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The Planetary Society Weblog
Archive
Archived posts are listed in reverse chronological order.
Oct. 2, 2007 | 09:09 PDT | 16:09 UTC
Dawn launch: Post-launch update
Planetary Society volunteer Ken Kremer is reporting for us from the Kennedy Space Center, where he watched Dawn launch on September 27. Thanks Ken! --ESLby Ken Kremer
Yesterday afternoon I spoke by phone with Marc Rayman while he was working at... More»
Oct. 1, 2007 | 10:13 PDT | 17:13 UTC
Kaguya shoots Earth video
JAXA reports that Kaguya has successfully completed its various orbit adjustment maneuvers in preparation for Lunar Orbit Insertion on October 3 at 21:01 UTC. During the period in Earth orbit they seem to have been checking out their instruments,... More»
Oct. 1, 2007 | 08:45 PDT | 15:45 UTC
A few random news items from last week: SOHO spots a return visitor; Astronauts on asteroids; MESSENGER update; Dawn tests
I am trying to do a better job of keeping my inbox cleared out, so here's a potpourri of topics that I thought were too interesting to delete, but that I couldn't find the time to write full stories on.
SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory,... More»
Sep. 28, 2007 | 15:45 PDT | 22:45 UTC
Who's got the biggest panels?
A reader wrote in to me to point out that Marc Rayman has been (frequently) quoted incorrectly as saying that Dawn had the largest solar panels of any planetary mission. Dawn's panels, at almost 20 meters tip-to-tip, are the largest that NASA has... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 16:15 PDT | 23:15 UTC
Dawn launch: Solar arrays deployed
Planetary Society volunteer Ken Kremer is reporting for us from the Kennedy Space Center, where he watched Dawn launch on September 27. Kremer is a research scientist who spends his spare time giving public outreach presentations on behalf of The... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 12:41 PDT | 19:41 UTC
One more cool Dawn launch photo
Via Paul Fieseler (Dawn's lead spacecraft system engineer) comes this neat photomosaic of the exhaust trail left behind after Dawn's successful launch this morning. The photos were taken by Hamilton Sundstrand instrument systems engineer Randy... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 07:37 PDT | 14:37 UTC
Dawn launch: A brilliant flash and a thunderous roar!
Planetary Society volunteer Ken Kremer is reporting for us from the Kennedy Space Center, where he watched Dawn launch on September 27. Kremer is a research scientist who spends his spare time giving public outreach presentations on behalf of The... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 06:59 PDT | 13:59 UTC
Successful launch for Dawn!
Dawn lifted off this morning at 11:34:00 UTC, achieved its proper Earth orbit, and should now be on its way to Mars. Preliminary reports indicate everything performed perfectly on the launch vehicle. I'll post further information here as I receive... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 02:30 PDT | 09:30 UTC
Dawn launch: 77 minutes and counting, go for LO2 fueling
by Ken Kremer
The clock stand at T Minus 77 minutes and counting
Loading of about 10,000 gallons RP1 Fuel was began at 4:45 AM into the Delta II first stage and is complete. RP 1 is a highly refined kerosene
The GO for Liquid Oxygen Fueling... More»
Sep. 27, 2007 | 01:30 PDT | 08:30 UTC
Dawn launch: Terminal countdown begun
by Ken Kremer
At 4:20 a.m. EDT The Terminal countdown was begun for NASA's Dawn mission to the Asteroid Belt. All systems GO at this time with no technical concerns. The clock is counting down.
The Tower Rollback at Launch Pad 17 B was completed... More»
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