{"id":7645,"date":"2010-02-05T09:24:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T09:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/goes-p-all-fueled-up\/"},"modified":"2010-02-05T09:24:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-05T09:24:00","slug":"goes-p-all-fueled-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/space-station\/goes-p-all-fueled-up.php","title":{"rendered":"GOES-P All Fueled Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"a<\/a>The GOES spacecraft<\/span> continues its processing at the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Fla. and fuel was loaded into the GOES-P spacecraft<\/span> on Saturday, January 30. The fuel will keep GOES-P in orbit for about 14 years.

Just as you wouldn't want your car's gas tank to leak, engineers don't want a satellite to leak fuel. So, a team of engineers performed propulsion system pressurization and leak checks before fueling GOES-P<\/span>. Those preparations were completed on January 22.<\/p>

The GOES-P spacecraft<\/span><\/a> was moved to the fueling stand and the team began fueling the spacecraft<\/span>. The oxidizer was successfully loaded on January 28. Like a fire needs oxygen to burn, the spacecraft fuel needs the oxidizer to ignite in space, where there is no air. . The fuel was successfully loaded on January 30.<\/p>

After carefully lifting and moving the fueled spacecraft, the team successfully mounted GOES P on top of the Delta IV Payload Attach Fitting (PAF). This was completed on February 1. The PAF <\/span>is a conical shape structure that the spacecraft mounts onto inside the launch vehicle. The spacecraft rides on the PAF <\/span>until it separates at approximately 22 thousand miles above the Earth's surface.<\/p>

The launch vehicle continues processing on stand and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) is working off the technical issues that remain. The team is working towards a March 1 launch date.<\/p>

GOES-P is the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/span>, or NOAA<\/span>. The Delta IV rocket<\/span> will be launched by United Launch Alliance for Boeing Launch Services under an FAA commercial license. Launch is targeted for no earlier than March 1.<\/p>

For information on GOES-P<\/span>, visit<\/p>

http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goes-p<\/a><\/p>

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View my blog's last three great articles....<\/span><\/p>