A planet-hunting NASA science spacecraft arrived Feb. 12 at Kennedy Space Center on a flatbed truck just as its launch by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was delayed nearly a month.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, is designed to discover thousands of "exoplanets," or planets orbiting other stars, around the sky's brightest dwarf stars.
Over at least two years, the mission will scan an area of sky 350 times larger than that covered by NASA’s Kepler and K2 missions that have confirmed roughly 2,500 exoplanets.
With cameras detecting slight dips in starlight from orbiting planets, TESS is expected to identify more than 20,000 more candidate exoplanets that Earth- and space-based observatories will investigate further.
The mission had been targeting a March 20 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA on Thursday announced the date has pushed back to no earlier than April 16, after SpaceX requested more time “for hardware readiness and to meet NASA launch service mission requirements.”
The mission must launch no later than June.
SpaceX’s next local launch is targeted for 12:35 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, with a Falcon 9 carrying a Spanish company’s communications satellite.
Hurricane recovery funds flowing to KSC
Five months after Hurricane Irma rattled Brevard County, Kennedy Space Center is receiving money to repair launch and other facilities damaged by the storm.
The federal budget deal signed Feb. 9 by President Donald Trump included $81 million for KSC and Johnson Space Center in Houston, which Hurricane Harvey drenched last August.
NASA could not immediately break down how much each center would receive.
KSC was fortunate not to sustain major structural damage last Sept. 10 from Irma’s sustained winds of 60 mph and gusts around 90 mph.
The storm’s westward shift spared the Space Coast from its strongest winds.
Still, numerous spaceport facilities suffered damaged roofs, windows and siding and water intrusion. The center closed for a week, partly because a lack of potable water after the Cocoa water system lost pressure.
Affected KSC infrastructure included the 525-foot Vehicle Assembly Building, launch pad 39B and several other buildings involved in booster or payload processing that needed roof or structural repairs, NASA said.
“KSC has done some temporary repairs and other emergency mitigation work, but most permanent repair projects have been on hold pending receipt of the disaster funding,” said Tracy Young, a KSC spokeswoman.
The NASA allocation was part of a more than $89 billion disaster assistance package approved to assist Florida, Puerto Rico and other areas recovering from the 2017 hurricane season.
KSC still is rebounding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which caused more than $100 million in damage. The center received $75 million in emergency funding after that storm, not enough to cover the cost of building dunes to protect launch pads or $25 million sought to harden structures against future storms.
The Irma recovery funds arrive less than four months before the start of the next hurricane season running from June 1 through Nov. 30.
3, 2, 1...Cock-a-doodle-doo!
A close-up view of SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket launch on Feb. 6 left some viewers crowing about the experience.
Upon close examination, customers of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s “Feel the Heat” viewing event noticed a slight difference in the Falcon Heavy logos on a hat and commemorative glass distributed as part of the $169 package.
The black hat featured SpaceX’s official Falcon logo in red stitching over the white letters "FH." But on the champagne flute, the bird’s head flaunted a comb befitting a cranky rooster more than a bird of prey.
"Chicken Heavy?!" one recipient joked on Twitter.
The Visitor Complex apologized for the party fowl, er, foul.
“Upon review, we can confirm that in our haste to create a unique experience for the Falcon Heavy launch, the incorrect version of the SpaceX logo was used on the complimentary champagne glass given to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests as part of the ‘Feel the Heat’ launch viewing package,” a spokeswoman said. “We apologize for the mistake.”
The sold-out “Feel the Heat” allowed guests to watch the Falcon Heavy blast off from KSC's pad 39A from bleachers less than four miles away at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.
In addition to the hat and a toast with the commemorative glass, the ticket included two-day admission to the Visitor Complex and a visit to the shuttle runway, a catered meal and a digital photo.
The wrong logo appeared traceable to one posted on Reddit, where commenters on the subject were forgiving. One called it “a fun mistake.”
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