Jul 26 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-156 NASA SETS LAUNCH COVERAGE EVENTS FOR MISSION TO JUPITER
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. 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. 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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