ELV Status Report, 26-05-2004

Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report

May 26, 2004



George Diller
Kennedy Space Center
(321) 867-2468

MISSION: AURA
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II
LAUNCH PAD: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB)
LAUNCH DATE: June 19, 2004
LAUNCH WINDOW: 3:01:50 a.m. - 3:04:50 (PDT)
NASA's Aura spacecraft, the latest in the Earth Observing System (EOS)
series, is at the Astrotech payload processing facility located on North
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Fueling of the spacecraft was completed May 14. The next major activity is
the mating to the payload attach fitting, the interface with the Delta II,
which was scheduled to occur on May 24. This was delayed until today for
resolution of a configuration problem with the secondary latch system that
secures the spacecraft to the payload attach fitting. Transportation of the
spacecraft to Space Launch Complex 2 for mating to the second stage of the
Delta II is scheduled for June 2.

The build-up of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle on Space Launch Complex
2, located on North VAFB, was completed. The first stage was stacked April
29 and the second stage May 1. Work to install the nine solid rocket
boosters was completed May 5. A vehicle control system check was
successfully completed Monday. This procedure qualifies the first and second
stage subsystems through a series of detailed tests. The first stage liquid
oxygen leak check was completed May 21. It included a simulated countdown
and the loading of liquid oxygen aboard the first stage. A simulated flight
test of the vehicle's electrical and mechanical systems was successfully
completed Monday.

Aura's four state-of-the-art instruments will study the dynamics of
chemistry occurring in the atmosphere. The spacecraft will provide data to
help scientists better understand the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate
change.

The EOS Aura satellite, instruments and science investigations are managed
by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Government oversight
of launch preparations and the countdown management on launch day is the
responsibility of the NASA Launch Services Program based at John F. Kennedy
Space Center (KSC). The launch service is provided to NASA by Boeing Launch
Services.

MISSION: MESSENGER
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II Heavy
LAUNCH PAD: SLC-17B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
LAUNCH DATE: July 30, 2004
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:17:44 a.m. - 2:17:56 a.m. (EDT)
MESSENGER is undergoing pre-launch testing at the Astrotech Space Operations
facilities near KSC. Autonomy testing of the spacecraft continues. This
verifies MESSENGER's ability to operate on its own when not in direct
contact with Earth. Installation of thermal blankets has been completed as
required by the schedule up to this time. In upcoming work, the flight
battery is scheduled for installation June 8 and the solar arrays will be
installed June 22.

The review to assess readiness to begin stacking the Boeing Delta II rocket
on Pad
17-B was successfully completed May 19. Vehicle stacking begins with the
first stage June 18.
The launch period for MESSENGER extends through Aug. 13.
MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info