Status Report

Spacecraft and Expendable Vehicles Status Report 22 May 2002

By SpaceRef Editor
May 22, 2002
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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 prelaunch preparations continue to progress smoothly. The Combined Systems Test is under way today. The technical concern with the vehicle’s Inertial Measurement Unit has been resolved and the work on the vehicle continues on schedule.

The NOAA-M spacecraft processing has been completed, and the satellite will be installed into its payload canister tomorrow in preparation for being moved to Space Launch Complex 4 West. The spacecraft will be erected top the Titan II on May 30.

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

At SAEF-2, spacecraft Mission Operations testing concluded successfully on Tuesday, and today, CONTOUR was mated to its solid propellant apogee kick motor. Next week, the solar arrays will be installed and light-tested. On June 4-5, there will be a final test of the CONTOUR science instruments. The spacecraft will then be placed on a spin table for an initial spin test before fuel is loaded aboard. Fueling is currently s337uled for June 7-8. A second spin test with the spacecraft fully fueled will then be conducted.

The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle second stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday, April 1. It continues to undergo checkout at Delta launch vehicle Hangar AO without any issues or concerns. The Delta first stage arrived at Cape Canaveral on April 15 and is at Hangar M.

At Space Launch Complex 17, erection of the Delta booster will begin next week on Tuesday, May 28. The pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review was completed yesterday at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, Calif., without any significant issues or concerns.

MISSION: Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)

LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL

LAUNCH SITE: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

LAUNCH DATE: NET Aug. 14, 2002

LAUNCH WINDOW: 07:50 – 09:50 a.m. EDT

The launch of GALEX has been rescheduled by approximately two weeks to allow time for the spacecraft to complete processing at the Orbital Space Systems Group spacecraft facility in Dulles, Va.

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL will also need some additional time to complete processing that allows for resolution of a concern with the vehicle’s thrust vector control system.

Arrival of GALEX at KSC is now tentatively planned to occur on June 25 and arrival of the Pegasus XL is being anticipated for July 11.

SpaceRef staff editor.