Juno mission launches August 5th around noon

[Missourian]

Juno cleared the last major evaluation this morning when the Launch Readiness Review gave its approval for Friday's liftoff on a mission to study Jupiter. The review concluded with the signing of the launch certificate which sets the stage for launch. Liftoff remains on schedule for 11:34 a.m. EDT. It will take Juno five years to reach Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. It will then orbit the planet for a year conducting research to find out details about Jupiter's structure and origins.

More at NASA - Juno

 

[Missourian]

The Atlas V that will start Juno on its way to Jupiter is in place now after rolling out from its protective hangar at Space Launch Complex-41. The rocket is equipped with five solid-fueled boosters and a Centaur upper stage, one of the most powerful combinations in the NASA catalog for launching a spacecraft without astronauts onboard. The weather forecast for tomorrow morning's launch continues to call for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions. Tropical Storm Emily is not expected to influence the weather at that time, although meteorologists are monitoring the storm closely as it moves through the Caribbean islands to Florida's southeast. The 4-ton Juno spacecraft will take five years to reach Jupiter on a mission to study its structure and decipher its history. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:34 a.m. EDT.

 

[Missourian]

Juno Mission Hours Away from Planned Launch 08.04.11

Mission News

On Friday, Aug. 5, the launch window for NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno mission opens at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT) and extends through 9:43 a.m. PDT (12:43 p.m. EDT) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite observatory is nestled inside the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket, the most powerful Atlas rocket in NASA's inventory.

The solar-powered Juno spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 30 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

On launch day, Aug. 5, NASA TV commentary coverage of the countdown will begin at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT). The coverage will be webcast at NASA - NASA TV .

Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog also begins at 6 a.m. PDT (9 a.m. EDT) at NASA - Juno Launch Blog . Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. To access these features, and for more information on Juno, go to NASA's Juno website at NASA - Juno , and to the mission site at Mission Juno .

The launch will also be online, with a live chat available, on Ustream TV, at NASA JPL Live, Ustream.TV: COMING UP AT 2PM EDT, 1800 UTC: NEWS FROM MARS! New results from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A news briefing originatin... . You can also follow the mission on Twitter at NASA's Juno Mission (NASAJuno) on Twitter .

Here is a timeline of expected launch milestones:

Launch Right after launch, the rocket will be airborne, carrying Juno up and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Solid rocket motors jettisoned -- occurs at about launch plus 106 seconds The five solid rocket motors that have been providing some extra "get-up-and-go" for Juno's Atlas will complete their burn and be "stagger jettisoned." First, solids 1 and 2 separate from the rocket, followed 1.5 seconds later by solids 3, 4 and 5.

Fairing and stages separate -- occurs at about launch plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds The Atlas's 68-footlong (21-meter-long) nose cone, or fairing, will separate and be jettisoned as planned, providing Juno and its Centaur upper stage with their first taste of exo-atmospheric existence. The Atlas V's 106.6 foot-long (33-meter-long) first-stage will have completed its tour of duty. The Centaur upper stage, which will provide the final kick for Juno, will begin the first of two scheduled burns.

Parking at 17,500 miles per hour -- occurs at about launch plus 10 minutes, 45 seconds The Centaur upper stage will temporarily stop firing, as planned, and the rocket and Juno will begin a planned 30-minute coast phase, also known as a "parking orbit."

Centaur burns for Jupiter -- occurs at about launch plus 41 minutes, 33 seconds The Atlas V's Centaur upper stage will begin a second burn. This approximately nine-minute-long burn will place Juno on its desired trajectory.

Spacecraft separates from Centaur -- occurs at about launch plus 56 minutes The Juno spacecraft will separate from the Centaur upper stage of its Atlas V rocket. At this point, Jupiter will be five years and 1,740 million miles (2,800 million kilometers) away.

