LIVE: Delta II - GRAIL - September 10, 2011

[TFGQ]

what happened to 17-A

[kch]

what happened to 17-A

According to this ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_17

... "SLC-17A was withdrawn from use" in 2009.

[Prober]

what happened to 17-A

According to this ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_17

... "SLC-17A was withdrawn from use" in 2009.

Just grabbed a great shot. (wish i could have taken it...sigh)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsmjr/6011349451/in/set-72157627378604804/

[TJL]

RELEASE: 11-244

NASA ANNOUNCES LAUNCH TWEETUP FOR GRAIL MOON MISSION

FWIW, NASA social media tells me tweetup people will view the GRAIL launch from Kars Park across the Banana River:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=10339432347974524065

Wonder why viewing will not be from Jetty Park area?

[Rocket Guy]

KARS park is nearly six miles away, whereas they could view in a public area from less than three. And Jetty Park is the best place to view any launch IMO. Seems they are going to be unnecessarily far away. It may have something to do with not being able to host it on AF property, but NASA does host VIPs (if they still use the Delta II VIP viewing area about two miles from the pad).

I'd tell the tweeters to go to Jetty Park and tweet from there for the best experience at launch time. This could be the last chance to experience a Delta II at the Cape.

[jsmjr]

what happened to 17-A

According to this ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_17

... "SLC-17A was withdrawn from use" in 2009.

Just grabbed a great shot. (wish i could have taken it...sigh)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsmjr/6011349451/in/set-72157627378604804/

Did you sign up to win a spot at the Tweetup?

[jacqmans]

News release: 2011-251                                                                     Aug. 11, 2011

GRAIL Launch Less Than One Month Away

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-251&cid=release_2011-251

NASA's twin lunar probes – GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B - completed their final inspections and were weighed one final time at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., on Tuesday. The two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft will orbit the moon in formation to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8, 2011, and extends through Oct. 19. For a Sept. 8 liftoff, the launch window opens at 5:37 a.m. PDT (8:37 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:16 a.m. PDT (9:16 a.m. EDT).

Later this week, the two spacecraft will be loaded side-by-side on a special adapter and packaged inside a payload fairing that will protect them during their launch into space. Next week, GRAIL is expected to make the trip from Astrotech to Launch Complex 17 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where it will be mated with its United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket.

GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field in unprecedented detail. The mission will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon, and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, is home to the mission's principal investigator, Maria Zuber. The GRAIL mission is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about GRAIL is online at: http://grail.nasa.gov

[awalters]

Last shots of Grail before packing it up!!!

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920 Heavy
Launch Site:  Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Pad:  Space Launch Complex 17B
Launch Date:  Sept. 8, 2011
Launch Times: 8:37:06 a.m. and 9:16:12 a.m. EDT

At Astrotech, the GRAIL A and GRAIL B were separately weighed on Aug.
9, then installed together on the payload adapter ring Aug. 10. GRAIL
was placed inside the payload transportation canister on Aug. 12.
GRAIL is now scheduled to be moved to launch Pad 17B at Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station no earlier than Aug. 18. This will allow
a spacecraft review currently under way to be completed. There is
ample time in the schedule to complete the necessary tasks at the pad
before launch on Sept. 8. Once at the pad, GRAIL will be hoisted atop
the Delta II rocket.

GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of
the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding
of the thermal evolution of the moon.

[racshot65]

News release: 2011-257                                                                     Aug. 18, 2011

NASA's GRAIL Moon Twins are Joined to Their Booster

NOTE: Includes corrected launch vehicle name and date/timing information.

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-257&cid=release_2011-257

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's lunar-bound GRAIL twins were mated to their Delta II launch vehicle at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 17 at 8:45 a.m. EDT (5:45 a.m. PDT) today. The 15-mile (25-kilometer) trip from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., is the last move for GRAIL before it begins its journey to the moon. NASA's dynamic duo will orbit the moon to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

"We are about to finish one chapter in the GRAIL story and open another," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL's principal investigator, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "Let me assure you this one is a real page-turner. GRAIL will rewrite the book on the formation of the moon and the beginning of us."

