SPACECRAFT AND EXPENDABLE VEHICLES STATUS REPORT George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
321/867-2468

MISSION: CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour)
LAUNCH VEHICLE: Delta II 7425
LAUNCH PAD: 17-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
LAUNCH DATE: July 1, 2002
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2:56:14 - 2:56:26 a.m. EDT

At SAEF-2, spacecraft Mission Operations testing concluded successfully on Tuesday, and today, CONTOUR was mated to its solid propellant apogee kick motor. Next week, the solar arrays will be installed and light-tested. On June 4-5, there will be a final test of the CONTOUR science instruments. The spacecraft will then be placed on a spin table for an initial spin test before fuel is loaded aboard. Fueling is currently scheduled for June 7-8. A second spin test with the spacecraft fully fueled will then be conducted.

The Boeing Delta II launch vehicle second stage arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday, April 1. It continues to undergo checkout at Delta launch vehicle Hangar AO without any issues or concerns. The Delta first stage arrived at Cape Canaveral on April 15 and is at Hangar M.

At Space Launch Complex 17, erection of the Delta booster will begin next week on Tuesday, May 28. The pre-vehicle-on-stand (Pre-VOS) review was completed yesterday at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, Calif., without any significant issues or concerns.