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Dawn Mission Status

Dawn Proceeds Towards Critical Design Review

Christopher T. Russell
Dawn Principal Investigator, UCLA

Dawn has now entered Phase C/D, the implementation phase, and is moving forward quickly toward launch. Dawn has made excellent progress, as described below, as has the Discovery program itself. As previously reported, the Discovery Program Office has moved to JPL where the office has the technical support it needs to evaluate and assist the missions in development. At NASA Headquarters, Orlando Figueroa has appointed a deputy, Andy Dantzler, who will oversee the Discovery Program. These changes will ensure that Dawn and all the Discovery missions receive the support and advice that is needed to achieve success.

Great progress has been made with the Dawn spacecraft, the payload and the ground system. All spacecraft subcontractors are on board and hardware is beginning to appear. Subsystem CDRs are taking place weekly. The GRaND CDR was the first payload CDR to take place on March 30 and 31 with VIR following on April 22 and 23. The Framing Camera CDR takes place on May 18 and 19. The technical reserves of the project are appropriate to the mission phase and green is becoming Dawn's official color. On April 13, an independent power and mass margin review was successfully conducted, confirming the project's assessment of health. Schedule reserve continues to be tight; however, an aggressive schedule is key to executing a successful low-cost mission. Recent events within the Discovery program have increased the level of oversight and the effort required to support this oversight, directly impacting schedule. As we begin to build and integrate the spacecraft and payload, the schedule is and will remain a top priority.