Tag: mms

  • Preview: Atlas 5 rocket to launch NASA magnetic field study

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — A $1.1 billion science investigation involving four formation-flying satellites circling the Earth, each one identical, fitted with 25-instrument sensors and measuring 94 feet tall by 369 feet wide when fully deployed, will share a single Atlas 5 rocket launch Thursday night from Cape Canaveral to probe explosions in the magnetic field with…

  • Weather looking acceptable for Atlas launch

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — The preliminary weather outlook for Thursday night’s Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral is cloudy but optimistic that the vehicle will fly as scheduled. A weather front in North Florida and a developing low pressure system in the Central Gulf of Mexico will be influencing the weather along the Space Coast,…

  • Flight Readiness Review passed for next week’s Atlas 5 launch

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket and NASA’s four MMS satellite probes passed their Flight Readiness Review today that assessed the progress of work and affirmed plans to launch next Thursday night. There are no major constraints from the FRR and the “go” was given to press ahead with launch week.…

  • Photos: Shroud installed around satellite quartet, connected to Atlas 5

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    NASA’s four Magnetospheric Multiscale mission spacecraft were encapsulated Monday, Feb. 23 in the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket’s 45-foot-tall, 14-foot-diameter nose cone inside Building 9 at the commercial Astrotech processing campus in Titusville. In preparation for being encapsulated, team members removed over 700 protective covers from the spacecraft over the previous four days, working…

  • Four satellites mated to Atlas 5 rocket

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      CAPE CANAVERAL — Four NASA satellites that will create a constellation of formation-flying spacecraft were placed aboard their shared United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Friday. Liftoff of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS, is targeted for March 12 at 10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 GMT), the opening of a 30-minute nighttime launch opportunity. Already…

  • Video: MMS preview briefing

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    During a Feb. 25 briefing at NASA headquarters, details were discussed about the upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, scheduled for launch March 12 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. MMS will study a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection – a fundamental process during which magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, releasing explosive energy. Magnetic reconnection also occurs…

  • Magnetic field laboratory being readied for launch

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    Credit: Walter Scriptunas II TITUSVILLE — A stack of four satellites, each one carrying 25 science sensors and together will perfect the art of formation flying, is being packaged inside an Atlas 5 rocket nose cone in preparation for mounting atop the booster next week. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS, will explore explosions in…

  • Photos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled for NASA satellite launch

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    The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will hurl the four MMS satellites into a highly elliptical Earth orbit on March 12 has completed its basic build up at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 Vertical Integration Facility. The spacecraft will fly in formation for the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission to gain new insights into the connections…

  • Atlas 5 rocket assembly starts for NASA launch in March

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — The Atlas rocket to launch four formation-flying spacecraft for NASA in March began to take shape Wednesday at the assembly building adjacent to the Complex 41 pad. The United Launch Alliance-made rocket will haul the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS, satellites into orbit to study magnetic field explosions. Liftoff is targeted for…

  • Magnetic explosion probes make it to the Cape

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    CAPE CANAVERAL — Two probes joined an identical pair near their Florida launch site today for liftoff aboard an Atlas 5 rocket in March to study magnetic field explosions in space. Together, the quartet is NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS. Launch is slated for March 12. The spacecraft will fly in a tetrahedron formation,…