Jacques van Oene
October 21st 04, 11:16 PM
SPACECRAFT AND EXPENDABLE VEHICLES STATUS REPORT
October 21, 2004
George H. Diller
NASA Kennedy Space Center
321-867-2468
MISSION: Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART)
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL
LAUNCH SITE: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
LAUNCH DATE: Oct. 26, 2004
LAUNCH WINDOW: 11:13:32 a.m. - 11:20:32 a.m. PDT
Mated to the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California, NASA's DART spacecraft is being transported to the runway
today for mating to the underside of Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft. A
Combined System Test involving Pegasus/DART and the L-1011 is scheduled for
Friday, Oct. 22, and will be followed by a DART Flight Line Test, a
spacecraft state of health check.
The DART Flight Readiness Review was successfully completed at Vandenberg
Air Force Base on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The DART Mission Readiness Review was
also successfully completed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., on Oct. 15. With these two major reviews now finished,
launch is on schedule for Tuesday, Oct. 26. Deployment from the L-1011 is
targeted to occur at 11:13:32 a.m. PDT at a location approximately 100 miles
West-Northwest of Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The DART satellite and Pegasus XL launch vehicle were successfully re-mated
on Oct. 1, followed by successful final testing of the Advanced Video
Guidance Sensor hardware, the primary technology demonstration experiment.
The final Pegasus/DART launch and mission simulation was successfully
performed on Oct. 8. Installation of the dual fairing halves around the
spacecraft atop the Pegasus rocket was completed Oct. 15.
DART was designed and built for NASA by Orbital Sciences Corporation as an
advanced flight demonstrator to locate and maneuver near an orbiting
satellite. The DART spacecraft weighs about 800 pounds and is nearly 6 feet
long and 3 feet in diameter. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL vehicle will
launch DART into a circular polar orbit of approximately 475 miles.
The DART satellite provides a key step in establishing autonomous rendezvous
capabilities for the U.S. Space Program. While previous rendezvous and
docking efforts have been piloted by astronauts, the unmanned DART satellite
will have computers and cameras to perform its rendezvous functions.
Once in orbit, DART will make contact with a target satellite, the Multiple
Paths, Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications (MUBLCOM), also built by Orbital
Sciences and launched in 1999. DART will then perform several
close-proximity operations, such as moving toward and away from the
satellite using navigation data provided by on-board sensors. The entire
mission will last only 24 hours and will be accomplished without human
intervention. The DART flight computer will determine its own path to
accomplish its mission objectives.
MISSION: Swift
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II
LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 8, 2004 NET
LAUNCH WINDOW: 12:04 p.m. - 1:04 p.m. EST
Today at Pad 17-A, a loading of liquid oxygen aboard the Delta first stage
is being performed to check for leaks. This also serves as a "minus count"
crew certification exercise for the launch team. Friday, Oct. 22, a Flight
Simulation is scheduled. This is a "plus count" flight events test to very
the operation of the vehicle's systems during powered flight. Testing of
the guidance system aboard the Boeing Delta II rocket was completed
Wednesday, Oct. 20.
Swift is in the clean room at NASA's Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station. Wednesday, the spacecraft was weighed and early this morning it
was mated to the payload attach fitting, the interface between the
spacecraft and the second stage of the Delta II rocket. Work to prepare
Swift for transportation to Pad 17-A will begin next week. Because of
rescheduling the launch of an Air Force Global Positioning Satellite from
adjacent pad 17-B, the launch date for Swift is under review but is
currently expected be known within a day or so.
The Swift observatory will pinpoint the location of distant yet fleeting
explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes. Gamma-ray
bursts are the most powerful explosions known in the universe, emitting more
than 100 billion times the energy that the Sun does in a year. Yet they
last only from a few milliseconds to a few minutes, never to appear in the
same spot again.
The Swift satellite is named for the nimble bird, because it can swiftly
turn and point its instruments to catch a burst "on the fly" to study both
the burst and its afterglow. This afterglow phenomenon follows the initial
gamma-ray flash in most bursts and it can linger in X-ray light, visible
light and radio waves for hours or weeks, providing great detail for
observations.
Swift is a medium-class Explorer mission managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The observatory was built for NASA by
Spectrum Astro, a division of General Dynamics. The Kennedy Space Center in
Florida is responsible for Swift's integration with the Boeing Delta II
rocket and the countdown management on launch day.
