If I'm understanding this, if something prevents launch during the short window between July 7 and July 11, not only is there a $25 million financial penalty for the new second stage, but the delay caused by procuring the new hardware will leave them with a short launch window in October.

The alternative is to stand down now without fueling the second stage, which lets them reschedule for a longer launch window starting some time in September. And also saves the cost of a new second stage.

Tricky business, launching rockets.

TTT

Space.com has an update.

The second stage is not a write off. Just some seals have to be replaced

I could swear I heard the words "purchase a new second stage".

That's what I heard as well - specific mention of replacing the 2nd stage.

See Emily's latest blog entry (which has a link to a more detailed story).

Yea, the seals. Am I correct that it takes longer to refurb the stage than it would to get a new one. I think that's the idea.

From the article:

"If the launch vehicle and assembly crane aren't repaired, however, the U.S. space agency faces a "traffic jam" into space that could cost around $25 million."

The crane was fixed and the minor weather delay was long ago. There is no threat of delay from those anymore; but rather had caused the delay to July 7 previously.

This should be an exciting next couple of weeks, in any event. I hope Dawn doesn't suffer the same type of mission delay (and in my opinion, science degradation) that hit Deep Space 1.

Note the eerie parallels between the two: Delta II launch vehicle, ion propulsion, Mars flyby (in the original mission design), Marc Rayman, etc.

Also, I thought that the $25 million cost estimate assumes that NASA tries unsuccessfully to launch in July, and thus needs a replacement second stage.

If they decide instead to scrub the July launch window the mission will obviously incur some additional cost, but not as much as if they try to launch in July and don't succeed.

At least, that was my impression from the press conference.

TTT

There are items on the second stage that would have to be removed and put on the "new" stage. Some one else would still get Dawn's stage

UCLA Professor Christopher Russell Leads NASA’s Dawn Mission, a Journey Through Space and Time, Scheduled for July 7 Launch
UCLA News
June 26, 2007

Does anyone know if Dawn will still be transported to 17-B tomorrow? There're no photos on the KSC site of the payload canister arriving at Astrotech or anything

If I recall the press conference correctly, Dawn will be transported to the pad tomorrow.

TTT

Has the Delta launch team at CCAFS still being reduced since 2003? The planned time between the two MERs has been 10 days minimum, now they need more than 3 weeks.

Analyst

MER paid for that turn around and was preplanned

How interesting. Tell us more.

Since it is the fault of the launch provider (ULA, Boeing?) that they are already at the end of the window, shouldn't they pay the extra cost of turning arround faster after Dawn is launched? Without their delays Dawn had a 21 day window, now only 5 days are left. If they are capable of doing this (as they were during the MER launches) they should do it now.

Analyst

When NASA assigned both MER launches to Delta II, it also made sure that Boeing could launch both within their launch period. The 10 day interval was the time from payload mate to launch. Both MERs were processed in the same building, which allowed for some synergy. As soon as one was mated to the 3rd stage and sent to pad, the next was mated to the 3rd stage and was ready to go to the pad as soon as the 1st one launched.

Back then the USAF had a 60 day called up for a GPS launch. This set the manning levels for the Delta launch site, which allowed this. I believe this has been relaxed. And with the addition of Delta-IV, the manpower is thinner. Plus the preplanning wasn't in place

Some of the delays were not ULA'S fault. Crane is not their fault, it maintained by a USAF contractor. There were payload delays too.

There is no hook in the contract for such a 'penalty"

Dawn now at Pad 17-B...

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cf...rch.cfm?cat=173

Webcam:

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

How Nasa's Dawn spacecraft will explore solar system's origin.

Does anyone remember MER-B? Cork, Batteries. I was just kidding about the cork. I will never do again.

Analyst

The Delta nose fairing should be placed around Dawn tomorrow

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

PS: http://parman.blogspot.com/2007/06/ucla-william-k.html

Dawn Spacecraft Ready To Turn SciFi Into Reality
By Craig Covault
Aviation Week & Space Technology
July 1, 2007

They just posted some images of Dawn being encased in the fairing!
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=173

--Emily

Resisting the urge to sign their name or add a bit of graffiti on an inside panel right before the thing is closed up, must be excruciating.