NASA - Juno Mission Hours Away from Planned Launch


DC Agle 818-393-9011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

 

[Missourian]

It's T-107 minutes to Launch

Atlas rocket launch protocols from T-120 minutes to liftoff:

T-120 minutes and counting

• Start chilldown procedures on Centaur upper stage's liquid oxygen storage tank
• Start chilldown procedures on Atlas V's liquid oxygen vault and Mobile Launcher Platform
• Start Centaur helium bottle charge to flight pressure
• Begin raising Atlas Pressure Vessels to flight levels
• Raise Atlas V RP-1 fuel tank to higher pressure

T-115 minutes and counting

• Safe Arm Device (SAD) cycle test is performed

T-110 minutes and counting

• Start Centaur liquid oxygen transfer line chilldown

T-103 minutes and counting

• Start Centaur LO2 tanking

T-93 minutes and counting

• Pressurize Centaur liquid hydrogen storage tank to chilldown level

T-90 minutes and counting

• Start filling Atlas V with liquid oxygen

T-85 minutes and counting

• Start Centaur liquid hydrogen transfer line chilldown

T-60 minutes and counting

• Start Centaur engine chilldown

T-55 minutes and counting

• Start flight control final preparations to raise hydraulic pressures

T-45 minutes and counting

• Pressurize Main Engine Pneumatic System to flight pressure

T-16 minutes and counting

• Initiate fuel fill sequence

T-10 minutes and counting

• Weather briefing with Atlas Launch Weather Officer

T-5 Minutes and counting

• Fuel fill sequence is complete
• Water deluge system actuation pressure adjustment is performed
• Atlas L02 at flight level
• Centaur L02 at Flight level
• Centaur LH2 at flight level

T-4 minutes and holding (10 minute hold)

• NAM and NLM final launch polls -- go to continue countdown
• Spacecraft transfers to internal power

T-4 minutes and counting

• Hazardous gas monitoring is complete
• Automatic computer sequencer takes control for all critical events through liftoff
• Atlas first stage LO2 replenishment is secured, allowing the tank to be pressurized for flight

T-3 minutes and counting

• Atlas tanks reach flight pressure

T-2 minutes and counting

• Atlas first stage and Centaur upper stage switch to internal power
• L02 and LH2 topping for Centaur will stop in 10 seconds

T-90 seconds and counting

• Launch control system is enabled

T-Zero

• Ignition and liftoff of the Atlas V!

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

NASA - Atlas V: Countdown 101

 

[Missourian]

Live launch countdown and Launch commentary @ NASA - NASA TV

 

[Missourian]

T-65 minutes to liftoff



Juno's flight path.

Mission Timeline

• Launch - August 5th 2011
• Earth flyby gravity assist - October 2013
• Jupiter arrival - July 2016
• End of mission (deorbit) - October 2017

 

[martybegan]

Its pretty cool that solar panels have improved so much that they can be used to power this. I have nothing against RTG's but its interesting to see the improvement in efficency since Galileo and Cassini.

 

[Trajan]

Its pretty cool that solar panels have improved so much that they can be used to power this. I have nothing against RTG's but its interesting to see the improvement in efficency since Galileo and Cassini.

well said, I was thinking the same thing, more room for instruments

 

[Missourian]

Hold is about to be lifted.

T-4 minutes to liftoff.

Weather is green across the board.

Mission control is GO for launch.

 

[Missourian]

That never gets old.

 

[martybegan]

That never gets old.

The new telemetry based 3D model they are using once the craft is out of visual is amazing. Waiting for the 2nd Centaur Burn.

 

[Missourian]

That never gets old.

The new telemetry based 3D model they are using once the craft is out of visual is amazing. Waiting for the 2nd Centaur Burn.

I agree, it's spectacular.

 

[Missourian]

God Speed Juno...see you back here in a couple years.

That was absolutely awe-inspiring.

Congratulations NASA and Mission Control.

 

[Missourian]

Next Launch...GRAIL Mission to the Moon.

