Mars Curiosity Separation from Centaur Upper Stage: "MSL Launch Day Sep Video" 2011 NASA

more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/astro/mars_news.html

November 26, 2011: The separation of the Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Curiosity Rover from the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas launch vehicle, after the Centaur has propelled the MSL spacecraft on it's trans-Martian trajectory.

Mars Curiosity & MSL launch video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBg4DvHI6c

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/MSLLaunch.pdf

The second Centaur burn, continuing for nearly 8 minutes, lofts the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and on its way toward Mars. The burn ends with main engine cutoff 2. Three minutes and 43 seconds after that cutoff, pyrotechnic actuators and push-off springs on the second stage of the Atlas release the spacecraft with a separation velocity (relative to the launch vehicle) of 0.6 miles per hour (0.27 meters per second) and a spin rate of about 2.5 rotations per minute. By that point, 43 minutes after liftoff, the two stages of the Atlas have accelerated the spacecraft to about 22,866 miles per hour (10.22 kilometers per second) relative to Earth. Shortly after that, the separated Centaur performs its last task, an avoidance maneuver taking itself out of the spacecraft's flight path to avoid hitting either the spacecraft or Mars...

The first antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network to receive communication from the spacecraft is near Canberra, Australia. Use of an antenna operated by the private-sector United Space Network on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius provides a bonus opportunity for earlier establishment of communications with the spacecraft. Data received from the spacecraft in the initial acquisition will provide the first evaluation of the spacecraft's health in cruise mode, including confirmation that the cruise-stage solar arrays are producing electricity. Once the spacecraft is in a stable state, cruise phase activities can begin.

Interplanetary Cruise and Approach to Mars

The trip from Earth to Mars will take about 36 weeks (255 days if launch is at the opening of the launch period on Nov. 25, 2011). Most of this period (210 days if launch is Nov. 25) is the cruise phase of the mission.

The final 45 days are the approach phase. Key activities during cruise include checkouts of the spacecraft and its science instruments, tracking of the spacecraft, attitude adjustments for changes in pointing of the solar array and antennas, and planning and execution of three scheduled maneuvers to adjust the spacecraft's trajectory. Three additional trajectory correction maneuvers are scheduled during the approach phase, plus a final, contingency maneuver opportunity, if needed.

The Mars Science Laboratory uses what is called a Type 1 trajectory to Mars, meaning the spacecraft will fly less than halfway around the sun while in transit from one planet to the other...

Thrusters on the cruise stage are fired to adjust the spacecraft's flight path three times during the cruise phase and additional times, as needed, during the approach phase. The first one is planned for 15 days after launch; the second for 120 days after launch.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Mars
• Curiosity
• Mars rover
• Mars Curiosity
• Mars Curiosity Rover
• launch
• Mars launch
• Mars Curiosity launch
• Mars rover launch
• MSL
• MSL launch
• Atlas
• Atlas launch
• KSC
• NASA
• space
• spacecraft
• Mars probe
• Mars lander
• Mars Science Laboratory

[Zacsta]

Incredible. Space exploration is surely the quintessential pinnacle of human achievement.