Atlas 5 countdown rehearsal reset for Wednesday
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: March 12, 2002

Technical issues on Tuesday forced Lockheed Martin officials to postpone the first countdown dress rehearsal for its new Atlas 5 rocket until Wednesday.

Atlas 5
The Atlas 5 rocket nears the open-air launch pad at Complex 41 during rollout on Monday. Photo: Lockheed Martin
 
Plans had called for the towering 191-foot tall rocket to be fully fueled for a countdown simulation at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Complex 41 on Tuesday, but glitches prompted workers to be dispatched to the oceanside pad for troubleshooting.

A company spokeswoman said in the end time simply ran out to conduct the entire rehearsal Tuesday.

Assuming the countdown test is conducted successfully on Wednesday, the rocket will be safed and then rolled back to its assembly building on Thursday atop a mobile launching platform.

Known as a Wet Dress Rehearsal, or WDR, three of these countdown tests are planned over the next couple of months as pathfinder exercises to practice transporting the rocket to the pad, loading propellants and conducting simulated launch days for the control team.

The tests give engineers the chance to find any problems early so they can be resolved before the real launch day arrives.

This first Atlas 5 rocket, tail-number AV-001, will fly in what Lockheed Martin calls the 401-vehicle configuration. That means it will have a four-meter payload fairing nose cone, no strap-on solid rocket boosters and one engine on the Centaur upper stage. As with all Atlas 5 configurations, the first stage is made up of a "Common Core Booster" powered by a Russian RD-180 engine.

Launch of the maiden Atlas 5 is targeted for no sooner than June carrying the Hot Bird 6 direct broadcasting satellite for Eutelsat.

Atlas 5
The inaugural Atlas 5 will be the largest Atlas rocket ever to fly. Photo: Lockheed Martin
 

Soviet Space
For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Viking patch
This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Apollo 7 DVD
For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Gemini 12
Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Gemini 7
Gemini 7: The NASA Mission Reports covers this 14-day mission by Borman and Lovell as they demonstrated some of the more essential facts of space flight. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Apollo patches
The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Mars Rover mission patch
A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Apollo 9 DVD
On the road to the moon, the mission of Apollo 9 stands as an important gateway in experience and procedures. This 2-DVD collection presents the crucial mission on the voyage to the moon.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Gemini 12
Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide
Final Shuttle Mission Patch

Free shipping to U.S. addresses!

The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
STS-134 Patch

Free shipping to U.S. addresses!

The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
Ares 1-X Patch
The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
Apollo Collage
This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
Project Orion
The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.
 U.S. STORE

Fallen Heroes Patch Collection
The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
On to Mars
A wide variety of papers presented at the first four years of the Mars Society's annual conference are collected together in this volume.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE
Hubble Posters
Stunning posters featuring images from the Hubble Space Telescope and world-renowned astrophotographer David Malin are now available from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.S. STORE
 U.K. & WORLDWIDE STORE

INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE

ADVERTISE

© 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc.