Genesis Next Planned Launch Opportunity Aug. 8

The launch of NASA’s Genesis spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II
rocket has now been scheduled to occur at 12:13:40 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug.
8.

Mission managers met with Eastern Range officials today to assess
the availability of the Aug. 8 launch day. Range officials confirmed their
ability to support the Genesis launch attempt with no impact to Space
Shuttle mission STS-105, currently slated for Aug. 9.

The Delta II launch vehicle and Genesis spacecraft are both in
excellent condition and ready to support the new launch date. The near term
Genesis launch period extends to Aug. 15. Genesis mission managers will
convene a follow-up launch readiness review Tuesday morning as part of
standard prelaunch preparations.

Genesis will be NASA’s first sample return mission of this millennium, when
it captures a piece of the Sun and returns to Earth. It will travel to a
point where the Sun and Earth gravities are balanced, open its collector
arrays and capture elements in the solar wind. The samples will help
scientists learn about the beginnings of our solar system.

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