Feb. 10, 2011
George H. Diller
NASA Vandenberg Resident Office, Calif.
805-605-3051
george.h.diller@nasa.gov
Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
Sarah DeWitt
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0535
sarah.l.dewitt@nasa.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY: M05-11
NASA'S GLORY CLIMATE SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH FEB. 23
VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- The launch of NASA's Glory spacecraft aboard
an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb.
23. Liftoff will be from Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air
Force Base (VAFB), Calif. Liftoff is targeted for 2:09:43 a.m. PST
(5:09:43 a.m. EST) in the middle of a 48-second launch window. The
spacecraft's final polar orbit will be 438 nautical miles (508 miles)
at an inclination of 98.2 degrees.
Data from the Glory mission will allow scientists to better understand
how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect
Earth's climate. Both aerosols and solar energy influence the
planet's energy budget, which is the amount of energy entering and
exiting Earth's atmosphere. An accurate measurement of these impacts
is important in order to anticipate future changes to our climate and
how they may affect human life.
The first of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNa,
missions also will be launched on the Taurus XL. These auxiliary
payloads are small satellites called CubeSats. Each is designed and
created by university and college students. Three satellites will be
deployed on ELaNa-1.
ACCREDITATION
News media desiring accreditation for the prelaunch and launch
activities of Glory should fax their requests on news organization
letterhead to:
1st Lt. Ann K. Blodzinski
30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
FAX: 805-606-8303
Telephone: 805-606-3595
E-mail: ann.blodzinski@vandenberg.af.mil
Information required for U.S. media is full legal name, date of birth
and media affiliation.
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE
Monday, Feb. 21: The prelaunch news conference will be held from 1 to
3 p.m. PST (4 to 6 p.m. EST) in the second floor conference room of
the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office, Building 840, at Vandenberg Air
Force Base. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television with
question-and-answer capability available from other NASA field
centers.
Media desiring to cover the event should meet at the south gate of
VAFB on California State Road 246 at 12:30 p.m. to be escorted by
30th Space Wing Public Affairs to the news conference.
Participants in the prelaunch news conference will be:
Joy Bretthauer, Glory program executive
NASA Headquarters
Omar Baez, NASA launch director
Kennedy Space Center
John Brunschwyler, Taurus program director
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Bryan Fafaul, Glory project manager
Goddard Space Flight Center
1st Lt. Benjamin J. Wauer, Launch Weather Officer, 30th Weather
Squadron
Vandenberg Air Force Base
GLORY/ELaNa MISSON SCIENCE BRIEFINGS
Immediately following the prelaunch news conference will be a Glory
Mission Science Briefing. Presenting the mission science objectives
will be:
Hal Maring, Glory program scientist
NASA Headquarters
Michael Mishchenko, Glory project scientist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Greg Kopp, Total Irradiance Monitor instrument scientist
University of Colorado - Boulder, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
Physics
Brian Cairns, Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor instrument scientist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Immediately following the Glory Mission Science Briefing will be an
ELaNa briefing. Participating will be:
Jason Crusan, ELaNa program executive
Chief technologist for Space Operations, NASA Headquarters
Garrett Skrobot, ELaNa mission manager
NASA Launch Services Program, Kennedy Space Center
David Klumpar, director, Space Science and Engineering Laboratory
Explorer-1 (Prime) principal investigator, Montana State University
James Lumpp, director, Space Systems Laboratory
KySat-1 principal investigator
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of
Kentucky
Brian Sanders, research coordinator, Colorado Space Grant Consortium
Hermes principal investigator, University of Colorado - Boulder
GLORY/TAURUS XL NEWS MEDIA PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Tuesday, Feb. 22: There will be an opportunity for the media to see
and photograph the Taurus XL at the launch pad with Glory
encapsulated in the payload fairing atop the rocket. Media should
meet at the pass and identification building at the Vandenberg main
gate on California State Road 1 at 9:45 a.m. to be escorted to the
launch pad.
REMOTE CAMERAS
Tuesday, Feb. 22: Media desiring to establish sound-activated remote
cameras at the launch pad should meet at the pass and identification
building located at the Vandenberg main gate on California State Road
1 at 9:45 a.m. to be escorted to the launch pad.
LAUNCH DAY MEDIA COVERAGE
Wednesday, Feb. 23: Media covering the Glory/Taurus XL launch should
meet at 1:15 a.m. at the Vandenberg main gate located on California
State Road 1 to be escorted to the press viewing site. Press
credentials and identification from a bona fide news organization
will be required for access. A driver's license alone will not be
sufficient.
After launch, media will be escorted back to the gate. Media
interested in speaking with launch officials will be escorted to the
NASA Mission Director's Center for an interview opportunity after
spacecraft separation occurs.
NASA TELEVISION COVERAGE
NASA Television will carry the prelaunch news conference starting at 1
p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) on Monday, Feb. 21. The prelaunch news
conference also will be webcast at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
On launch day, Feb. 23, NASA TV commentary coverage of the countdown
will begin at 12:30 a.m. PST (3:30 a.m. EST). Liftoff is targeted for
2:09:43 a.m. PST (5:09:43 a.m. EST). Spacecraft separation from the
Taurus occurs 13 minutes after launch.
For information on receiving NASA TV, go to:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/digital.html
VOICE CIRCUIT COVERAGE
To monitor audio of the prelaunch news conference and the launch
coverage, dial the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed directly
at 321-867-1220....1240....1260. This system is not two-way
interactive. "Mission Audio" of countdown activities without NASA
launch commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at 12:30
a.m. PST (3:30 a.m. EST).
WEB COVERAGE
Launch coverage of Glory/Taurus XL countdown activities will be
available on the NASA website by going to the home page at:
http://www.nasa.gov
Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at 12:30 a.m. PST
(3:30 a.m. EST). Coverage features real-time updates of countdown
milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch
preparations and liftoff.
To access these features, go to NASA's Glory mission website at:
http://www.nasa.gov/glory
NASA GLORY/TAURUS XL NEWS CENTER
The Glory/Taurus News Center at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office
will be staffed beginning Feb. 15. To speak with a NASA Public
Affairs Officer, call 805-605-3051. A recorded status report will
also be available starting at that time by dialing 805-734-2693.
Project management for Glory is the responsibility of NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The launch management for the
mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orbital Sciences Corporation of
Dulles, Va., is the launch service provider of the four-stage Taurus
XL rocket and is also builder of the Glory satellite for Goddard.
-end-
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