Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report - August 7, 2009

Aug. 7, 2009

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


STATUS REPORT: ELV-080709

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Mission: Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrators
Program (STSS-Demo)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920-10
Launch Pad: Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: Sept. 15, 2009
Launch Window: 8 - 9 p.m. EDT

At Pad 17-B, no significant work is being undertaken while the launch
team works on the Air Force Delta II on adjacent Pad 17-A. The
vehicle will loft into orbit the final Air Force Global Positioning
System navigation satellite in the current GPS IIR series on Aug. 17.




Spacecraft: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V-401
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: Dec. 4, 2009

This week, the Ka-band RF downlink checkouts were successfully
completed. The instrument module was cleaned, and a visual inspection
for the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment was performed.

The SDO full observatory comprehensive performance test will begin on
Aug. 10. This will fully test all of the spacecraft science
instruments and will be their last major evaluation before launch. It
is targeted to conclude on Aug. 14.



Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 10, 2009 (tentative)

Ground support equipment for the WISE spacecraft will arrive at
Vandenberg on Monday, Aug. 10. It will go to the Astrotech payload
processing facility located on north Vandenberg. WISE is scheduled to
arrive on Aug. 15 to begin processing for launch.

WISE will survey the entire sky in the mid-infrared with far greater
sensitivity than any previous mission ever has. The WISE survey will
capture over a million images, from which hundreds of millions of
astronomical objects will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse
of knowledge about the Solar System, the Milky Way, and the Universe.



Previous status reports are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/...tus/index.html



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