# # #
--
---------------------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
October 21, 2004
George H. Diller
NASA Kennedy Space Center
321-867-2468
MISSION: Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART)
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL
LAUNCH SITE: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
LAUNCH DATE: Oct. 26, 2004
LAUNCH WINDOW: 11:13:32 a.m. - 11:20:32 a.m. PDT
Mated to the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California, NASA's DART spacecraft is being transported to the runway
today for mating to the underside of Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft. A
Combined System Test involving Pegasus/DART and the L-1011 is scheduled for
Friday, Oct. 22, and will be followed by a DART Flight Line Test, a
spacecraft state of health check.
The DART Flight Readiness Review was successfully completed at Vandenberg
Air Force Base on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The DART Mission Readiness Review was
also successfully completed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., on Oct. 15. With these two major reviews now finished,
launch is on schedule for Tuesday, Oct. 26. Deployment from the L-1011 is
targeted to occur at 11:13:32 a.m. PDT at a location approximately 100 miles
West-Northwest of Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The DART satellite and Pegasus XL launch vehicle were successfully re-mated
on Oct. 1, followed by successful final testing of the Advanced Video
Guidance Sensor hardware, the primary technology demonstration experiment.
The final Pegasus/DART launch and mission simulation was successfully
performed on Oct. 8. Installation of the dual fairing halves around the
spacecraft atop the Pegasus rocket was completed Oct. 15.
DART was designed and built for NASA by Orbital Sciences Corporation as an
advanced flight demonstrator to locate and maneuver near an orbiting
satellite. The DART spacecraft weighs about 800 pounds and is nearly 6 feet
long and 3 feet in diameter. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL vehicle will
launch DART into a circular polar orbit of approximately 475 miles.
The DART satellite provides a key step in establishing autonomous rendezvous
capabilities for the U.S. Space Program. While previous rendezvous and
docking efforts have been piloted by astronauts, the unmanned DART satellite
will have computers and cameras to perform its rendezvous functions.
Once in orbit, DART will make contact with a target satellite, the Multiple
Paths, Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications (MUBLCOM), also built by Orbital
Sciences and launched in 1999. DART will then perform several
close-proximity operations, such as moving toward and away from the
satellite using navigation data provided by on-board sensors. The entire
mission will last only 24 hours and will be accomplished without human
intervention. The DART flight computer will determine its own path to
accomplish its mission objectives.
MISSION: Swift
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II
LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 8, 2004 NET
LAUNCH WINDOW: 12:04 p.m. - 1:04 p.m. EST
Today at Pad 17-A, a loading of liquid oxygen aboard the Delta first stage
is being performed to check for leaks. This also serves as a "minus count"
crew certification exercise for the launch team. Friday, Oct. 22, a Flight
Simulation is scheduled. This is a "plus count" flight events test to very
the operation of the vehicle's systems during powered flight. Testing of
the guidance system aboard the Boeing Delta II rocket was completed
Wednesday, Oct. 20.
Swift is in the clean room at NASA's Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station. Wednesday, the spacecraft was weighed and early this morning it
was mated to the payload attach fitting, the interface between the
spacecraft and the second stage of the Delta II rocket. Work to prepare
Swift for transportation to Pad 17-A will begin next week. Because of
rescheduling the launch of an Air Force Global Positioning Satellite from
adjacent pad 17-B, the launch date for Swift is under review but is
currently expected be known within a day or so.
The Swift observatory will pinpoint the location of distant yet fleeting
explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes. Gamma-ray
bursts are the most powerful explosions known in the universe, emitting more
than 100 billion times the energy that the Sun does in a year. Yet they
last only from a few milliseconds to a few minutes, never to appear in the
same spot again.
The Swift satellite is named for the nimble bird, because it can swiftly
turn and point its instruments to catch a burst "on the fly" to study both
the burst and its afterglow. This afterglow phenomenon follows the initial
gamma-ray flash in most bursts and it can linger in X-ray light, visible
light and radio waves for hours or weeks, providing great detail for
observations.
Swift is a medium-class Explorer mission managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The observatory was built for NASA by
Spectrum Astro, a division of General Dynamics. The Kennedy Space Center in
Florida is responsible for Swift's integration with the Boeing Delta II
rocket and the countdown management on launch day.
# # #
--
---------------------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info