SPACECRAFT AND EXPENDABLE VEHICLES STATUS REPORTJune 25, 2003 George
H. Diller Kennedy
Space Center 321/867-2468
MISSION: Mars
Exploration Rover (MER-B/Opportunity) LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II Heavy
LAUNCH PAD: 17-B,
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LAUNCH DATE:
June 28, 2003
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56:16
p.m. / 12:37:59 a.m. EDT The Flight
Readiness Review was held on June 21, and afterward, a decision was made to
postpone the launch by at least a couple of days. Based on routine post-test inspections, the launch team
elected to remove and replace a band of protective cork insulation on the Delta
first stage that may not have been adhering properly. The location is below the forward attach points of the
strap-on solid rocket boosters.
Inspections of a second band located higher on the first stage showed
that only minor work is necessary to assure that it is ready for launch. All of the
reapplication and repair of the cork insulation will be completed today. Normal countdown activities will then
resume on Thursday, beginning with the fueling of the Delta second stage with
its complement of storable hypergolic propellants. A countdown dress rehearsal will also be held on
Thursday. The Launch Readiness
Review will be held on Friday in the Mission Briefing Room at KSC. The fairing
was installed around the MER-B “Opportunity” spacecraft on June 21. Fairing closeouts will begin tonight. Integrated spacecraft/launch vehicle
testing indicates that the flight systems are ready for launch. At Pad 17-B
on launch day, the mobile service tower will be retracted from around the Delta
II about 3:30 p.m. if weather permits.
Options are available to retract the mobile service tower later if there
are thunderstorms in the vicinity and still reach one or both of the two
available launch times.
Loading of
the RP-1 fuel aboard the Delta first stage is nominally planned to begin at
9:16 p.m. followed by loading of liquid oxygen at about 10:06 p.m.
MISSION: Scientific
Satellite (SCISAT-1) Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL LAUNCH FACILITY: Vandenberg Air
Force Base, California LAUNCH DATE: August
2, 2003 LAUNCH TIME: 9:03:05
p.m. – 10:00:14 p.m. PDT Arrival of
the SCISAT spacecraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base from the Canadian Space
Agency’s David Florida Laboratories is scheduled to occur today. After
arrival, the solar arrays will be mated to the vehicle, followed by spacecraft
functional testing. SCISAT will be
mated to the Pegasus on or about July 10.
This will be followed by integrated testing. Installation of the fairing around the spacecraft is planned
for July 21 and mating to the L-1011 carrier aircraft on July 30.
SCISAT-1 weighs approximately 330 pounds and will be placed in a
400-mile-high polar orbit to investigate processes that control the
distribution of ozone in the upper atmosphere. Meanwhile,
the Pegasus XL rocket is undergoing prelaunch preparations by Orbital Sciences
Corporation at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Mating of the first and second stage is
occurring this week. The second
Flight Simulation is also being performed. The
scientific mission of SCISAT-1 is to measure and understand the chemical
processes that control the distribution of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere,
particularly at high altitudes.
The data from the satellite will provide Canadian and international scientists
with improved measurements relating to global ozone processes and help
policymakers assess existing environmental policy and develop protective
measures for improving the health of our atmosphere, preventing further ozone
depletion. The mission is designed
to last two years. MISSION: Space
Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II
Heavy LAUNCH PAD: 17-B, Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station LAUNCH DATE: August 23, 2003 LAUNCH TIME: 12:37:30 a.m. EDT The SIRTF
observatory is in NASA’s class 10,000 laminar flow clean room at spacecraft
Hangar AE awaiting its return to the launch pad in early August. The launch
period extends to September 9. SIRTF is the
fourth and final element in NASA’s family of orbiting “Great
Observatories.” All objects in the
universe with temperatures above absolute zero (-460 F) emit some infrared
radiation, or heat. Infrared
wavelengths lie beyond the red portion of the visible spectrum, and are
invisible to the human eye. Most
infrared light emitted by celestial objects is absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere
and scientists look to orbiting telescopes. SIRTF will capture those celestial objects and phenomena
that are too dim, distant or cool to study using ground-based telescopes or by
other astronomical techniques. Project
management of SIRTF for NASA is by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The observatory was built for NASA by
Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace.
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