http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2011/elvstatus-20110721_prt.htm
ЦитироватьSpacecraft: NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2
Launch Date: Oct. 25, 2011
Launch Window: 2:47:35 a.m. - 2:57:35 a.m. PDT
At Space Launch Complex 2, the Delta II first stage was hoisted into position in the launcher and secured on July 20. The three solid rocket boosters will be attached July 27-29. The second stage will be hoisted atop the first stage on Aug. 1.
The payload fairing was hoisted into the mobile service tower on July 19 where it will be stored until the NPP spacecraft arrives at the pad in October.[/size]
А ведь это крайний запуск "Дельты-2", кажись! Просто год прощаний с целыми эпохами американских носителей получается.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2011/elvstatus-20110803.html
ЦитироватьSpacecraft: NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2
Launch Date: Oct. 25, 2011
Launch Window: 5:47:35 a.m. - 5:57:35 a.m. EDT
At Space Launch Complex 2, work to erect and attach the three solid rocket boosters to the first stage began July 27 and was completed Aug. 1. The second stage will be hoisted atop the first stage Aug. 2.[/size]
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/110831arrival.html
ЦитироватьClimate satellite moves to California launch base[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 1, 2011
Bookmark and Share
An advanced polar-orbiting weather observatory took a 1,600-mile roadtrip from Colorado to California this week, arriving at the satellite's Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site after the 40-hour journey.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/19909.jpg)
The environmentally controlled transportation container holding the NPP satellite arrives outside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Credit: NASA
A crew of 16 people including team members from satellite-builder Ball Aerospace and NASA's project group escorted the spacecraft on the long-awaited shipment.
"It was a good trip, no incidents," said Scott Tennant, Ball's program manager. "The guys commented...one-lane construction zones are kind of an adventure when you have a wide payload."
Valued at $1.5 billion, the satellite's mission will continue global weather monitoring and climate data records while covering virtually the entire planet twice per day from its 512-mile-high polar orbit.
Its launch atop a Delta 2 rocket is scheduled for October 25 during a 9-minute window opening at 2:48 a.m. local time (5:48 a.m. EDT).
Originally named the NPOESS Preparatory Project, this satellite was supposed to be the testbed for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) that would combine the civilian and U.S. military weather spacecraft into a single program, an effort started by the Clinton Administration in 1994.
But the new system was beset by technical and money woes, ultimately leading to the cancellation of NPOESS last year.
That leaves this satellite -- which now goes only by the name "NPP" -- to become a true gapfiller in serving the needs of meteorologists over the next several years.
"It started off as more of pathfinder for the big NPOESS missions and has now taken on a little bit of an operational bend," said Tennant.
In the wake of the killing NPOESS and scrapping the idea of merging civilian and military satellite programs, the two are once again divided and developing their own next-generation systems.
Plans now call for a clone of NPP to be built and launched later this decade under the revised civilian satellite system.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/19910.jpg)
An artist's concept of NPP in orbit. Credit: Ryan Zuber, Scientific Visualization Studio
Users of data from the polar-orbiting satellites are wide ranging. Meteorologists generate weather predictions, agricultural scientists need the information for drought management and monitoring vegetation and soil moisture and even the aviation community relies on the spacecraft to detect and track volcanic ash plumes for re-routing of aircraft.
NPP carries five instruments that provide imagery, atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, and land and ocean surface temperature observations, all of which are key ingredients for weather forecasting. In addition, the satellite will measure ozone levels and reflected solar radiation from the planet.
Construction of NPP's core structure was completed in 2005. But waiting on its advanced instruments and a final clearance to fly forced an exceptionally long hold in the countdown to launch.
Weighing 4,700 pounds, NPP was tucked into a special transport container and finally shipped out of Ball's satellite factory on Sunday.
There's been celebrations on both ends of the trip.
"We had a big tailgate party when we left," said Tennant. "And the guys had a nice barbecue for us out here. It's been a very, very pleasant welcome. Overdue. Fantastic. Can't believe we're here."
Now inside the commercially-run Astrotech processing hangar on North Vandenberg, the satellite will undergo final confidence-building functional tests, removal of instrument covers and the loading of 800 pounds of maneuvering propellant before going to the launch pad on October 7.
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket has been stacked atop the SLC-2 West pad in preparation for blastoff. The two-stage launcher is equipped with nine strap-on solid-fuel boosters to haul the payload into orbit.
"We have 9 days of margin in our schedule between the time we finish with all of our operations prior to getting installed on the launch vehicle," said Scott Compton, NPP integration and test manager at Ball. "It's looking very good."
Once in space, NPP will unfurl its power-generating solar array and begin a three-month commissioning period before entering service, Tennant said.[/size]
Цитироватьhttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/cali-arrive.htmlЦитироватьOn Tuesday, Aug. 30, NASA's next earth-observing research satellite arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to begin preparations for an October launch.
The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth.
The satellite will collect critical data to improve our understanding of long-term climate change and short-term weather conditions. With NPP, NASA continues many key data records initiated by the agency's Earth Observing System satellites by monitoring changes occurring in the atmosphere, oceans, vegetation, ice and solid Earth.
On Aug. 28, NPP was placed in a shipping container and loaded on a transport truck at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. After Tuesday's arrival, the satellite was unloaded and moved into the clean room at the AstroTech facility for launch preparation.
"The NPP team has produced an outstanding satellite and kept to schedule over the past year and a half," said Ken Schwer, NPP project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The world is looking forward to NPP's scientific measurements."
The NPP spacecraft will undergo prelaunch processing at Vandenberg, including a solar array functional test; a spacecraft limited performance test; and testing of the science instruments. Following these tests and a spacecraft launch simulation, the satellite will be fueled with its attitude control propellant.
NPP will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7920 expendable launch vehicle. The Delta II first stage was hoisted into position on the pad at NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 on July 20. By Aug. 2, the nine solid rocket boosters were attached, and the second stage was hoisted atop the first stage. Launch vehicle testing is under way.
