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| Note |
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This expendable launch
vehicle and payload processing status will be issued
weekly. It will provide the status of upcoming NASA
missions scheduled for launch aboard expendable launch
vehicles. For additional information on NASA ELV
launches, visit: http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/elv.htm.
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GALEX
|
| Mission |
Galaxy
Evolution Explorer |
| Launch Vehicle |
Pegasus
XL |
| Launch Location |
Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Launch Date |
March
30, 2003 NET |
| Launch Window |
6:50
- 8:50
a.m. EST (Drop time 7:00
a.m.) |
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| |
|
Status
(processing
notes)
|
| In
the Multipurpose Payload Processing Facility (MPPF), mating
of the GALEX spacecraft to Pegasus launch vehicle is underway
today. Once the electrical connections
have been established, a Flight Simulation test will
be performed.
GALEX
will be transported to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
the last week of March for mating to the Orbital Sciences
L-1011 carrier aircraft.
A
request for a launch date of Apr. 2 has been made to the
Eastern Range. That date is not available at this time.
As an alternative, schedule options are being developed
for a launch date as early as Mar. 30.
The GALEX program management is by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center and is part of Goddard's Small Explorer
(SMEX) program. Spacecraft project management is the responsibility
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Institute
of Technology is the lead for mission science.
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SIRTF
|
| Mission |
Space
Infrared Telescope Facility |
| Launch Vehicles |
Delta
II Heavy |
| Launch Pads |
Pad
17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Launch Date |
April
15, 2003 NET |
| Launch Time |
4:34:07
a.m. EDT |
|
| |
|
Status
(processing
notes)
|
| The
SIRTF spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday,
Mar. 6. It was shipped from the Lockheed Martin plant at
Sunnyvale, Calif. Testing and final preparations for launch
are being performed in a class 10,000 laminar flow clean
room at NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station.
Once
inside the high bay, the spacecraft was rotated to vertical
and the protective coverings removed. Spacecraft systems
functional testing is underway this week.
The
erection of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle on Pad
17-B began on Monday, Feb. 24 with the erection of the
first stage. Erection of the nine solid rocket boosters
was completed this week. The second stage is planned for
hoisting atop the first stage on Friday, March 12. A leak
check of the first stage that includes loading liquid
oxygen aboard is scheduled for March 22. A flight simulation
to test the vehicle's systems that will operate during
power flight is scheduled for March 26.
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|
MER-1
/ MER-2
|
| Mission |
Mars
Exploration Rovers (MER-1/MER-2) |
| Launch Vehicles |
Delta II / Delta II Heavy |
| Launch Pads |
Pads
17-A / 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Launch Dates |
May
30 / June 25 |
| Launch Times |
2:28
p.m. / 12:34
p.m. EDT |
|
| |
|
Status
(processing
notes)
|
| At
Kennedy Space Center, the second of the two Mars Exploration
Rovers, MER-1, arrived on Tuesday, March 11 and has begun
its prelaunch testing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing
Facility (PHSF). A functional test of the MER-2 rover systems
was conducted on Mar. 6 and Mar. 9 and included deployment
of the lander petals, the rover's solar arrays, camera mast
and camera. The camera also took test images. A similar
test for MER-1 is scheduled to occur late next week.
Once
functional testing and mission simulation of the flight
elements is complete, they will be integrated together.
Each spacecraft will be mated to a solid propellant upper
stage booster that will propel the spacecraft out of Earth
orbit. After mating to the upper stage, the stack will
undergo spin balance testing. Approximately ten days before
launch the payload will be transported to the launch pad
for mating with their respective Boeing Delta II rockets.
The
Boeing Delta II vehicle for the first launch of the two
launches scheduled on May 30 is planned for erection on
Pad 17-A at Space Launch Complex 17 beginning April 18.
The Delta for the second launch on June 25 will begin
erection activities on May 1 on Pad 17-B.
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The Kennedy
Space Center (KSC) Newsroom offers an electronic subscription
service for status reports, news releases and other notices
issued from KSC. There are two possible ways to subscribe.
You may send a blank e-mail message to ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov
or follow the instructions on the Web site at http://kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov.
The system will confirm the request via e-mail.
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