LIVE: Delta II - Kepler, March 6, 2009

[punkboi]

Work being done on Kepler right now

http://countdown.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/

[punkboi]

Payload fairing installed

[Ford Mustang]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-032

NASA'S KEPLER TELESCOPE TO LAUNCH ABOARD DELTA II ROCKET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch of NASA's Kepler telescope is targeted
for no earlier than Friday, March 6, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station in Florida. There are two launch windows, from
10:49 - 10:52 p.m. and 11:13 - 11:16 p.m. EST.

Kepler is a spaceborne telescope designed to search the nearby region
of our galaxy for Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zone
of stars like our sun. The habitable zone is the region around a star
where temperatures permit water to be liquid on a planet's surface.

Liquid water is considered essential for the existence of life as we
know it. The vast majority of the approximately 300 planets known to
orbit other stars are much larger than Earth, and none is believed to
be habitable. The challenge for Kepler is to look at a large number
of stars in order to statistically estimate the total number of
Earth-size planets orbiting sun-like stars in the habitable zone.
Kepler will survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy.

Engineers are reviewing all common hardware between the Delta II
rocket carrying the Kepler telescope and the Taurus XL launch
vehicle. On Tuesday, a Taurus carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon
Observatory failed to reach orbit. Managers want to confirm there
will not be similar issues with Kepler's Delta II.

Kepler's original March 5 target launch date was moved one day later
to accommodate the additional time for analysis. The March 6 target
date still must be confirmed by the U.S Air Force, which manages the
eastern launch range. Kepler's Flight Readiness Review is on Monday,
March 2.

NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
is responsible for the launch of Kepler aboard a Delta II 7925-10L
rocket. United Launch Alliance is conducting the launch for NASA.
NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is the home
organization of the principal science investigator and is responsible
for the ground system development, mission operations and science
data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is
responsible for the spacecraft and the Kepler mission development.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colo., is
responsible for developing and building the Kepler spacecraft and
supporting mission operations.

Accreditation and Media Access Badges for Kennedy and CCAFS

All news media, including those who are permanently badged at Kennedy,
must complete the accreditation process for the activities associated
with the Kepler launch. Accreditation requests for the Kepler launch
activities at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station must be received by the close of business Tuesday, March 3.
The media accreditation process is done online:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

On Thursday, March 5, media without permanent credentials may obtain
NASA access badges at the Kennedy Space Center Badging Office between
6 a.m. and 4 p.m. This facility is located on State Road 405 just
east of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Two forms of
government-issued identification are required, including at least one
with a picture. For further information about press accreditation,
contact Laurel Lichtenberger in the news media accreditation office
at 321-867-4036.

Prelaunch News Conference

Thursday, March 5: A prelaunch press conference will be held at the
Kennedy Space Center news center at 1 p.m. Participating in the
briefing will be:

- Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate,
NASA Headquarters
- Omar Baez, NASA launch director/launch manager, Kennedy Space Center
- Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance
- Jim Fanson, Kepler project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- John Troeltzsch, Kepler program manager, Ball Aerospace Corporation
- Joel Tumbiolo, U.S. Air Force Delta II launch weather officer, 45th
Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Mission Science Briefing

Immediately following the prelaunch press conference, a Kepler mission
science briefing will be held. Participating in the briefing will be:

- Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate,
NASA Headquarters
- Bill Borucki, science principal investigator, NASA Ames Research
Center
- Natalie Batalha, co-investigator, San Jose State University
- Gibor Basri, co-investigator, University of California at Berkeley

Tower Rollback Photo Opportunity and Remote Camera Placements

Thursday, March 5: Photographers who wish to cover the rollback of the
mobile service tower from around the Delta II or to set up remote
cameras at Pad 17-B will be escorted by NASA and United Launch
Alliance representatives to the launch complex.

Departure by vehicle convoy will be at 11:30 a.m. from the Space
Florida parking lot located on Poseidon Avenue, adjacent to Gate 1 of
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Launch Day Press Site Access to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Friday, March 6: Verification of pre-issued press credentials and
sign-in will begin at 9:30 p.m. at the Space Florida parking lot.

Media covering the launch will be required to show their permanent
Kennedy credentials or temporary Kennedy machine badges before being
allowed to participate in the caravan traveling to the media viewing
site. Following the launch, media will be escorted via caravan back
to Gate 1. Those media requiring access to the Kennedy news center
after launch must proceed through Gate 2 on State Road 3. Media
requiring remote camera retrieval will remain at Press Site 1 until
escorted to the launch pad. Following camera retrieval, participating
media will be escorted back to Gate 1.

To reach the Space Florida parking lot, after passing the Pass and
Identification Building outside Gate 1 of Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, turn right at the traffic light at the intersection of State
Road 401 and Poseidon Avenue. Make an immediate left turn at the
Navaho display.

