Feb 16, 2009

George H Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 george h diller@nasa gov

STATUS REPORT: ELV-021609

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Mission: Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) Launch Vehicle: Taurus XL (Orbital Sciences) Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 576-E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif Launch Date: Feb 24, 2009 Launch Time: 1:51:30 a m PST

The launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory has been rescheduled by one day to Feb 24 The spacecraft is being mated to the Taurus third stage Monday However, because the associated electrical closeouts in preparation for the mate took longer than anticipated, the launch was postponed 24 hours due to no remaining schedule margin The targeted liftoff time is 1:51:30 a m PST

The integrated stack consisting of OCO and Taurus stages 1, 2 and 3 will be hoisted atop Stage 0 on Wednesday, Feb 18 Also on Wednesday, a launch countdown dress rehearsal will be performed

OCO was encapsulated into the fairing halves on Feb 8 and Feb 9, then transported to the launch pad on Feb 11

Mission: Kepler Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7925 Launch Pad: 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla Launch Date: March 5, 2009 Launch Time: 10:48:43 p m EDT

Spacecraft fueling operations were completed last week Technicians completed final blanket work and spacecraft close-outs Feb 12 Kepler is scheduled to be attached to the upper stage booster Monday Installing the integrated stack into the transportation canister and placing it on the payload transporter are scheduled for the following day Kepler will be moved to Launch Complex 17 on Feb 19 to be mated to the Delta II rocket on Pad 17-B

Mission: Lunar Recommaissance Orbiter (LRO/LCROSS) Launch Vehicle: Atlas V Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla Launch Date: Targeted for April 24, 2009 Launch Time: TBD

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft was loaded on a truck Wednesday at Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to begin its two-day journey to the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Florida The spacecraft's electronic ground support equipment, comprised of the ground data system, and electrical and mechanical ground support equipment, arrived at Astrotech on Tuesday Workers uncrated and cleaned the equipment to prepare for LRO's arrival

The LRO arrived at Astrotech Friday morning Technicians uncrated the spacecraft on Saturday, then attach and deploy the solar arrays and performed a spacecraft activation test Sunday

The Centaur stage is scheduled to arrive at Cap Canaveral Air Force Station on Feb 20 at approximately 4:30 p m Offloading will begin on Feb 21

There is no formal request to NASA from United Launch Alliance, or ULA, to change the launch date of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from April 24 Informal discussions are ongoing between NASA, ULA and the Air Force to understand the needs of ULA's launch clients, including the Air Force and its Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft LRO and LCROSS continue to work towards the earliest possible launch date until a formal determination can be made otherwise

Previous status reports are available at:

http://www nasa gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/index html

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]