Mar 1 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-041 NASA'S GLORY SATELLITE SCHEDULED FOR LAUNCH ON MARCH 4
WASHINGTON -- NASA's Glory spacecraft is scheduled for launch on Friday, March 4. Technical issues with ground support equipment for the Taurus XL launch vehicle led to the scrub of the original Feb. 23 launch attempt. Those issues have been resolved. The March 4 liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is targeted for 5:09:43 a.m. EST, in the middle of a 48-second launch window. Spacecraft separation occurs 13 minutes after launch. Data from the Glory mission will allow scientists to better understand how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect Earth's climate. The Taurus XL also carries the first of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite missions. This auxiliary payload contains three small satellites called CubeSats, which were designed and created by university and college students. NASA Television will carry launch coverage beginning March 4 at 3:30 a.m.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-042 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET FOR FINAL TRIP TO LAUNCH PAD
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Journalists are invited to cover space shuttle Endeavour's move from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch Pad 39A on Wednesday, March 9, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Six astronauts are targeted to launch aboard the shuttle on April 19. The STS-134 mission to the International Space Station is the final scheduled flight for Endeavour before it is retired. Endeavour's first motion out of the VAB is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the rollout. NASA TV's Video File will broadcast highlights of the move. The shuttle's 3.4-mile journey atop a giant crawler-transporter is expected to take approximately six hours. Activities include an 8 p.m. photo opportunity of the move followed by an interview availability at 8:30 p.m. with Endeavour Flow Director Dana Hutcherson. During the 14-day mission to the space station, Endeavour's astronauts will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. The crew also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 3, a platform that carries spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-043 NASA RESCHEDULES TELECONFERENCE TO EXPLAIN MISSING SUNSPOTS
WASHINGTON -- NASA has rescheduled a media teleconference for 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 2, to discuss the first computer model that explains the recent period of decreased solar activity during the sun's 11-year cycle. The recent solar minimum, a period characterized by a lower frequency of sunspots and solar storms, ended in 2008 and was the deepest observed in almost 100 years. The teleconference panelists are: -- Richard Fisher, director, Heliophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington -- Dibyendu Nandi, assistant professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India -- Andres Munoz-Jaramillo, visiting research fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. -- Delores Knipp, visiting scientist, University of Colorado at Boulder
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