SPACECRAFT AND EXPENDABLE VEHICLES STATUS REPORT<br />June 18, 2003<br /><br /><br />George H. Diller<br />Kennedy Space Center<br />321/867-2468<br /> <br /><br /><br />MISSION: Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B/Opportunity)<br />LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II Heavy<br />LAUNCH PAD: 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station<br />LAUNCH DATE: June 25, 2003 NET<br />LAUNCH TIME: 12:27:31 a.m. / 1:08:45 a.m. EDT<br /><br /><br /> The MER-1 rover, Opportunity, mated to the upper stage booster and<br />contained within its payload transporter, rolled out of the Payload<br />Hazardous Servicing Facility on Tuesday morning, June 17 at 1:58 a.m. It<br />arrived at Pad 17-B at 4:30 a.m. and was hoisted atop the Boeing MER-B Delta<br />II Heavy launch vehicle at 9:15 a.m.<br /><br /><br /> The spacecraft electrical umbilical connections were established<br />last night. A spacecraft state of health check is under way today. The<br />integrated vehicle/spacecraft Flight Program Verification test will follow<br />on Thursday. This will demonstrate the ability of the spacecraft and the<br />launch vehicle to work together during the terminal countdown and flight.<br />The Simulated Flight Test of the Delta II vehicle has been successfully<br />completed.<br /><br /><br /> Installation of the fairing around the spacecraft is scheduled to<br />occur on Saturday, June 21. Fueling of the Delta second stage with its<br />complement of storable hypergolic propellants is planned for Monday, June<br />23.<br /><br /><br /> The Flight Readiness Review (FRR) will be held on Saturday, June<br />21 in the Mission Briefing Room at KSC. Pending successful completion of<br />this review, launch is scheduled for June 26. There are no significant<br />issues or concerns at this time. <br /><br /><br />MISSION: SCISAT-1/Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment<br />LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL<br />LAUNCH FACILITY: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California<br />LAUNCH DATE: August 2, 2003<br />LAUNCH TIME: 9:03:05 p.m. - 10:00:14 p.m. PDT<br /><br /><br /> The SCISAT spacecraft is completing final testing at the Canadian<br />Space Agency's David Florida Laboratories. Arrival of the spacecraft at<br />Vandenberg Air Force Base is currently scheduled for June 25. <br /><br /><br /> After arrival, the solar arrays will be mated to the vehicle,<br />followed by spacecraft functional testing. SCISAT will be mated to the<br />Pegasus on or about July 7. This will be followed by integrated testing.<br />Installation of the fairing around the spacecraft is planned for July 22 and<br />mating to the L-1011 carrier aircraft on July 30.<br /><br /><br /> SCISAT-1 weighs approximately 330 pounds and will be placed in a<br />400-mile-high polar orbit to investigate processes that control the<br />distribution of ozone in the upper atmosphere. <br /><br /><br /> Meanwhile, the Pegasus XL rocket is undergoing prelaunch<br />preparations at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by Orbital Sciences<br />Corporation. Mating of the second and third stages occurred earlier this<br />week. The Mission Readiness Review for the vehicle is being held today at<br />Orbital Sciences headquarters in Dulles, Virginia.<br /><br /><br /> The scientific mission of SCISAT-1/ACE (Atmospheric Chemistry<br />Experiment) is to measure and understand the chemical processes that control<br />the distribution of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly at high<br />altitudes. The data from the satellite will provide Canadian and<br />international scientists with improved measurements relating to global ozone<br />processes and help policy-makers assess existing environmental policy and<br />develop protective measures for improving the health of our atmosphere,<br />preventing further zone depletion. The mission is designed to last two<br />years.<br /><br /><br />MISSION: Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)<br />LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II Heavy<br />LAUNCH PAD: 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station<br />LAUNCH DATE: August 23, 2003 <br />LAUNCH TIME: 12:37:30 a.m. EDT<br /><br /><br /> The SIRTF observatory is in NASA's class 10,000 laminar flow clean<br />room at spacecraft Hangar AE awaiting its return to the launch pad in early<br />August.<br /> <br /> Project management of SIRTF for NASA is by the Jet Propulsion<br />Laboratory. The observatory was built for NASA by Lockheed Martin and Ball<br />Aerospace.<br /><br /><br /> The launch period extends to September 9.<br /><br /><br /> SIRTF is the fourth and final element in NASA's family of orbiting<br />"Great Observatories." All objects in the universe with temperatures above<br />absolute zero (-460 F) emit some infrared radiation, or heat. Infrared<br />wavelengths lie beyond the red portion of the visible spectrum and are<br />invisible to the human eye. Most infrared light emitted by celestial<br />objects is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere. Scientists rely on orbiting<br />telescopes, such as SIRTF, to capture data on celestial objects and<br />phenomena that are too dim, distant or cool to study using ground-based<br />telescopes or by other astronomical techniques.