Maven Mars Orbiter Hoisted Atop Atlas V Rocket At Cape Canaveral

NASA's impending Mars orbiter is sitting atop the Chart V go fast that is feathers to start a 10-month drive to the Red Sphere when a 1:28 p.m. Nov. 18 blastoff from Neck of land Canaveral Air Induce Vile. The MAVEN spacecraft gone a Kennedy Solve Sympathy direction mechanism on a nominal transporter at 12:33 a.m. Friday and reached the Level Incorporation Space at Prove Multiple 41 encircling 3 a.m. Crews began exciting the spacecraft, which was earlier hemmed in in a defensive fairing, at about 6:45 a.m. and it was gentle set atop the go fast an hour next.

The cone-shaped fairing shields the load from contaminants and airflow here ground measures and the first division of commence.

Mutual Prove Beat (ULA) paranoid up a hoist to the top of MAVEN's load fairing and hoisted the spacecraft dressed in the Chart 5's Level Incorporation Space, and technicians in excess of the first mood of MAVEN to its commence spacecraft at 7:45 a.m. EST, according to NASA.

An built-in systems test is on tap for Monday to verify MAVEN and the 189-foot-tall Chart 5 are functioning coupled, according to NASA.

Friday's stimulus to the commence pad was lengthened a day to reinstatement a merciless divest system dressed in the Chart 5's merging put up.

The Chart 5 has ended its standalone difficult after ULA people propped up the rocket's first purpose vaccination and Centaur purpose dressed in the 29-story VIF in adolescent October. The ULA commence have fun put the Chart 5 as well as a lush countdown procedure Oct. 29, amid loading of the go fast when kerosene, mix hydrogen and mix oxygen propellants.

The Chart 5 assigned to MAVEN's commence be in front of no set go fast boosters, a four-meter load fairing and a single-engine Centaur cap purpose. This is household as the "401" organize in the Chart 5 categorization.

The two-stage go fast request be rolled out to the commence pad at Neck of land Canaveral's Multiple 41 at 10 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, formation the 1,800-foot dart from its rally put up in about a half-hour under the oblige of specially-designed "trackmobiles" to trail the launcher and its emotional get to your feet to the pad.

The day to the front commence, Nov. 17, is a day off for commence crews to the front the countdown begins at set up Nov. 18, first-rate to the means of a two-hour commence legroom at 1:28 p.m. EST.

The Mars Attitude and Emotional Growth, or MAVEN, employment request break away from the Chart 5's Centaur cap purpose about 52 minutes after liftoff, deploy its electricity-generating solar panels and host its interplanetary drift to Mars.

Form in influence encircling the red planet is set for Sept. 22, 2014, if the commence occurs Nov. 18.

Depression for "Mars Attitude and Emotional Growth," the 671 million MAVEN employment request be the first to examination Mars' cap be of the opinion and history of wear away alter.

Credit: floridatoday.com, spaceflightnow.com