Posted on 07/06/2007 7:59:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The planned weekend launch of a spacecraft to explore two of the solar system's largest asteroids was delayed again because of problems with a tracking ship and aircraft.
NASA set Monday afternoon as a new launch time for the Dawn spacecraft, which will embark on a years-long journey to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres, which lie between Mars and Jupiter.
The spacecraft originally had been set to launch Saturday but that was nixed because thunderstorms and lightning at the launch pad prevented loading its fuel.
On Friday, the space agency called off a Sunday launch, too, because the plane used to track the spacecraft after liftoff had mechanical problems, and the tracking ship wasn't in the correct location.
Seeking clues about the birth of the solar system, Dawn will first visit Vesta, the smaller of the two bodies, four years from now. In 2015, it will meet up with Ceres, which carries the status of both asteroid and, like Pluto, dwarf planet.
NASA has until the end of October to launch the spacecraft before the planetary bodies begin to drift apart.
"After that, it becomes very problematic to do both Vesta and Ceres because they are moving apart in the sky," said Chris Russell, the mission's principal investigator. "It takes about another 15 years before they get back together again."
Technicians work on NASA's Dawn spacecraft at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Fla., Wednesday, June 20, 2007. NASA is set to launch the spacecraft that will journey to the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, a mission that involves a rendezvous with two of the solar system's largest asteroids. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Dawn mission page: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov
University of California, Los Angeles: http://www.ucla.edu
In this image provided by NASA the Dawn spacecraft is lifted up the gantry to be mated to the Delta II upper stage booster, in preparation for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle Wednesday June 27, 2007 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fl. The launch is scheduled for July 7. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA's first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines.(AP Photo/NASA)
Hey, this is science! Isn’t it supposed to be moved to General Chat?
Graphic describes NASA Dawn mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres in orbit beyond Mars; 2c x 3 1/2 inches; 96.3 mm x 88.9 mm
Launch date moved to the 15th
Asteroid mission postponed until July 15 - AP
spaceflightnow.com
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2007
2030 GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT)
Stormy weather at Cape Canaveral prevented technicians from completing work to load storable hypergolic propellants into the Delta 2 rocket at launch pad 17B today, prompting a one-day postponement for this week’s liftoff of the Dawn asteroid orbiter.
Launch had been planned for Wednesday. But this slip in the pad schedule means the liftoff will be delayed to Thursday morning at 7:20 a.m. EDT.
Thunder and lightning again. The thunder isn’t so bad unless it is an omen, but the lightning makes the fueling guy nervous.
the lightning makes the fueling guy nervous.
—
I’m with him. :-)
Hope this one hits its mark ..Thanks!
spaceflightnow.com
BY JUSTIN RAY
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
1630 GMT (12:30 p.m. EDT)
Filling of the Delta 2 rocket’s second stage with storable fuel is being completed at pad 17B today as preparations proceed for the Thursday’s sunrise liftoff on NASA’s Dawn asteroid orbiter.
Crews pumped nitrogen tetroxide into the stage on Sunday, but inclement weather precluded the technicians from beginning the Aerozine 50 fuel loading. That hydrazine propellant is being placed aboard the rocket today.
The storable hypergolic fuels power the second stage’s Aerojet AJ118-K engine. The stage fires twice during the launch to boost Dawn toward its Earth departure trajectory.
Thursday’s launch window will extend from 7:20 to 7:49 a.m. EDT. The weather outlook for the launch opportunity predicts a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions.
Mission managers will gather Tuesday morning for the Launch Readiness Review to assess the progress of pre-flight preparations and any lingering technical issues. If all aspects are deemed “go” for launch, the meeting will conclude with officials giving approval to enter into the countdown on Wednesday night.
No new news Tuesday so far.
The Russian student tether experiment was partly successful and partly not. Some unexplained friction stopped deployment early, about 3 miles of 20.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.