USA-292

USA-292, also known as Advanced Extremely High Frequency 5 or AEHF-5, is a military communications satellite operated by the United States Space Force. It is the fifth of six satellites to be launched as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, which replaced the earlier Milstar system.

Satellite description
The USA-292 satellite was constructed by Lockheed Martin Space, and is based on the A2100 satellite bus. The satellite has a mass of 6168 kg and a design life of 14 years. It will be used to provide super high frequency (SHF) and extremely high frequency (EHF) communications for the United States Armed Forces, as well as those of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Launch


USA-292 was launched by United Launch Alliance, aboard an Atlas V 551 flying from SLC-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The launch occurred at 10:13 UTC on 8 August 2019, placing the satellite into a Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) with a perigee of 14434 km, an apogee of 35250 km, and 9.95° inclination. The satellite was successfully deployed in this orbit about five and a half hours after launch.

TDO-1 satellite
Alongside AEHF-5, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center launched an experimental 12U cubesat known as TDO-1 (Technology Demonstration Orbiter, COSPAR 2019-051B, SATCAT 44482). The satellite was deployed prior to AEHF-5, from a dispenser on the aft of the Centaur upper stage into an orbit with a perigee of 208 km and an apogee of 35264 km. TDO-1 deorbited 30 December 2022.