NASA Spacecraft and Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report 26 May 2004

LAUNCH WINDOW: 3:01:50 a.m. – 3:04:50 (PDT)
NASA’s Aura spacecraft, the latest in the Earth Observing System (EOS)
series, is at the Astrotech payload processing facility located on North
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Fueling of the spacecraft was completed May 14. The next major activity
is the mating to the payload attach fitting, the interface with the
Delta II, which was scheduled to occur on May 24. This was delayed until
today for resolution of a configuration problem with the secondary latch
system that secures the spacecraft to the payload attach fitting.
Transportation of the spacecraft to Space Launch Complex 2 for mating to
the second stage of the Delta II is scheduled for June 2.

The build-up of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle on Space Launch
Complex 2, located on North VAFB, was completed. The first stage was
stacked April 29 and the second stage May 1. Work to install the nine
solid rocket boosters was completed May 5. A vehicle control system
check was successfully completed Monday. This procedure qualifies the
first and second stage subsystems through a series of detailed tests.
The first stage liquid oxygen leak check was completed May 21. It
included a simulated countdown and the loading of liquid oxygen aboard
the first stage. A simulated flight test of the vehicle’s electrical and
mechanical systems was successfully completed Monday.

Aura’s four state-of-the-art instruments will study the dynamics of
chemistry occurring in the atmosphere. The spacecraft will provide data
to help scientists better understand the Earth’s ozone, air quality and
climate change.

The EOS Aura satellite, instruments and science investigations are
managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Government oversight of launch preparations and the countdown management
on launch day is the responsibility of the NASA Launch Services Program
based at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The launch service is
provided to NASA by Boeing Launch Services.

MESSENGER is undergoing pre-launch testing at the Astrotech Space
Operations facilities near KSC. Autonomy testing of the spacecraft
continues. This verifies MESSENGER’s ability to operate on its own when
not in direct contact with Earth. Installation of thermal blankets has
been completed as required by the schedule up to this time. In upcoming
work, the flight battery is scheduled for installation June 8 and the
solar arrays will be installed June 22.

The review to assess readiness to begin stacking the Boeing Delta II
rocket on Pad

17-B was successfully completed May 19. Vehicle stacking begins with the
first stage June 18.

The launch period for MESSENGER extends through Aug. 13.
MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.