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Orbital
Sciences Activity –
Much of the Orbital team has spent the past couple weeks at LASP
participating in the Mission Operations Rehearsal #1.They will
also be at LASP for Rehearsal #2 in November and the final launch.
These people have worked on the SORCE software, hardware, and
mission development and will continue to participate in SORCE
Mission Operation activities until the spacecraft is stable, with
the instruments and the spacecraft performing as expected.
The instruments
and spacecraft are in great shape and almost ready for flight.
Engineers have completed the final post-environmental tests and
comprehensive performance tests. All optical alignments are complete,
and mass properties testing to determine the craft’s mass
distribution were successful. A long duration tests, completed
October 11th, allowed the spacecraft to run uninterrupted for
5 straight days, making contact with LASP two times per day, just
like it will be doing in orbit. This serves as the final verification
that both the spacecraft and the mission operators are ready for
the move to the launch site. The solar array deployment tests
were the final exercise before the Pre-Ship Review, which is scheduled
for October 21 at Orbital. This review will examine the overall
test program performance to make sure all necessary tests have
been successfully run on the instruments and the spacecraft. The
review panel will decide if the team is ready to proceed to the
launch site for integration to the Pegasus launch vehicle.
Orbital engineers
monitor the SORCE spacecraft, mounted in the Pegasus mating cradle,
during Mass Properties testing.
Once
all testing at Orbital has concluded and the Pre-Ship Review conducted,
the SORCE spacecraft and the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) required
to move, operate, and test the spacecraft will be packaged and
shipped to Kennedy Space Center. On Friday, October 25, SORCE |
will be
transported by chartered truck, with Orbital and LASP personnel
closely monitoring from a chase vehicle.
SORCE instruments
with stimulus lamps during a Comprehensive Performance Test (CPT).
Kennedy
Space Center Activity –
Launch preparations are underway, with Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
anticipating SORCE’S arrival on Saturday, October 26. LASP
engineers attended a Ground Operations Review Meeting at KSC in
late September to discuss SORCE requirements and Kennedy Space
Center’s ability to meet them. They reviewed the facilities,
schedules, personnel, and launch operations and found everything
to be very acceptable to meet the SORCE mission needs.
Once
the shipment arrives at KSC, it will immediately be unpacked,
and the SORCE post-ship checkout and Pegasus integration process
will commence. The Pegasus launch vehicle will be mated to the
spacecraft near the middle of November. A Flight/Launch Readiness
Review is scheduled for November 20, and a Launch Rehearsal is
planned for November 22.
Upcoming
Meetings
SORCE scientists plan to present papers or attend the following
2002 - 2003 meetings:
- NOAA
Solar UV Irradiance Workshop, Oct. 28-29, Boulder, CO
- NIST
Satellite Instrument Calibration Workshop, Nov. 5-7, Gaithersburg,
MD
- EOS Investigators
Working Group, Nov. 18-20, Ellicott City, MD
- AGU Fall
Meeting, Dec. 6-10, San Francisco, CA
- AGU/European
Geographic Society (EGS)/European Union of Geosciences (EUG),
April 6-11, Nice, France
To
submit information to this newsletter, please contact:
vanessa.george@lasp.colorado.edu
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