NASA Expendable Launch Vehicles Status Report 22 December 2004

MISSION: Deep Impact

LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II 7925

LAUNCH PAD: Pad 17-B Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 12, 2005

LAUNCH WINDOW: 1:08:20 p.m. and 1:48:04 p.m. EST instantaneous

The launch of the Deep Impact spacecraft has been officially
rescheduled on the Eastern Range for Jan. 12. There are two
instantaneous launch opportunities that day, at 1:08:20 p.m. and
1:48:04 p.m. EST.

Work to remove and replace the Delta II inter-stage adapter has been
completed. The second stage was removed from the vehicle on Dec. 15,
the inter-stage adapter removed on Dec. 16, a new inter-stage adapter
installed on Dec. 17, and the second stage re-installed on Dec. 18.

In Deep Impact processing activities at the Astrotech Space Operations
facility located near Kennedy Space Center, the hydrazine fueling
operations began on Monday, Dec. 19, and are being completed today.
The solar arrays will be stowed for flight on Dec. 28 and the
spacecraft will be weighed. Mating to the payload attach fitting and
upper stage booster occurs Dec. 29-30.

At Launch Pad 17-B, the next major launch vehicle milestone is the
guidance and control system check that occurs Dec. 28. The Flight
Simulation, a plus count that exercises all of the systems on the
vehicle as they will occur during powered flight, is scheduled for
Dec. 29.

The Deep Impact spacecraft is scheduled to be transported to Pad 17-B
on Jan. 3 and mated to the Boeing Delta II rocket. The Flight Program
Verification, the major integrated test with the Delta II, occurs on
Dec. 30. The Delta II payload fairing will be installed around the
Deep Impact spacecraft on Jan. 7.

The overall Deep Impact mission management for this Discovery class
program is conducted by the University of Maryland in College Park,
Md. Deep Impact project management is handled by the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The spacecraft was built for NASA by
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation.