NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report 5 January 2007

Mission: THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms)
Launch Pad: 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Launch Vehicle: Boeing Delta II
Launch Date: Feb. 15, 2007
Launch Time: 6:07:37 – 6:26:37 p.m. EST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center, fueling of the THEMIS spacecraft is under way this week. The probes will be installed onto the payload carrier Jan. 9 to 11. Spin-balance testing will follow Jan. 15 and 16. Mating to the upper stage booster is scheduled for Jan. 26. THEMIS will go to Pad 17-B for mating with the Delta II on Feb. 2.

At Pad 17-B, the first stage of the Delta II rocket is scheduled to be installed into the launcher on Saturday. The nine solid rocket boosters will be placed around the base of the first stage and attached in sets of three between Jan. 8 to 13. The second stage will be hoisted atop the first stage on Jan. 16. The following day, the payload fairing will be lifted inside the clean-room facility located within the mobile service tower.

There are no significant issues or concerns at this time.

Previous status reports are available on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2006