Spacecraft and Expendable Vehicles Status Report 9 May 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: May 4, 2002
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:54:58 – 3:04:58 a.m. PDT
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The launch of Aqua EOS – PM from NASA’s Space Launch Complex 2
West occurred successfully on Saturday, May 4. Liftoff of the Boeing Delta
II rocket occurred at 2:54:58.290 PDT. Spacecraft separation occurred at
3:54 a.m. PDT inserting the spacecraft into a circular polar orbit of 438
miles.
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 on schedule. This week the Combined Systems Engine Leak Checks are
in work on the first stage and gas generator servicing and verification
testing is underway on the second stage. A technical concern with the
vehicle’s Inertial Measurement Unit remains under evaluation but it is not
clear at this time as to whether there could be any schedule impact.
The NOAA-M spacecraft arrived at VAFB on Apr. 25 and is at NASA
Spacecraft Hangar 1610 on North Vandenberg. The spacecraft’s apogee kick
motor was installed on Apr. 30. The Spacecraft Electrical Performance and
Evaluation Test (SEPET) successfully completed on Wednesday, May 8.
The fairing for NOAA-M is scheduled to arrive today to begin
processing at an Air Force facility also located on North Vandenberg.
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, the CONTOUR spacecraft has successfully completed the
System Performance Test to verify that all spacecraft systems are
functioning to their design capabilities.
This week the Deep Space Network compatibility test is underway
using facilities located at the MILA tracking station at KSC. This test
verifies CONTOUR’s ability to communicate with the world-wide system of deep
space tracking stations operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The CONTOUR Mission Readiness Review will be held next week 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 on Monday, Apr. 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 Apr. 15 and is at Hangar
M.
At Space Launch Complex 17, erection of the Delta booster will
begin on Tuesday, May 28. A pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review is
scheduled for May 21 at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, CA.
