NASA Sets Launch Coverage Events For Mission To Jupiter
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to launch towardJupiter aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Aug. 5. The
launch window extends from 11:34 a.m. to 12:33 p.m. EDT, and the
launch period extends through Aug. 26.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2016 on a mission
to investigate the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and
magnetosphere. Juno's color camera will provide close-up images of
Jupiter, including the first detailed views of the planet's poles.
NASA will host a prelaunch news conference in the News Center at the
agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 1
p.m. EDT. Conference participants are:
-- Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator, Science Mission
Directorate
NASA Headquarters, Washington
-- Omar Baez, NASA launch director at Kennedy
-- Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch
Alliance, Denver
-- Jan Chodas, Juno project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif.
-- Tim Gasparini, Juno program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems,
Denver
-- Clay Flinn, Atlas V launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron,
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
A Juno mission science briefing will follow the prelaunch news
conference. Briefing participants are:
-- Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research
Institute, San Antonio
-- Toby Owen, Juno co-investigator, University of Hawaii
-- Jack Connerney, Juno Instrument lead, NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md.
-- Andy Ingersol, Juno co-investigator, Cal Tech, Pasadena
-- Fran Bagenai, Juno co-investigator, University of Colorado, Boulder
-- Candy Hansen, Juno co-investigator, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson
A news conference will be held at the Kennedy News Center
approximately 2.5 hours after launch, and a news release will be
issued as soon as Juno's condition is determined. Spokespersons will
be available for interviews.
To cover the media events, journalists must complete the online
accreditation process at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/
Accreditation for U.S. reporters must be received by 5 p.m. on
Tuesday, Aug. 2. Journalists may obtain their NASA access badge at
the Kennedy Badging Office located near Gate 3 on State Road 405,
just past the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Two forms of
government issued identification, one with photo, are required to
receive an access badge. Kennedy's Badging Office hours are 6 a.m. to
3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about
accreditation, contact Laurel Lichtenberger at 321-867-4036.
Journalists who are foreign nationals may attend the Juno launch and
the prelaunch news conference if they possess a white machine badge
with a green dot or a permanently issued NASA media accreditation
badge from Kennedy.
Atlas V Rollout Media Event
Aug. 4: Media opportunity to observe rollout of the Atlas V rocket
from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad. Journalists
should be at the Kennedy press site at 7:15 a.m. for transportation
to the viewing location near Launch Complex 41.
Remote Camera Placement at Launch Complex 41
Aug. 4: To set up remote sound-activated cameras at the Atlas V launch
pad, photographers will taken to Launch Complex 41. Journalists
should meet in the parking lot at the Kennedy Press Site at 12:30
p.m.
Launch Day Press Site Access
Aug. 5: Journalists will cover the Juno launch from the Kennedy Press
Site. Access will be through Gate 2 on State Road 3 or Gate 3 on
State Road 405, east of the Kennedy visitor complex beginning at 8
a.m. There will be no access through Gate 1 at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station.
Kennedy News Center Hours
Wednesday, Aug. 3: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 4: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 5: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
NASA Television Coverage
On Aug. 3, NASA Television's Media and Education Channels will carry
the Juno prelaunch news conference live beginning at 1 p.m. On Aug.
5, NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude
after spacecraft separation from the Atlas V occurs approximately 53
minutes and 49 seconds after launch. For NASA TV downlink
information, schedule information and streaming video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
Audio only of the prelaunch press conference and the launch coverage
will be carried on 321-867-1220/1240/1260/7135. On launch day,
mission audio of launch countdown activities, without NASA TV
commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 7 a.m. Launch
audio also be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940
MHz heard within Brevard County.
For extensive prelaunch and launch coverage online, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
A prelaunch webcast will be streamed at noon on Aug. 7. Live countdown
coverage through NASA's Launch Blog begins at 9 a.m. on Aug. 5.
Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur, as well
as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and
liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Jeanne Ryba
at 321-867-7824.
To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the Juno
mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/juno
The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch
countdown at:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa
Recorded Juno status reports and launch updates will be available on
the Kennedy media phone line starting Monday, Aug. 1 at 321-867-2525.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Juno mission for the
principal investigator, Scott Bolton. The Juno mission is part of the
New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems built the
spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility
of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy.
Source:
