SPACECRAFT AND EXPENDABLE VEHICLES STATUS REPORT May 15, 2002 George H. Diller Kennedy Space Center 321/867-2468 MISSION: NOAA-M Polar Orbiter LAUNCH VEHICLE: USAF Titan II LAUNCH PAD: Space Launch Complex 4 West, Vandenberg Air Force Base LAUNCH DATE: June 24, 2002 LAUNCH WINDOW: 11:22 - 11:32 a.m. PDT At SLC-4W, the Titan II/G-14 prelaunch preparations continue to progress on schedule. This week the Combined Systems Engine Leak Checks are in work on the first stage and gas generator servicing and verification testing is under way on the second stage. The technical concern with the vehicle's Inertial Measurement Unit has been resolved and work on the vehicle will continue as planned. The NOAA-M spacecraft arrived at VAFB on April 25 and is at NASA Spacecraft Hangar 1610 on North Vandenberg. The spacecraft's apogee kick motor was installed on April 30. The Spacecraft Electrical Performance and Evaluation Test (SEPET) successfully completed on Wednesday, May 8. Spacecraft processing will be completed this Friday, May 17 and the satellite will be installed into its payload canister on Monday in preparation for being moved to Space Launch Complex 4 West. The spacecraft will be erected top the Titan II on May 30. The fairing for NOAA-M arrived on May 9 to begin processing at an Air Force facility also located on North Vandenberg. The Center Director Launch Vehicle Launch Readiness Review is being held today with KSC Center Director Roy Bridges. MISSION: CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour) LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II 7425 LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LAUNCH DATE: July 1, 2002 LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:56:14 - 2:56:26 a.m. EDT At SAEF-2, a five-day Contour Mission Simulation is under way using ground station facilities at the MILA tracking station at KSC to connect the spacecraft with the CONTOUR mission operations control center located at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, Md. The mission operations team is following a compressed timeline that simulates the flight of CONTOUR, remotely commanding all of the spacecraft's systems and instruments. The Deep Space Network compatibility test was completed on Friday, May 10 also using facilities located at the MILA tracking station at KSC. This test verifies CONTOUR's ability to communicate with the worldwide system of deep space tracking stations operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft has also successfully completed the System Performance Test to verify that all spacecraft systems are functioning to their design capabilities. The CONTOUR Mission Readiness Review is being held today at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore. The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle second stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday, April 1. It continues to undergo checkout at Delta launch vehicle Hangar AO without any issues or concerns. The Delta first stage arrived at Cape Canaveral on April 15 and is at Hangar M. At Space Launch Complex 17, erection of the Delta booster will begin on Tuesday, May 28. A pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review is scheduled for May 21 at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, Calif. The science window available to launch CONTOUR is July 1 - July 25. MISSION: Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) LAUNCH VEHICLE: Pegasus XL LAUNCH SITE: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LAUNCH DATE: July 30, 2002 LAUNCH WINDOW: 07:50 - 09:50 a.m. EDT The Galex spacecraft is at the Orbital Space Systems Group spacecraft facility in Dulles, Virginia. Environmental testing is complete and preparations continue for a mid-June delivery to KSC. At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Pegasus launch vehicle's fin activation system is being installed this week. The installation of the avionics battery is also being performed. Fairing preparations are also in work. Testing of the Pegasus vehicle continues in preparation for delivery to KSC in late June. # # #