[meteorite-list] Deep Impact Arrives in Florida to Prepare For Launch

[Ron Baalke]

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/2004/80-04.htm

For Release: October 18, 2004

Donald Savage                                                          
Headquarters, Washington D.C.
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

D.C. Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818/393-9011)

KSC RELEASE NO. 80-04

DEEP IMPACT ARRIVES IN FLORIDA TO PREPARE FOR LAUNCH

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has arrived in Florida to begin final 
preparations for a launch on Dec. 30, 2004. The spacecraft was shipped 
from Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, Colo., to the Astrotech 
Space Operations facility located near the Kennedy Space Center.

"Deep Impact has begun its journey to comet Tempel 1," said Rick 
Grammier, Deep Impact project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory.  "First to Florida, then to space, and then to the comet 
itself.  It will be quite a journey and one which we can all witness 
together."

The Deep Impact spacecraft is designed to launch a copper projectile 
into the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 
million miles from Earth.  When this 820-pound "impactor" hits the 
surface of the comet at approximately 23,000 miles per hour, the 3-by-3 
foot projectile will create a crater several hundred feet in size.  Deep 
Impact's "flyby" spacecraft will collect pictures and data of the event. 
 It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep 
Space Network.  Professional and amateur astronomers on Earth will also 
be able to observe the material flying from the comet's newly formed 
crater, adding to the data and images collected by the Deep Impact 
spacecraft and other telescopes. Tempel 1 poses no threat to Earth in 
the foreseeable future.

Today at Astrotech, Deep Impact is being removed from its shipping 
container, the first of the numerous milestones to prepare it for 
launch.  Later this week, the spacecraft begins functional testing to 
verify its state of health after the over-the-road journey from 
Colorado.  This will be followed by loading updated flight software and 
beginning a series of Mission Readiness Tests. These tests involve the 
entire spacecraft flight system that includes the flyby and impactor, as 
well as the associated science instruments and the spacecraft's basic 
subsystems.

Next, the high gain antenna used for spacecraft communications will be 
installed.  The solar array will then be stowed and an illumination test 
performed as a final check of its performance.  Next, Deep Impact will 
be ready for fueling preparations.  Once this is complete, the 
2,152-pound spacecraft will be mated atop the upper stage booster, the 
Delta rocket's third stage. The integrated stack will be installed into 
a transportation canister in preparation for going to the launch pad in 
mid-December.

Once at the pad and hoisted onto the Boeing Delta II rocket, a brief 
functional test will be performed to re-verify spacecraft state of 
health.  Next will be an integrated test with the Delta II before 
installing the fairing around the spacecraft.

Deep Impact mission scientists are confident such an intimate glimpse 
beneath the surface of a comet, where material and debris from the 
formation of the Solar System remain relatively unchanged, will answer 
basic questions about the formation of the Solar System and offer a 
better look at the nature and composition of these celestial wanderers.

Launch aboard the Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled to occur on Dec. 
30, 2004 from Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  
The launch window extends from 2:39 - 3:19 p.m. EST.

The overall Deep Impact mission management for this Discovery class 
program is conducted by the University of Maryland, College Park, Md.  
Deep Impact project management is by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 
Pasadena, Calif.  The spacecraft has been built for NASA by Ball 
Aerospace and Technologies Corporation.  The spacecraft/launch vehicle 
integration and launch countdown management are the responsibility of 
the Launch Services Program office headquartered at Kennedy Space 
Center.

Photos of Deep Impact's arrival and processing can be found at the 
following URL. Additional photos will be added to the page as they 
occur.

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=126


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