NASA Sets Launch Coverage Events For Mission To Jupiter

Trent J. Perrotto

Headquarters, Washington

 

George H. Diller

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

 

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to launch toward Jupiter aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Aug. 5. The launch window extends from 11:34 a.m. to 12:33 p.m. EDT, and the launch period extends through Aug. 26.

The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2016 on a mission to investigate the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's color camera will provide close-up images of Jupiter, including the first detailed views of the planet's poles.

NASA will host a prelaunch news conference in the News Center at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 1 p.m. EDT. Conference participants are:

-- Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate

NASA Headquarters, Washington

-- Omar Baez, NASA launch director at Kennedy

-- Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance, Denver

-- Jan Chodas, Juno project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

-- Tim Gasparini, Juno program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver

-- Clay Flinn, Atlas V launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

A Juno mission science briefing will follow the prelaunch news conference. Briefing participants are:

-- Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio

-- Toby Owen, Juno co-investigator, University of Hawaii

-- Jack Connerney, Juno Instrument lead, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

-- Andy Ingersol, Juno co-investigator, Cal Tech, Pasadena

-- Fran Bagenai, Juno co-investigator, University of Colorado, Boulder

-- Candy Hansen, Juno co-investigator, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson

A news conference will be held at the Kennedy News Center approximately 2.5 hours after launch, and a news release will be issued as soon as Juno's condition is determined. Spokespersons will be available for interviews.

To cover the media events, journalists must complete the online accreditation process at https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/.

Accreditation for U.S. reporters must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2. Journalists may obtain their NASA access badge at the Kennedy Badging Office located near Gate 3 on State Road 405, just past the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Two forms of government issued identification, one with photo, are required to receive an access badge. Kennedy's Badging Office hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about accreditation, contact Laurel Lichtenberger at 321-867-4036.

Journalists who are foreign nationals may attend the Juno launch and the prelaunch news conference if they possess a white machine badge with a green dot or a permanently issued NASA media accreditation badge from Kennedy.

Atlas V Rollout Media Event

Aug. 4: Media opportunity to observe rollout of the Atlas V rocket from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad. Journalists should be at the Kennedy press site at 7:15 a.m. for transportation to the viewing location near Launch Complex 41.

Remote Camera Placement at Launch Complex 41

Aug. 4: To set up remote sound-activated cameras at the Atlas V launch pad, photographers will taken to Launch Complex 41. Journalists should meet in the parking lot at the Kennedy Press Site at 12:30 p.m.

Launch Day Press Site Access

Aug. 5: Journalists will cover the Juno launch from the Kennedy Press Site. Access will be through Gate 2 on State Road 3 or Gate 3 on State Road 405, east of the Kennedy visitor complex beginning at 8 a.m. There will be no access through Gate 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Kennedy News Center Hours

Wednesday, Aug. 3: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 4: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 5: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

NASA Television Coverage

On Aug. 3, NASA Television's Media and Education Channels will carry the Juno prelaunch news conference live beginning at 1 p.m. On Aug. 5, NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude after spacecraft separation from the Atlas V occurs approximately 53 minutes and 49 seconds after launch. For NASA TV downlink information, schedule information and streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Audio only of the prelaunch press conference and the launch coverage will be carried on 321-867-1220/1240/1260/7135. On launch day, mission audio of launch countdown activities, without NASA TV commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 7 a.m. Launch audio also be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County.

For extensive prelaunch and launch coverage online, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

A prelaunch webcast will be streamed at noon on Aug. 7. Live countdown coverage through NASA's Launch Blog begins at 9 a.m. on Aug. 5. Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Jeanne Ryba at 321-867-7824.

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the Juno mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/juno.

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown at http://www.twitter.com/nasa.

Recorded Juno status reports and launch updates will be available on the Kennedy media phone line starting Monday, Aug. 1 at 321-867-2525.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton. 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 built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy.

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