[meteorite-list] NASA Sets New Launch Window for Supersonic Vehicle Test (LDSD)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 26 May 2015 13:06:02 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201505262006.t4QK62eV026600_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

May 26, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY M15-082

NASA Sets New Launch Window for Supersonic Vehicle Test

The second flight test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)
now will launch no earlier than 12:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HST) Tuesday, June
2, from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai,
Hawaii. NASA Television coverage will begin at 1 p.m. EDT (7 a.m. HST).

To accommodate prevailing weather conditions, mission managers moved the
launch window one hour earlier to increase the probability of LDSD launching
on time.

NASA's LDSD project is designed to investigate and test breakthrough
technologies for landing future robotic and human Mars missions and safely
returning large payloads to Earth. The test, performed over the Pacific
Ocean, will simulate the supersonic entry and descent speeds at which the
spacecraft would be traveling through the Martian atmosphere.

Reporters are invited to learn about LDSD at a media day on Monday, June 1 at
PMRF, which begins with a mission overview briefing at 8 a.m. HST. The
briefing will be broadcast live on NASA TV and online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

and

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

Media may participate by phone by contacting Kim Newton at 256-653-5173 or
kimberly.d.newton at nasa.gov no later than 4:30 p.m. HST Sunday, May 31.
Briefing participants will answer questions from the live audience, as well
as those submitted to the Ustream chat box or via Twitter using the #askNASA
hashtag. After the briefing, media at PMRF will be taken on a tour of the
launch area and Range Operations Center, as well as a driving tour of the
facility.

NASA's LDSD program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission
Directorate in Washington, which innovates, develops, tests and flies
hardware for NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's
investment in space technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech


-end-
Received on Tue 26 May 2015 04:06:02 PM PDT