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GLAST spacecraft arrives in Florida to prepare for launch (Forwarded)



 
 
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Old March 12th 08, 05:54 AM posted to sci.space.news
Andrew Yee[_1_]
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Default GLAST spacecraft arrives in Florida to prepare for launch (Forwarded)

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. March 7, 2008
321-867-2468

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-4044

RELEASE: 08-24

GLAST SPACECRAFT ARRIVES IN FLORIDA TO PREPARE FOR LAUNCH

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or
GLAST, arrived Tuesday at the Astrotech payload processing facility near
the Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations for launch. Liftoff
of GLAST aboard a Delta II rocket is currently targeted for 11:45 a.m.
EDT on May 16.

GLAST is a collaborative mission with the U.S. Department of Energy,
international partners from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden,
and numerous academic institutions from the U.S. and abroad. The
spacecraft will explore the most extreme environments in the universe,
and answer questions about supermassive black hole systems, pulsars and
the origin of cosmic rays. It also will study the mystery of powerful
explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.

The milestones to be accomplished over the next two months include
attaching the Ku-band communications antenna and the two sets of solar
arrays, a complete checkout of GLAST's scientific instruments,
installing the spacecraft's battery, and loading aboard the
observatory's propellant. These activities will be performed by General
Dynamics, builder of the spacecraft for NASA. GLAST currently is
scheduled to be transported to Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station on May 1.

The rocket that will launch GLAST is a Delta II 7920-H, manufactured and
prepared for launch by United Launch Alliance. It is a heavier-lift
model of the standard Delta II that uses larger solid rocket boosters.
The first stage is scheduled to be erected on Pad 17-B the week of March
17.

The following week, the nine strap-on solid rocket boosters will be
raised and attached. The second stage, which burns hypergolic
propellants, will be hoisted atop the first stage in late March. Next,
the fairing that will surround the spacecraft will be hoisted into the
clean room of the mobile service tower.

Engineers will perform several tests of the Delta II. In late April, the
first stage will loaded with liquid oxygen and checked for leaks. The
following day, a simulated flight test will be performed, testing the
vehicle's post-liftoff flight events without fuel aboard. The electrical
and mechanical systems of the entire Delta II will be exercised during
this test.

Once the GLAST payload is atop the launch vehicle, a final major test
will be performed. The combined minus count and plus count test
simulates all events as they will occur on launch day, but without
propellants aboard the vehicle.

The NASA Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible
for the countdown and launch management of the Delta II GLAST mission.

For more information about GLAST, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/glast
 




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