Fla., June 28 (UPI) -- NASA says a satellite it launched in Florida this weekend will bolster weather-forecasting capabilities and monitor changes in the environment.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, known as GOES-O, lifted off Saturday without a hitch from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta IV rocket and will be placed in its final orbit July 7.
The space agency said in a written statement that all systems were functioning properly.
GOES-O is the second in the GOES-N series of environmental weather satellites. Its designation will change to GOES 14 once it is operational.
CBS News said the satellite's advanced imaging will help weather forecasters track small-scale weather phenomenon, including storms capable of producing tornadoes.
"The increased resolution and accuracy that these these satellites will present will help us pinpoint what's happening, and if we know what's happening, we can do a better job of making short-term and long-term forecasts of where it's going to be," said Joe Schaefer, director of the U.S. Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.
from upi.com
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Showing posts with label NASA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASA. Show all posts
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
New Mexico spaceport launch
UPHAM, N.M. (AP) — A multimillion-dollar spaceport is moving toward construction in the New Mexico desert, a big step for commercial space development and tourists who will suit up for $200,000 suborbital flights.
Gov. Bill Richardson and other dignitaries staged a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday at the remote site of Spaceport America in Sierra County.
"Today will be a signal that America needs to regain its leadership in space, both in national space and commercial space," said Gov. Bill Richardson. "Today is historic because New Mexico leads the nation in commercial space."
From a 10,000-foot runway, spacecraft will take flight attached to an airplane, then break free and rocket 62 miles into space before returning to the New Mexico site. Flights will last about two hours and include five minutes of weightlessness.
George Nield, a Federal Aviation Administration official who oversees commercial space transportation, said seven spaceport licenses have been issued in the U.S.
California has two licenses while New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Alaska and Oklahoma each have one.
Richardson said the New Mexico site — about 45 miles north of Las Cruces — is ahead, largely because of a partnership with Virgin Galactic, a British company that plans to take the tourists into space.
Virgin Galactic officials said Friday that 300 customers have made down payments to get launched into space. The company aims to begin taking tourists into space by December 2010.
New Mexico is making a $200 million investment in the project. Virgin Galactic, owned by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is investing $250 million and will be the spaceport's anchor tenant.
Lina Borozdina-Birch, who attended Friday's ceremony, is a 40-year-old chemist from San Diego and among the first to sign up for a flight.
"I'm so excited. Until this point in my life, it's been like a science fiction novel," she said of the prospect of going to space.
Her dream began as she was growing up in the Soviet Union at the time when the country was locked in a space race with the United States. Borozdina-Birch said she mortgaged her home to afford the $200,000 ticket.
The spaceport will operate like an airport where aerospace companies can lease building and hangar space, said Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn.
The company's system also will accommodate satellite launches, he said, and scientists can take off from the site to follow experiments they launch into space.
During the ceremony, about a dozen people dressed as Spanish conquistadors walked across the open plain, where construction of the runway is scheduled to begin next month.
They carried Spanish colonial flags, spears and muskets, evoking images of colonists who came through the area on the Camino Real in the 17th century.
One of the actors presented Richardson with a scroll, symbolizing the connection between the explorers of the past and those of the future.
The ceremony also featured the liftoff of model rockets by students attending a space camp.
The runway is slated for completion next summer. The terminal and hangar should be ready for tenants in December 2010.
by the associated press
Gov. Bill Richardson and other dignitaries staged a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday at the remote site of Spaceport America in Sierra County.
"Today will be a signal that America needs to regain its leadership in space, both in national space and commercial space," said Gov. Bill Richardson. "Today is historic because New Mexico leads the nation in commercial space."
From a 10,000-foot runway, spacecraft will take flight attached to an airplane, then break free and rocket 62 miles into space before returning to the New Mexico site. Flights will last about two hours and include five minutes of weightlessness.
George Nield, a Federal Aviation Administration official who oversees commercial space transportation, said seven spaceport licenses have been issued in the U.S.
California has two licenses while New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Alaska and Oklahoma each have one.
Richardson said the New Mexico site — about 45 miles north of Las Cruces — is ahead, largely because of a partnership with Virgin Galactic, a British company that plans to take the tourists into space.