The NPP spacecraft is scheduled to move to the pad and be mated with the rocket on Oct. 7. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 25 during a 9-minute and 10-second launch window from 5:48:01 to 5:57:11 a.m. EDT. The Delta II will place the satellite into a 512-mile high circular polar orbit.
NPP is the first satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting.
NPP serves as a bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System of satellites and the forthcoming Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Previously called the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, JPSS satellites will be developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NPP will carry five science instruments and test key technologies for the JPSS missions. Data from NPP will help scientists ensure a continuous record of environmental satellite data and also contribute to weather forecasting efforts. NOAA meteorologists will incorporate NPP data into their weather prediction models to produce accurate forecasts and warnings that will help emergency responders monitor and react to natural disasters.
Goddard manages the NPP mission on behalf of 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.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/19896.jpg)
Цитироватьhttp://robomaniac.com.ua/news/Research/NASA_NPP_Satellite_Earth_Browser_arrived_in_California_to_start_news.htmlЦитироватьНАСА: NPP Спутник-обозреватель Земли прибыл в Калифорнию для запуска
ВАШИНГТОН: Во вторник, 30 августа исследовательский спутник наблюдения Земли НАСА (NASA) прибыл на авиабазу Ванденберг (Vandenberg) в Калифорнию, чтобы начать подготовку к запуску в октябре.
Проект подготовки Национальной полярно-орбитальной спутниковой системы (NPP) является первым из нового поколения спутников, которые будут наблюдать за многими аспектами нашей изменяющейся Земли. Спутник будет собирать самые важные данные, чтобы улучшить наше понимание долгосрочных изменений климата и краткосрочных погодных условий. С NPP, НАСА продолжает многих ключевых записей данных под инициативой Агентства наблюдений Земли, которое осуществляет наблюдения за спутниками, отслеживая изменения, происходящие в атмосфере, океане, растительности, ледяной и твердой поверхности Земли. 28 августа NPP был помещен в контейнер и погружен на перевозное устройство компании Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp в г. Боулдер, штат Колорадо. После прибытия во вторник, спутник был выгружен и переехал в специально подготовленную очистительную кабину Astrotech, где ведется подготовка к его запуску.
«Команда NPP готовила выдающийся спутник в течение последних полутора года», сказал Кен Швер (Ken Schwer), руководитель проекта Центра космических полетов НАСА Годдарт в Гринбелте, штат Мэриленд , - «Мир с нетерпением ждет научных исследований NPP».
Космический аппарат NPP пройдет предстартовую обработку на станции Ванденберг, в том числе проверку функционирования солнечных батарей, тестирования производительности спутника, а также тестирование научных инструментов. После этих испытаний и моделирования запуска космических аппаратов, спутник будет работать на своем топливе управления в космосе.
NPP будет запущен с ракетоносителя одноразового применения United Launch Alliance Delta II 7920. Delta II на первом этапе становился в положение на площадку Космического стартового комплекса с 2 по 20 июля. 2 августа девять твердотопливных ускорителей ракеты были прикреплены, и на втором этапе ракета была поднята на вершину первой ступени. Проверка ракеты-носителя идет полным ходом.
Космический аппарат NPP должен перейти на площадку и быть сопряжен с ракетой 7 октября. Запуск запланирован на 25 октября во время 9-минутного и 10-секундного стартового запуска с 5:48:01 до 5:57:11 утра. Delta II переместит спутник на 512-мильную полярную орбиту.
NPP служит мостом между системой наблюдения спутников Земли НАСА Полярной спутниковой системой (JPSS). JPSS спутники будут разработаны НАСА для Национального управления океанических и атмосферных исследований (NOAA).
NPP будет перевозить научное оборудование для тестирования ключевых технологий миссий JPSS. Данные NPP помогут ученым обеспечить непрерывные записи экологических спутниковых данных, а также принесут вклад в прогнозирование погодных условий. NOAA метеорологи будут собирать данные для получения точных прогнозов погоды и предупреждений, которые помогут при аварийно-спасательных службах мониторинга и реагирования на стихийные бедствия.
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http://cio.gsfc.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2011/elvstatus-20110912_prt.htm
ЦитироватьSept. 12, 2011
Spacecraft: NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2
Launch Date: Oct. 25, 2011
Launch Window: 2:48:01 a.m. - 2:57:11 a.m. PDT (9 min., 10 sec.)
Orbital Altitude: 512 miles
At Vandenberg Air Force Base, the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft has completed the Spacecraft Limited Performance Test. A Spacecraft Launch Simulation also has been completed. Instrument testing now is under way, and propulsion system testing also is occurring this week.
With the successful launch of GRAIL at Cape Canaveral, United Launch Alliance team members will be returning to Vandenberg to resume testing of the Delta II for the NPP mission at NASA's Space Launch Complex 2.
NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions.[/size]
http://cio.gsfc.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2011/elvstatus-20110921.html
ЦитироватьSept. 21, 2011
STATUS REPORT : ELV-092111
At Vandenberg Air Force Base, instrument inspection and cleaning of the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft are under way and preparations for fueling the spacecraft have started. Loading of the hydrazine propellant currently is planned for Sept. 23. The NPP spacecraft will be transported to the launch pad for attachment to the Delta II rocket on Oct. 7.
United Launch Alliance team members have returned to Vandenberg from the GRAIL launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and have resumed testing of the Delta II rocket at NASA' s Space Launch Complex 2. Pneumatic system testing is under way on the first and second stages with control system testing scheduled for next week. This will be followed by loading of the first stage with liquid oxygen for a leak check on Sept. 29. It also will serve as a crew certification for the countdown on launch day, Oct. 25.
NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions.[/size]
http://www.spacenews.com/launch/111004-rocket-leaks-delay-npp-launch.html
ЦитироватьTue, 4 October, 2011
Rocket Leaks Delay NPP Launch[/size]
By Dan Leone
WASHINGTON — Launch of the first next-generation U.S. civil polar-orbiting weather satellite has been pushed back two days after preliftoff tests revealed leaky components in the Delta 2 rocket that will loft the satellite.
