Space Spin - Dawn mission update

Dawn mission update

Fri Jan 5, 2007 at 10:42 UTC

By Carol Raymond, Dawn Deputy Principal Investigator

The Dawn project is still on schedule for a June 20, 2007 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. To meet this schedule, the spacecraft is undergoing tests in preparation for launch. Acoustics tests were successfully completed in November. Vibration tests have been completed in one orientation (z-axis) and are underway in another (y-axis).

Preparations for thermal vacuum tests are underway. These tests will take place at the Naval Research Laboratory and will continue through January. While in the vacuum chamber, the spacecraft will be taken through its procedures for acquiring data on Vesta in its survey mode and its high-altitude orbit. After these tests, the spacecraft will be shipped to the Cape in April.
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