Author Topic: LIVE: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013  (Read 137928 times)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #60 on: 10/22/2013 08:52 am »
MAVEN Faces Busy Week of Processing Milestones

Monday, October 21, 2013 - 10:12

MAVEN is slated for a spin test today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the spacecraft is being prepared for its upcoming mission to Mars. Processing activities remain on schedule and are progressing well. Today's spin test will check MAVEN's balance at various spin rates up to 10 revolutions per minute. The next step for the processing team will be to fuel the spacecraft, most likely later this week.

Also today, the protective payload fairing for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is moving into the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility's high bay, where it will encapsulate the MAVEN spacecraft in early November.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #61 on: 10/23/2013 09:01 am »
Spin Balance Test Concludes Today; Rocket Undergoes Electrical Testing

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - 11:15

A spin test to check the balance of the MAVEN spacecraft has been going well and is set to conclude today in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two halves of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing were moved into the facility's high bay yesterday, where the spacecraft is undergoing prelaunch activities. Fueling of MAVEN with its control propellant is scheduled for Friday.

Meanwhile, in the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, United Launch Alliance is conducting the Combined Systems Test of the Atlas V rocket. This is primarily an electrical test of the vehicle that includes a check of the systems to be activated during the countdown, as well as the vehicle flight events that will take place during the launch.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #62 on: 10/23/2013 04:33 pm »
Oct. 23, 2013

MEDIA ADVISORY M13-162

NASA Hosts NASA TV News Briefing on Upcoming Mars Mission

NASA will host a news briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 28, to discuss the upcoming launch of the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet.

The briefing on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission will take place at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW in Washington, and air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

MAVEN is scheduled to launch at 1:28 p.m. EST Nov. 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MAVEN's data will be used to study the history and change of Mars’ atmosphere, climate, and planetary habitability.
 
Briefing participants are:

- John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, Headquarters
- Lisa May, MAVEN program executive, Headquarters
- Kelly Fast, MAVEN program scientist, Headquarters
- Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
- David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Journalists unable to attend in person may ask questions from participating NASA locations, join by phone, or send questions via Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Steve Cole at [email protected] with their media affiliation by 1 p.m. Monday.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven

and

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/
« Last Edit: 10/23/2013 04:52 pm by jacqmans »
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline jamesl

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #63 on: 10/24/2013 02:18 pm »
There was an event in DC last night: http://www.livestream.com/maven2013

Anyone have any info on launch viewing tickets or when the visitor center usually has notification before a launch?

Thanks,
James

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #64 on: 10/25/2013 02:44 pm »
MAVEN Fueled for Flight

Friday, October 25, 2013 - 09:51

Today Lockheed Martin team members in Kennedy Space Center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility are fueling the MAVEN spacecraft for its upcoming mission. The 431 gallons of hydrazine propellant will be used for spacecraft control and trajectory adjustments during MAVEN's journey to Mars, and for placing the spacecraft into position for Mars capture as it approaches the Red Planet. The fuel also will keep MAVEN in its correct elliptical orbit throughout the mission, and at its conclusion, will boost the satellite into a higher elliptical orbit to relay data from other spacecraft currently on the surface of Mars.
Jacques :-)

Offline NovaSilisko

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #65 on: 10/26/2013 08:44 am »
at its conclusion, will boost the satellite into a higher elliptical orbit to relay data from other spacecraft currently on the surface of Mars.

Oh cool, didn't know that was the plan. I was a bit worried they were going to let it decay after the low passes, or (unlikely) deorbit it.

Offline AJA

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #66 on: 10/26/2013 12:21 pm »

at its conclusion, will boost the satellite into a higher elliptical orbit to relay data from other spacecraft currently on the surface of Mars.


Oh cool, didn't know that was the plan. I was a bit worried they were going to let it decay after the low passes, or (unlikely) deorbit it.


But... but if the S/C is still alive, why not continue to do science? MODY and MRO aren't functioning only as communication relays - they're still taking data! Yeah, I know MAVEN can also continue to do some science in a higher orbit - with the SWEA, SWIA, IUVS atleast, if not its entire suite of instruments - but if it has the prop budget to continue low altitude observations, surely it should continue to do so? THAT IS after all, its raison d'être!?


Accounting for planetary protection, by mitigating forward contamination risks - is something that ought to be done during the manufacture/build phase, as opposed to ops, surely?1 Yeah yeah, I know.. there's a higher COST (rover standard clean-rooms vs orbiter standard, material restrictions, design considerations etc.), but then there's increased "secondary" science return (impact studies), and science-lifetime of the primary mission too. It might even save you the need to launch frequently (conjunction class missions to ensure no observation gap..).


And then there's the argument that making a probe into a comm-sat does serve science. Albeit surface science. Has anydone a steganographical analysis of the rover tracks? Aside from the "JPL" Morse in the martian dust, I expect you'd find them also scribbling "All sciences are equal, but surface sciences are more equal than others. LOL"


These MMT decisions, more often than not, confound me. I trust them, of course, but it seems the only way to arrive at the "correct" weights for opposing factors is with first-hand experience - which isn't really helpful to internet enthusiasts, in their jigsaw puzzle quest of piecing together the mission from outside the room.


---


1 - After "Gravity", I decided to watch Cuaron's "Children of Men", and there's a scene where a character questions the contemporary wisdom of that reel-world, where it's normal to cut and cauterize up to four teats on each cow's udder - to make sure that they fit into the milking machine (which has slots for four teats only) - instead of building a machine with eight slots.
« Last Edit: 10/26/2013 12:22 pm by AJA »

Offline Jim

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #67 on: 10/28/2013 03:40 pm »

Accounting for planetary protection, by mitigating forward contamination risks - is something that ought to be done during the manufacture/build phase, as opposed to ops, surely?1 Yeah yeah, I know.. there's a higher COST (rover standard clean-rooms vs orbiter standard, material restrictions, design considerations etc.), but then there's increased "secondary" science return (impact studies), and science-lifetime of the primary mission too. It might even save you the need to launch frequently (conjunction class missions to ensure no observation gap..).



