The launch of NASA’s new soil moisture satellite was scrubbed today, with officials stating high altitude winds were too high to safely launch the Delta II rocket.
The launch will now be conducted by ULA’s Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, on the west coast of America at exactly 14:20:42 UTC (or 06:20:42 PST, 09:20:42 EST) on Friday. There is a three minute window in which the launch can take place. This will be the Delta II’s 153rd launch, with notable payloads being the Dawn spacecraft, which is currently arriving at Ceres, and MESSENGER, the first ever spacecraft to orbit Mercury.
The launch will now be conducted by ULA’s Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, on the west coast of America at exactly 14:20:42 UTC (or 06:20:42 PST, 09:20:42 EST) on Friday. There is a three minute window in which the launch can take place. This will be the Delta II’s 153rd launch, with notable payloads being the Dawn spacecraft, which is currently arriving at Ceres, and MESSENGER, the first ever spacecraft to orbit Mercury.
SMAP, which stands for Soil Moisture Active Passive, is designed to measure soil moisture over a three-year period, every two to three days. SMAP will measure how much water is in the top layer (5cm) of soil, and using the data produce global maps of soil moisture. Scientists will use these to help improve our understanding of how water and carbon, in its various forms, circulate.
The $916 million mission is one part of a large program of Earth science projects that aim to discover how our planet works.
“SMAP will be joining our 18 operational missions that study the Earth’s systems. These issues that are addressed by this are climate change, things like sea level and fresh water resources. Our on-orbit satellites, along with air and ground observations, monitor the Earth’s vital signs,” said SMAP program executive Christine Bonniksen.
Joining SMAP will be four cubesats - ExoCube (space weather satellite), GRIFEX (technology mission developed by the University of Michigan), and two FIREBIRD-II satellites (also space weather). The Delta II upper stage will initially deploy SMAP, and then lower the orbital altitude and deploy the cubesats.
The $916 million mission is one part of a large program of Earth science projects that aim to discover how our planet works.
“SMAP will be joining our 18 operational missions that study the Earth’s systems. These issues that are addressed by this are climate change, things like sea level and fresh water resources. Our on-orbit satellites, along with air and ground observations, monitor the Earth’s vital signs,” said SMAP program executive Christine Bonniksen.
Joining SMAP will be four cubesats - ExoCube (space weather satellite), GRIFEX (technology mission developed by the University of Michigan), and two FIREBIRD-II satellites (also space weather). The Delta II upper stage will initially deploy SMAP, and then lower the orbital altitude and deploy the cubesats.