Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Atlas V poised for Wednesday launch; weather iffy

An Atlas V rocket carrying a NASA science satellite that will study the sun is poised for a 10:26 a.m. Wednesday launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but the forecast is iffy.

Today's official launch forecast from the Air Force 45th Space Wing calls for a 40-percent chance of favorable weather during the hour-long launch window, which opens at 10:26 a.m. Gusty winds and thick clouds could pose problems.

The 19-story United Launch Alliance rocket began to roll from Launch Complex 41's Vehicle Integration Facility shortly after 8 a.m. today, completing the quarter-mile ride to the pad by 8:30 a.m.

Perched on the rocket is NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a satellite that will study the sun and space weather over the course of a 5-year, $847-million mission.

Starting at 1 p.m. today, mission managers plan to hold two media briefings at Kennedy Space Center to discuss the mission and its science. Click here to open a NASA TV video player and watch live the briefings live.

Participants at the 1 p.m. prelaunch news conference include:
++ Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate
++ Omar Baez, NASA Launch Director for SDO
++ Vernon Thorp, Program Manager, NASA Missions
++ Elizabeth Citrin, SDO Project Manager
++ Clay Flinn, Atlas V Launch Weather Officer 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station

Participants at the 1:45 p.m. science briefing include:
++ Madhulika Guhathakurta, NASA Headquarters
++ Dean Pesnell, SDO Project Scientist
++ Phil Scherrer, Principal Investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, Stanford
University
++ Alan Title, Principal Investigator, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, Lockheed Martin
Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory
++ Tom Woods, Principal Investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado

If the launch scrubs Wednesday, the forecast improves a bit Thursday to a 60-percent chance of acceptable weather.

For more background on the mission, check out NASA's fact sheet and press kit.

On Wednesday, we'll be sending text alerts on the status of the launch -- sign up here to receive them.

IMAGE NOTE: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite rolled out to its Launch Complex-41 launch pad this morning, arriving at 8:30 a.m. Launch of the SDO mission is set for Wednesday with a launch window of 10:26 – 11:26 a.m. EST. SDO is the first satellite of NASA's Living with a Star program. Its purpose is to examine the sun, the source of all space weather. Photos by Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

No Space Program?
Here is why:

WMD SCAM

According to recent reports of their personal finances, 151 current members of Congress had between $78.7 million and $195.5 million invested in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. In all, these companies received more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the budget watchdog group OMB Watch. More and more US Tax Dollars are given to Defense Contractors every year taking away funds for Health Care and Space Exploration.

WMD SCAM:
If you divide 276 Billion awarded to Defense Contractors by 4,373 Soldiers killed in Iraq that equals over 63 Million Dollars in profit per dead soldier. Can you say Bush's WMD SCAM?

276 billion divided by 4373 = 63 114 566.7 do the math yourself.

You can make a lot of money if you don't mind killing people said the Christians.
Killing people is much more profitable than exploring Space.