Post-Launch Activities

No post-launch news conference is planned. A post-launch news release
will be issued once first contact has been made with Kepler and the
state of health of the spacecraft can be determined. This should
occur within one hour after spacecraft separation from the Delta II.
Official spokespersons also will be available at the Kennedy news
center for interviews then.

News Center Hours for Launch

The Kennedy news center will be open for Kepler news operations
beginning on Tuesday, March 3, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and
continuing through launch day. Starting at that time, status reports
on the launch of Kepler and any updates to the media advisory will be
recorded on the Kennedy news media update phone line at 321-867-2525.

NASA Television Coverage

NASA Televison coverage of the Kepler prelaunch press conference and
of the launch will be carried on the NASA TV Public Channel (Channel
101).

NASA Television coverage of the Kepler prelaunch news conference and
mission science brfiefing at Kennedy will begin at 1 p.m. on
Thursday, March 5. Two-way question-and-answer capability will be
available from other participating NASA centers. On Friday, March 6,
NASA Television coverage of the launch will begin at 9 p.m. and
conclude after spacecraft separation from the Delta II rocket at 62
minutes after launch.

Audio of the prelaunch news conference will be carried on the NASA "V"
circuits. The briefings begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, and may
be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135.

On launch day, Friday, March 6, "Mission Audio" countdown activities
without NASA launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135
beginning at 8 p.m. Audio of the NASA launch commentary will begin at
9 p.m. and will be available on 321-867-1220, -1240 or -1260. It will
also be available on amateur radio frequency 146.940 MHz (VHF), heard
within Brevard County. For information on receiving NASA Television,
go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage

NASA's home on the Internet, http://www.nasa.gov, will provide
extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the Kepler mission.

Kepler's prelaunch webcast featuring Kepler's Deputy Principal
Investigator Dr. David Koch and Kennedy Mission Manager Armando
Piloto will be streamed on the Web and broadcast on NASA TV on
Thursday, March 5, at 11:30 a.m.

Live countdown coverage through NASA's launch blog begins at 9 p.m.,
Friday, March 6. Coverage features real-time updates as countdown
milestones occur, as well as streaming video clips highlighting
launch preparations and liftoff. For questions, contact Jeanne Ryba
at 321-867-7824.

To view the webcast, the blog or to learn more about the Kepler
mission, go to the mission's home page at:

http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

[punkboi]

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=4

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-022709

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Mission: Kepler
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7925
Launch Pad: 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: No Earlier Than March 6, 2009
Launch Time: 10:49:57 p.m. EST

Engineers are reviewing hardware on the Taurus launch vehicle for
commonality with the Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler telescope.
On Tuesday, a Taurus XL rocket carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon
Observatory failed to achieve orbit. Managers want to confirm there
will not be any related issues with Kepler's Delta II.

Kepler's original no-earlier-than March 5 launch date needed to be
adjusted a day later to accommodate the additional time for analysis.
The March 6 target date still needs to be confirmed with the U.S. Air
Force, which manages the eastern launch range. Kepler's Flight
Readiness Review meeting is on Monday, March 2.

Kepler was moved to Launch Complex 17 on Feb. 19 and placed in a
staging facility. The Kepler spacecraft was mated to its second stage
on Feb. 21. The payload fairing was installed around the Kepler
spacecraft yesterday. At Pad 17-B, mating of the spacecraft to the
Delta II rocket occurred last weekend. A spacecraft countdown launch
rehearsal will be conducted on March 3.

[subisnack]

Bump for the FRR today. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Anyone have any thoughts as to how likely Mar 6th is? The OCO investigation page has not been updated, and I have not seen anything relating to the engineers reviewing hardware on the Taurus launch vehicle for commonality with the Delta II. I guess most of that would come out of the FRR, but wondering if anyone has heard anything at all going into the meeting.

[subisnack]

Thanks as always for the great information!

[punkboi]

Florida Today states a 90% chance of favorable conditions for a Friday launch...which has been made official by NASA after today's FRR

http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/03/kepler-launch-set-for-friday-night.shtml

[Skamp_X]

First post so hi there.
Interesting mission , but im a little puzzled , from the distance we are watching , dont u have to be pretty lucky to find other  solarsystems with a orbital tilt that will cause the planets to move infront of the star from our point of view??

[Analyst]

First post so hi there.
Interesting mission , but im a little puzzled , from the distance we are watching , dont u have to be pretty lucky to find other  solarsystems with a orbital tilt that will cause the planets to move infront of the star from our point of view??

