Yeah -- delays happen. The DSAC is part of the US Air Force STP-2 program. STP-2 launch was awarded to SpaceX in December, 2012. But the Falcon Heavy only completed it's first launch earlier this week, and instead of sending a customer payload they send a Tesla to past the orbit of Mars.
Correcting my earlier post, the new launch date for STP-2 appears to be "no earlier than" June, 2018. I'm relying on this source for launch estimates: https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ -- Bill Byrom N5BB On Fri, Feb 9, 2018, at 7:54 AM, jimlux wrote: > On 2/8/18 8:55 PM, Bill Byrom wrote: > > After the successful Falcon Heavy launch earlier this week, it appears that > > the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) is now scheduled to go up in June 2018 > > on a Falcon Heavy carrying the US Air Force STP-2 test payloads. > > https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-tests-atomic-clock-for-deep-space-navigation > > > > For a fun video about this project suitable for non-time-nuts, see: > > https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/clock/sammy-the-second.html > > > > "The Deep Space Atomic Clock is being readied for flight next year. > Moving hardware from the laboratory to space meant conquering a number > of technological challenges." > > A number of really hard technological challenges. Aside from taking a > bench full of gear and squeezing it down to a few liters. > > Note the date on an earlier note: > "DSAC is scheduled for launch in mid-2016" > > > > > >> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:31:26 -0600 > >> > >> Upcoming Event: Deep Space Atomic Clock > >> Jan. 14, 2016, at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET, 0300 UTC) > >> You can watch this event via USTREAM: http://www.ustream.tv/NASAJPL2 > >> > >> Speakers: > >> Todd Ely, DSAC Principal Investigator, JPL > >> Allen H. Farrington, DSAC Project Manager, JPL > >> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/clock/clock_overview.html#.VpWMgK9OKK0 > >> Atomic clocks are an integral, yet almost invisible component of modern > >> life. > >> For space exploration, they have been the foundational frequency > >> standard for NASA's Deep Space Network. NASA's Deep Space Atomic Clock > >> (DSAC) Technology Demonstration Mission, led by the Jet Propulsion > >> Laboratory, has been maturing the latest Atomic Clock technologies into > >> a smaller package, suitable for installation on a variety of deep space > >> probes to enhance navigation precision and gravity science across the > >> solar system. > >> ============ > >> DSAC is scheduled for launch in mid-2016. > >> Satellite being built by Surrey Satellite Technologies USA, Englewood, > >> CO > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
