Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov
Cynthia O'Carroll
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
240-684-0821
cynthia.m.ocarroll@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-345
NASA READIES NEW TYPE OF EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITE FOR LAUNCH
WASHINGTON -- NASA is planning an Oct. 27 launch of the first
Earth-observing satellite to measure both global climate changes and
key weather variables.
The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
Preparatory Project (NPP) is the first mission designed to collect
critical data to improve weather forecasts in the short-term and
increase our understanding of long-term climate change. NPP continues
observations of Earth from space that NASA has pioneered for more
than 40 years.
NPP's five science instruments, including four new state-of-the-art
sensors, will provide scientists with data to extend more than 30 key
long-term datasets. These records, which range from the ozone layer
and land cover to atmospheric temperatures and ice cover, are
critical for global change science.
"NPP's observations of a wide range of interconnected Earth properties
and processes will give us the big picture of how our planet
changes," said Jim Gleason, NPP project scientist at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "That will help us improve our
computer models that predict future environmental conditions. Better
predictions will let us make better decisions, whether it is as
simple as taking an umbrella to work today or as complex as
responding to a changing climate."
NPP serves as a bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System of
satellites and the planned Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), which
will collect climate and weather data. JPSS will be developed by NASA
for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA meteorologists will incorporate NPP data into their weather
prediction models to produce forecasts and warnings that will help
emergency responders anticipate, monitor and react to many types of
natural disasters.
"The timing of the NPP launch could hardly be more appropriate," said
Louis W. Uccellini, director of NOAA's National Centers for
Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, Md. "With the many billion
dollar weather disasters in 2011, NPP data is critical for accurate
weather forecasts into the future."
A Delta II rocket will carry NPP into an orbit 512 miles above Earth's
surface. Roughly the size of a mini-van, the spacecraft will orbit
Earth's poles about 14 times a day. It will transmit data once each
orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and to direct
broadcast receivers around the world.
NPP is set to launch from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California on Oct. 27. The launch window extends from
5:48 a.m. to 5:57 a.m. EDT. The launch recently was delayed two days
due to the repair of the Delta II's hydraulic system. The NPP
spacecraft is scheduled to be transported to the launch pad for
attachment to the Delta II on Oct. 12.
NPP's Delta II launch vehicle also will carry several auxiliary
payloads into orbit, which together comprise NASA's third Educational
Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNa, mission. This mission will put
five small research payloads, or CubeSats, into orbit: two for the
University of Michigan; and one each for Auburn University, Montana
State University and Utah State University.
Goddard manages the NPP mission for the Earth Science Division of the
Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The
JPSS program is providing the ground system for NPP. NOAA will
provide operational support for the mission. Launch management is the
responsibility of the NASA Launch Services Program at the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
For more information about NPP, visit:
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