On the final mission for the
program, a Boeing Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) payload booster
vehicle successfully deployed a U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP)
satellite today.
The IUS-10 and its integrated payload, DSP-22, were launched aboard a
Titan IV B rocket, that also flew with a Boeing-made fairing. Liftoff
occurred at 1:50 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Fla.
Upon separation from the rocket, IUS-10 fired its two stages to propel the
spacecraft toward its geosynchronous orbit. Following roll maneuvers, the IUS
successfully deployed the spacecraft.
“This last IUS mission added a critical asset to our nation’s military
space program with the successful launch of DSP-22,” said Bill Benshoof,
Boeing IUS program manager. “The flight of IUS-10 concludes a 22-year journey
for one of the most successful upper stages ever built and flown.”
The Boeing IUS program has supported national security, telecommunications
and science missions with successful spacecraft deployments for the U.S.
Department of Defense, the original Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
constellation, and the Magellan, Galileo, Ulysses and Chandra missions for
NASA.
Adding to the celebration of today’s successful last flight of the IUS,
the Boeing IUS team received honors this week by the Air Force Association at
the AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., for its significant
contributions to the advancement of Air Force space activities in the last 50
years.
The Boeing IUS has been launched from the space shuttle and Titan IV
rockets. There have been 24 IUS missions flown to date – 15 launched from the
shuttle and nine launched from the Titan IV.
A typical IUS mission launched from a Titan IV involves IUS separation
from the rocket’s second stage booster approximately nine minutes into flight.
The IUS takes over responsibility for the remainder of the powered portion of
the flight.
For the next six hours and 45 minutes, the IUS autonomously performs all
functions to place the spacecraft into its proper orbit.
The first IUS engine burn occurs a little over one hour into the IUS
booster’s flight. The second solid rocket motor ignites about six-and-a-half
hours into flight followed by a coast phase, and then, separation of the
spacecraft.
IUS vehicle production was completed at Boeing in Kent, Wash. Spacecraft
integration, checkout, ground operations and launch preparation activities
were conducted at Cape Canaveral.
Boeing also produces the payload fairing for the Titan IV program. A 56-
foot long fairing was used for the DSP-22 mission. Boeing-built fairings have
flown on all 37 Titan IV launches to date and will fly aboard the remaining
two Titan IV launches.
“This successful launch continues the 100 percent mission success record
for the Titan IV payload fairing,” said Richard Peters, program manager and
chief engineer, Boeing Titan fairing program.
The fairing for the DSP-22 mission was produced at Boeing in Huntington
Beach, Calif., with the fairing’s thermal protection system applied at Boeing
in Pueblo, Colo.
The Boeing IUS and Titan fairing programs are managed by Boeing Expendable
Launch Systems in Huntington Beach.
The Defense Support Program is a satellite surveillance system providing
the United States and its allies with ballistic missile early warning and
other information related to missile launches, surveillance and the detonation
of nuclear weapons.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Integrated Defense Systems is one of the
world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis,
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides
systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers.
It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the
world’s largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world’s largest satellite
manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary
systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest contractor; and a
global leader in launch services.
