Launch Mars 2020 Mission - 30JUL20

[WesL]

Looking good to launch the next mission to Mars tomorrow with the Perseverance rover.

Everything is progressing toward the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Mars 2020 mission for NASA. The mission is set to lift off on Thursday, July 30 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Today’s forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. The two-hour launch window begins at 7:50 a.m. EDT.

Launch Forecast Summary:
Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%
Primary concerns: Cumulus Cloud Rule, Thick Cloud Layer Rule
Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24 hour delay: 10%
Primary concern: Cumulus Cloud Rule



Launch Broadcast
Live broadcast coverage of launch will begin at 7 a.m. EDT on July 30.
Live launch updates and webcast available at: www.ulalaunch.com

 

[WesL]

Beautiful launch this morning!! The Decatur, AL made Atlas V did an amazing job as usual. They did run into a interesting issue a few hours after launch. The carrier signal started up and was established with the Deep Space Network. However, the signal was too strong for the DSN to pick up the modulation for data transfer. To be fair the DSN is used to listening for signals from really far away so they are having to make some configuration updates to make sure they can get good data download.

 

[Forrest White]

Looking through the history of rovers it is impossible to say the exact day they could survive on Mars. For example, two identical built rovers Spirit and Opportunity lived different periods. Both were launched in 2004, however, the connection with Spirit was lost in 2009 while Opportunity explored the surface of Mars until 2009. I am just saying that technically the rover could be built perfectly, but it could be damaged while transferring or else. So Perseverance rover can be another iron garbage on Mars.