Atlas rocket carrying Mars Science Lab moved to launch pad
11/25/2011 12:27 PM Filed in: Space News | Planetary Exploration
By WILLIAM HARWOOD
CBS News
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL--United Launch Alliance hauled an Atlas 5 rocket carrying NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover to the launch pad Friday for final preparations before blastoff Saturday on a showcase mission to look for signs of past or present habitability on the red planet.
The short trip from the vertical processing hangar to pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station began at 8:02 a.m. EST (GMT-5) and one hour later, the vehicle was "hard down" on its launch stand.
Liftoff is targeted for 10:02 a.m. Saturday, the opening of a one-hour 43-minute launch window. Forecasters are continuing to predict a 70 percent chance of good weather Saturday and Sunday.
The $2.5 billion nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory is the most sophisticated spacecraft ever built to explore the surface of another world. If all goes well, the 1-ton rover will be lowered to the surface of Mars next August to begin at least two years of geology field work inside a 100-mile-wide crater to look for organic compounds and signs of past or present habitability.
CBS News
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL--United Launch Alliance hauled an Atlas 5 rocket carrying NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover to the launch pad Friday for final preparations before blastoff Saturday on a showcase mission to look for signs of past or present habitability on the red planet.
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| A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is hauled to launch pad for final flight preparations. (Credit: United Launch Alliance) |
The short trip from the vertical processing hangar to pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station began at 8:02 a.m. EST (GMT-5) and one hour later, the vehicle was "hard down" on its launch stand.
Liftoff is targeted for 10:02 a.m. Saturday, the opening of a one-hour 43-minute launch window. Forecasters are continuing to predict a 70 percent chance of good weather Saturday and Sunday.
The $2.5 billion nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory is the most sophisticated spacecraft ever built to explore the surface of another world. If all goes well, the 1-ton rover will be lowered to the surface of Mars next August to begin at least two years of geology field work inside a 100-mile-wide crater to look for organic compounds and signs of past or present habitability.