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Fairing access |
Solid-fuel boosters |
Delta II rocket |
Fairing Jettison |
t = 4 min, 42 sec |
Alt = 121.3 km (75.4 mi) |
VI = 22,377 km/h (13,904 mph) |
Stage 2 Ignition |
t = 4 min, 36.9 sec |
Alt = 118.9 km (73.9 mi) |
VI = 22,326 km/h (13,873 mph) |
Main Engine Cutoff Stage 2 Cutoff #1 |
t = 4 min, 23.4 sec t = 9 min, 38.5 sec |
Alt = 119.3 km (74.1 mi) Alt = 170.4 km (105.9 mi) |
VI = 22,317 km/h (13,867 mph) VI = 28,095 km/h (17,457 mph) |
Booster Jettison (3) |
t = 2 min, 11.5 sec |
Alt = 52.4 km (32.6 mi) |
VI = 9,046 km/h (5,621 mph) |
Numbers approximate, for |
Booster Jettison (3/3) first day of Rover A launch period |
t = 1 min, 6 sec and |
1 min, 7 sec |
Alt = 18.0 km (11.2mi) / |
18.3 km (11.4 mi) |
VI = 3,668 km/h (2,279 mph) / |
3,712 km/h (2,307 mph) Booster Impact Booster Impact |
Launch phases |
Stage 2 Cutoff #2 |
29 min, 29.4 sec Mars Exploration Rover |
Stage 3 Ignition Spacecraft Separation |
162.6 km (101.0 mi) x |
30 min, 59.4 sec 37 min, 14.4 sec |
4,762.0 km (2,959.0 mi) orbit at |
28.48 deg inclination |
Stage 2-3 Separation Stage 3 Burnout |
30 min, 22.4 sec 32 min, 26.6 sec |
Stage 2 Restart |
27 min, 23.7 sec |
159.8 km (99.3 mi) x |
Numbers approximate, for |
179.6 km (111.6 mi) orbit at first day of Rover A launch period |
28.49 deg inclination |
Launch phases |
Entry - 6 hours |
Mars at 3 or 4 Jan |
arrival Maneuver |
1/4/04 Entry - 2 days |
2 Jan |
Earth at |
arrival Entry - 8 days |
27 Dec |
Entry - 58 days |
7 Nov |
10 Oct |
Launch + 10 days |
18 Jun |
Earth at |
1 Aug |
6/8/03 17-day launch |
20 -day tick marks |
Mars at launch |
Rover A trajectory |
pletion of even one orbit, however, the Delta's second stage will reignite to begin push- |
ing the spacecraft out onto its interplanetary trajectory toward Mars. This begins about |
14 to 19 minutes after liftoff for Rover A, depending on the date and time of launch, |
and about 59 to 67 minutes after liftoff for Rover B. The second burn of the Delta's |
second stage will last 2 to 3 minutes. |
Small rockets will be fired to spin the Delta's third stage to about 63 rotations per |
minute on a turntable attached to the second stage. The third stage will then separate |
from the second, firing its engine for about 87 seconds to finish putting the spacecraft |
on course for Mars. To reduce the spacecraft's spin rate after the third-stage engine |
finishes firing, a set of yo-yo-like weights will reel out on flexible lines. These work like |
a twirling ice-skater's arms, slowing the spin as they are extended. |
The spacecraft will shed the burned-out Delta third stage about 34 to 39 minutes after |
liftoff for Rover A and 78 to 87 minutes after liftoff for Rover B. Springs will push the |
third stage away, exposing an antenna on the rover spacecraft's cruise stage. Radio |
Mars at Entry - 6 hours |
24 or 25 Jan |
Entry - 2 days |
23 Jan |
Earth at Entry - 8 days |
17 Jan |
1.14 Entry - 65 days |
21 Nov |
Launch Maneuver |
+ 10 days Launch + 75 days |
8 Sep |
21-day launch |
Earth at launch period |
Mars at launch |
20-day tick marks |
Rover B trajectory |
transmissions from the Delta II will enable controllers on the ground to monitor critical |
events throughout the launch sequence. However, communications with each Mars |
Exploration Rover spacecraft cannot begin until after it separates from the Delta's third |
stage. NASA's Deep Space Network will begin receiving radio signals from Rover A |
about 50 minutes after launch, using the network's Canberra, Australia, antenna com- |
plex. For Rover B, initial radio contact with the Deep Space Network is expected at the |
Goldstone, Calif., antenna complex one minute or more after third-stage separation. |
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