NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft arrived in Florida on Oct. 23 to begin final
preparations for launch on Dec. 30. The spacecraft was shipped from Ball
Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, CO, to the Astrotech Space
Operations facility located near the Kennedy Space Center.

Deep Impact was removed from its shipping container and is undergoing its
Functional and Mission Readiness testing, scheduled for completion on Nov.
23. These tests involve the entire spacecraft flight system (including the
flyby and impactor, associated science instruments and the spacecraft's
basic subsystems), along with loading updated flight software.

The high gain antenna used for spacecraft communications will be installed
on Nov. 29. The solar array will then be stowed and an illumination test
performed as a final check of its performance on Nov. 30. Deep Impact will
then be ready to begin preparation for fueling on Dec. 6 and is scheduled to
be completed on Dec. 9.

The stacking of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle on Pad 17-B will begin on
Nov. 22 with the hoisting of the first stage into the launcher. Hoisting
of the nine strap-on solid rocket boosters, in sets of three, is scheduled
for Nov. 23, Nov. 29, and Dec. 1. The second stage will be hoisted into
position atop the first stage on Dec. 3.

The launch window on Dec. 30 opens at 2:39 pm EST and closes at 3:19 pm.