NASA Sets New Launch Window for Supersonic Vehicle Test

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May 26, 2015, 03:26 ET

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The second flight test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) now will launch no earlier than 12:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HST) Tuesday, June 2, from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii. NASA Television coverage will begin at 1 p.m. EDT (7 a.m. HST).

To accommodate prevailing weather conditions, mission managers moved the launch window one hour earlier to increase the probability of LDSD launching on time.

NASA's LDSD project is designed to investigate and test breakthrough technologies for landing future robotic and human Mars missions and safely returning large payloads to Earth. The test, performed over the Pacific Ocean, will simulate the supersonic entry and descent speeds at which the spacecraft would be traveling through the Martian atmosphere.

Reporters are invited to learn about LDSD at a media day on Monday, June 1 at PMRF, which begins with a mission overview briefing at 8 a.m. HST. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA TV and online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

and

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

Media may participate by phone by contacting Kim Newton at 256-653-5173 or [email protected] no later than 4:30 p.m. HST Sunday, May 31. Briefing participants will answer questions from the live audience, as well as those submitted to the Ustream chat box or via Twitter using the #askNASA hashtag. After the briefing, media at PMRF will be taken on a tour of the launch area and Range Operations Center, as well as a driving tour of the facility.

NASA's LDSD program is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, which innovates, develops, tests and flies hardware for NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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SOURCE NASA