The MRO launch will usher in a first for NASA. The spacecraft will be carried aloft by a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket.
Mission integration manager Tammy Harrington explains why the Atlas is the rocket for the job.
As mission integration manager for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, my primary responsibility is to be the interface between
the spacecraft and the launch vehicle. I manage the process by which the spacecraft and the launch vehicle actually come together.
This is accomplished by managing a team of over two dozen engineers and analysts from the NASA Launch Services program. In order to accomplish this,
we actually have to determine what accommodations need to be done on the launch vehicle in order to accommodate the spacecraft,
and how the basic spacecraft design must be done in order to fly successfully on the launch vehicle.
The Atlas V launch vehicle that was chosen to fly the MRO mission is known as an Atlas V 401. This is a basic
Atlas V configuration using a four-meter fairing, no solid rocket motors and one Centaur engine.
Since this is the first time that NASA or the government will fly an Atlas V launch vehicle, the NASA Launch Services program engineering team had
to go through a significant technical evaluation in order to verify the flight worthiness of this launch vehicle.
This process will certify the basic design, qualification and flight history of the
Atlas V for future use by the NASA Launch Services program and its spacecraft customers.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Atlas V rocket is a two-stage rocket that will propel the spacecraft on its mission to Mars.
The launch vehicle will actually send MRO on a hyperbolic trajectory in order to get on its path to Mars.
There is two stages on this rocket. The first is known as the common core booster.
This is propelled by a Russian-built RD-180 engine, and it is fueled by liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellant.
The common-core booster on the MRO mission will actually burn for a little over four minutes prior to being released from the launch vehicle.
In addition, the second stage of this launch vehicle is known as the Centaur upper stage.
This is powered by an RL-10 engine and is fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
For the MRO mission, the Centaur upper stage will actually perform two burns.
The first burn lasts approximately 9-1/2 minutes and will place the spacecraft into a parking orbit. This parking orbit is a time where the
spacecraft actually coasts around in its orbit in order to get to the right position for the next burn, and that coast will last approximately 30 minutes.
The Centaur will then perform a second burn which will last about 6-1/2 minutes and will accelerate the
spacecraft out of Earth's orbit and propel it on its way to Mars.
The mission integration manager's role on launch day is an assessment of the spacecraft readiness, as well as the launch service readiness.
I will interface with the spacecraft mission director pertaining to issues associated with the spacecraft readiness,
network operations readiness, as well as any anomalies that they may be working on the spacecraft side.
I will also interface back with the spacecraft mission director on the progress of the actual launch countdown.
The culmination of my activities will come in when I provide my final go/no-go for launch to the NASA launch manager.
Thanks for the insight, Tammy.