December 18, was an exciting day! Successful launch of Terra
occurred at 10:57:39 AM PST, 10 seconds before the close of the launch
window. Time was needed during the window to program the on-board computers
to adjust for high altitude winds, and to obtain a "go" condition for the
somewhat windy conditions. This made for a very suspenseful morning,
nevertheless the rocket lifted off spectacularly into sunny skies, and
separation of the spacecraft occurred on schedule about 14 minutes after
launch. The initial orbit parameters are near-perfect, and deployment of
the solar array occurred about 40 minutes after launch. MISR survival
heaters were turned on around noon PST. Another major milestone was reached
late yesterday afternoon with successful deployment of the high gain
antenna. Readings of MISR electronics, optical bench, and radiator
temperatures via spacecraft telemetry have pretty much stabilized and are
showing small variations through the night-day transitions, as expected.
Turn-on of the MISR instrument is scheduled for early tomorrow (Monday,
December 20) morning, followed by unlatching of the cover and the two
calibration panels. These will remain stowed for the time being during the
outgas period. Turn-of the cameras, optical bench heaters, and focal plane
heaters to start the outgas period is scheduled for Tuesday, December 21.
David Diner
Return to top
Return to 1999 Index.
Return to News section.
|