The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) now is scheduled to launch Oct. 27 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch window is 2:48 a.m. to 2:57 a.m. local time, NASA and launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) said in brief online notes posted Oct. 4.
Two components, a cracked hydraulic tube and a flexible connection between two exhaust ducts on the rocket, were to blame for the leaks, NASA said in an Oct. 4 statement. The cracked tube has been replaced. The damaged duct connection "is being removed and replaced," NASA said in the statement.
NPP was conceived as an instrument test bed for the now-canceled National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, a civil-military project involving NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Defense. NPP was elevated to an operational role following delays to that program, which was canceled in 2010.
NOAA will use the NPP satellite for operational weather forecasting; NASA will use the data for climate monitoring.
NPP is the final payload scheduled to be launched by the Delta 2, but ULA has five of the vehicles remaining in inventory. NASA on Sept. 30 added the Delta 2 to its NASA Launch Services 2 contract, making the vehicle available to launch agency payloads.[/size]
NASA Announces News Briefing On Next Earth Science LaunchЦитироватьWASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. EDT, on the agency's next Earth-observing satellite mission, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP), scheduled to launch on Oct. 27 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
NPP is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth. The mission will collect critical data to improve our understanding of long-term climate change and short-term weather conditions. With NPP, NASA continues many key data records of Earth's atmosphere, oceans, vegetation, and ice initiated by the agency's Earth Observing System satellites.
The panelists are:
- Andrew Carson, NPP program executive, NASA Headquarters
- Ken Schwer, NPP project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Dr. Jim Gleason, NPP project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center
- Dr. Louis Uccellini, director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Camp Springs, Md.
The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington. Reporters unable to attend in person may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Dwayne Brown at 202-358-1726 or dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov by 9 a.m. on Oct. 12.
The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the NPP mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/npp
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/oct/HQ_M11-208_NPP_HQ_Briefing.html
http://ria.ru/science/20111012/457523848.html
ЦитироватьМетеоспутник NPP продолжит 40-летнюю эстафету наблюдений за климатом[/size]
22:37 12/10/2011
МОСКВА, 12 окт - РИА Новости. Спутник NPP, который НАСА планирует запустить 27 октября, продолжит более чем 40-летнюю историю спутниковых исследований погоды и климата, став первым представителем "нового поколения" аппаратов, заявили участники проекта на пресс-конференции, которая транслировалась в прямом эфире на сайте НАСА.
Запуск NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) запланирован на 27 октября с базы ВВС Ванденберг в Калифорнии. Окно запуска открывается в 05.48 по времени восточного побережья (13.48 мск) и продлится чуть более девяти минут. Спутник выведет на орбиту ракета Delta II.
Аппарат массой 2,1 тонны планируется использовать как для краткосрочного прогнозирования погодных условий, так и для исследований климатических процессов. Спутник будет собирать данные об энергетическом балансе планеты, температуре, состоянии озонового слоя, загрязнении воздуха, а также наблюдать за ледовым покровом Арктики и Антарктики, растительностью и экстремальными погодными явлениями.
"NPP продолжит ряд из более чем 40 лет наблюдений, в том числе и эстафету "Терры", "Аквы" и "Ауры"... Он позволит нам получить более качественные наблюдения, более точные модели и, будем надеяться, более правильные решения", - сказал журналистам участник научной команды миссии Джим Глисон (Jim Gleason).
NPP присоединится к действующей орбитальной группировке метеорологических и климатических спутников, в которую, помимо аппаратов "Терра", "Аква" и "Аура", входят, например, спутник для исследования космической погоды SORCE, изучающий облака CloudSat, а также запущенный в 2011 году Acquarius для наблюдения за соленостью и температурой воды Мирового океана.
Представитель Национального управления океанических и атмосферных исследований США (NOAA) Луи Уццеллини (Louis Uccellini) отметил, что год запуска NPP выдался "очень показательным": к октябрю в США уже насчитывается 10 погодных катаклизмов, которые нанесли ущерб на сумму более 1 миллиарда долларов каждый. Всего за 2011 год "погодные" потери страны уже превысили 45 миллиардов долларов.
По его словам, ведомство ожидает, что NPP проработает на орбите не менее пяти лет. Представитель НАСА, менеджер проекта в Центре космических полетов имени Годдарда (GSFC) Кен Швер (Ken Schwer) добавил, что изначально пять инструментов спутника разрабатывались в расчете на семь лет службы.
"Однако в процессе их конструирования и испытаний мы обнаружили существенные отклонения, которые несколько увеличивают риск для аппарата... Все инструменты работают корректно, но эти отклонения могут сказаться на сроке их службы", - сказал Швер.
Он также напомнил, что NPP задумывался прежде всего как "испытательный полигон" для системы спутников нового поколения JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System). Первый из двух спутников JPSS планируется запустить в 2016-2017 годах.
Общая стоимость миссии NPP оценивается примерно в 1,5 миллиарда долларов с учетом затрат НАСА, NOAA и Министерства обороны США.[/size]
[NPP] Science News Briefing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWeD-UOS2TM
NASA Readies New Type of Earth-Observing Satellite for Launch
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/launch-prep.html
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20606.jpg) (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/595390main_npp-launch-prep.jpg)
Надо же, а я думал что Дельты-2 уже закончились. Их вроде бы давненько уже не производят.
