Its launch delayed by Florida's seemingly magnetic attraction to hurricanes this year, NASA's Swift observatory has a new target liftoff date to the delight of eager scientists around the world.

The Swift observatory is now targeted for launch no sooner than November 8. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

The Swift spacecraft -- one of the largest, most sophisticated satellites in NASA's long line of Explorer missions -- is scheduled to fly November 8 from pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The one-hour launch window opens at 12:04 p.m. EST (1704 GMT) that day.

The mission was delayed from its original launch date of October 7 in the wake of Hurricane Frances. Then Hurricane Jeanne impacted a planned October 26 liftoff attempt.

But on-pad assembly is finally underway for the Boeing Delta 2 rocket that will carry Swift into orbit, bringing launch much closer to reality.

"I've been working on this since the early 1990s," said Neil Gehrels, Swift principal investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "I'm extremely excited!"

Leader Swift scientist Neil Gehrels looks up at his spacecraft in the Cape Canaveral cleanroom. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight Now

The $239 million project, which includes calibration between scientists in the U.S., U.K. and Italy, will detect gamma-ray blasts throughout the universe.

Several theories have been proposed to explain what triggers these mysterious blasts and all involve incredible cosmic explosions.

"The best way people can think of involves a star converting to a black hole in the scale of a few seconds," Gehrels explained this week during a news media tour of the Cape Canaveral cleanroom facility where Swift is being prepared for launch.

Swift's Burst Alert Telescope will detect and locate the flashes, prompting the satellite to reorient itself within moments to point the onboard X-ray Telescope and the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope for more intensive observations.

What's more, Swift will transmit an announcement of the burst detection to Earth-based telescopes scattered around the globe. The ground observatories will focus their capabilities on the gamma-ray burst locations for additional research.

Read our earlier science preview story for more information on Swift's goals.

A two-stage Boeing Delta 2 rocket will deliver the spacecraft into a 375-mile high orbit inclined 22 degrees to Earth's equator.

The Delta rocket's first stage is erected at the launch pad on October 1. Credit: NASA-KSC

About 80 minutes after liftoff, the pyrotechnic bolts holding the satellite to the second stage motor will fire and release. Thirty seconds later, latches pop open to physically separate Swift from its launcher. The rocket stage slowly backs away from its payload, leaving the observatory in a stable state, said Mark Edison, the Swift program manager at satellite-builder Spectrum Astro.

A forward-facing video camera mounted on the second stage is expected to provide live coverage of Swift's deployment from the Delta rocket.

Just minutes after separation, Swift automatically switches on its control system and deploys the two power-generating solar arrays that spring upward from stowed positions on the satellite's sides and then unfold.

Over the next 30 days, the satellite systems are checked out via the mission control center located at Penn State University, Edison said.

The science instruments are activated and data begins flowing after the first month. The science commissioning phase could last through the mission's initial four months.

"We expect to be fully operational by Launch + 4 months," Gehrels said.

Swift is designed to operate two years, but Joseph Dezio, the mission project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, says a five-year life is possible.

Because the satellite has no steering thrusters or onboard propellant, the two key consumables dictating the mission duration will be Swift's battery and funding by NASA.

A worker oversees the Delta rocket's first stage going up on pad 17A. Credit: NASA-KSC

The first stage of Boeing's Delta 2 rocket to launch Swift was erected on pad 17A October 1, following delays caused by the hurricanes and closure of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The three strap-on solid rocket boosters were added October 2. Given Swift's relatively light weight and orbit requirements, the Delta 2 will use three solids instead of the usual nine.

The two halves of the 10-foot diameter payload fairing nose cone was lifted into pad's mobile service tower cleanroom for storage on October 4.

Mounting of the second stage atop the Delta rocket's first stage has been delayed this week due to gusty winds.

Final work on Swift will be finished in the Hangar AE cleanroom in the next two weeks, allowing the craft to be packaged in the transport canister and driven a few miles to pad 17A for mating to the Delta rocket.

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: DELTA 2 ROCKET FIRST STAGE IS ERECTED ON PAD 17A QT
VIDEO: SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS ARE RAISED INTO TOWER QT
VIDEO: MOBILE SERVICE TOWER MOVES SRBS INTO PLACE QT
VIDEO: NOSE CONE HOISTED INTO PAD CLEANROOM QT
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