“OPPORTUNITY” MARS EXPLORATION ROVER TARGETED FOR LAUNCH JUNE 28

NASA ^ | Don Savage, George H. Diller, Guy Webster

[Monitor]

The second of two Mars Exploration Rovers, Opportunity, is targeted for launch on Saturday, June 28 at 11:56:16 p.m. EDT. Liftoff will occur aboard the Boeing Delta II Heavy launch vehicle from Pad B at Space Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A second launch opportunity exists at 12:37:59 a.m. EDT, if necessary. Should launch be delayed by 24 hours, the two launch times available are 11:46:14 p.m. and 12:28:07 a.m. EDT. The window of the planetary launch period extends through July 15.

Opportunity will reach Mars on Jan. 25, 2004. Together the two MER rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, seek to determine the history of climate and water at two sites on Mars where conditions may once have been favorable to life. The rovers are identical. Each rover carries five scientific instruments including a panoramic camera and microscope, plus a rock abrasion tool that will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks to expose their interiors for examination. The rovers each weigh approximately 400 pounds. They will navigate themselves around obstacles as they drive across the Martian surface, traveling up to about 130 feet each Martian day. Each rover’s prime mission is planned to last three months on Mars.

[Monitor]

Currently a go, T-minus-13 minutes

[Monitor]

Watch live on RealMedia or Windows Media Player

[So Cal Rocket]

Wind direction may cause a launch scrub... hoping it'll change before launch time

[plusone]

Interesting. Hopefully, this mission will be able to avoid the Martian jinx which has affected so many others recently. If you like scifi novels, check out mine, The Number of Infinity it deals, in part, with a manned mission to the Cydonia plateau, the 'Face' on Mars.

[So Cal Rocket]

Weather now "green". Range is "red" for boat in the area.

[Normal4me]

About 20 miles west waiting for it live.=)

[Monitor]

Some idiot in a boat, too close to be moved in time for the launch, looks like they'll go for the second window.

[So Cal Rocket]

Second window opens at 12:37am EDT.

[So Cal Rocket]

The wayward boater identified by Range Safety may have doomed any chance for a launch tonight. There is no way to get the boat clear of the danger zone in time to try to launch on the planned first attempt at 11:56 p.m.

The second attempt at 12:37 a.m. is iffy because of cloudy, perhaps stormy weather moving across central Florida. The clouds are expected to be bad enough to prevent a launch later.

The team has not decided yet whether it will even wait around and try for the second attempt.

[Monitor]

...it deals, in part, with a manned mission to the Cydonia plateau, the 'Face' on Mars.

One of the more creative Photoshop hoaxes of our time.

[plusone]

Hoaxes, what my book? :)

[Monitor]

No, the face on mars.

[So Cal Rocket]

The countdown remains at T-minus 4 minutes and holding. The fishing boat is clear of the danger area now and the Range is now go for launch. The launch team is setting up for the second available launch attempt tonight at 12:37 a.m. but weather conditions to the west raise serious doubts.

[Monitor]

Let's put it this way - image processing is one thing. But image enhancing is quite another. When you have to resort to cutting/flipping/pasting to give the "face" symmetry that isn't there to begin with, it's nothing but 100% hoax.

[Monitor]

All green at this point.

[So Cal Rocket]

The toxics and weather discussions have ended with a decision to go ahead and recycle the countdown for that second launch attempt. The conditions, as of right now, are "green" but the team is closely watching those approaching clouds.

NASA says the team continues launching weather balloons.

[Normal4me]

[So Cal Rocket]

Software adjustments are being made to slightly change the trajectory, which is necessary because of the slightly later launch time. Everything else with the vehicle is fine.

The team is awaiting another weather briefing less than 10 minutes from now

[windchime]

Link to Doppler in Tampa:

http://weather.mgnetwork.com/cgi-bin/weatherIMD3/weather.cgi?user=TBO&alt=MGIMD_local_doppler_station&zipcode=33601&place=tampa&state=fl&zone=flz051

[Normal4me]

Rain is 2 hours away, looking at winds again...