Protective doors are closed around NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 shortly after the spacecraft was hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V will lift MAVEN into space and on to Mars. (Courtesy NASA/Kim Shiflett)The Atlas V rocket with MAVEN aboard will be rolled from the Vertical Integration Facility or VIF, pictured with the Atlas V inside, to the launch pad at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday morning.
Technicians will connect a battery of umbilicals and make the other connections necessary to set up the Atlas V for Monday’s launch. Sunday will be a rest day for the launch team, said Omar Baez, NASA’s launch director. The launch team will take to their consoles Monday morning to begin the final phase of the countdown ahead of the 1:28 p.m. EST liftoff.
