Spacecraft and Expendable Vehicles Status Report 10 Apr 2002

MISSION: Aqua EOS-PM (Earth Observing System Aqua Observatory)

LAUNCH VEHICLE: DELTA II 7920-10L

LAUNCH PAD: Space Launch Complex 2, Vandenberg Air Force Base

LAUNCH DATE: April 28, 2002 NET

LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:54:58 – 3:04:58 a.m. PDT

The Aqua spacecraft remains at the Spaceport Systems
International (SSI) payload processing facility located on South Vandenberg
Air Force Base. Aqua fueling activities were completed on Apr. 1. Due to
difficulties mating the spacecraft to the payload attach fitting (PAF), the
spacecraft is now expected to be transported to SLC-2 and mated to the Delta
vehicle no earlier than Monday, Apr. 15.

No significant launch vehicle work is scheduled this week and the
vehicle awaits the Aqua spacecraft. Boeing will conduct a launch site
readiness review prior to the spacecraft’s arrival.

Due to the changes in the spacecraft processing schedule, launch
is now expected to occur no earlier than Apr. 28. A firm date can be
identified after the Aqua spacecraft is mated to the Delta booster.

MISSION: NOAA-M Polar Orbiter

LAUNCH VEHICLE: USAF Titan II

LAUNCH PAD: Space Launch Complex 4 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base

LAUNCH DATE: June 24, 2002

LAUNCH WINDOW: 11:22 – 11:32 a.m. PDT

At SLC-4W, the Titan II/G-14 launch vehicle’s initial “power-on”
test was conducted on Tuesday, April 9. The booster was erected on the
launch pad Monday, Apr. 1.

The NOAA-M apogee kick motor and the spacecraft ground support and
test equipment also arrived on Tuesday, Apr. 9.

The NOAA-M spacecraft is at the Lockheed Martin plant in Sunnyvale,
Calif. and is planned for shipment to Vandenberg on Apr. 25. It will be
processed at NASA spacecraft hangar 1610 located on North Vandenberg Air
Force Base.

MISSION: CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour)

LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II 7425

LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

LAUNCH DATE: July 1, 2002

LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:56:14 – 2:56:26 a.m. EDT

The spacecraft’s solid rocket motor arrived at KSC on Tuesday,
Apr. 2 and is being processed at SAEF-2 prior to the arrival of CONTOUR.
The spacecraft is currently at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, MD and will arrive at KSC on Apr. 25 to begin final checkout and
preparations for launch. The spacecraft’s electrical ground support and
test equipment will arrive two days prior on Apr. 23.

The launch vehicle second stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station on Monday, Apr. 1 and is undergoing checkout at Delta launch
vehicle Hangar AO. The Delta first stage is scheduled to arrive at Cape
Canaveral on Apr. 15.

At Space Launch Complex 17, erection of the Delta booster is
planned to begin on May 28. A pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review is
scheduled for May 21 at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, CA.