Fleet Ballistic Missile Eastern Range Operations Supporting Navy Testing and Deployment

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1 Fleet Ballistic Missile Eastern Range Operations Supporting Navy Testing and Deployment Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Test & Support Systems Engineering Pier Road, Hanger Y Mail Drop: MRL 156 Cape Canaveral AFB, FL [email protected] K7036

2 Partnering to Assure Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Reliability and Credibility How does the Navy assure the reliability and credibility of its submarine-based Fleet Ballistic Missiles (FBMs)? One important way is through test launches of the missiles in the Atlantic Ocean on the Air Force Eastern Range and in the Pacific utilizing range assets managed by the Naval Air Systems Command, Point Mugu, California. For the vast test and space launch arena known as the Eastern Range, the Cape Canaveral area in Florida serves as the point of departure. Submarines and surface ships leave Port Canaveral to make way to deep-sea test locations in the range s 10,000-mile stretch of ocean. From land-based launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, rockets propel satellites, spacecraft and other payloads through the range s 15 million square miles of instrumented airspace. In the maritime provinces of the range, the U.S. Navy conducts FBM tests from Trident IIconfigured Ohio-class submarines. The test launches of these vital strategic deterrents provide reliability and accuracy performance information to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Strategic Command, as part of ongoing operational system evaluation. For each test, missiles are randomly selected and converted to an unarmed test configuration, and then launched from deployed submarines under operationally representative conditions. Who partners with U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs personnel to support these tests and other FBM operations at the Eastern Range? The skilled men and women of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Navy s prime FBM strategic missile system contractor and missile system program manager for more than 50 years. Cover: An unarmed Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile emerges from the Eastern Range s Atlantic waters in a Navy test of reliability. With a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles, the powerful missile features three-stage, solid-fuel propulsion, inertial guidance and multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles. Trident II-configured Ohio-class submarines carry the D5 missiles, which were first deployed in The D5 missile s superb record is a result of continual technical advances under the exceptional leadership of the Navy s Strategic Systems Programs. The Navy s rigorous testing program helps to ensure the reliability and credibility of this critical national security asset. Photo courtesy of NASA 1

3 Providing Customer Support with FBM Depth and Breadth When the Navy tested the first FBM, the Polaris A1, at the Eastern Range in the 1950s, Lockheed Martin was there. That close partnership has continued through the testing of every generation of FBM since then, including today s Trident II D5. With the Trident II D5, the Navy has achieved a record of reliability unmatched by any other large ballistic missile well over a hundred consecutive successful test launches since 1989 in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Lockheed Martin personnel contribute technical and operational depth and breadth in support of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit, the organization within Navy Strategic Systems Programs that directs FBM operations at the Eastern Range. Dedicated to meeting the Navy s goals and requirements, more than 400 Lockheed Martin employees work on the FBM program in more than 20 buildings at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Two of these buildings one for engineering and analysis and the other for missile research make up the company s newest Eastern Range facility, the FBM Post-Production Center of Excellence that opened in Lockheed Martin talent includes engineers, technicians and other specialists who aid the Navy in assembling, installing, testing and repairing the missiles. Combining veteran employees with years of experience and recent college graduates with fresh perspectives forms a strong and effective team. The full team of more than 2,600 Lockheed Martin FBM employees is devoted to the Navy s needs in six states Florida, California, Georgia, Washington, Utah and Virginia. Their work encompasses every aspect of the Trident II D5 strategic weapon system, from design to development to production to testing to operation. Their guiding philosophy remains We never forget who we re working for. Naval Ordnance Test Unit: Directing FBM Eastern Range Operations The Naval Ordnance Test Unit, a major field activity of U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs, directs all FBM operations at the Eastern Range. This unit oversees and performs test, launch and evaluation of the missile system during development. The unit plays an integral role in supporting FBM demonstration and shakedown operations, commander evaluation tests and follow-on commander evaluation tests of the system. And, for flight test vehicles, the unit supports tracking, telemetry and range safety equipment. The many firsts the Naval Ordnance Test Unit has supported include the first Polaris missile launch from a surface ship off the coast of Florida in 1959 and the first from a submarine in The unit later supported the Poseidon C3, Trident I C4 and Trident II D5 development and operational evaluation test flight programs. Since the 1950s, the unit has had a presence at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Headquarters for the Naval Ordnance Test Unit were officially relocated to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in The close partnership between the Navy and Lockheed Martin has continued through every FBM generation from the 1950s Polaris A1 to today s Trident II D5. A technician tests a new handling tool designed by Eastern Range support equipment engineers to automate installation of the D5 nose cap snubber during missile assembly at the Strategic Weapons Facility, Atlantic (SWFLANT). 3

