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New NASA eye in the sky watches for floods and droughts

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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. A NASA satellite lifted off early Saturday with the hope it will transmit data that will help the world do a better job of preparing for floods and droughts.

The satellite is on a three-year mission to track the amount of water locked in soil, which may help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers get ready for drought conditions.

The Delta 2 rocket carrying the Soil Moisture Active Passive or SMAP satellite launched shortly before sunrise from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's central coast. As the rocket zoomed skyward, it gave off an orange glow.

About an hour later, the satellite successfully separated from the rocket and began unfurling its solar panels to start generating power.

NASA launch manager Tim Dunn said there were zero launch problems with the rocket, calling Delta 2 a "workhorse."

Once the satellite reaches the desired orbit 430 miles high, engineers will spend two weeks checking out the two instruments, which will measure moisture in the soil every several days to produce high-resolution global maps.

Scientists hope data collected by the satellite, the latest to join NASA's Earth-orbiting fleet, will improve flood forecasts and drought monitoring.

At a news conference broadcast online, SMAP mission project manager Kent Kellogg said the launch went off without a hitch and called it a "terrific ride into space."

"This data will benefit not only scientists seeking a better understanding of our planet, climate and environment ... it's a boon for emergency planners and policy makers," said Geoffery Yoder, NASA's deputy associate administrator for programs.

Currently, drought maps and flash flood guidance issued by the federal government are based on computer modeling. SMAP will take real-time measurements that can be incorporated into forecasts, said Dara Entekhabi, mission science team leader from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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New NASA eye in the sky watches for floods and droughts

NASA launches satellite to measure soil moisture

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Last Updated Jan 31, 2015 12:33 PM EST

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket boosted an innovative NASA satellite into orbit Saturday, kicking off a three-year, $916 million mission to measure the moisture, frozen and liquid, in the top few inches of Earth's soil to improve forecasting, to better understand the causes and impact of droughts, floods and other natural disasters and to improve long-range climate change projections.

"With the launch of this project, decision makers will be better able to understand the water cycle and how soil moisture fits into that," said Christine Bonniksen, NASA program executive of the Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, mission. "The soil actually gathers the precipitation prior to it entering the rivers and then evaporating back into the atmosphere. As a result, soil moisture impacts many areas of human interest, including flood, drought, disease control and weather."

Running two days late because of high winds aloft Thursday, the long-awaited mission got underway at 9:22 a.m. EST (GMT-5, 6:22 a.m. local time) when the 165-ton Delta 2 booster's first stage engine roared to life, followed by ignition of three strap-on solid fuel boosters.

Lighting up the pre-dawn sky with a torrent of flame, the 127-foot-tall rocket quickly climbed away from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, arcing away to the south over the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles.

The strap-on boosters burned out 65 seconds after liftoff and were jettisoned 35 seconds later. The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A first-stage engine continued to burn another two-and-a-half minutes before shutting down as planned. The first stage then fell away and the second stage's AJ10-118K engine ignited, continuing the boost to orbit.

Ten minutes and 44 seconds after launch, the second stage engine shut down and the booster entered a 41-minute coast phase. Finally, about 55 minutes after takeoff, the second stage engine re-ignited for 12 seconds to put the spacecraft in the desired 426-mile-high orbit around Earth's poles.

The SMAP satellite's solar panels unfolded moments after release from the Delta 2 booster's second stage, clearly visible in this view from a camera on the rocket.

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NASA launches satellite to measure soil moisture

Star Trek Actress "UHURA" hiring actors to do acting for NASA since 1977 – Video

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Star Trek Actress "UHURA" hiring actors to do acting for NASA since 1977
Sexy UHURA (NASA Spokesperson) keeping the masses interested in the NASA space "program" since 1975, The space "programs" are great entertainment, NASA uses science fiction and tries to ...

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Star Trek Actress "UHURA" hiring actors to do acting for NASA since 1977 - Video

Columbia Space Shuttle Launch and Voyager : 1981 in Review NASA – Video

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Columbia Space Shuttle Launch and Voyager : 1981 in Review NASA
Looking back to 1981 with the launch of the space shuttle and the continuing journey of Voyager 2 Bringing you the BEST Space and Astronomy videos online. Showcasing videos and images from...

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High winds force NASA to scrub soil satellite launch

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The launch of NASA's newest Earth-gazing satellite will have to wait another day due to high winds that made launch too risky Thursday (Jan. 29).