Now that the GRAIL spacecraft are atop their rocket, a final flurry of checks and tests can begin to confirm that all is go for launch. The final series of checks begins tomorrow, Aug. 19, with an on-pad functional test. The test is designed to confirm that the spacecraft is healthy after the fueling and transport operations. Next week, among all the upcoming final tests, reviews and closeout operations leading up to liftoff, the GRAIL team will install the launch vehicle fairing around the spacecraft.

GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8 and extends through Oct. 19. On each day, there are two separate instantaneous launch opportunities separated in time by approximately 39 minutes. On Sept. 8, the first launch opportunity is at 8:37 a.m. EDT (5:37 a.m. PDT). The second launch opportunity is 9:16 a.m. EDT (6:16 a.m. PDT).

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, is home to the mission's principal investigator, Maria Zuber. The GRAIL mission is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about GRAIL is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/grail .

[Prober]

Had a good question.

Has a mission window been moved up ever?

Got me thinking of the Delta II and payload on the pad.  Maybe a Hurricane is in the launch window, yet the payload and window a week before are ready to go.

Understand my hypothetical?

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-175

NASA HOSTS NEWS CONFERENCE ON UPCOMING MISSION TO MOON

WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT, on
Thursday Aug. 25, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Gravity
Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.

Scheduled to launch Sept. 8, GRAIL will help answer longstanding
questions about Earth's moon and provide a better understanding of
how Earth and other rocky planets in our solar system formed.

The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters James E. Webb
Auditorium, located at 300 E St. SW in Washington. It will air live
on NASA Television and the agency's website.

The news conference panelists are:
-- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters,
Washington
-- Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge
-- David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
-- Leesa Hubbard, teacher in residence, Sally Ride Sciences, San Diego


Reporters who are unable to attend may ask questions from
participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone,
reporters must contact Steve Cole at 202-358-0918 or
[email protected] by 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The news conference will also be streamed live, with a chat available,
at:


http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2


For more information about the GRAIL mission, visit:


http://grail.nasa.gov


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


http://www.nasa.gov/ntv   

[Rocket Guy]

Has a mission window been moved up ever?

Got me thinking of the Delta II and payload on the pad.  Maybe a Hurricane is in the launch window, yet the payload and window a week before are ready to go.

Understand my hypothetical?

Planetary windows like this can't be moved up or changed.

Other missions (a couple of shuttles, for example) have been moved up a few days.

[baldusi]

Has a mission window been moved up ever?

Got me thinking of the Delta II and payload on the pad.  Maybe a Hurricane is in the launch window, yet the payload and window a week before are ready to go.

Understand my hypothetical?

Planetary windows like this can't be moved up or changed.

Other missions (a couple of shuttles, for example) have been moved up a few days.

Doesn't the moon have 28 period widows in the worst case? or is the plane difference enough to make it a yearly window (or even a sort of lunar eclipse window)?

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-178

NASA SETS GRAIL/DELTA II LAUNCH COVERAGE EVENTS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's GRAIL spacecraft is set to launch to
the moon aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket on Sept. 8,
2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Fla.

There are two instantaneous (1 sec.) launch windows at 8:37:06 a.m.
and 9:16:12 a.m. EDT. The launch period, the last for Delta IIs at
the Cape, extends through Oct. 19. The launch times occur
approximately four minutes earlier each day.

GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of
the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding
of the thermal evolution of the moon.

GRAIL Prelaunch News Conference

A prelaunch news conference will be at NASA Kennedy Space Center's
Press Site on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 1 p.m. Participating in the
briefing:
-- Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate,
NASA Headquarters, Washington
-- Tim Dunn, NASA launch director, Kennedy Space Center, Cape
Canaveral, Fla.
-- Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch
Alliance, Denver
-- David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
-- John Henk, GRAIL program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
Denver.
-- Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, CCAFS


GRAIL Mission Science Briefing

A GRAIL mission science briefing will be at Kennedy's Press Site on
Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. Participating in the briefing:
-- Robert Fogel, GRAIL program scientist, NASA Headquarters,
Washington
-- Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge
-- Sami Asmar, GRAIL deputy project scientist, JPL
-- Sally Ride, president and CEO, Sally Ride Science, San Diego

