DSCOVR mission logo. Credit: NOAA\/NASA\/U.S. Air Force <\/p>\n
The long awaited Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR science satellite is slated to blast off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Sunday, Feb. 8, from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a mission to monitor the solar wind and aid very important forecasts of space weather at Earth. <\/p>\n
DSCOVR is a joint mission between NOAA, NASA, and the U.S Air Force (USAF) that will be managed by NOAA. The satellite and science instruments are provided by NASA and NOAA. <\/p>\n
The rocket is provided by the USAF. SpaceX will try to recover the first stage via a guided descent to a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean. <\/p>\n
The weather outlook is currently very promising with a greater than 90 percent chance of favorable weather at launch time shortly after sunset on Sunday which could make for a spectacular viewing opportunity for spectators surrounding the Florida Space coast. <\/p>\n
Liftoff atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for at 6:10:12 p.m. EST on Feb. 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40. <\/p>\n
There is an instantaneous launch window, meaning that any launch delay due to weather, technical or other factors will force a scrub to Monday. <\/p>\n
The launch will be broadcast live on NASA TV: http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/nasatv<\/a> <\/p>\n NASAs DSCOVR launch blog coverage of countdown and liftoff will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. <\/p>\n NOAA\/NASA Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) undergoes processing in NASA Goddard Space Flight Center clean room. Solar wind instruments at right. DSCOVER will launch in February 2015 atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: Ken Kremer\/kenkremer.com\/AmericaSpace <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Go here to see the original: <\/p>\n NOAA\/NASA\/USAF Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Launching Feb. 8 to Monitor Solar Winds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DSCOVR mission logo. Credit: NOAA\/NASA\/U.S. Air Force The long awaited Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR science satellite is slated to blast off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Sunday, Feb Continue reading