Ещё пять штук есть кроме этой и NASA подумывает о том, чтобы их использовать.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html
ЦитироватьOct. 28 Delta 2 • NPP
Launch window: 0948:01-0957:11 GMT (5:48:01-5:57:11 a.m. EDT)
http://www.zarya.info/Calendar.php
ЦитироватьThe launcher also carries six cubesats:
Explorer 1 Prime - for Montana State University to measuring the radiation belts as discovered by the original Explorer 1, replaces the satellite lost in the failed Glory launch earlier in 2011,
AubieSat - Auburn University Student Space Program - to measure gamma rays produced by high-altitude thunderstorms,
M-Cubed - imaging satellite from the University of Michigan,
RAX-2 (Radio Aurora Explorer) - University of Michigan student-built satellite to study energy flow in the ionosphere,
DICE 1 (Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment) - one of a pair of satellites to measure plasma and electric fields in the ionosphere and gauge their effects on satellites in orbit,
DICE 2 (Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment) - one of a pair of satellites to measure plasma and electric fields in the ionosphere and gauge their effects on satellites in orbit.[/size]
http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/docs/missionbooklets/DII/dii_npp_mob.PDF
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/596877main_NPP_PressKit_Color.pdf
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/111024preview/
ЦитироватьPolar orbiter going up to improve weather forecasting[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 24, 2011
A satellite whose mission will touch the lives of everyone on Earth by taking the planet's environmental pulse daily for global weather forecasting and meticulous tracking of the changing climate will be launched into space Friday morning atop what's potentially the final Delta 2 rocket.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20791.jpg)
An artist's concept of the NPP spacecraft. Credit: Ball Aerospace
The $1.5 billion mission of the NPP spacecraft will extend the data records from NASA's aging science observatories and serve as a gapfiller in NOAA's polar-orbiting weather satellite constellation for a half-decade while waiting for the next generation.
"There is value to knowing what tomorrow will bring. Whether by tomorrow we mean literally as in the weather forecast, or by tomorrow we mean something longer -- the future Earth environment that we can expect to be living in months, years, decades from now, and that our children and grandchildren will be living in," said Waleed Abdalati, NASA's chief scientist.
The U.S. has been flying weather satellites that circle from pole to pole since the dawn of the space age. Unlike the geostationary platforms parked 22,300 miles above the Earth's equator that monitor only a portion of the planet, the polar birds fly much lower and survey the whole globe to see conditions develop and give warning of incoming storms.
"What happens in far away places matters in places where people live," said Abdalati.
Friday's liftoff is targeted for 2:48 a.m. local time (5:48 a.m. EDT; 0948 GMT) from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, located on the Pacific coastline about 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The venerable Delta 2 rocket, making its 151st and possibly last launch, has no further missions on the manifest. Maker United Launch Alliance has five more of the vehicles available for sales to the U.S. government and commercial satellite operators, but it remains to be seen if any will fly.
For this its 50th ascent in service to NASA, the Delta 2 will haul the 2.5-ton payload into a 512-mile-high orbit tilted 98.7 degrees to the equator, enabling the craft to cover the entire planet.
"We get to watch it fly south over the Pacific Ocean and on into orbit, then we all rush back inside, tell our team on the east coast to get to work on flight ops, make sure we got into the correct orbit and our solar array deployed," said Scott Tennant, NPP program manager at satellite-builder Ball Aerospace.
"Then we party."
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20792.jpg)
An artist's concept shows the Delta's second stage accelerating NPP into orbit. Credit: NASA TV
Engineers working on the satellite have been waiting years to see NPP launch. Construction of the craft's core structure was completed in 2005, but then came a lengthy delay to finish the state-of-the-art instruments.
NPP carries five sensor packages to provide imagery, atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, and land and ocean surface temperature observations, all of which are key ingredients for weather forecasting. In addition, the satellite will measure ozone levels and reflected solar radiation from the planet.
"The nation isn't always aware of the benefits of taxpayer investment into big projects like NPP. But with more sophisticated Earth observing sensors aboard NPP, the National Weather Service will be able to demonstrate this value by saving even more lives and reducing economic losses with more-accurate forecasters and longer lead times," said Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service.
While NOAA uses NPP to test the vitality of the modernized sensors for watching the weather, NASA will add the satellite's measurements to its long-term compilation of climate data.
"People often confuse climate and weather. Weather is what's going to happen tomorrow or this upcoming weekend; climate is what happens over years and decades," said Jim Gleason, the NPP project scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Climate is long-term behavior, weather patterns over time. These are the patterns that make it easier to grow corn in Iowa than in Arizona. Simply put, climate is what you expect, weather is what you get."
The three large science satellites in NASA's Earth Observing System -- Terra, Aqua and Aura -- were launched in 1999, 2002 and 2004, respectively, and won't last forever. NPP will continue writing their data records about the planet's atmosphere, oceans and vegetation during its planned five-year mission.
"NPP is a bridge to next-generation of Earth observing satellites that will provide climate data that are critical to NASA's Earth science research. NPP will help us understand what tomorrow will bring -- whether by tomorrow we mean tomorrow's forecast or we mean years and decades from now," said Andrew Carson, NASA's NPP program executive.
"NPP will continue these key measurements which are critical to understanding the health of our planet now as well as how things might change in the future."
For meteorologists, they are looking forward to the enhanced data from NPP to improve the quality of forecasting the weather.
"As end users the global data we will receive from this advanced satellite, we at the National Weather Service are really excited in anticipation of getting it into operations as quickly as we can," said Hayes.
"In addition to the advanced sensors' higher resolution technology, NPP will give us critical information from the entire Earth surface twice a day. This additional data will give National Weather Service forecasters more knowledge days in advance about the strength of a storm."
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20793.jpg)
An artist's concept illustrates NPP's polar orbit. Credit: NASA
Sophisticated numerical models run on the world's fastest computers ingest over a billion observations per day to generate daily weather forecasts.
"The backbone of that global observing system is the polar satellite data that both NASA and NOAA have worked on for decades to improve the operational forecast systems. So the launch of the NPP is a big deal for America," said Louis Uccellini, director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.
"With NPP's advanced microwave, infrared and visible data feeding NOAA's operational weather prediction models, we expect to improve our forecast skills and extend those forecast skills out to five-to-seven days in advance for hurricanes, severe weather outbreaks and other extreme weather events," Uccellini continued.
"Beyond the weather forecasting, NOAA will use NPP data to track ash plumes from volcanic eruptions to enhance aviation safety, monitor crops, vegetation, the potential for drought and fires, measure variation in the Arctic sea ice and detect harmful algae blooms and other hazards that might endanger fisheries in fragile ocean ecosystems."
