The Atlas V rocket is scheduled to lift off on Friday at 02:44 UTC (or 22:44 EST on Thursday), taking NASA’s $1.1 billion MMS science mission to the designated orbit. The launch readiness review took place on Tuesday, and the all clear was given to ULA to proceed with the rollout and preparations for launch. Current weather forecasts indicate a 70% “GO”, although this may change as we approach the launch.
The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, often simply abbreviated to MMS, is a project from NASA that aims to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. Magnetic reconnection data will be particularly valuable to scientists as it is partly responsible for auroras, and is also important for controlled nuclear fusion, which may be a future energy source. In order to collect the desired science data, the MMS project comprises of four identical satellites. These will form a tetrahedral constellation through a defined region of interest in a highly elliptical orbit.
“The formation flying is just as hard as going to Mars,” says MMS deputy project manager Brent Robertson.
“We start out at 100 km apart per spacecraft and bring them in to 10 km apart. We have to have very precise manoeuvres to do that with a spinning spacecraft. It is quite challenging.”
The window for the launch opens at 02:44 UTC and will last for 30 minutes. The Atlas V rocket will fly in its 421 configuration. This means it will have a four metre fairing, two solid rocket boosters, and one engine aboard the Centaur upper stage. This will be the 53rd launch of the Atlas V, but only the fourth in this configuration. The launch will be ULA’s third of a planned thirteen this year, of which ten will depart Earth from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
To watch the launch, make sure to tune in to NASA TV.
“The formation flying is just as hard as going to Mars,” says MMS deputy project manager Brent Robertson.
“We start out at 100 km apart per spacecraft and bring them in to 10 km apart. We have to have very precise manoeuvres to do that with a spinning spacecraft. It is quite challenging.”
The window for the launch opens at 02:44 UTC and will last for 30 minutes. The Atlas V rocket will fly in its 421 configuration. This means it will have a four metre fairing, two solid rocket boosters, and one engine aboard the Centaur upper stage. This will be the 53rd launch of the Atlas V, but only the fourth in this configuration. The launch will be ULA’s third of a planned thirteen this year, of which ten will depart Earth from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
To watch the launch, make sure to tune in to NASA TV.