US Air Force’s AEHF and SBIRS Geo 4 slips to 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two U.S. Air Force missions have been postponed to no-earlier-than 2018, as was noted on Gunter’s Space Page. Each of the missions are scheduled to fly on United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rockets, however, neither delay apparently was the result of the launch service provider.
On Aug. 4 Mike Fabey with Space News wrote that the U.S. Air Force had noted that a problem with the power regulator on the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-4) satellite had pushed the flight to no earlier than next year (2018). For its part, the U.S. Air Force had stated the issue wouldn’t have a major impact on the mission.
AEHF-4, like the three previous AEHF satellites, will use an Atlas V 531 rocket for its ride to orbit. It will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41).
The fourth satellite under the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared Sensor – Geostationary (SBIRS-Geo 4) program, which works to provide early warning of the launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, has also been pushed back to no earlier than 2018.
The SBIRS-Geo constellation has been sent aloft via the 401 variant of ULA’s Atlas V booster and, when launched, will also take to the skies from Canaveral’s SLC-41.
Jason Rhian
Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.
