I'm here Marie.
And I'm actually here with Tim Dunn as well, of the Launch Services Program.
Tim, can you tell us about how today's launch went.
Hey Josh.
Wow, are we excited?
I mean, we just had a perfect countdown and perfect launch of the TESS mission.
It was a wonderful day.
Obviously, if you got any views outside here of the central coast you saw what a gorgeous
day it was.
So we had perfect weather for the launch.
We had a terrific rocket.
The Falcon 9 just continues to demonstrate what a reliable ride it has become.
And spacecraft, we turned on TESS spacecraft early this morning.
And that went super smooth.
We worked one very minor little item with the TESS during the countdown.
It was really insignificant in the overall picture.
TESS was really solid during the rest of the countdown.
The range, hat's off to the United States Air Force and the 45th Space Wing.
They continue to have a beautiful range for us to launch on.
And again, I don't have a whole lot to talk about as far as troubles during the countdown.
It was super smooth.
A beautiful day, a beautiful launch.
A great rocket.
And we now have an operational spacecraft on its way to do great science.
And talking about the importance of the TESS mission, can you talk about with respect of
the Launch Services Program, how did they launch TESS?
Oh, wow.
Well for us, this was only Launch Services Program's second flight on a Falcon 9 rocket.
A couple of years ago, we did the Jason-3 mission from the west coast.
This was our second full-up science mission on Falcon 9.
So, our entire team of engineers and analysts within LSP was able to demonstrate another
certification process where we certified this full-thrust version Block 4 that flew today.
And to see all of that hard work for the past two-and-a-half years that the entire Falcon
9 team within LSP put together, to see that rewarded with a successful launch, means so
much to our team.
It's an incredible team.
And SpaceX has an incredible team.
Their engineers and analysts here at the launch site here at Cape Canaveral, as well as their
team back in California, at Hawthorne, my hat's off to them.
Terrific launch team.
And when you put us all together, the government and the commercial guys together, it's just
so satisfying to watch a team kind of seamlessly blend and integrate to accomplish such an
important mission for our agency.
So it sounds like a pretty exciting night for both SpaceX and NASA.
And the Launch Services Program has a big year, and we've got big stuff coming up still.
Can you tell us about what's next for the Launch Services Program?
Absolutely.
So, we were thrilled to launch tonight, mainly because now it kind of clears a little bit
off the runway because our Atlas V team now has to turn around, get out to the west coast
for the InSight mission, flying in just two-and-a-half weeks, on May 5, from Vandenberg Air Force
Base.
And then we have a Pegasus mission coming up, with the ICON spacecraft.
And that's going to stage out of Vandenberg, fly downrange to Kwajalein, and launch from
Kwaj in mid-June.
Right now we're targeting June 14.
We come back here to the Cape in the end of July.
We'll be processing the Parker Solar Probe mission, which is a mission to go study the
Sun.
It will be the first time LSP has flown a science mission on the Delta IV Heavy.
So that's very exciting for our team.
Then, if all goes according to plan, our sixth and final mission for LSP for 2018 will occur
in September, from Vandenberg Air Force Base again.
That will be the ICESat-2 mission on the very last Delta II launch vehicle.
So, I would say if you're a Delta II fan out there, you might want to find your way to
the central California coast right around Sept. 12.
Because that's going to be very special event to watch the final Delta II fly.
It's been a workhorse for the agency and it's really special to a lot of folks that have
been in this business for the last 30 years now that it's been flying.
Well it sounds like we've got a lot to look forward to from the Launch Services Program.
And then a lot to look forward to with the TESS mission, which we launched successfully
tonight.
So with that, we'll sign off and go back to you Marie.
All right.