GEORGE DILLER: Joining us now at the console is the director of the Kennedy Space Center, Jim Kennedy.
Jim, welcome. It's good to have you back here to lead off our launch broadcast once more.
While the, the launch day is obviously the focus of what the Kennedy Space Center is doing for the
STEREO launch today, there's a lot more that goes on long before this countdown starts.
What has the role of, of KSC, Kennedy Space Center, been for STEREO prior to launch day?
JIM KENNEDY: As you indicated, George, there's an awful lot that has gone on for many years to get
us here to this beautiful evening, just two hours ahead of the launch of the STEREO satellite.
As your viewers may or may not know, KSC manages through the Launch Services Program office,
under the leadership of Steve Francois and hundreds of capable men and women.
This campaign was kicked off almost six years ago. The campaign has many stakeholders.
The principle ones would be our launch services people here who coordinate with our launch vehicle provider.
In this case, it's the Delta II provided by The Boeing Company.
And this vehicle, by the way, will be the 68th successful Delta II mission in a row --
a tremendously reliable vehicle and a very capable launch service provider.
What our launch services people do is interact for many years with the satellite providers and marry,
literally marry the vehicle, the launch vehicle, to the satellite.
This particular STEREO satellite is provided by the Goddard Space Flight Center, who work in close
conjunction with their prime contractor, the Applied Physics Lab, or APL. We work with people like the Range
for protection of the Range here at, at the Cape. We work with the Range for weather, just any number of critical
players to get us to a night like tonight where we're finally going to celebrate the successful launch of the STEREO spacecraft.
DILLER: How does the unmanned program tie in with the broader overall NASA vision?
KENNEDY: I appreciate that question. You know, four years ago, I was new to the Kennedy Space Center and
didn't really have an appreciation for the expendable launch vehicle, the robotic exploration.
My life had been primarily on the human side. And 2-1/2 years ago, when the president declared the Vision for
Space Exploration, I think he made it ever so clear that the future exploration of this nation is
going to be a balance, a balance of human and robotic exploration.
Human, as in the shuttle and the International Space Station; robotic, like what we're seeing tonight.
So the vision declares that this is a very critical part of the exploration mission of this nation,
to send robotic missions across this universe. We have satellites right now en route to the planet Mercury,
the satellite known as MESSENGER. We have satellites en route to the farthest planet, Pluto,
if it is indeed still a planet, to understand the vast domain of, of our universe.
And it all starts right here with the launch services people at the Kennedy Space Center.
DILLER: And next year, I guess we have another Mars lander, and the year after that, another rover.
KENNEDY: We do. And the two rovers that were supposed to last three months on the surface of
Mars that landed there in -- January will be three years ago -- are still going strong.
So space exploration with robotic missions through the expendable
launch vehicle services is alive and well in this NASA of ours.
DILLER: Well, Jim, thank you very much for coming over and talking with us briefly, and we'll,
we'll be watching the countdown activities along with you tonight, because I know at 8:38,
the skies are going to light up with a, a very spectacular launch this evening...
Hearing in the weather forecast that Joel Tumbiolo just gave, so Jim, thanks very much.
KENNEDY: Thank you, George. Looking forward to a great night.