The space agency'sSoil Moisture Active Passive satellite(SMAP) mission was set to launch to space today (Jan. 29) at 9:20 a.m. EST (1420 GMT). High altitude winds, however, prevented the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying SMAP from taking off from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. NASA officials delayed the launch minutes before the 3-minute launch window opened.

Officials will attempt to launch the Earth-monitoring satellite to space again tomorrow (Jan. 30) at 9:20 a.m. EST. You canwatch the SMAP launch attempt liveon Space.com via NASA TV Friday. [See SMAP mission images]

"We had a beautiful countdown," Tim Dunn, NASA launch manager, said during a webcast after the delay was announced. "Everything on the Delta II rocket was rock solid. The spacecraft had absolutely no issues The one thing that was kind of dogging us through the countdown was those upper-level winds Unfortunately today, both from a loading on the rocket and a controllability of the rocket, we were in a condition with upper level winds that we just did not have the capability to fly the Delta II safely through the maximum dynamic pressure region of flight."

Officials expect a 90 percent chance of good weather for launch Friday (Jan. 30).

NASA'sSMAP missionis designed to monitor the moisture content of soil on Earth. The satellite is expected to create a global map of soil moisture once every two to three days, providing scientists with unprecedented data about droughts and floods.

The soil moisture information can help researchers craft better weather forecasts and understand more about the interconnected nature of Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles, according to NASA.

"SMAP is in a unique position because its measurements impact two distinct domains," Dara Entekhabi, SMAP science team leader, said during a news conference Tuesday (Jan. 27). "One, of course, as a science mission it impacts how we fundamentally understand how the environment works and peer into the metabolism of the environment. And second, it impacts some of the applications that touch our everyday lives."

Once launched, the 3-year, $916 million SMAP mission will join the other Earth-gazing missions currently monitoring the planet from space today. SMAP will be in a polar orbit that takes it about 426 miles (685 kilometers) above Earth's surface.

The satellite comes equipped with a huge, nearly 20-foot (6 meters) rotating mesh antenna that is currently folded up but will be deployed after the spacecraft reaches orbit.

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High winds force NASA to scrub soil satellite launch

High winds force NASA to scrub soil satellite launch (+video)

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The launch of NASA's newest Earth-gazing satellite will have to wait another day due to high winds that made launch too risky Thursday (Jan. 29).

The space agency'sSoil Moisture Active Passive satellite(SMAP) mission was set to launch to space today (Jan. 29) at 9:20 a.m. EST (1420 GMT). High altitude winds, however, prevented the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying SMAP from taking off from Vandenberg Air Force base in California. NASA officials delayed the launch minutes before the 3-minute launch window opened.

Officials will attempt to launch the Earth-monitoring satellite to space again tomorrow (Jan. 30) at 9:20 a.m. EST. You canwatch the SMAP launch attempt liveon Space.com via NASA TV Friday. [See SMAP mission images]

"We had a beautiful countdown," Tim Dunn, NASA launch manager, said during a webcast after the delay was announced. "Everything on the Delta II rocket was rock solid. The spacecraft had absolutely no issues The one thing that was kind of dogging us through the countdown was those upper-level winds Unfortunately today, both from a loading on the rocket and a controllability of the rocket, we were in a condition with upper level winds that we just did not have the capability to fly the Delta II safely through the maximum dynamic pressure region of flight."

Officials expect a 90 percent chance of good weather for launch Friday (Jan. 30).

NASA'sSMAP missionis designed to monitor the moisture content of soil on Earth. The satellite is expected to create a global map of soil moisture once every two to three days, providing scientists with unprecedented data about droughts and floods.

The soil moisture information can help researchers craft better weather forecasts and understand more about the interconnected nature of Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles, according to NASA.

"SMAP is in a unique position because its measurements impact two distinct domains," Dara Entekhabi, SMAP science team leader, said during a news conference Tuesday (Jan. 27). "One, of course, as a science mission it impacts how we fundamentally understand how the environment works and peer into the metabolism of the environment. And second, it impacts some of the applications that touch our everyday lives."

Once launched, the 3-year, $916 million SMAP mission will join the other Earth-gazing missions currently monitoring the planet from space today. SMAP will be in a polar orbit that takes it about 426 miles (685 kilometers) above Earth's surface.

The satellite comes equipped with a huge, nearly 20-foot (6 meters) rotating mesh antenna that is currently folded up but will be deployed after the spacecraft reaches orbit.

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High winds force NASA to scrub soil satellite launch (+video)


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