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Aleutian Test Range (Atr)

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Aleutian Test Range (Atr) Support to Northern Space Operations ALASKA AEROSPACE OVERVIEW • Charter to diversity economy with aerospace industry • Established 1991 as State of Alaska public corporation • Primary focus of creating economic hub with spaceport • Established and trusted launch capabilities • FAA-licensed commercial spaceport • Government & commercial users • Orbital and sub-orbital capability • Business-oriented, low-cost, efficient & effective • No Sustainment funding from State or Federal agencies • Wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Launch Services, provides flexible and cost-efficient staffing solutions for daily operations and surge support ESTABLISHED ORBITAL COMMERCIAL SPACEPORT • Kodiak Island, Alaska • Located on 3,700 acres of public land at Narrow Cape • Established Logistics: scheduled sea and air transport • Fiber optic connectivity for off-site data • Year-round launch operations; Gulf of Alaska moderates temperatures • Oriented for responsive access to space • Efficient for Polar, sun synchronous, and high inclination orbits • 21-year launch history – government orbital & suborbital missions, missile defense, commercial launch • Focus on small and light-lift launch vehicles (Minotaur IV, Athena, Venture Class) Pt Arguello • ~$120M of capital investment at PSCA • Federal, State, and private-sector funding • On-going spaceport enhancements to maintain state-of-the-industry capabilities YEAR MONTH SPONSOR MISSION 21 YEARS’ LAUNCH EXPERIENCE 1998 NOV USAF AIT-1 1999 SEP USAF AIT-2 2001 MAR USAF QRLV-1 SEP NASA/USAF Kodiak Star NOV SMDC STARS WCRRF 2002 APR USAF QRLV-2 2004 DEC MDA IFT-13C 2005 FEB MDA IFT-14 2006 FEB MDA FT04-1 SEP MDA FTG-02 2007 MAY MDA FTG-03 SEP MDA FTG-03a 2008 JUL MDA FTX-03 DEC MDA FTG-05 2010 NOV USAF STP-S26 2011 SEP ORS/USAF TacSat-4 2014 AUG SMDC AHW FT-2 2017 JUN MDA FTT-18 JUL MDA FET-01 2018 JUL Private Commercial NOV Private Commercial 2019 JUL MDA FTA-01 PSCA COMPREHENSIVE CAPABILITIES Maintenance Support Launch / Mission Control Center Facility Area 3 Commercial Launch Pads Instrumentation Field Integration & Processing Facility Spacecraft & Assemblies Transfer Launch Pad 2 Launch Service Structure Rocket Motor Payload Processing (Launch Pad 1) Storage Facility Facility SIX LAUNCH PADS PROVIDE RESILIENCY, RESPONSIVENESS, AND FLEXIBILITY Gravel Pads for Common use Tactical Launch Tower Systems (LP1) (Pads A&D) Solid-fuel rockets Dual-use for Commercial and Tactical Systems (Pad C) Common use Launch Pad (LP2) Dedicated Solid & Liquid Commercial rockets Launch Pad (Pad B) COMMERCIAL LAUNCH PADS Common Use (LP2) Common Use (LP1) Dual-Use (Pad C) Dedicated Commercial (Pad B) INTEGRATED LAUNCH / MISSION OPERATIONS CONTROL CENTERS • Multiple control centers provide flexibility and responsiveness • Primary LOCC supports PSCA Range Ops and 70+ customer mission staff • EMC2 allows for simultaneous preparation of govt & commercial missions • EMC2 allows for smaller launch teams to maintain on-site mission ops capability • Provides privacy and security for multiple customer operations • LOCC & EMC2 resources can be utilized together for large complex missions Launch Operations Control Center (LOCC) Extended Mission Control Center (EMC2) PAYLOAD PROCESSING FACILITY (PPF) • Capability to support on-site payload processing • Two 100K class clean rooms – can support 10K level • Equipment airlock • Blast-proof operations room • 15T crane • Hypergolic fuel capabilities ROBUST & FLEXIBLE INSTRUMENTATION • Three independent range safety and telemetry systems • One fixed & two transportable systems (with 2 antennas each) • DoD & FAA approved Command Destruct System (CDS) • L- & S-band (fixed system is C-band capable) • Plan to add a fourth system and continue system modernization • X-band commercial weather radar improves weather analysis • Measure thick cloud to assess risk of triggered lightning • Detailed insight into local weather conditions LAUNCH SUPPORT FOR ROCKET LAB USA • Range Safety & Telemetry System (RSTS) Support • Mahia peninsula, New Zealand • AAC has supported all RocketLab launches; May 2017 – present • Provides value back to Alaska • Alaskans supporting beyond strengthens State’s market position • Developing valuable experience in emerging light-lift market ALEUTIAN TEST RANGE (ATR) • Deployment of transportable instrumentation extends data collection and flight safety systems • PSCA serves as proven data and mission operations hub • Land-based assets lowers overall costs and improves range reliability • AAC has previously provided off-axis tracking operations from Sand Point (~345mi SE of PSCA) AAC BUSINESS OUTLOOK • Increased diversity in Kodiak launch customers • Transition from one annual government customer (e.g., USAF, MDA) to current mix of six commercial and government customers • Less vulnerable to launch and program delays • Adding multi-year agreements • Support to other locations • Subcontractor on NASA ROC II contract • Exploring Poker Flat Research Range support • Interest from other spaceports • Growing interest from space community • Satellite downlink opportunities at PSCA • New commercial launch companies • Expanded US Government interest PSCA IS WELL POSTURED FOR TO MEET LAUNCH OPERATIONS • Well apportioned capabilities to conduct responsive launch • Existing $120M capital investments from Federal, State, and private sector contributes to a state-of-the-art spaceport • Capabilities scaled to support complex missions • Focus on small/medium lift – Venture-class vehicles • Next steps involve exercising the spaceport for responsiveness • Ability to launch rapidly without compromising safety • FAA license provides normalized oversight of processes • Standardized approaches and proven ability for public safety • Ability to provide on-demand launch assurance • 21-years of launch experience across variety of launch vehicles • Experience with regular commercial launch cadence • No conflict with human spaceflight or high-profile national missions • Spaceport enhancements for rapid launch flow and accurate meteorological predictions of launch commit criteria .
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