At the Space Launch Complex 2 pad, technicians plan to load storable hypergolic propellants into the Delta 2 rocket's second stage Monday and Tuesday. The Launch Readiness Review will be held Wednesday, leading into the countdown activities that begin Thursday afternoon. You can follow launch preparations in our Mission Status Center with journal updates and live streaming video.
If you will be away from your computer but would like to receive occasional countdown updates, sign up for our Twitter feed to get text message updates on your cellphone. U.S. readers can also sign up from their phone by texting "follow spaceflightnow" to 40404. (Standard text messaging charges apply.)
And check out Spaceflight Now's Facebook page for mobile pictures over the next few days.[/size]
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/flow/
ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Delta first stage stacked[/size]
On-pad assembly of the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket for the NPP climate and weather observatory began at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2 with erection of the first stage on July 20.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Interstage adapter put in place[/size]
The barrel-like interstage is hoisted atop the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2 on July 21.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Solid rocket boosters added[/size]
The nine ATK-made solid-fuel strap-on boosters were attached to the Delta 2 rocket's first stage between July 28 and August 1 at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2 for the NPP satellite mission.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/flow/index4.html
ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Second stage installed[/size]
The second stage that will deliver the NPP climate and weather observatory into the desired polar orbit was hoisted atop the Delta 2 rocket's first stage at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex 2 on August 2.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/flow/index5.html
ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Satellite mounted atop Delta 2 rocket[/size]
The NPP climate and weather observatory was moved on May 20 from the payload processing facility on North Vandenberg to the Space Launch Complex 2 and hoisted atop the Delta 2 rocket on October 13.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/flow/index6.html
ЦитироватьPhoto Gallery: Nose cone installed around NPP[/size]
The Delta 2 rocket's two-piece nose cone was installed around the NPP climate and weather observatory to complete the launcher's assembly process on October 20.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Credit: NASA/VAFB[/size]
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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/track.html
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http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/ascent.html
ЦитироватьDelta 357 launch timeline[/size]
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 21, 2011
T-00:00 Liftoff
The Delta 2 rocket's main engine and twin vernier steering thrusters are started moments before launch. Six of the nine strap-on solid rocket motors are ignited at T-0 to begin the mission.
T+01:04.0 Ground SRB Burnout
The six ground-start Alliant TechSystems-built solid rocket motors consume all their propellant and burn out.
T+01:05.5 Air-Lit SRM Ignition
The three remaining solid rocket motors strapped to the Delta 2 rocket's first stage are ignited.
T+01:26.0 Jettison SRBs
The spent solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Pacific Ocean. The spent casings remained attached until the vehicle passed into preset drop zone, clear of offshore oil platforms.
T+02:11.5 Jettison Air-Lit SRMs
Having burned out, the three spent air-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned toward the Pacific Ocean.
T+04:23.4 Main Engine Cutoff
After consuming its RP-1 fuel and liquid oxygen, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A first stage main engine is shut down. The vernier engines cut off moments later.
T+04:31.4 Stage Separation
The Delta rocket's first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Pacific Ocean.
T+04:36.9 Second Stage Ignition
With the stage jettisoned, the rocket's second stage takes over. The Aerojet AJ118-K liquid-fueled engine ignites for the first of two firings needed to place the NPP spacecraft into the proper orbit.
T+04:41.0 Jettison Payload Fairing
The 10-foot diameter payload fairing that protected the NPP cargo atop the Delta 2 during the atmospheric ascent is jettisoned is two halves.
T+10:23.7 Second Stage Cutoff 1
The second stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached spacecraft are now in a long coast period before the second stage reignites. The orbit achieved should be 460 nautical miles at apogee, 100 miles at perigee and inclined 98.655 degrees.
T+52:05.0 Second Stage Restart
Delta's second stage engine reignites for a short firing to boost the elliptical orbit into a more circular one.
T+52:26.7 Second Stage Cutoff 2
The second stage shuts down after a 22-second burn. The orbit achieved should be 445.7 nautical miles at apogee, 438.8 miles at perigee and inclined 98.705 degrees.
T+58:45.0 NPP Separation
The NPOESS Preparatory Project spacecraft for NOAA and NASA is released from the Delta 2 rocket, completing the primary launch sequence.
T+92:30.0 Second Stage Restart
Delta's second stage engine reignites for 39 seconds to perform its planned evasive maneuver to leave the orbital plane of the NPP satellite, resulting in a new orbit of 437.6 nautical miles at apogee, 183.6 nautical miles at perigee and inclined 101.8 degrees.
T+98:20.0 CubeSat Deploys
A half-dozen student-made CubeSats are ejected from carriers on the Delta second stage in three deployment events occurring in 100-second intervals. AubieSat 1, DICE, Explorer 1 (Prime) Unit 2, M-Cubed and RAX 2 are part of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNa.
T+114:58.6 Second Stage Restart
Delta's second stage engine reignites for 32 seconds to deplete its remaining fuel supply, resulting in a new orbit of 399.0 nautical miles at apogee, 100.1 nautical miles at perigee and inclined 107.5 degrees.[/size]
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/111025npp/
ЦитироватьNPP: The next-generation weather watcher from space[/size]
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: October 25, 2011
Roughly the size of a sports utility vehicle, the environmental satellite launching from America's western spaceport Friday morning carries a suite of modernized instruments to see Earth's weather with crisper clarity than its decades of predecessors.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20857.jpg)
The NPP spacecraft. Credit: Ball Aerospace
The NPP spacecraft will ride a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket into its orbital vantage point, looping from pole to pole some 512 miles up.
Built in Colorado by Ball Aerospace, NPP is the experimental precursor to the planned next-generation of weather and climate spacecraft that NASA and NOAA have begun developing, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System.
"It will fly five instruments -- VIIRS, CrIS, ATMS, OMPS and CERES -- which will collect data on atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity soundings, land and ocean biological productivity, and cloud and aerosol properties, along with Earth radiation budget data. These data will contribute to long-term data records in support of monitoring climate trends," said Andrew Carson, NASA's NPP program executive.
