[meteorite-list] NASA Sets New Launch Window for Supersonic Vehicle Test (LDSD)

[Ron Baalke]

May 26, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY M15-082

NASA Sets New Launch Window for Supersonic Vehicle Test

The second flight test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) 
now will launch no earlier than 12:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HST) Tuesday, June 
2, from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, 
Hawaii. NASA Television coverage will begin at 1 p.m. EDT (7 a.m. HST).

To accommodate prevailing weather conditions, mission managers moved the 
launch window one hour earlier to increase the probability of LDSD launching 
on time.

NASA's LDSD project is designed to investigate and test breakthrough 
technologies for landing future robotic and human Mars missions and safely 
returning large payloads to Earth. The test, performed over the Pacific 
Ocean, will simulate the supersonic entry and descent speeds at which the 
spacecraft would be traveling through the Martian atmosphere.

Reporters are invited to learn about LDSD at a media day on Monday, June 1 at 
PMRF, which begins with a mission overview briefing at 8 a.m. HST. The 
briefing will be broadcast live on NASA TV and online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

and

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

Media may participate by phone by contacting Kim Newton at 256-653-5173 or 
kimberly.d.newton at nasa.gov no later than 4:30 p.m. HST Sunday, May 31. 
Briefing participants will answer questions from the live audience, as well 
as those submitted to the Ustream chat box or via Twitter using the #askNASA 
hashtag. After the briefing, media at PMRF will be taken on a tour of the 
launch area and Range Operations Center, as well as a driving tour of the 
facility.

NASA's LDSD program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission 
Directorate in Washington, which innovates, develops, tests and flies 
hardware for NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's 
investment in space technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech


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