Good writeup today:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/new...-20070913f.html

It will be back up within a day or so, don't worry.

As a followup I was told recently that its chances of moving up are probably gone.

Well, an update: it could potentially move up.

The reason for the 26th is because there is another Delta 2 launch slated to launch out at Vandenberg on Sept. 18. PAO this afternoon here at KSC said if that mission is delayed, or launches on time, Dawn can move up. If delayed, Dawn could potentially be Sept. 19; if that Delta goes on the 18th, Dawn could be the 24th.

I guess we'll see.

They posted it about a week or so ago:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

Window added today in fact.

Finally can share my Phoenix shots:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Phoenix.html

For anyone that attended the launch I would love to see theirs and hear their experiences.

I hate to say it but that's pad B with Dawn's rocket :-\

Phoenix was on the left from your viewpoint.

The shuttle launch has been postponed 24 hours so more chances for Phoenix is needed.

Soyuz is rolled out to the pad horizontally the day before, so no, not until the final hours is it fueled with RP-1 and O2. And don't forget oxygen boils off, so that is why it is loaded right before launch.

Whatever happened (sounded like a power surge from a t-storm that affected the air conditioning into the payload fairing) appears to have been a minor issue that has been cleared or will be cleared shortly.

Those are EDT. Add four hours.

Yes it was.

The more precise updated times are 5:26:34am and 6:02:59am.

I don't remember about Opportunity. It had a Delta 2-Heavy so maybe that's why.

I have heard conflicting reports of the window ending Aug 24 and 25.

The range cannot support more than one launch at a time. They must reconfigure between launches, and the ideal time between is 48 hours.

A Mars launch August 6 would leave only 37 hours of time, but I've heard at least one person say they could theoretically do it.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix...716windows.html

Phoenix has priority so I would expect the shuttle to delay if Phoenix does not go by the 5th, maybe the 6th but unlikely. If Phoenix was delayed due to a technical problem that needed fix time, then it could just go on the other side of shuttle. But for weather they are sure to get Phoenix off the ground first.

The shuttle is facing problems of its own right now though.

Launch postponed 24 hours. Threat of bad weather moving in today preventing second stage loading.

Here is a launch times chart:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix...716windows.html

I have seen a mix of August 24 and 25 listed as the last day of the window. Does anyone know for sure? Thanks.

It may be true that if Phoenix doesn't get off till late in the window, they can't get Dawn up in time for Sept. 7. But I don't know. Florida Today has a quote in their blog today saying "Sept. 7 to about Oct. 17."

http://floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/sect...category=news02

No problem just want to help :-)

It looks like Sept. 7th is indeed the opening of the window with a launch in the morning (9am-ish maybe).

I just want to clarify. Both Dawn's and Phoenix's rockets are already stacked. The problem is not that you cannot launch on one pad while there is a rocket on the other; they do that all the time. What they don't do is launch while a spacecraft is on the other pad. Dawn itself will be removed, but its rocket will remain. Likewise, Dawn would have launched with Phoenix's Delta on the opposite pad, but not Phoenix itself, which would have waited for Dawn to go and the pad to be cleaned up before being mounted atop.

Florida Today's blog reports "late September" window opening. Since they did not give out a date, it might be dependent on when Phoenix gets off the ground. There is also a GPS satellite due to launch in September from 17, so they might have some things to rework (I think GPS was going to be pad B originally, maybe not anymore).

SFN story:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d325/070707delay.html

I believe the September window (planetary window) opens Sept. 7. I might be wrong though.

It's off till September officially. :-(