GRAIL

The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the Moon to precisely measure and map variations in the Moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the Moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the Moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the Moon's gravity field so completely that future Moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the Moon’s surface.

The launch window for the GRAIL spacecrafts (atop a Delta II launch vehicle) opens at 8:37 a.m. EDT on Sept. 8.

More information @ the GRAIL Mission Homepage : Solar System Exploration: Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory: *

 

[Ravi]

Thanks for posting this. I was in Cocoa Beach all week and I didn't even know about the launch until your thread.

Here's the shot I took after I remembered that hey, I should take a picture! It was just amazing.

 

[Missourian]

Juno, where are you now...

View of Juno’s position on Jan. 10 from Eyes on the Solar System. (Click for an expanded view.)

See Juno’s current position and velocity using NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D interactive or the NASA/JPL Solar System Simulator.

As of Jan. 10, Juno was approximately 170 million miles (274 million kilometers) from Earth, with a one-way radio signal travel time of approximately 15 minutes. The spacecraft has now traveled 590 million miles (949 million kilometers, or 6.34 AU) since launch. This is slightly more than 33 percent of the total distance the spacecraft will travel between launch and arrival at Jupiter

Juno is currently traveling at a velocity of 11 miles (17 kilometers) per second relative to the sun. Velocity relative to Earth is 21 miles (33 kilometers) per second.

The Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally. Four instruments -- JEDI, MWR, Waves, and MAG -- are turned on.

Most recent spacecraft significant events

Juno is currently headed back toward the inner solar system for a planned Earth flyby gravity assist maneuver on Oct. 9, 2013. The gravity assist will give the spacecraft the boost it needs to reach Jupiter, where it is slated to arrive in July 2016.

Have a question about Juno or Jupiter not covered on this website? Visit the Juno mission website or email mission's outreach team.

NASA - Juno

 

[Missourian]

Mark your calendars skywatchers...Juno returns for a Earth Fly-by in approximately 157 days (October 2013) for the slingshot manuver that will propel it on to Jupiter.

[youtube]sYp5p2oL51g[/youtube]​

Earth Flyby | Mission Juno

 

[ScienceRocks]

good.

 

[Missourian]

August 12, 2013
PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Juno spacecraft is halfway to Jupiter. The Jovian-system-bound spacecraft reached the milestone today (8/12/13) at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT/12:25 UTC).

"Juno's odometer just clicked over to 9.464 astronomical units," said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "The team is looking forward, preparing for the day we enter orbit around the most massive planet in our solar system."

For those astronomical-unitly challenged, an astronomical unit (AU) is a unit of measure used by space engineers and scientists when discussing the massive distances involved in the exploration of our solar system - and beyond. An AU is based on the distance between Earth and the sun and is 92,955,807.273 miles (149,597,870.7 kilometers) long. The 9.464 astronomical units Juno has already traveled (or still has left to go) is equivalent to 879,733,760 miles (or 1,415,794,248 kilometers). Juno was 34.46 million miles (55.46 million kilometers) from Earth when the milestone was reached. The next milestone in the nearly five-year journey to Jupiter will occur this October, when the spacecraft flies past Earth in search of a little extra speed.

"On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth," said the mission's Project Manager Rick Nybakken of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter."

Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016, at 7:29 p.m. PDT (10:29 p.m. EDT).

Juno was launched on Aug. 5, 2011. Once in orbit around Jupiter, the spacecraft will circle the planet 33 times, from pole to pole, and use its collection of eight science instruments to probe beneath the gas giant's obscuring cloud cover. Juno's science team will learn about Jupiter's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere, and look for a potential solid planetary core.

Juno's name comes from Greek and Roman mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. 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, Denver, built the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about Juno is online at Juno | NASA and Home | Mission Juno

NASA's Juno is Halfway to Jupiter - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

(This is a government produced document, therefore not subject to copyright.)

​

Halfway there and almost home.

Don't forget to mark you calendars...October 9 Juno does her near Earth Fly-by.