Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
805-605-3051
george.h.diller@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-178
NASA'S AQUARIUS/SAC-D LAUNCH RESCHEDULED
WASHINGTON -- The launch of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission
is postponed 24 hours until Friday, June 10, from NASA's Space Launch
Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 5-minute launch
window opens at 10:20 a.m. EDT (7:20 a.m. PDT).
The new launch date will allow the launch team to complete additional
review of an inconsistency found in the Delta II launch vehicle
flight profile for wind conditions on the day of launch. These data
are used to steer the Delta II through upper level winds. The weather
forecast for June 10 shows a 100 percent chance of favorable weather
conditions for the launch.
The Aquarius/SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) observatory
is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency,
Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).
Media are invited to see and photograph the Delta II with
Aquarius/SAC-D at the launch pad on Thursday, June 9. Media will
depart for the pad at 9:30 p.m. PDT from the Vandenberg Main Gate on
California State Road 1.
Media covering the launch on Friday, June 10, will be escorted to the
press viewing site from the Vandenberg Main Gate. Media should meet
at 6 a.m. PDT at the pass and identification building.
Aquarius was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA's
Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
manages the launch. JPL will manage Aquarius through its
commissioning phase and archive mission data. Goddard will manage
Aquarius mission operations and process science data. CONAE is
providing the SAC-D spacecraft, optical camera, thermal camera with
Canada, microwave radiometer, sensors from various Argentine
institutions and the mission operations center. France and Italy also
are contributing instruments.
On launch day, June 10, NASA TV commentary coverage of the countdown
will begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT (5:30 a.m. PDT). Launch coverage will be
streamed live at:
For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit:
-end-
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