The orbiter launch period extended for 21 days, opening on April 7 and closing on April 27. The first 12 days of the launch period from April 7 to 18 make up what is considered the primary launch period; a secondary launch period runs from April 19 through 27. If Odyssey is launched during the secondary period, science data return at Mars may need to be reduced slightly because of higher arrival speeds and a longer aerobraking period. Arrival dates at Mars vary with launch dates, and range from October 17 to 28, 2001.
Two nearly instantaneous launch opportunities occur each day during the launch period. The pair of launch opportunities is separated by 30 to 90 minutes depending on the day. On April 7, the first launch opportunity is at 11:02 AM EDT and the second is at 11:32 AM EDT. The opportunites become earlier each day through the launch period.
Launch Date | Liftoff Time (hh:mm:ss) |
Time Between Launch Attempts (mm:ss) |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st Opportunity | 2nd Opportunity | ||||
UTC | EDT | UTC | EDT | ||
April 07, 2001 | 15:02:22 | 11:02:22 | 15:32:22 | 11:32:22 | 30:00 |
April 08, 2001 | 14:29:00 | 10:29:00 | 15:29:00 | 11:29:00 | 60:00 |
April 09, 2001 | 13:57:36 | 09:57:36 | 14:57:36 | 10:57:36 | 60:00 |
April 10, 2001 | 13:33:01 | 09:33:01 | 15:01:17 | 11:01:17 | 87:56 |
April 11, 2001 | 13:19:24 | 09:19:24 | 14:27:28 | 10:27:28 | 66:04 |
April 12, 2001 | 13:01:03 | 09:01:03 | 13:57:23 | 09:57:23 | 56:20 |
April 13, 2001 | 12:45:05 | 08:45:05 | 13:35:08 | 09:35:08 | 50:03 |
April 14, 2001 | 12:31:00 | 08:31:00 | 13:16:47 | 09:16:47 | 45:47 |
April 15, 2001 | 12:22:13 | 08:22:13 | 13:05:52 | 09:05:52 | 43:39 |
April 16, 2001 | 12:10:05 | 08:10:05 | 12:51:11 | 08:51:11 | 41:06 |
April 17, 2001 | 11:58:53 | 07:58:53 | 12:37:50 | 08:37:50 | 38:57 |
April 18, 2001 | 11:48:24 | 07:48:24 | 11:25:42 | 08:25:42 | 37:18 |
April 19, 2001 | 11:38:54 | 07:38:54 | 12:14:26 | 08:14:26 | 35:32 |
April 20, 2001 | 11:29:27 | 07:29:27 | 12:04:03 | 08:04:03 | 34:36 |
April 21, 2001 | 11:23:28 | 07:23:28 | 11:57:21 | 07:57:21 | 33:53 |
April 22, 2001 | 11:15:12 | 07:15:12 | 11:48:06 | 07:48:06 | 32:54 |
April 23, 2001 | 11:07:26 | 07:07:26 | 11:39:28 | 07:39:28 | 32:02 |
April 24, 2001 | 11:00:06 | 07:00:06 | 11:31:25 | 07:31:25 | 31:19 |
April 25, 2001 | 11:53:12 | 06:53:12 | 12:23:49 | 07:23:49 | 34:36 |
April 26, 2001 | 11:29:27 | 07:29:27 | 12:04:03 | 08:04:03 | 34:36 |
April 27, 2001 | 10:40:32 | 06:40:32 | 11:10:01 | 07:10:01 | 29:29 |