Spacecraft and Expendable Vehicles Status Report 24 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, Calif.
LAUNCH DATE: May 2, 2002 (Under Review)
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:54:58 – 3:04:58 a.m. PDT
On April 18, the Aqua spacecraft was mated atop the Boeing Delta
II launch vehicle at NASA’s Space Launch Complex 2 located on North
Vandenberg Base. The Aqua spacecraft batteries were charged and a state of
health check performed on April 20. The Flight Program Verification was
performed on Monday, April 22. This is a combined composite electrical test
and flight sequence test, the final major test prior to launch. The
vehicle’s mechanical and electrical systems were actuated during the
simulated plus count.
During the test, an unexpected spacecraft/vehicle interface
electrical problem was found creating an undesired secondary grounding path
precluding this portion of the test from being performed. The undesired
circuit this created was disabled upon reconfiguring the interface.
In addition, a second issue arose. Three of the four spacecraft
battery temperature sensors were reading incorrectly. It has been determined
that a pair of ground support equipment cables are not connected in a proper
manner. All the suspect cables were re-connected this morning and continuity
checks are now underway. The Flight Program Verification will be
re-performed tomodDa, Thursday, April 25. Some impact to the launch date is
anticipated and the remaining schedule of activities to prepare for launch
is currently under review.
MISSION: NOAA-M Polar Orbiter
LAUNCH VEHICLE: USAF Titan II
LAUNCH PAD: Space Launch Complex 4 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
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 and routine vehicle checkout and
prelaunch preparations continue on schedule. The booster was erected on the
launch pad April 1.
The NOAA-M spacecraft is at the Lockheed Martin plant in
Sunnyvale, Calif. and is planned for shipment to Vandenberg on Thursday,
April 25. It will be prepared for launch at a NASA spacecraft processing
facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spacecraft’s apogee kick
motor processing activities were successfully performed April 16 – 18. The
payload fairing is scheduled to arrive on May 9.
MISSION: CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour)
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II 7425
LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
LAUNCH DATE: July 1, 2002
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:56:14 – 2:56:26 a.m. EDT
The Contour spacecraft has been shipped from NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and will arrive at Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
tonight to begin final checkout and preparations for launch. The
spacecraft’s electrical ground support and test equipment began arriving at
KSC yesterday.
The Contour Mission Readiness Review will be held at the Applied
Physics Laboratory in Baltimore on May 15.
The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle second stage arrived at Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Monday, April 1 and is undergoing
checkout at Delta launch vehicle Hangar AO. 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 is
planned to begin on May 28. A pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review
continues to be scheduled for May 21 at the Boeing facility in Huntington
Beach, CA.
