Launch Set for US-European Ocean-Monitoring Satellite - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
If
the launch is successful, the Jason-3 satellite would continue an
unbroken record of more than two decades of sea level measurements from
orbit. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles,
was planned for a 30-second window at 10:42 a.m. PST Sunday, with a
backup opportunity on Monday.
Air Force meteorologists predicted 100 percent favorable weather for the launch, NASA said.
As
the current El Nino in the eastern Pacific has strengthened, Jason-3
has been stuck on the ground. Jason-3's launch was originally scheduled
for August 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. However, the launch was
postponed after a different Falcon 9 rocket failed during a supply
mission to the International Space Station in June. After correcting the
problem, a successful launch last month restored Falcon 9s to flight
status.
Like
its three predecessors, Jason-3 is equipped with radar altimeter to
bounce microwave energy off the ocean and a GPS system to identify the
satellite's precise location. Timing of how long it takes the signal to
return indicates sea level height, which rises or falls depending on the
temperature of the water.
The
data collected can detect the weather-altering El Nino condition and
its opposite, La Nina, and are most familiar to the public in images of
the Pacific Ocean that use colors to illustrate variations in heat.
Other pragmatic uses include measuring global sea level rise, and
forecasting the strength of hurricanes, other severe weather and ocean
conditions for the shipping industry and in response to oil spills.
"Jason
allows us to get the big picture in terms of sea-level change in the
years to come," said Laury Miller, Jason-3 program scientist.
Jason-3
is a project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
NASA, the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, and
the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites. It was built by Thales Alenia of France.
Jason-3
will ultimately replace Jason-2, which has been in orbit since mid-2008
and has been tracking the current El Nino that experts say has tied the
1997-98 version as the strongest recorded and is expected to last
through the winter before weakening in spring.
Despite
being in its eighth year and only designed to last five, Jason-2 "is
still in great shape," Jason-3 project scientist Josh Willis said. After
being used to help calibrate the new satellite, Jason-2 will be moved
to an orbit to study the shape of the sea floor.
The
series of spacecraft began with Topex-Poseidon, which operated from
1992 to 2006. Topex, short for ocean surface topography experiment,
revolutionized understanding of the role of ocean temperature on
climate. Its successor, Jason-1, operated from 2001 until it was
decommissioned in 2013.
Mission
scientists emphasized at a prelaunch briefing that it is important to
maintain an unbroken record of global sea level variation.
SpaceX
will use the Jason-3 launch to again try to land a Falcon 9 first stage
on an oceangoing barge, with the second stage and satellite continuing
toward orbit. The Hawthorne, California, company hopes to reduce launch
costs by reusing rockets rather than having them fall into the ocean.
Two
previous attempts to land a rocket on a barge in the Atlantic failed,
but last month SpaceX succeeded in returning a rocket to a vertical
landing at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after putting a cluster of
satellites into orbit.
Hans
Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance for Space-X, said the
current rocket would have been able to return to land but the company
does not have environmental approval at Vandenberg yet.
Meteorologists predict swells of 10- to 13-feet where the barge will be waiting for the rocket landing attempt.
"The
sea state is good for surfing and a little high for landing but we
don't anticipate that that's going to be a major problem," said
Koenigsmann. "I'm really hopeful. We had a really good landing last
time."
By AP, 13 hours 52 minutes ago
The
latest in a series of U.S.-European satellites designed to detect and
measure ocean phenomena like El Nino is scheduled for launch this
weekend aboard a SpaceX rocket that will attempt to land its discarded
first stage on a floating barge.
latest in a series of U.S.-European satellites designed to detect and
measure ocean phenomena like El Nino is scheduled for launch this
weekend aboard a SpaceX rocket that will attempt to land its discarded
first stage on a floating barge.
If
the launch is successful, the Jason-3 satellite would continue an
unbroken record of more than two decades of sea level measurements from
orbit. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles,
was planned for a 30-second window at 10:42 a.m. PST Sunday, with a
backup opportunity on Monday.
Air Force meteorologists predicted 100 percent favorable weather for the launch, NASA said.
As
the current El Nino in the eastern Pacific has strengthened, Jason-3
has been stuck on the ground. Jason-3's launch was originally scheduled
for August 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. However, the launch was
postponed after a different Falcon 9 rocket failed during a supply
mission to the International Space Station in June. After correcting the
problem, a successful launch last month restored Falcon 9s to flight
status.
Like
its three predecessors, Jason-3 is equipped with radar altimeter to
bounce microwave energy off the ocean and a GPS system to identify the
satellite's precise location. Timing of how long it takes the signal to
return indicates sea level height, which rises or falls depending on the
temperature of the water.
The
data collected can detect the weather-altering El Nino condition and
its opposite, La Nina, and are most familiar to the public in images of
the Pacific Ocean that use colors to illustrate variations in heat.
Other pragmatic uses include measuring global sea level rise, and
forecasting the strength of hurricanes, other severe weather and ocean
conditions for the shipping industry and in response to oil spills.
"Jason
allows us to get the big picture in terms of sea-level change in the
years to come," said Laury Miller, Jason-3 program scientist.
Jason-3
is a project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
NASA, the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, and
the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites. It was built by Thales Alenia of France.
Jason-3
will ultimately replace Jason-2, which has been in orbit since mid-2008
and has been tracking the current El Nino that experts say has tied the
1997-98 version as the strongest recorded and is expected to last
through the winter before weakening in spring.
Despite
being in its eighth year and only designed to last five, Jason-2 "is
still in great shape," Jason-3 project scientist Josh Willis said. After
being used to help calibrate the new satellite, Jason-2 will be moved
to an orbit to study the shape of the sea floor.
The
series of spacecraft began with Topex-Poseidon, which operated from
1992 to 2006. Topex, short for ocean surface topography experiment,
revolutionized understanding of the role of ocean temperature on
climate. Its successor, Jason-1, operated from 2001 until it was
decommissioned in 2013.
Mission
scientists emphasized at a prelaunch briefing that it is important to
maintain an unbroken record of global sea level variation.
SpaceX
will use the Jason-3 launch to again try to land a Falcon 9 first stage
on an oceangoing barge, with the second stage and satellite continuing
toward orbit. The Hawthorne, California, company hopes to reduce launch
costs by reusing rockets rather than having them fall into the ocean.
Two
previous attempts to land a rocket on a barge in the Atlantic failed,
but last month SpaceX succeeded in returning a rocket to a vertical
landing at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after putting a cluster of
satellites into orbit.
Hans
Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance for Space-X, said the
current rocket would have been able to return to land but the company
does not have environmental approval at Vandenberg yet.
Meteorologists predict swells of 10- to 13-feet where the barge will be waiting for the rocket landing attempt.
"The
sea state is good for surfing and a little high for landing but we
don't anticipate that that's going to be a major problem," said
Koenigsmann. "I'm really hopeful. We had a really good landing last
time."
By AP, 13 hours 52 minutes ago
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