Virgin Galactic officials said Friday that 300 customers have made down payments to get launched into space. The company aims to begin taking tourists into space by December 2010.
New Mexico is making a $200 million investment in the project. Virgin Galactic, owned by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is investing $250 million and will be the spaceport's anchor tenant.
Lina Borozdina-Birch, who attended Friday's ceremony, is a 40-year-old chemist from San Diego and among the first to sign up for a flight.
"I'm so excited. Until this point in my life, it's been like a science fiction novel," she said of the prospect of going to space.
Her dream began as she was growing up in the Soviet Union at the time when the country was locked in a space race with the United States. Borozdina-Birch said she mortgaged her home to afford the $200,000 ticket.
The spaceport will operate like an airport where aerospace companies can lease building and hangar space, said Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn.
The company's system also will accommodate satellite launches, he said, and scientists can take off from the site to follow experiments they launch into space.
During the ceremony, about a dozen people dressed as Spanish conquistadors walked across the open plain, where construction of the runway is scheduled to begin next month.
They carried Spanish colonial flags, spears and muskets, evoking images of colonists who came through the area on the Camino Real in the 17th century.
One of the actors presented Richardson with a scroll, symbolizing the connection between the explorers of the past and those of the future.
The ceremony also featured the liftoff of model rockets by students attending a space camp.
The runway is slated for completion next summer. The terminal and hangar should be ready for tenants in December 2010.
by the associated press
Thursday, June 11, 2009
NASA gives 'go' for Saturday
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA managers have given a unanimous "go" to Saturday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour.
On Thursday, mission managers cleared Endeavour for its flight to the international space station. The weather outlook is about as good as it gets — 90 percent — and forecasters say that's because of the early morning launch time.
Endeavour and its crew of seven will deliver the final piece of Japan's $1 billion space station lab, an outdoor shelf for experiments. The astronauts also will attach some big spare parts outside the orbiting outpost, replace aging batteries and perform other maintenance. Five spacewalks are planned.
The seven shuttle fliers will join six men already at the space station for close to two weeks. It will be the first time 13 people are together in space at one time.
"The shuttle crew just comes barging in and bringing all their toys with them," said mission management team chairman Mike Moses.
While it may be hectic in orbit with so many people, Moses expects to see some time saved now that six people are living on the space station. The crew size doubled late last month.
Canada also will score a space first on launch day. Two Canadians will be in orbit — one on the shuttle and the other on the station — at the same time.
Canadian Space Agency officials also proudly note that the mission will feature unusually complex robotic arm work. Canada supplied both the shuttle and station arms.
"All Canadians are proud," said Pierre Jean, Canada's space station program manager.
If it starts on time, Endeavour's 16-day flight will follow the successful repair effort at the Hubble Space Telescope by less than three weeks. That mission was carried out by Atlantis.
by the associated press
On Thursday, mission managers cleared Endeavour for its flight to the international space station. The weather outlook is about as good as it gets — 90 percent — and forecasters say that's because of the early morning launch time.
Endeavour and its crew of seven will deliver the final piece of Japan's $1 billion space station lab, an outdoor shelf for experiments. The astronauts also will attach some big spare parts outside the orbiting outpost, replace aging batteries and perform other maintenance. Five spacewalks are planned.
The seven shuttle fliers will join six men already at the space station for close to two weeks. It will be the first time 13 people are together in space at one time.
"The shuttle crew just comes barging in and bringing all their toys with them," said mission management team chairman Mike Moses.
While it may be hectic in orbit with so many people, Moses expects to see some time saved now that six people are living on the space station. The crew size doubled late last month.
Canada also will score a space first on launch day. Two Canadians will be in orbit — one on the shuttle and the other on the station — at the same time.
Canadian Space Agency officials also proudly note that the mission will feature unusually complex robotic arm work. Canada supplied both the shuttle and station arms.
"All Canadians are proud," said Pierre Jean, Canada's space station program manager.
If it starts on time, Endeavour's 16-day flight will follow the successful repair effort at the Hubble Space Telescope by less than three weeks. That mission was carried out by Atlantis.
by the associated press
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