Weighing 2.5 tons and measuring 13 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, the craft has a hydrazine fuel tank at its core for feeding 8 maneuvering thrusters. It uses Firewire for onboard data transfers, communicates with the ground via S- and X-band frequencies and runs on solar power from its three-panel wing that gets deployed minutes after reaching orbit.
"Data will be transmitted to the ground-receive station in Svalbard, Norway, and brought back to the U.S. via fiber-optic cables. From there it will be sent to both the Air Force Weather Agency and the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility where it will be processed and provided to scientists and meteorologists around the world," Carson said.
Four of the instruments are updated versions of previous spaceborne devices, while the fifth comes from earlier NASA observatories.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20858.jpg)
This illustration depicts the key features of NPP. Credit: NASA
The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will produce those familiar pictures of clouds, plus take sea-surface temperatures for hurricane forecasting and perform land and ocean color surveys.
This advanced environmental instrument is 10 years in the making.
"It provides data products that result in action," said Warren Flynn, VIIRS program director at Raytheon.
"It provides four times better spectral resolution, three times better spatial resolution, seven times better sea-surface temperatures. It has a fully calibrated day-night band that gives us better weather coverage at night. It is taking visible radiometric imagery to the next level."
The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is another state-of-the-art instrument representing next-generation technology built smaller and less massive than before.
"What's unique about microwave sounders is (they) can see through clouds. We see all the way to ground. We provide that water vapor, temperature, pressure profile from all the way on altitude to the ground," said Stephen Opel, civil space program manager at Northrop Grumman.
"It is a significant amount of data that comes up through a 1.1-degree soda straw from the ground."
The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is half the size and uses half the power of comparable spectrometers previously flown in space.
"CrIS is a hyperspectral infrared sounder, which is a real fancy way of saying it takes a lot of channels of data (from) a very compact infrared device. It is the next in a long line of sounders that ITT has built," said Mark Poling, CrIS program manager at ITT Geospatial Systems.
"It provides data to measure water vapor, temperature and pressure profiles from the ground all the way up to many thousands of feet. That allows numerical weather predictions to be much more accurate."
The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) will provide three views to continue the long-term data record of ozone measurements from satellites.
"It is called a 'suite' because there are three distinct instruments aboard. One is called the Limb Profiler -- it looks off the backend of the spacecraft looking at the orbit where we've just passed...The other two instruments are nadir that will look straight down from the bottom of the spacecraft. Total Column has a very wide field of view -- over 100 degrees -- and Profiler is a much smaller field of view -- around 16 degrees. Together these provide a total column of ozone from the stratosphere all the way down to the Earth," said Joan Howard, program manager at Ball Aerospace.
"We also provide countless data modes so scientists will be able to mine the data for trace gas analyses and other things that we as engineers haven't even invented yet for scientists."
The Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES) is the one instrument aboard NPP that is borrowed from earlier satellite missions to take the planet's temperature and measure the Sun's radiation reflected off Earth.
"CERES monitors this radiance in three distinct wavelength bands -- a shortwave band that includes all of the solar reflected light, a longwave band that measures the thermal emissions and then a total channel that goes from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared that measures the entire radiance of the Earth," said Mark Folkman, Northrop Grumman's director of products and sensing.
"These three sensor channels are scanned back and forth across the surface of the Earth at 30 km of spatial resolution day-in-and-day-out, day-and-night, all around the globe. The trick here is that measurement is done with an unprecedented amount of absolute radiometric accuracy. By measuring the reflected sunlight thermal emission on a global scale, scientists are allowed to monitor the temperature of the planet and validate the models that calculate the effects of clouds driving planetary heating or cooling."
Given its testbed role in checking out these new instruments for their inclusion on the next-generation polar-orbiting weather and climate satellites, officials say it will take some time before NPP is fully operational.
"There's over 30 data products from NPP. We expect to have some operational data within 18 months," said Jim Gleason, the NPP project scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "My guess (is) the most critical data sets will be much sooner, probably in the six-month timeframe for microwave radiances and longer for the more-complicated data products."[/size]
NPP Being Readied for LaunchЦитироватьThe Delta II rocket with it's NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload is seen as the service structure is rolled back on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. NPP is the first NASA satellite mission to address the challenge of acquiring a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric measurements for Earth system science while simultaneously preparing to address operational requirements for weather forecasting. NPP is scheduled to launch early Friday morning.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2092.html
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Погода благоволит запуску нового метеоспутника NPP в пятницуЦитироватьМОСКВА, 28 окт - РИА Новости. Американское космическое агентство НАСА в пятницу запустит с базы ВВС Ванденберг в Калифорнии новый метеоспутник NPP, который продолжит более чем 40-летнюю историю спутниковых исследований погоды и климата - прогноз погодных условий на старт, по интересному совпадению, на 100% благоприятный.
Старт запланирован на 05.48 по времени восточного побережья (13.48 мск) пятницы, 28 октября, окно запуска продлится чуть более девяти минут. Спутник выведет на орбиту ракета Delta II.
"Прогноз погоды остается безупречным, вероятность благоприятных погодных условий на время старта оценивается в 100%", - говорится в сообщении НАСА.
Ракета-носитель Delta II, которая должна вывести аппарат на плановую траекторию, имеет практически безупречную историю полетов: из 150 запусков 148 прошли успешно. В одном случае аппарат был выведен на нерасчетную орбиту, что впоследствии удалось компенсировать, и лишь в 1997 году при запуске спутника GPS ракета из-за повреждения взорвалась через 13 секунд после старта.
Аппарат массой 2,1 тонны планируется использовать как для краткосрочного прогнозирования погодных условий, так и для исследований климатических процессов. Спутник будет собирать данные об энергетическом балансе планеты, температуре, состоянии озонового слоя, загрязнении воздуха, а также наблюдать за ледовым покровом Арктики и Антарктики, растительностью и экстремальными погодными явлениями.
NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) присоединится к действующей орбитальной группировке метеорологических и климатических спутников, в которую, помимо аппаратов "Терра", "Аква" и "Аура", входят, например, спутник для исследования космической погоды SORCE, изучающий облака CloudSat, а также запущенный в 2011 году Acquarius для наблюдения за соленостью и температурой воды Мирового океана.
Общая стоимость миссии NPP оценивается примерно в 1,5 миллиарда долларов с учетом затрат НАСА, NOAA и Министерства обороны США.
http://ria.ru/science/20111028/473003600.html
По NASA TV (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html) идет трансляция.
Летит!
мдя...
трансляция просто, красиво, информационно, то что надо
был момент перед разделением эффектный, надо бы запись найти
http://www.astronomy.ru/forum/index.php/topic,60764.msg1720165.html#msg1720165
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUbblzAoSoQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSCWiYTjOtI
Ракета Delta II с метеоспутником NPP стартовала в Калифорнии
http://ria.ru/science/20111028/473466430.html
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26122.msg823146#msg823146
ЦитироватьLaunch time: 0948:01.828UTC
Цитироватьhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSCWiYTjOtI
с 4:38 :D
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NPP отделился, СБ развернута.
2-я ступень выполняет еще одно включение.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/status.html
Цитировать4:30 a.m. local (7:30 a.m. EDT; 1130 GMT)
This is the 96th consecutive successful Delta 2 rocket launch dating back to May 1997. The Delta 2's overall history since debuting in 1989 has achieved 149 successes in 151 flights.
There's no additional Delta 2 rocket launches currently scheduled. But ULA has five more vehicles available that the company hopes to sell in the future.
4:29 a.m. local (7:29 a.m. EDT; 1129 GMT)
T+plus 101 minutes, 47 seconds. P-POD 3 DEPLOY! A pair of DICE satellites has been released from the Delta 2 rocket, officially completing this launch!
The Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment will obtain electric field and electron density measurements for space weather research. The mission partners include Utah State, Clemson, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Atmospheric and Space Technology Research Associates.
4:28 a.m. local (7:28 a.m. EDT; 1128 GMT)
T+plus 100 minutes, 9 seconds. P-POD 2 DEPLOY! RAX 2 has separated from the launcher.
The Radio Aurora Explorer 2, also from the University of Michigan, will study the microphysics that lead to plasma conditions that disrupt satellite communications.
4:26 a.m. local (7:26 a.m. EDT; 1128 GMT)
T+plus 98 minutes, 45 seconds. P-POD 1 DEPLOY! AubieSat 1, Explorer 1 (Prime) and M-Cubed have ejected from their dispenser on the Delta 2 rocket.
AubieSat 1 was made by Auburn University undergraduate students to study radio wave propagation through the ionosphere and test protective films for solar panels.
Explorer 1 (Prime) Unit 2 from Montana State University also plans to probe space weather by monitoring trapped electrons in the horns of the radiation belts. It is named for America's first satellite in space.
M-Cubed -- the Michigan Multipurpose Minisat -- comes from the University of Michigan to image the Earth and demonstrate the craft's design for use by future projects.
4:25 a.m. local (7:25 a.m. EDT; 1125 GMT)
T+plus 97 minutes. The Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) is built just up the road from the Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site by California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo
4:23 a.m. local (7:23 a.m. EDT; 1123 GMT)
T+plus 95 minutes. Besides hauling the NPP environmental observatory to orbit this morning, a half-dozen student-made hitchhikers are launching aboard the Delta 2 rocket from California.
After releasing the primary payload and maneuvering into a different orbit, the rocket will issue commands to eject the minuscule CubeSats from their P-POD carriers affixed to the second stage booster.
AubieSat 1, DICE, Explorer 1 (Prime) Unit 2, M-Cubed and RAX 2 are their names. Together, they are getting to ride the NASA-funded rocket as part of the space agency's second Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNa 2, project.
4:22 a.m. local (7:22 a.m. EDT; 1122 GMT)
T+plus 94 minutes, 15 seconds. The second stage has successfully completed the burn designed to move out of the orbital plane of NPP. This is known as the evasive burn, and puts the rocket into an elliptical orbit.[/size]
Метеоспутник NPP выведен на расчетную орбитуЦитироватьМОСКВА, 28 окт - РИА Новости. Ракета-носитель Delta II, стартовавшая с базы ВВС Ванденберг в Калифорнии в 13.48 мск, успешно вывела новый американский метеоспутник NPP на расчетную орбиту, аппарат раскрыл солнечные батареи, сообщило американское космическое агентство НАСА.
Запуск транслировался в прямом эфире на сайте агентства. Таким образом, из 151 запуска Delta II успешно прошли 149. В одном случае аппарат был выведен на нерасчетную орбиту, что впоследствии удалось компенсировать, и лишь в 1997 году при запуске спутника GPS ракета из-за повреждения взорвалась через 13 секунд после старта.
Запущенный аппарат массой 2,1 тонны планируется использовать как для краткосрочного прогнозирования погодных условий, так и для исследований климатических процессов. Спутник будет собирать данные об энергетическом балансе планеты, температуре, состоянии озонового слоя, загрязнении воздуха, а также наблюдать за ледовым покровом Арктики и Антарктики, растительностью и экстремальными погодными явлениями.
NPP (NPOESS Preparatory Project) присоединится к действующей орбитальной группировке метеорологических и климатических спутников, в которую, помимо аппаратов "Терра", "Аква" и "Аура", входят, например, спутник для исследования космической погоды SORCE и изучающий облака CloudSat, а также запущенный в этом году Acquarius для наблюдения за соленостью и температурой воды Мирового океана.
Общая стоимость миссии NPP оценивается примерно в 1,5 миллиарда долларов с учетом затрат НАСА, Национального управления океанических и атмосферных исследований США (NOAA) и американского Минобороны.
http://ria.ru/science/20111028/473534960.html
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/mstrollback/index2.html
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20906.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20907.jpg)
Ракета-носитель Delta II доставила на орбиты 6 микроспутниковЦитироватьМОСКВА, 28 окт - РИА Новости. Все шесть микроспутников американских университетов по программе CubeSat, запущенных в пятницу вместе с метеоспутником NPP, успешно выведены на орбиты, сообщило американское космическое агентство НАСА.
