Mars Explorer launch

[AlphaSigOU]

Another quiet night on GC... just sitting back and watching preparations for the launch of NASA's Mars Explorer Rover B (Opportunity) online.

If you have high speed internet you can watch the live video feed at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html. NASA TV is also available on satellite TV (Dish and Direct TV); some local cable channels do carry it as well.

First launch opportunity from Cape Canaveral at 10:56 PM CDT tonight, weather permitting a second launch opportunity pops up at 11:37 PM CDT.

[AlphaSigOU]

Launch scrubbed. Liftoff is now targeted for Sunday night at 11:46:14 p.m. EDT. A back-up launch attempt is available less than an hour later at 12:28:07 a.m. EDT.

[lifesaver]

Ok I wont be at the bar5 then and can watch. Go pathfinder II. Cool.

[lifesaver]

BTW - on Direct TV - What Channel is NASA TV? I wanna watch!

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by lifesaver
BTW - on Direct TV - What Channel is NASA TV? I wanna watch!

376 on DirecTV Coverage begins at 8:45 PM CDT; first launch opportunity at 10:46, second at 11:28. Both are instantaneous launch windows -- any delay will scrub the launch for the evening.

It's also the first launch of the Delta II 7925 Heavy (7 - extended first stage, 9 - nine strap ons 2 - Aerojet second stage, 5 - PAM-D third stage). The 'Heavy' designation is because the nine strap-on boosters (6 light up at liftoff, three at altitude (the air started nozzles are bigger)) are from the bigger Delta III vehicle.

On DISH Network, NASA TV is at channel 213.

[astroAPhi]

I wish I had cable TV.

Oh wait, I walk outside and look north.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by astroAPhi
I wish I had cable TV.

Oh wait, I walk outside and look north.

Or if you don't mind the drive, try Jetty Park -- they usually stay open on launch nights for the 'birdwatchers' Pad 17B is closest to Jetty Park

Both Space Shuttle and rocket liftoffs can be viewed from
Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. There is a minimal admission fee. The park typically closes at 9 p.m. but adjusts its hours to accommodate launch viewing. Call (321) 783-7111 for more information.

[bsp-mich24]

I have expanded cable - does anyone know what regular cable station will show liftoff (I'm on pst).

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by bsp-mich24
I have expanded cable - does anyone know what regular cable station will show liftoff (I'm on pst).

Most cable TV companies sometimes carry NASA TV in the educational or public access channels (it's free, unencrypted and great for filling dead air in channels that don't get much use.)

TV broadcast starts at 8:45 CDT (6:45 PDT). If you're surfing through those channels around that time and you see a static shot of a rocket on the pad that's it.

[AlphaSigOU]

Source: www.spaceflightnow.com

SUNDAY, JUNE 29, 2003
2245 GMT (6:45 p.m. EDT)

The 300 million mile voyage from Earth to Mars for NASA's Opportunity rover won't begin until at least Wednesday night so workers can fix a ring of insulating material on the Boeing Delta 2 rocket.

For the second time in eight days, officials have been forced to postpone the Mars Exploration Rover-B launch to make repairs on the troublesome band of cork on the rocket's first stage.

Last week the band was removed and replaced after technicians discovered that the cork and the adhesive weren't bonding properly, NASA said. Inspections made early Sunday -- after super-cold liquid oxygen was drained from the first stage following the scrubbed countdown -- revealed sections of the new band wasn't adhering to the rocket's skin, the space agency announced.

Problem areas of the ring -- about 10 percent of the entire band -- will have to be reinstalled before the Wednesday night launch attempt, NASA said.

The cork material is used to provide thermal protection on the rocket. The insulator shields against the heating of ascent.

Located near the forward attach points of the strap-on solid rocket boosters, the band extends all the way around the first stage. It is about two-feet in width and a quarter-inch thick, according to NASA.

The two available launch times on Wednesday night are: 11:17:37 p.m. and 11:59:54 p.m. EDT.

The Opportunity rover's window to make its departure for Mars extends to July 15.