I know, I know, they'd get fired and never work in the business ever again, possibly prosecuted as well. But if it were me...I'd sure be thinking about it.

not really, there is no real temptation. The fairing doesn't go anywhere except the bottom the ocean. It would be meaningless to write on the inside

If I recall correctly, the MER team signed some of their work inside the rovers.

Didn't someone actually once get caught and was fired for such an act? Perhaps it was associated with the Apollo 12 recovery of the Surveyor 3 parts?

The Atlas V nose fairing was signed by the New Horizons team before launch

No -- the mylar thermal blankets on the MESA worktable attached to Apollo 11's Eagle had been signed by the closeout guy, with a note of good wishes. It was on the inside of the thermal blankets, and wouldn't be seen until Armstrong uncovered the MESA for use on the lunar surface.

Neil, the nice guy that he was (and is), said nothing about it on the air-to-ground, and nothing in the official debriefings. He told a couple of people about it on the quiet, IIRC with the admonition that *no* consequences come down on the guy who did it. As I understand it, the guy who did it was given a verbal reprimand by his bosses at Grumman, but otherwise was not punished.

-the other Doug

like I said, meaningless to sign on the inside

I did something like this. I was packing hardware and logistics items (Tang, toilet paper and t-shirts as we called it) for a Mir-Shuttle mission. It was a weekend so it was just me, a tech, another engineer I was traingin and an astronaut rep (Marsha Ivins). As we were packing some clothing, I made the remark that there was no "Inspected By XXXX" tag with the clothing. Marsha said we should make one and pack it. I said we can't and would get into trouble. Marsha countered that she could pack it as the astro rep. So we made one and gave it to Marsha, who then packed it. After the mission, I received a signed onorbit photo from with Ken Rominger holding a pair of socks with the "inspected by letter". I will scan the photo and post it if anyone wants to see it

Heh, heh...cool, Jim! Yeah, I'd love to see it as long as it wouldn't get anyone into trouble.

A very human moment - especially poignant given the unmanned-ness of our environs

A few weeks later, a photo was posted on the NH website showing a couple posing next to a piece of nose fairing wreckage that washed up on the beach of some Carribbean island

Was there ever a good quality shot of that washed-up fairing?

Not to stray off-topic, but I'd like to see that photo if you know where it is.

Pretty much the best image I saw was on Alan Stern's PI's perspective.

Anyone know what the outcome was from today's Flight Readiness Review? I heard that the launch weather constraint forecast for Saturday and Sunday is 60%

I think they are pressing on pending that one range issue which they will know tomorrow.

Hope they get off in the five day window now...afternoon t-storms have been especially heavy here the last week with this stalled-out low pressure system.

Cool. Amazing that they are able to trace that. But it's happened with other parts before too.

One of the professional software tools used by the DAWN Science Team to design the orbit of the spacecraft around the Vesta asteroid is freely available for download:

http://orsa.sourceforge.net/

http://orsa.sourceforge.net/RendezvousWithVesta/

The main features of RendezvousWithVesta are:
* validated numerical algorithms, tested on NEAR mission data, and capable of accurately reproducing NEAR's orbit around Eros;
* complete control over Vesta's physical properties: mass, mass distribution model, shape model, rotation period, and pole ecliptic latitude and longitude;
* control over DAWN's initial orbit around Vesta: epoch, radius, equatorial (Vesta's equator) inclination, phase angle;
* export simulations as SPICE kernel files and as ASCII data files;
* 3D graphical visualization of the numerical simulation, including the ground tracking of DAWN over Vesta's surface;
* 2D plot of the altitude of the spacecraft and of the Vesta profile at nadir;
* completely open source and part of the ORSA framework;
* support for all major platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows;

According to New Scientist, LRR was go for this Saturday.....

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12...id-mission.html

GO DAWN....

Craig

Outstanding.

It was the FRR. LRR is Friday

Hey, it's New Scientist, so factor that in.

Thanks for the correction Jim.... that was MY flub.... (FRR vs LRR).

And Alex... yeah.... I know this is "New Scientist", but have not heard a peep from ANY other outlet... so gotta go with what we got, grain of salt taken...

Any one heard ANY thing else?

Craig

How about this?