The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket is being fueled at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as NASA presses ahead with plans to launch its Dawn spacecraft on an unprecedented mission to the asteroid belt.
Highly refined kerosene known as RP-1 already has been loaded into the stage and engineers are preparing to pump supercold liquid oxygen aboard as countdown clocks tick toward a scheduled 7:20 a.m. EDT liftoff. The launch window today will extend until 7:49 a.m.
The weather for today's launch attempt remains favorable with a 60 percent chance that conditions will be acceptable for an on-time liftoff. The only concern remains a chance of early morning showers.
Live NASA TV coverage of the launch is being webcast here in The Flame Trench. Click the link being the images above to launch our NASA TV viewer.
Check out the United Launch Alliance Dawn Mission Book for countdown timelines. Just click to open and save your copy: DawnMissionBook.pdf.
The official NASA Press Kit here: DawnPressKit.pdf.
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