Spacecraft and Expendable Vehicles Status Report 23 Jan 2003

MISSION: Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)

• LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL
• LAUNCH LOCATION: Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 25, 2003
• LAUNCH WINDOW: 3:10 – 4:08 p.m. EST (Target T-0: 3:14 p.m. EST.)

In the Multipurpose Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at KSC,
mating of the SORCE spacecraft to the Pegasus launch vehicle occurred on
Jan. 5 and the fairing was installed around the spacecraft on Jan. 15. This
morning, Jan. 22 at 4:45 a.m. the integrated vehicle left the MPPF and was
transported to the runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It arrived
there at 6:30 a.m. and the mating to the L-1011 carrier aircraft was
completed at 10:30 a.m.

The Combined Systems Test, an integrated test involving the launch
vehicle, spacecraft and L-1011 aircraft, is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23.

Departure of the L-1011 for launch on Saturday, Jan. 25 will be at
2:15 p.m. for a drop targeted to occur within the launch window at 3:14 p.m.
EST. The launch window opens at 3:10 p.m. and closes at 4:08 p.m. The drop
of the Pegasus will at an altitude of 39,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean
approximately 100 miles east-southeast of Cape Canaveral.

The SORCE project is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center, the spacecraft is built by the Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group,
and the instruments are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
Physics (LASP).

MISSION: Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)

• LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL
• LAUNCH LOCATION: Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
• LAUNCH DATE: April 4, 2003
• LAUNCH WINDOW: 6:50 – 8:50 a.m. EST

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Orbital Sciences
Pegasus launch vehicle is undergoing testing. It has successfully completed
the launch vehicle verification test, flight control phasing, and flight
simulation.

The launch vehicle is currently planned ferry to Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station on the L-1011 aircraft on Feb. 14.

The spacecraft, built for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by the
Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group is also undergoing testing and is
currently scheduled to arrive at KSC on Feb. 2.

The GALEX mission is led by the University of California at
Berkley.

MISSION: Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPSat)

• LAUNCH VEHICLE: Boeing Delta II with
• Reduced Height Dual Payload Attach Fitting (DPAF)
• LAUNCH SITE: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB)
• LAUNCH DATE: January 12, 2003
• LAUNCH WINDOW: 4:45 – 5:30 p.m. PST

The launch of ICESat/CHIPSat occurred successfully on Sunday,
January 12 at 4:45 p.m. PST. The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle performance
was nominal. On-orbit, both ICESat and CHIPSat are operating
satisfactorily.