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![]() ![]() BY JUSTIN RAY ![]() Follow the countdown and launch of the Boeing Delta 2 rocket with NASA's ICESat and CHIPSat spacecraft. Reload this page for the very latest on the mission.
0200 GMT (9:00 p.m. EST Sat.) And as a point of clarification, the statements from NASA on Saturday implied that this problem was on the Delta 2 rocket itself. But as Boeing later explained, the glitch was with launch pad equipment and not the vehicle. We wish make that distinction clear in our coverage. The weather forecast for Sunday's launch opportunity is favorable.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2003 "As just determined by our launch management team, we have scrubbed launch of the Delta vehicle today carrying the ICESat and CHIPSat payloads," agency spokesman Bruce Buckingham said. "That is due to the inability of our team to successfully troubleshoot the helium tank system pressurization problem on the first stage of the Delta. We had a 'red team' at the pad that was valiantly trying to troubleshoot the issue but were unable to do it in a timely manner." The launch window tomorrow remains the same as today -- 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. PST (7:45 to 8:30 p.m. EST). "We do have the confidence we can gain access to the troubled areas tonight and fix the problem," Buckingham added. "We have called for a 24-hour scrub turnaround. Activities are proceeding to perform those turnaround operations."
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2207 GMT (5:07 p.m. EST) The countdown does have some slack time to compensate for such a delay in the timeline. But it remains to be seen if this problem can be resolved fast enough to allow the countdown activities to resume to support an on-time launch. Today's launch window extends for 45 minutes.
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2145 GMT (4:45 p.m. EST) The available launch window extends for 45 minutes. Officials say there are no COLAs -- Collision Avoidance blackout periods -- for the window today. COLAs prohibit liftoff for a few minutes during a window to ensure a rocket isn't launched on a course that would take it too close to an object already orbiting Earth. The countdown is being controlled from the "soft blockhouse" located about 8 miles from the Space Launch Complex-2 West pad. Senior launch officials are stationed in the Mission Directors Center located on South Base of Vandenberg. With the countdown underway, the activities planned over the next hour include verifying the hazard danger area is cleared, activating the rocket's Redundant Inertial Flight Control Assembly guidance computer, pressurizing the first and second stage helium and nitrogen systems and second stage fuel tanks and checking the C-band tracking beacon on the rocket. The loading of RP-1 kerosene fuel into the rocket's first stage will begin in about 20 minutes. This operation will be followed by loading of super-cold liquid oxygen in about 75 minutes.
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1647 GMT (11:47 a.m. EST) The gantry was used to stack the two-stage vehicle, the three strap-on solid rocket motors and payload atop the pad's launch mount. The tower also provided the primary weather protection and access to the rocket during its stay on the oceanside complex on North Vandenberg. Processing for this mission began in mid-October with the erection of the first stage. Once the tower is secured in its launch position, technicians are scheduled to perform some work on the vehicle's safety destruct system. Later, the final securing of the launch mount is planned. At about 12:45 p.m. local time (3:45 p.m. EST), the pad will be evacuated of all personnel for the remainder of the countdown.
1555 GMT (10:55 a.m. EST) It is quite foggy at the pad this morning. But forecasters say conditions will improve as the day goes on.