Accreditation & Media Access Badges for Kennedy Space Center

To cover the GRAIL prelaunch news conference, mission science briefing
and the launch, media must complete the online accreditation process
at:


https://media.ksc.nasa.gov


Accreditation for foreign journalists must be received by Sunday, Aug.
28. U.S. media must apply by Monday, Sept. 5. Media may obtain their
NASA access badge at the Kennedy Space Center Badging Office located
near Gate 3 on State Road 405, just past the Kennedy Space Center
Visitor Complex.

Two forms of government issued identification, one with photo, will be
required in order to receive an access badge for Kennedy to cover the
prelaunch news conference and the launch. Badges will be available
for pick-up beginning Sept. 6. The Kennedy Space Center Badging
Office hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information about
accreditation, contact Laurel Lichtenberger at 321-867-4036.

Delta II Mobile Service Tower Rollback

Sept. 7: There will be a media opportunity at CCAFS Pad 17B to observe
rollback of the mobile service tower from the Delta II rocket. Media
should meet in the parking lot of CCAFS Gate 1 Pass & Identification
Building at 9:30 p.m. for transportation by government bus to the
viewing location at the launch pad.

Remote Camera Placement at Launch Complex 17

Sept. 7: Photographers who wish to set up remote sound-activated
cameras at the launch pad should meet in the parking lot of Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station's Gate 1 Pass & Identification Building
at 9:45 a.m.

Launch Day Press Site Access

Sept. 8: Media will cover the GRAIL launch from Press Site 1 at CCAFS.
Media must arrive at Kennedy's Press Site by 6 a.m. for
transportation to the viewing site.

Kennedy Press Site Hours
Tuesday, Sept. 6: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept 7: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 8: 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

NASA Television Coverage

NASA Television will carry the GRAIL prelaunch news conference
beginning at 1 p.m. on Sept. 6 and the GRAIL mission science briefing
on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m.

On Sept. 8, NASA Television coverage of the launch will begin at 6
a.m. and conclude after spacecraft separation from the Delta II
approximately 58 minutes and 45 seconds after launch. Live launch
coverage will be carried on all NASA Television channels and on the
agency's website.

A post-launch news conference will be held at Kennedy's Press Site
after launch. (Time TBD) A post-launch news release also will be
issued when health of GRAIL is determined. NASA personnel will be
available at the Press Site to answer questions and for interviews.

For NASA Television downlink, schedule and streaming video
information, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


Audio only of the news conferences and the launch coverage will be
carried on the NASA "V" circuits at: 321-867-1220/1240/1260/7135. On
launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor's countdown
activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on
321-867-7135 starting at 6 a.m. Launch will also be available on
local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard
County.

NASA Web Pre-launch & Launch Coverage

For extensive pre-launch and launch day coverage of the GRAIL
spacecraft, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov 


A prelaunch webcast for the GRAIL mission will be streamed on
Wednesday, Sept. 7, at noon. Live countdown coverage through NASA's
Launch Blog begins at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Coverage features live
updates as countdown milestones occur, as well as streaming video
clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff.

For questions about countdown coverage, contact Jeanne Ryba at
321-867-7824. To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about
the GRAIL mission, visit the mission home page at:


http://www.nasa.gov/grail 



and



http://grail.nasa.gov 


To view live interviews with lunar scientists during the NASA
Scientists in Action webcast, visit:


http://www.livestream.com/grail 

Twitter

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch
countdown. To access the NASA News Twitter feed, visit:


http://www.twitter.com/nasa 

Recorded Status

Recorded status reports on the launch of GRAIL and updates to the
media advisory will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line
starting Tuesday, Sept. 6. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL
mission for the principal investigator, Maria Zuber. The GRAIL
mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for
the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program
at Kennedy.

       
-end-

[Rocket Guy]

Doesn't the moon have 28 period widows in the worst case? or is the plane difference enough to make it a yearly window (or even a sort of lunar eclipse window)?

I don't know the details of when the next window is or how this one was determined. But the GRAIL window is September 8 to October 19.

[TheFallen]

GRAIL is now encapsulated

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=233

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 11-275

NASA MOON MISSION IN FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER LAUNCH

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior
Laboratory (GRAIL), mission to study the moon is in final launch
preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore
Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine
the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance
our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

"Yesterday's final encapsulation of the spacecraft is an important
mission milestone," said David Lehman, GRAIL project manager for
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our two
spacecraft are now sitting comfortably inside the payload fairing
which will protect them during ascent. Next time the GRAIL twins will
see the light of day they will be about 95 miles up and
accelerating."

The spacecraft twins, GRAIL A and B, will fly a circuitous route to
lunar orbit taking 3.5 months and covering approximately 2.6 million
miles (4.2 million kilometers) for GRAIL-A, and 2.7 million miles
(4.3 million kilometers) for GRAIL-B.

In lunar orbit, the spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely
defining the distance between them. Regional gravitational
differences on the moon are expected to expand and contract that
distance. GRAIL scientists will use these accurate measurements to
define the moon's gravity field. The data will allow mission
scientists to understand what goes on below the surface of our
natural satellite.

"GRAIL will unlock lunar mysteries and help us understand how the
moon, Earth and other rocky planets evolved as well," said Maria
Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Cambridge.

GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8 and extends through Oct. 19. On
each day, there are two separate launch opportunities separated by
approximately 39 minutes. On Sept. 8, the first launch opportunity is
8:37 a.m. EDT; the second is 9:16 a.m.

JPL manages the GRAIL mission. It is part of the Discovery Program
managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch
management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch
Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For extensive pre-launch and launch day coverage of the GRAIL
spacecraft, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov 


A prelaunch webcast for the mission will be streamed at noon on
Wednesday, Sept. 7. Live countdown coverage through NASA's Launch
Blog begins at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Coverage features live updates
as countdown milestones occur and streaming video clips highlighting
launch preparations and liftoff.

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the GRAIL
mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/grail 


and


http://grail.nasa.gov 


To view live interviews with lunar scientists from noon to 5 p.m. on
Sept. 8 and 9, visit:


http://www.livestream.com/grail 

       
-end-

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-083111

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920 Heavy
Launch Site:  Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Pad:  Space Launch Complex 17B
Launch Date:  Sept. 8, 2011
Launch Times: 8:37:06 a.m. and 9:16:12 a.m. EDT

GRAIL was moved from the Astrotech payload processing facility in
Titusville to Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 18
and hoisted atop the Delta II rocket. The encapsulation into the
payload fairing was performed on Aug. 23. Wednesday, the spacecraft
was powered on for final testing.

Also on Wednesday, the Flight Readiness Review was held and at its
conclusion a tentative "go" was given for fueling the Delta II rocket
Sept. 1 and 2.

GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of
the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding
of the thermal evolution of the moon.

[racshot65]

KSC VC are taking 2,000 people to the causeway to view this for an extra $20 on top of normal admission

Experience a day of activities surrounding the GRAIL mission to the moon with the purchase of an admission ticket or take in the entire experience with an annual pass.

On September 8, the GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) Mission will launch aboard a Delta II rocket traveling to the Moon. Two spacecrafts will orbit the moon for several months collecting data measurements of the gravity field. GRAIL's observations will help scientists to better understand the interior structure and thermal evolution of the Moon, and will assist in determining landing sites for future missions. The spacecrafts will also document their views by utilizing cameras on board. These images will be available for the public to view from the satellites.

On September 8, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will open at 4:30 a.m ET. Special viewing from the NASA Causeway for the rocket launch will be available for only $20 additional per person. Admission tickets are required. Limited to 2,000 guests.

Launch is scheduled for 8:37 a.m. ET, with a second attempt scheduled at 9:17 a.m. ET if needed. Alternate launch viewing is available at the main Visitor Complex.

http://kennedyspacecenter.com/grail-mission.aspx?ic_campID=4&ic_pkw=GH_GRAIL_Sept11