History will be made at Boeing on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when a Delta
II rocket carries a dual payload into space for NASA and Argentina.
It will be the first time a Delta II rocket has carried two
distinctly different primary payloads — with different mission and
integration requirements — for separate customers on the same launch.
The rocket is scheduled to be launched at 10:24 a.m. PST from Space
Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch window is 22
seconds.
The Delta II actually will carry three payloads: two primary and a
secondary. The two primary payloads include the first of the NASA New
Millennium program’s Earth-Observing-1 (EO-1) missions, plus
Argentina’s first earth-observing satellite, the Satelite de
Aplicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C). The secondary payload is Munin, a
Swedish nanosatellite.
“Boeing will be able to launch its first dual payload because of a
new dispenser called the Dual Payload Attach Fitting (DPAF),” said Joy
Bryant, director of NASA programs for the Boeing Delta program, who is
the company’s mission director for this launch. “The DPAF allows us to
compete in a different class with smaller rockets.”
NASA contracted with Boeing to develop the DPAF. Boeing worked
with Astrium — a European aerospace company with activities in
France, Germany and the United Kingdom — to create the dispenser.
NASA wanted to be able to fly its small satellites on a reliable
vehicle, Bryant said, and the Boeing Delta II rocket fit that
requirement perfectly.
Two additional Boeing Delta II launches at Vandenberg in 2001 will
carry dual primary payloads for NASA and other customers.
The EO-1 mission will perform earth observation tasks at
approximately 25 percent of the usual cost of the previous Landsat
missions. Its primary demonstrations are specifically oriented at the
land remote-sensing technologies, spacecraft and methodologies that
will be used in defining future Landsat-type missions.
The three instruments on EO-1 are the advanced land imager, the
Hyperspectral and the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array Atmospheric
Corrector.
The SAC-C satellite is the first deployable launch by the
Argentine Commission on Space Activities. It will integrate multiple
instruments under an international cooperation program.
The satellite is designed to study terrestrial and marine
ecosystems, measure space radiation and determine variability in the
atmospheric structure, provide measurements of the geomagnetic field
and measure the long wavelength component of the gravity field.
Munin — the secondary payload designed and built by college
students — will be separated from the Delta II’s second stage
guidance section after the primary payloads have been deployed. It was
designed and built by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in
cooperation with students at Sweden’s Umea and Lelea universities.
Munin’s primary objectives include gathering space weather data,
monitoring auroral activity and serving as a testbed for very small,
autonomous monitoring satellites. The king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf,
signed the Munin’s base plate, and his signature was etched into it.
A webcast of the launch will be available on www.ksc.nasa.gov and
www.kennedyspacecenter.com
Note to Editors: In addition to this news release, check out the
company’s Web site for more information on the EO-1/SAC-C launch:
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/delta/delta2/eo-1/index.htm
Contact:
The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach
Keith Takahashi, 714/896-1302 (office),
714/343-6322 (cell), 800/946-4646 (pager) PIN: 1494784,
Marriott: 805/688-1000
or
Beth Hill, 714/372-4736 (office), 714/269-0826 (cell),
800/946-4646 (pager) PIN: 1477838, Marriott: 805/688-1000
or
Boeing Launch Hotline: 714/896-4770
