two launches for
NASA.
The final launch of the year involved a new dual payload attach
fitting system in which the Delta II team integrated and launched two
unique primary payloads for the first time, enabling Delta II to
compete for payloads usually reserved for smaller launch vehicles.
Delta III
The Delta III reached full operational status with the successful
launch of a data-gathering mission using a simulated payload.
Designated as the DM-F3, the launch included a 9,480-pound satellite
to serve two purposes.
First, the satellite, developed to match various characteristics
of common communications satellites, allowed the Delta III team to
evaluate payload/vehicle compatibility during flight for future Delta
III missions. Second, the U.S. Air Force and the University of
Colorado are utilizing the satellite to conduct tests to evaluate and
improve satellite technology.
The successful Delta III flight also provided valuable data being
used to develop Delta IV systems.
Delta IV
Progress with the Delta IV program was non-stop with many
significant milestones being achieved at facilities across the
country. The first fully integrated common booster core (CBC) was
unveiled at the new Boeing manufacturing facility located in Decatur,
Ala. The facility will produce all Delta IV CBCs.
A new Boeing facility at NASA’s Stennis Space Center located in
Mississippi was inaugurated and will co-locate production and test
facilities for the RS-68 engine. Each engine will be fully tested
prior to shipment to the Delta rocket factory in Decatur.
Boeing also made significant news within the U.S. rocket industry
by completing its first Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) at
CCAFS. The company also broke ground on a second HIF at Vandenberg Air
Force Base. The new facilities will assemble Delta IV rockets
horizontally rather than vertically increasing safety, quality and
efficiency.
Horizontal integration of the Delta IV will also allow the Delta
team to process multiple launch vehicles in parallel, increasing
flexibility to deal with customer scheduling changes, while decreasing
“time on pad.” Current Delta launch vehicles, which are integrated on
the launch pad, spend approximately four weeks on the pad.
By utilizing the HIF, the Delta IV team will reduce that time to
approximately one week.
With the promise of success for the Delta IV, the Air Force gave
Boeing approval for production and mission integration of a Delta IV
for the first Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch for the
Defense Satellite Communications System.
As 2000 draws to a close, the Delta IV team is busy starting its
multi-phased test program of the common booster core at Stennis. This
will be highlighted by a static test firing of the CBC with its fully
integrated engine and related subsystems in a simulated flight
scenario.
During the testing, the CBC will undergo all of the stresses
associated with launch while carrying out the commands of a typical
flight profile. The test program is typical of the approach the Delta
IV team is taking to prove out the launch vehicle’s completed systems
prior to flight.
Launch Services Orders
NASA Launch Services (NLS) — NASA awarded Boeing three firm
launch services contracts and five options. The award included a
10-year ID/IQ contract for Delta II, Delta III and Delta IV launch
services.
RADARSAT II — MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., Richmond,
British Columbia, awarded Boeing a Delta II launch contract for the
world’s most advanced synthetic aperture radar system, on board a
Delta II rocket in 2003.
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle — The Air Force revised the
Initial Launch Services contract for the EELV program by awarding
Boeing two additional launches. Boeing has now been awarded 21 of the
28 launch services contracts for the EELV program. The Air Force also
authorized a Delta IV Heavy demonstration flight in 2003.
Mars Rover 2003 — NASA exercised its first option under the NLS
contract by awarding Boeing a Delta II launch for the Mars Rover 2003
mission.
