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KSC Public Affairs Contact:
George Diller (fax 407-867-2692)
E-mail: George.Diller-1@ksc.nasa.gov
XTE SATELLITE ARRIVES AT KSC TO BEGIN
LAUNCH PREPARATIONS
NASA’s X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) to
be launched aboard a Delta II rocket late this summer arrived today at
the Skid Strip on Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a C-5 military
transport jet. The spacecraft was shipped from NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The purpose of the XTE satellite is to
gather data with its three instruments about X-ray emitting objects
within our Milky Way Galaxy and beyond. The spacecraft will provide
information on the nature, energy source and evolution of X-ray sources
such as white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.
The 6,700-pound XTE is being transported
today to NASA Spacecraft Checkout Hangar AO on Cape Canaveral Air
Station to begin approximately two months of activities. This will
include completion of payload element integration, functional tests,
spacecraft cleaning, installation of pyrotechnics and activation of the
spacecraft batteries. In mid-August XTE will be transported to Pad A at
Complex 17 for mating to the Delta II rocket.
Delta/XTE is currently scheduled for
launch on Aug. 31, however, due to launch vehicle availability this date
is under review. |
