Launch Readiness Review Complete Ahead of NASA’s DART Mission

A team of launch managers for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission have authorized approval to proceed to launch countdown at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ahead of a scheduled launch on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 10:21 p.m. PST (Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 1:21 a.m. EST) from the SpaceX Space Launch Complex 4.

During the Launch Readiness Review on Nov. 22, launch managers from NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), SpaceX, and DART mission team received an update on the mission status and any close-out actions from the previously held Flight Readiness Review. Signing the Certificate of Flight Readiness at the conclusion of the LRR were NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance; LSP’s chief engineer,  launch director, and program manager; the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 30 commander; the DART project manager; Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory director; and the SpaceX Launch Director.

DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART’s target asteroid in not a threat to Earth.

Teams also recently completed integration of the Falcon 9 rocket and its payload. After moving the DART spacecraft, encapsulated in its payload fairings, from the payload processing facility to the Falcon 9 Hangar, SpaceX technicians horizontally integrated the encapsulated spacecraft to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket over a two-day period, Nov. 20 to 21.

“The payload mate onto the launch vehicle is an important milestone for DART because it is the final verification to ensure the spacecraft is communicating with its ground team,” said Notlim Burgos, LSP payload mechanical engineer. “This milestone also is significant for the LSP mechanical team because it integrates the last components of the launch vehicle, completing the build of the Falcon 9 in support of NASA’s first planetary defense mission.”

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab manages the DART mission for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office. The agency provides support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

 

NASA’s DART Spacecraft Secured In Payload Fairing, Flight Readiness Review Complete

Inside SpaceX’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the Falcon 9 rocket’s protective payload fairing move toward NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft on Nov. 16, 2021. The payload fairing, with the spacecraft securely inside, will be attached to the top of the Falcon 9 and will protect the spacecraft during launch and ascent.
Inside SpaceX’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the Falcon 9 rocket’s protective payload fairing move toward NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft on Nov. 16, 2021. The payload fairing, with the spacecraft securely inside, will be attached to the top of the Falcon 9 and will protect the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is now encapsulated in the SpaceX payload fairings. Technicians with SpaceX installed the two halves of the fairing around the spacecraft over the course of two days, Nov. 16 and 17, inside the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The payload fairing serves as a barrier to the harsh environment of the atmosphere during DART’s launch and ascent atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

“The encapsulation event is a significant milestone in DART’s launch process as it marks the last direct access to the spacecraft and completion of all major testing milestones prior to launch,” said Joan Misner, NASA’s Launch Service Program integration engineer. “The team has worked around the clock to ensure they wouldn’t miss a thing.”

On Nov. 17, NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), SpaceX, and DART launch managers completed a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) at Vandenberg. The purpose of the FRR is to update the team on the status of the mission, close out actions from previous readiness reviews, and certify the readiness to proceed with initiation of final launch preparation activities.

DART is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg on Nov. 23 at 10:21 p.m. PST (Nov. 24 at 1:21 a.m. EST). DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART’s target asteroid is not a threat to Earth. LSP, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America’s multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has been directed to manage the DART mission for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office. NASA provides support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Next Milestone Complete on DART Spacecraft as Launch Date Nears

DART mission logo.NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft was attached to its payload adapter on Nov. 11 inside the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. An integrated team of workers with NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), SpaceX, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) completed the work in preparation for a late November launch.

DART will be the first mission to test technologies for preventing a hazardous asteroid from impacting Earth. DART’s target asteroid is not a threat to Earth, but the mission will prove that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid and kinetically impact it.

“Mating the payload to the adapter is a very important milestone for the mission since it is the critical interface between the spacecraft and launch vehicle, where the two come together and need to separate cleanly to send the spacecraft on its planetary defense journey,” said Marisa Wyssling-Horn, integration engineer with LSP.

DART was lifted from its processing stand and lowered onto the launch vehicle payload adapter. Measuring just 24 inches in diameter, this is the first time that this smaller size adapter is being used. The team then mated the electrical connectors between the spacecraft and the adapter. Finally, the integrated stack of spacecraft and adapter was secured to the payload attach fitting. The mate process took about a day to complete.

“It is also an exciting milestone since it is the first time that the full team, which had been working together for years, came together in person on a major operation,” Wyssling-Horn said.

Final closeouts will occur over the next two weeks in preparation for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg during a launch window that opens at 10:21 p.m. PST, Nov. 23 (1:21 a.m. EST, Nov. 24). Next up, DART will be encapsulated in the payload fairing and attached to the Falcon 9 rocket to prepare for rollout to the launch pad.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has been directed to manage the DART mission for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office. The agency provides support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX is the rocket provider for the DART launch.