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In this issue:
Dawn Proceeds to Launch
Dawn Status Report
Dawn Spacecraft Nearing Final Integration
Email List Signup Instructions
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Dawn Proceeds to Launch
Christopher T. Russell
Dawn Principal Investigator, UCLA
On March 27, NASA Associate Administrator Rex Geveden reinstated the Dawn mission, after it had been cancelled on March 2nd. The Dawn team is very grateful that NASA recognized the work that the project has accomplished to reduce technical, schedule and cost risk, and committed the funds needed to complete the mission. The project team has been directed to resume integration and testing activities, and develop a detailed project schedule and cost profile to support a launch between June and August of 2007. The project estimates it will need <$54M in additional funds.
All of us on the Dawn project are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support from the community during the stand down and following cancellation. Special thanks go to the European Space Agency and to the Italian Space Agency for offers of support during the operational phase of the mission and the strong backing and commitment from Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to give Dawn high priority in obtaining the resources and personnel needed to proceed smoothly to launch. The support of the German Space Agency, DLR, is also much appreciated.
Over the next two months, Dawn will be staffing up and returning to the level of effort necessary to proceed to the mid-2007 launch. Due to the use of a Mars Gravity Assist in 2009, which fixes the timing of subsequent events, the launch delay does not affect the timing of the arrivals and departures at Vesta and Ceres, nor the science operations. However, if we were not able to launch by the end of October 2007, then the dual asteroid mission would not be possible for another 15 years. Thus, it is very fortunate that this mission was approved to go forward at this time.
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