The launch of NASA's Genesis spacecraft is scheduled for Monday, July 30 at 12:36:01 p.m. EDT. The launch window is two minutes in duration. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle from Space Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. Should launch be postponed for 24 hours for any reason, the launch time on July 31 is 12:32:34 p.m. EDT.

Genesis will catch a piece of the Sun -- a sample of the elements and ions in the solar wind and bring them back to Earth. Scientists can then study the exact composition of the Sun and probe the solar system's origin. By studying the solar wind, scientists will have a detailed view of the factors that went into building the solar system as we know it today.

Technicians work on the Genesis spacecraft. (Click image to enlarge)

Genesis' samples will return to Earth in a capsule in September 2004. As the capsule parachutes toward the ground in the Air Force's Utah Testing and Training Range, it will be captured by a helicopter to prevent the samples from being disturbed by impact with the ground. The samples will then be analyzed to provide a basis for comparing the Sun and the solar nebula's compositions to those of the planets and the other solar system bodies.

Prelaunch News Conference

A prelaunch news conference is scheduled for Sunday, July 29, at 1 p.m. EDT in the NASA-Kennedy Space Center News Center auditorium and will be carried live on NASA Television. Participating in the briefing will be:

* Jay Bergstralh, Chief Scientist, Solar System Exploration, NASA Headquarters
* Omar Baez, NASA Launch Manager, Kennedy Space Center
* Rich Murphy, Mission Director, The Boeing Company
* Chet Sasaki, Genesis Project Manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
* Lloyd Oldham, Genesis Program Manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems -   Astronautics Operations
* Don Burnett, Principal Investigator, California Institute of Technology
* Joel Tumbiolo, Launch Weather Officer, Department of the Air Force

NASA Television Coverage

On launch day, Monday, July 30, countdown coverage will begin at 11 a.m. EDT. Coverage from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will conclude shortly after spacecraft separation that occurs 64 minutes after launch. Commentary will then begin from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for acquisition of the spacecraft's radio signal through the Deep Space Network tracking station at Goldstone, Calif. This is anticipated to occur approximately 20 minutes after spacecraft separation. At that time the Genesis spacecraft's state of health can be reported.

NASA Television is available on satellite GE 2, transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees West longitude. A simulcast of the NASA Television coverage will also be available on the worldwide web at www.ksc.nasa.gov .

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