They are looking at 100,000 stars at the same time. If the orbital planes are equally distributed, and a planet with an angle of let say +/- 0.5  degrees crosses the disk of the star, you have a 1:180 chance per star of seeing a transit if there is a planet. Gives you quite some (555) possibilities. Now not every star may have planets ...

Analyst

[oneye]

hello everybody, i just registered on this forum because im looking for a webcam (if there's one) to see the launch of kepler tonight.
Can you help me guys? thank you
greetings

[I14R10]

hello everybody, i just registered on this forum because im looking for a webcam (if there's one) to see the launch of kepler tonight.
Can you help me guys? thank you
greetings

I think launch has been delayed to March 7.

And, here:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=11070.0

[punkboi]

hello everybody, i just registered on this forum because im looking for a webcam (if there's one) to see the launch of kepler tonight.
Can you help me guys? thank you
greetings

I think launch has been delayed to March 7.

And, here:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=11070.0

Nope, Kepler is set to launch on March 6.  95% chance of favorable weather conditions during liftoff this Friday (source: Florida Today)

[Art LeBrun]

I think he means March 7 in Croatia.......

[mtakala24]

Yep, its officially on the 7th (in UT time.)

[I14R10]

I think he means March 7 in Croatia.......

Exactly.
Ohh, time zones... 

[John44]

 Kepler Mission Pre-Launch Briefing
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4734

[punkboi]

I think he means March 7 in Croatia.......

Darn my Americentric mentality

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 09-049

NASA'S KEPLER MISSION SET FOR LAUNCH


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kepler mission to seek other Earth-like
planets is undergoing final preparations for liftoff Friday, March 6,
from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The
spacecraft launch aboard a Delta II rocket has two windows of
opportunity Friday, from 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. and 11:13 to 11:16 p.m.
EST.

Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars
in habitable zones -- regions where water could pool on the surface
of the planets. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the
formation of life.

"This mission attempts to answer a question that is as old as time
itself -- are other planets like ours out there?" said Ed Weiler,
associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at
NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It's not just a science question --
it's a basic human question."

After the clock ticks down to liftoff, the Delta II's first-stage main
engine and six strap-on solid rocket boosters will ignite. Three
remaining boosters will ignite 65.5 seconds later, and the
first-stage main engine will continue to burn for 4.5 minutes. The
second stage will then ignite, carrying Kepler into a circular orbit
115 miles above Earth less than 10 minutes after launch. After
coasting for 43 minutes, the second-stage engine will fire again,
followed by second-stage shutdown and separation. The third stage
will then burn for five minutes.

Sixty-two minutes after launch Kepler will have separated entirely
from its rocket and will be in its final Earth-trailing orbit around
the sun, an orbit similar to that of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
"We are very excited to see this magnificent spacecraft come to life
when it reaches space," said James Fanson, Kepler project manager at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

After a commissioning period lasting about two months, Kepler will
begin its job of staring at more than 100,000 stars for
three-and-one-half years, looking for planets. Its isolated perch
behind Earth will give the telescope an unobstructed view of a
single, very large patch of sky near the Cygnus and Lyra
constellations.

"We will monitor a wide range of stars; from small cool ones, where
planets must circle closely to stay warm, to stars bigger and hotter
than the sun, where planets must stay well clear to avoid being
roasted," said William Borucki, science principal investigator for
the mission at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
Borucki has been working on the mission for 17 years. "Everything
about the mission is optimized to find Earth-size planets with the
potential for life, to help us answer the question -- are Earths
bountiful or is our planet unique?"

Kepler will find planets by looking for periodic dips in starlight.
Planets that happen to pass directly in front of their stars from
Earth's point of view cause the stars to dim by almost imperceptible
amounts. Kepler's powerful camera, the largest ever flown in space,
can see the faintest of these "winks."

"Trying to detect Jupiter-size planets crossing in front of their
stars is like trying to measure the effect of a mosquito flying by a
car's headlight," said Fanson. "Finding Earth-sized planets is like
trying to detect a very tiny flea in that same headlight."

If the mission does find Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of
stars, it should find them first around stars that are smaller than
our sun. This is because the habitable zone is closer for small
stars; planets circling in this region would take less time to
complete one lap and, theoretically, less time for Kepler to find
them and for other ground-telescopes to confirm their existence. Any
Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zones of stars like our
sun -- the true Earth analogs -- would take at least three years to
be confirmed.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. Ames is the home organization of
the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground
system development, mission operations and science data analysis.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the
Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of
Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing the Kepler flight
system and supporting mission operations. NASA's Launch Services
Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., manages the launch
service including payload integration and certifying the Delta II
launch vehicle for NASA's use.

For more information about the Kepler mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

[Art LeBrun]

I think he means March 7 in Croatia.......

Darn my Americentric mentality

No - darn your local time centricity instead of GMT......