0001 GMT (7:01 p.m. EST Fri.) "We are through the review process and we are ready to go," NASA Launch Director Chuck Dovale told reporters Friday. Liftoff is targeted to occur at 4:45 p.m. PST (7:45 p.m. EST; 0045 GMT Sunday) from Space Launch Complex-2 West on North Base. The launch team will have 45 minutes to get the rocket off the ground or else wait until Sunday. The window does not change from day to day. Unlike the troublesome weather that dogged the recent Titan 2 rocket launch from Vandenberg, meteorologists are predicting near-ideal conditions this weekend. Launch Weather Office Capt. Scott Lisko says there is a 90 percent chance of meeting the launch rules on both Saturday and Sunday. The only possible hitch could be mid-level clouds that are too thick for the rocket to safely fly through. Launch day activities should begin about 14 hours before liftoff time when workers start final preparations at the pad. Managers will receive a detailed weather briefing at 3:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. EST) before giving approval to roll back the protective mobile service tower that shrouds the Delta 2 rocket on the pad. Tower retraction to expose the rocket for launch will occur between 6 and 8 a.m. local time (9 and 11 a.m. EST), Dovale said. The next few hours are then spent securing the pad and readying the rocket's ordnance safety systems. Just before 1 p.m. (4 p.m. EST), the pad should be cleared of all personnel in advance of the countdown entering a one-hour planned hold at the T-minus 150 minute mark. Once clocks resume ticking at 1:45 p.m. EST (4:45 p.m. EST), the Terminal Countdown phase of launch operations commence. The loading of the first stage with a highly refined kerosene fuel is scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. (5:05 p.m. EST). Super-cold liquid oxygen is then pumped into the stage beginning at 3:00 p.m. (6 p.m. EST). Two final holds are built into the countdown at T-minus 20 minutes and T-minus 4 minutes. The first pause lasts 20 minutes and the second extends for 10 minutes in duration. The launch will last about 83 minutes from liftoff until the second of the two payloads is released from the rocket's upper stage. That upper stage, for those of you keeping track, was fueled with storable propellants on December 16. For a detailed look at the ICESat and CHIPSat spacecraft being launched and the knowledge that scientists hope to gain from the unrelated missions, see this detailed story. And be sure to check this page for updates on Saturday, starting with confirmation of tower rollback and then play-by-play reports during the final count.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2003 We will have a countdown preview on this page Friday night. And be sure to look here for complete live coverage of Saturday's action.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003 During the launch delay, workers replaced the box and completed testing of the new unit. The box provides the signal to unlatch and separate the rocket's nose cone during launch, officials said. Saturday's launch window extends from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. local time (7:45 to 8:30 p.m. EST; 0045-0130 GMT Sunday). Air Force meteorologists are calling for an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions during the window. Thick clouds are the only concern. The forecast is even better on Sunday with a 90 percent chance of meeting the launch weather rules. "A weak low pressure system building over the eastern Pacific Ocean will move over central California late Thursday evening, bringing increasing cloudiness and isolated rain showers throughout the day on Friday. This system will move through the area by Saturday morning, and an area of high pressure will build over Vandenberg by Saturday afternoon, bringing favorable weather conditions for the launch attempt," Launch Weather Officer Capt. Scott Lisko said today. "There will be a few lingering mid-level clouds over Vandenberg during the launch window, creating a slight concern for the thick cloud layer constraint. Upper level winds on launch day will be from the northwest, reaching a maximum of 85 knots near 40,000 feet." The launch time conditions are expected to include altostratus clouds at 17,000 feet with 3/8ths sky coverage and tops at 20,000 feet, cirrus clouds at 25,000 feet with 2/8ths sky coverage and tops at 28,000 feet, visibility of 7 miles, northerly winds from 330 to 360 degrees at 5 to 10 knots and a temperature of 55 to 60 degrees F. "Scrub day conditions remain favorable, as high pressure will continue to dominate central California," Lisko said. "The thick cloud layer constraint remains a slight concern, due to a few mid-level clouds lingering over Vandenberg. Upper level winds will be from the west-northwest, reaching a maximum of 100 knots near 40,000 feet." Watch this page for continued updates and complete live coverage of Saturday's countdown and launch.
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Photo gallery![]() ![]() ![]() Flight Data File Vehicle: Delta 2 (7320-10C) Payload: ICESat and CHIPSat Launch date: Jan. 12, 2003 Launch time: 7:45-8:30 p.m. EST (0045-0130 GMT Jan. 13) Launch site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Satellite broadcast: AMC 2, Transponder 9, C-band ![]() Pre-launch briefing Launch timeline - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch. ![]() Orbit trace - Maps showing the ground track for the launch. ![]() ICESat - Overview of NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite. ![]() CHIPSat - Description of NASA's Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer Satellite. ![]() Science goals - Story on the science objectives of ICESat and CHIPSat. ![]() Delta 2 rocket - Overview of the Delta 2 7320-model rocket used in this launch. ![]() SLC-2W - The launch pad where Delta rockets fly from Vandenberg. ![]() Delta directory - See our coverage of preview Delta rocket flights. ![]() Hubble Calendar ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Apollo 8 leaves the cradle ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Apollo 17 DVDs ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Hubble Posters ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() New DVD ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |