NASA’s Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 1:21 p.m. EDT, April 15 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
NASA has scheduled a prelaunch mission update press conference, between 11 a.m. to noon EST, Friday, April 1 in the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Participants will include Jim Snoddy, DART project manager; NASA Launch Director Omar Baez; and Jeff Campbell Pegasus Program Manager, Orbital Sciences Corporation.
DART is a flight demonstrator that provides a key step in establishing autonomous rendezvous capabilities for the U.S. space program. DART will rendezvous with the Multiple Paths, Beyond-Line-of-Site Communications (MUBLCOM) satellite.
It will perform several close proximity operations, such as moving toward and away from the satellite using navigation data provided by onboard sensors.
DART is the first demonstration program selected by NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate to develop technologies for the Vision for Space Exploration.
The Vision calls for the safe return to flight of the Space Shuttle, completion of the International Space Station and human and robotic exploration of the Solar System.
