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19 SEP. 2003
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The launch date for ESA's SMART-1 mission to the Moon is confirmed as during the night of 27-28 September 2003.
The 'launch window' will be 8:02 p.m. to 8:21 p.m. on Saturday, 27 September, local time in Kourou, French Guiana, and 1:02 a.m. to 1:21 a.m. on Sunday, 28 September, CEST.
Earlier this week, the SMART-1 spacecraft completed the first 30 metres of its trip to the Moon when it was put on board its Ariane 5 launcher at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
As ESA scientists and engineers watched, the spacecraft looked very small, with its Ariane 5 mounting adapter, when it was raised the 30 metres up to the top of the launcher inside the Final Assembly Building (BAF). Within an hour it was sitting on the rocket's upper stage.
The spacecraft is pictured here being made ready for flight and having its solar panel array protection removed. The next step is to enclose the spacecraft with the 2.6-metre raising cylinder, which carries the second passenger satellite, E-Bird, on top of SMART-1.
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Building and testing spacecraft
After a mission is adopted it moves into the implementation phase, during which detailed designs are prepared and engineering and qualification models (EM and QM) are built and tested before manufacturing the final flight model (FM) and its spares (FS).Phase 0Mission analysis and identificationPhase AFeasibilityPhase BPreliminary DefinitionPhase CDetailed DefinitionPhase DQualification and ProductionPhase EUtilisationPhase FDisposal
Getting ready for launch
After the spacecraft has passed its Flight Acceptance Review it is transported to its launch site. This marks the beginning of the launch campaign, during which the final system functional tests will take place, the spacecraft will be fuelled and mated with the launch vehicle, transported to the launch pad and eventually launched.
Gone to the Moon...
Apart from testing a new 'ion drive' propulsion system, ESA's SMART-1 has another mission objective - lunar science.
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