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Launch
Week Arrives for THEMIS
Technicians
place the five THEMIS satellites inside the nose fairing of
their Delta II rocket.
Image
credit: NASA/George Shelton
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February. 12,
2007
Status
Update for 02.09.07
On Feb. 3, THEMIS was
transported from Astrotech payload processing facility near NASA
Kennedy Space Center to Pad 17-B. The five satellites and their
rocket were then subjected to a combined systems check to ensure
everything is ready for the flight into space on launch day.
Following the test, technicians installed the Delta II rocket's
protective payload nose fairing around THEMIS.
For launch
week, loading of the Delta II rocket's second stage with
hypergolic propellants is scheduled for Feb. 13 and a countdown
dress rehearsal is planned for that day as well. Launch Day
begins with the retraction of the launch pad's mobile service
tower at 9 a.m EST. Next, crews will begin filling the first
stage with RP-1 kerosene fuel at 3:30 p.m. The pumping of liquid
oxygen aboard the first stage will follow at 4:15 p.m. Once the
propellants are aboard the rocket, the countdown will continue to
a liftoff between 6:08 and 6:26 p.m. EST. Launch date Feb. 15,
2007
The
Mission
THEMIS
is a mission to investigate what causes auroras in the Earth's
atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of
light to wildly shifting streaks of color. Discovering what
causes auroras to change will provide scientists with important
details on how the planet's magnetosphere works and the important
Sun-Earth connection.
Source
/ Credit: NASA
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