William Atkins
Saturday, 28 February 2009 01:40
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 4
NASA added that the U.S. Air force must approve the new launch date because it is in charge of the facility in which the vehicle will launch.
In addition, another Flight Readiness Review (FRR) will be conducted on Monday, March 2, 2009, to verify the readiness of the mission to proceed as planned.
FRR meetings check all aspects of the payload vehicle and its launch vehicle to assure that all problems have been resolved and the mission can proceed in a safe and prudent manner.
The launch of Kepler is now scheduled between 10:49 and 10:52 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on March 6. If that window is not conducive to its launch, then a second launch window opens up from 11:13 to 11:16 p.m. on the same day.
For additional information on the Kepler Space Telescope mission, check out the February 5, 2009
iTWire article “
Kepler Space Telescope looks for Earth-like planets, and life.”
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida, is the site of the launch—from Launch Pad 17B.
The NASA Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center (Florida) is responsible for the Kepler launch. The actual launch was be the responsibility of United Launch Alliance, a contractor for NASA.
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