4 Delivering a Full Range of FBM Expertise and Service D5 experimental vehicle one (D5X-1) lifts off from the launch pad at Complex 46A at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in The vehicle flew down the Eastern Range to an impact area in the south Atlantic Ocean, fulfilling a commitment made to the nation when the Secretary of Defense approved the Trident II D5 development program in Test reentry bodies streak toward their targets in the Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island at the far end of the Eastern Range. In the course of supporting the Navy in assembly, installation, testing, repair and operation of the missiles, Lockheed Martin provides an array of specialized services at the Eastern Range. These services include the following: Development and Operational Evaluation Tests. Lockheed Martin Eastern Range personnel support in-tube conversions of FBMs from tactical to test configuration at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay for performance evaluation missile tests, demonstration and shakedown operations, commander evaluation tests and follow-on commander evaluation tests conducted from FBM submarines (SSBNs). Lockheed Martin personnel also provide industrial and administrative support to visiting submarine crews. Test Missile Instrumentation Kit Production. Trident II D5 test missile kits convert operational missiles to a test configuration and provide range safety controls plus telemetry instrumentation. Kit processing takes place in a specially designed facility within the Missile Assembly and Checkout Area. Surface Support Equipment Design, Production and Proofing. The Support Equipment Area in Complex 30 and the Missile Assembly and Checkout Area, located in the Mechanical Equipment Support Systems Area, proof new designs and design alterations for electrical and mechanical support equipment. They also provide problem identification and solution analysis. Deployed System Support. FBM deployed system activities include program management; logistics, facility and field engineering; information technology; finance and business operations; technical publications and information systems. Logistics Support. Functions at Port Canaveral include the Data Acquisition and Reduction Center, which provides reduction of flight and ground test data; a test equipment laboratory; a type III certified calibration laboratory; and administration services (stockrooms, reproduction, mail and fleet transportation, finance, payroll, human resources, security, and environmental, safety and hazardous engineering). Shop Services. Lockheed Martin s machine shop and electrical labs feature a quick prototype capability to simulate almost any activity that occurs in the field or fleet. They build prototype hardware and one-of-a kind items, perform electrical failure detection and analysis, and support rework of surface support equipment. They also investigate and resolve field and fleet-related support equipment anomalies, and support missile and missile component problem investigations. Documentation Development. Technical experts review change documents, update instructions for missile processing and support equipment maintenance, and support design change implementation, hardware proofing, modification kit assembly and documentation release. Photo courtesy of NASA Lockheed Martin provides an array of specialized services to support the Navy s needs at the Eastern Range. FBM Eastern Range personnel install a new air conditioner on the Trident II D5 Service Unit. The Service Unit, a movable structure, is used at Strategic Weapons Facilities during conversion of a tactical missile to a test missile. 4 5

5 Fleet Support. The Mechanical Equipment Support Systems Area complex maintains space and equipment for evaluating, testing and demonstrating equipment for all program phases. These include proofing of proposed weapon systems alterations, slow-run-through evaluations and personnel familiarization for reentry and missile body/in-tube conversion operations. Failure Analysis. Post-Production Center of Excellence personnel submit Navy fleet-returned items to labs located on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration complex for failure analysis and determination of root cause for metallic and non-metallic objects. Administration. Lockheed Martin develops and administers systems and procedures for personnel and property security, property accountability, control of expenditures, procurement of supplies and materials, property and equipment maintenance and documentation. Lockheed Martin also provides maintenance and repair of government property and materiel services for FBM associate contractors. Eastern Range technicians evaluate a new thermal relief valve design on an active inert missile in the Mechanical Equipment Support Systems Area in the Missile Assembly and Checkout Area. The 45th Space Wing: Operating the Eastern Range as a National Asset The 45th Space Wing of the U.S. Air Force Space Command operates and maintains the Eastern Range, a national asset used by numerous military and government agencies. With headquarters at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, the wing supports military, civil and commercial space launch missions, as well as submarinelaunched ballistic missile tests and evaluations. The wing and its contractors work with the many organizations involved in launch and range operations. These include the U.S. Navy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Reconnaissance Office and the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. The lineage of today s 45th Space Wing dates to the Air Force Division of the Joint Long Range Proving Ground, an Air Force-Army-Navy organization established in 1949 to manage missile testing and launch operations on the range. By l956, nine tracking sites and the first 1,000 miles of the Eastern Range were in operation. By 1963, the range had stretched 10,000 miles from the Florida mainland through the South Atlantic and around the Southern tip of Africa to the Indian Ocean. Lockheed Martin Eastern Range workers install the S-band Mobile Array Telemetry (SMART) antenna system on board the USS Pathfinder, an FBM test range support ship, at Port Canaveral. 6 7

6 Dedicated to meeting Navy mission requirements, Lockheed Martin employees working at the Eastern Range provide Trident II D5 FBM deployed systems support, including program management, logistics, facility and field engineering, and business support functions.