SS/L and ULA Begin Combined Operations on IS-14

Yesterday, Monday, October 12th, was a major milestone in the Intelsat 14 satellite campaign. Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) started combined operations with the installation of the fueled spacecraft onto the launch vehicle adaptor. The operation went very well.

The clamp band that attaches them together was tensioned to flight levels. This clamp band holds the satellite to the upper stage throughout the launch and is released (via exploding bolts) when the Atlas booster and Centaur upper stage have successfully injected our satellite into the proper geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

We also weighed the spacecraft. Fully loaded, it weighs 5614.0 kg, of which 3140.1 kg are the bi-propellants, 2468.6 kg is the dry mass, and 5.3 kg is helium.

The satellite was then transferred to a transport wagon, on which the satellite will be prepared for encapsulation in the payload fairing halves today.

As I watched, the SS/L technicians removed heavy metal lift fittings from the corners of the spacecraft body. These are no longer needed because the attachment points for all remaining lifts of the satellite will be to Atlas ground handling equipment. Also no longer needed are the red protective covers, which have been installed on the thrusters for so long, I think of thrusters as red. They actually have a matte coated-metal finish. These tiny station-keeping engines are indeed impressive; the giant nozzles on the business end of the Atlas core stage are poised for unimaginable violence.

~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida