14 DAY TRIAL // The latest communications satellites sent to orbit by the US Air Force (USAF) is showing slow, but constant progress in rising to its correct operational altitude.
A glitch that affects the spacecraft now prevents it from firing its main thrusters, which would allow it to propel itself to a decent observations position in Earth's orbit.
The rocket that carried AEHF-1 was responsible for injecting the spacecraft into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) some 230 kilometers at the perigee and 36,000 kilometers at the apogee.
This was accomplished successfully, but the satellite then failed to ignite its hydrazine engines, which were supposed to take it to an altitude of 19,000 kilometers at perigee.
Mission controllers then began devising a back up plan, which would see the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-1) satellite use its auxiliary and maneuver thrusters to reach that altitude.
In an announcement made on October 5 by a USAF service official, it was revealed that progress is taking place according to the new contingency plan.
The instrument was build by Sunnyvale, California-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems, and was launched aboard an Atlas 5 delivery system on August 14, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), in Florida.
The even took place without a hitch, but the fact that the satellite was in trouble immediately became obvious to its ground controllers.
The new time line they developed calls for an extension of the 120 days that would have normally been needed to reach and circularize the spacecraft's orbit.
Estimates show that it will take at least six to seven months to park the satellite to its orbital perch, and even some time after that for conducting tests and calibrations.
The good news is that, even with these massive delays, the operational life span of the satellite will not be reduced at all, Space reports.
According to the recent announcement, the AEHF-1 is now at a perigee of about 4,700 kilometers, and continues to rise. It will reach its orbit sometime between June 2011 and August 2011.
The system addresses fighters on ground, sea and air platforms, and provides them with improved global, survivable, highly secure, protected, communications.
The primary objective of the AEHF mission is to ensure that the US president and his military commanders never lose contact with troops on the battlefield.