The additional science is not worth the additional costs of PP.

Offline psloss

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #68 on: 10/28/2013 04:59 pm »
Looks like the launch vehicle is out at the pad for the WDR.  (Heh, didn't see Jacques' post coming...)
« Last Edit: 10/28/2013 05:00 pm by psloss »

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #69 on: 10/28/2013 04:59 pm »
NASA_LSP ‏@NASA_LSP 

The Atlas V rocket set to launch @MAVEN2Mars is at the launch pad for Tuesday's Wet Dress Rehearsal. pic.twitter.com/L5OxX6PuV7

Jacques :-)

Offline John44

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #70 on: 10/28/2013 09:00 pm »
NASA News Briefing on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) Mission
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8540

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #71 on: 10/29/2013 08:25 am »
RELEASE 13-315

NASA Prepares to Launch First Mission to Explore Martian Atmosphere

A NASA spacecraft that will examine the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail is undergoing final preparations for a scheduled 1:28 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) will examine specific processes on Mars that led to the loss of much of its atmosphere. Data and analysis could tell planetary scientists the history of climate change on the Red Planet and provide further information on the history of planetary habitability.

"The MAVEN mission is a significant step toward unraveling the planetary puzzle about Mars' past and present environments," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "The knowledge we gain will build on past and current missions examining Mars and will help inform future missions to send humans to Mars."

The 5,410-pound spacecraft will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket on a 10-month journey to Mars. After arriving at Mars in September 2014, MAVEN will settle into its elliptical science orbit.

Over the course of its one-Earth-year primary mission, MAVEN will observe all of Mars' latitudes. Altitudes will range from 93 miles to more than 3,800 miles. During the primary mission, MAVEN will execute five deep dip maneuvers, descending to an altitude of 78 miles. This marks the lower boundary of the planet's upper atmosphere.

"Launch is an important event, but it's only a step along the way to getting the science measurements," said Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator at the University of Colorado, Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (CU/LASP) in Boulder. "We're excited about the science we'll be doing, and are anxious now to get to Mars."

The MAVEN spacecraft will carry three instrument suites. The Particles and Fields Package, provided by the University of California at Berkeley with support from CU/LASP and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., contains six instruments to characterize the solar wind and the ionosphere of Mars. The Remote Sensing Package, built by CU/LASP, will determine global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer, built by Goddard, will measure the composition of Mars’ upper atmosphere.

"When we proposed and were selected to develop MAVEN back in 2008, we set our sights on Nov. 18, 2013, as our first launch opportunity," said Dave Mitchell, MAVEN project manager at Goddard. "Now we are poised to launch on that very day. That's quite an accomplishment by the team."
MAVEN's principal investigator is based at CU/LASP. The university provided science instruments and leads science operations, as well as education and public outreach, for the mission.

Goddard manages the project and provided two of the science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The University of California at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory provided science instruments for the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., provides navigation support, Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.

For more information about the MAVEN mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven

Jacques :-)

Offline Star One

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Offline TheFallen

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #73 on: 10/29/2013 04:33 pm »
The DVD containing haikus, artwork and 100,000 names...now attached to a solar array wing

https://twitter.com/MAVEN2Mars/
« Last Edit: 10/29/2013 04:35 pm by TheFallen »

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #74 on: 10/29/2013 05:27 pm »
Atlas V Rocket Put to the Test in Countdown Rehearsal
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 09:45

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will launch the MAVEN spacecraft Nov. 18 is being put to the test today at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket is fully loaded with propellants, including liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and RP-1 kerosene fuel for the Wet Dress Rehearsal, highlighted by an unabridged launch countdown procedure that ends just before countdown clocks reach the T-0 mark. The MAVEN spacecraft, however, is not atop the rocket for today's test. Following the rehearsal, the rocket will be detanked and on Wednesday will return to the Vertical Integration Facility at the launch complex.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #75 on: 10/30/2013 04:52 pm »
MAVEN payload fairing inspections begin

Engineers and technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center have begun inspecting MAVEN's 4m diameter payload fairing (PLF).

The spacecraft has completed pre-launch testing and will be encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance fairing early next week in advance of being loaded on top of the Atlas V rocket and transported out to launch pad in the early morning hours of Nov. 6th.

For additional details on the MAVEN Atlas V-401 launch vehicle and launch operations, visit ULA's MAVEN page: http://bit.ly/1gYweXg

(Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #76 on: 10/30/2013 05:39 pm »
From Facebook

NASA's Launch Services Program
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is moving back to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41 today following completion of Tuesday's wet dress rehearsal. The rocket will now be prepared for the arrival of the payload fairing containing the MAVEN spacecraft on Nov. 6. Meanwhile, final inspections and closeouts of the spacecraft are under way in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, including installation of the last thermal blankets. The spacecraft will be weighed and mated to the Atlas V payload adapter on Friday.
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #77 on: 10/31/2013 11:57 am »
Mission overview
« Last Edit: 10/31/2013 12:00 pm by Targeteer »
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline jamesl

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Re: Atlas V - MAVEN - November 18, 2013
« Reply #78 on: 11/01/2013 05:07 am »
Visitor center says on twitter that launch viewing at Saturn V or Atlantis lawn will be included with general admission, so I guess we just catch a bus out to Saturn V after seeing Atlantis in the morning? Has this been the norm for recent Atlas launches?

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