Ракета-носитель Delta II со спутниками стартовала с базы ВВС Ванденберг в Калифорнии в 13.48 мск. Основным ее грузом стал спутник для исследований погоды и климата NPP, который ранее вышел на расчетную орбиту и раскрыл солнечные батареи.
Отделение спутников CubeSat началось примерно через 40 минут после отделения NPP. Микроспутники отделялись от второй ступени тремя равными партиями в течение 200 секунд.
Аппарат AubieSat-1 Обернского университета, штат Алабама, будет исследовать гамма-излучение, возникающее при грозовых разрядах в атмосфере. Похожий микроспутник "Чибис-М", созданный Институтом космических исследований РАН и Физическим институтом имени Лебедева (ФИАН), российские космонавты должны запустить с борта МКС с помощью транспортного корабля "Прогресс" в ноябре.
Спутники-"близнецы" DICE (Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment) университета штата Юта, а также RAX-2 (Radio Auroral Explorer 2) Мичиганского университета будут наблюдать за состоянием ионосферы Земли. Аппарат M-Cubed Мичиганского же университета, по замыслу его создателей, сделает карту поверхности Земли со средним разрешением, охватив как минимум 60% суши.
Спутник E1P-U2 (Explorer-1 [PRIME] Unit 2) университета штата Монтана изначально создавался как резервный для спутника E1P, который вместе с "климатическим" спутником НАСА Glory должна была вывести на орбиту ракета-носитель Taurus XL. Запуск в марте 2011 года закончился неудачей: ракета не сбросила обтекатель, не смогла выйти на расчетную орбиту и упала в южной части Тихого океана. E1P-U2 повторит с помощью современных технологий эксперимент, который был поставлен с помощью первого в истории США спутника Explorer 1 в 1958 году. Последний обнаружил существование поясов ван Аллена - областей, в которых накапливаются "пойманные" магнитосферой Земли высокоэнергичные заряженные частицы.
http://ria.ru/science/20111028/473568749.html
Gallery: Delta rocket streaks to spaceЦитироватьThe Delta 2 rocket pierces a star-filled sky on its way to orbit carrying the NPP climate and weather observatory. These two long-exposure images show the launch sequence from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Photo credit: Ben Cooper/Spaceflight Now
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/streak/
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20918.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20919.jpg)
Gallery: Delta rocket launches with NPPЦитироватьThe NPP advanced environmental satellite to observe our home planet's weather and climate lifted off aboard the workhorse Delta 2 rocket at
2:48 a.m. local (5:48 a.m. EDT; 0948 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.
Photo credit: Ben Cooper/Spaceflight Now
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d357/remotes/
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/multimedia/gallery/gallery-index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/599595main_2011-10-28-1_full.jpg
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20924.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/20929.jpg)
NPP Launches on Earth-Observing Mission
The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project, or NPP, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base this morning, on a mission to measure both global climate changes and key weather variables.
http://anon.nasa-global.edgesuite.net/HD_downloads/npp_launch_1080i.wmv (228 MB)
http://anon.nasa-global.edgesuite.net/HD_downloads/npp_launch_720p.wmv (151 MB)
http://anon.nasa-global.edgesuite.net/HD_downloads/npp_launch_480i.wmv (106 MB)
NASA's NPP Satellite Acquires First VIIRS ImageЦитироватьGREENBELT, Md. -- The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard NASA's newest Earth-observing satellite, NPP, acquired its first measurements on Nov. 21, 2011. This high-resolution image is of a broad swath of Eastern North America from Canada's Hudson Bay past Florida to the northern coast of Venezuela. The VIIRS data were processed at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, Md.
VIIRS is one of five instruments onboard the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite that launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Oct. 28. Since then, NPP reached its final orbit at an altitude of 512 miles (824 kilometers), powered on all instruments and is traveling around the Earth at 16,640 miles an hour (eight kilometers per second).
"This image is a next step forward in the success of VIIRS and the NPP mission," said James Gleason, NPP project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
VIIRS will collect radiometric imagery in visible and infrared wavelengths of the Earth's land, atmosphere, and oceans. By far the largest instrument onboard NPP, VIIRS weighs about 556 pounds (252 kilograms). Its data, collected from 22 channels across the electromagnetic spectrum, will be used to observe the Earth's surface including fires, ice, ocean color, vegetation, clouds, and land and sea surface temperatures.
"VIIRS heralds a brightening future for continuing these essential measurements of our environment and climate," said Diane Wickland, NPP program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington. She adds that all of NPP's five instruments will be up and running by mid-December and NPP will begin 2012 by sending down complete data.
"NPP is right on track to ring in the New Year," said Ken Schwer, NPP project manager at NASA Goddard. "Along with VIIRS, NPP carries four more instruments that monitor the environment on Earth and the planet's climate, providing crucial information on long-term patterns to assess climate change and data used by meteorologists to improve short-term weather forecasting."
NPP serves as a bridge mission from NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) of satellites to the next-generation Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program that will also collect weather and climate data. NASA Goddard manages the NPP mission for the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The JPSS program provides the NPP ground system and NOAA provides operational support.
During NPP's five-year life, the mission will extend more than 30 key long-term datasets that include measurements of the atmosphere, land and oceans. NASA has been tracking many of these properties for decades. NPP will continue measurements of land surface vegetation, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric ozone that began more than 25 years ago.
"The task now for the science community is to evaluate VIIRS performance and determine the accuracy of its data products," said Chris Justice a professor of geography at the University of Maryland, College Park, who will be using VIIRS data in his research.
"These long-term data records are critical in monitoring how the Earth's surface is changing - either from human activity or through climate change."
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/viirs-firstlight.html
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http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/606078main_NPP_VIIRSfull.jpg 8 мегабайт
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21316.jpg)
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/606076main_VIIRS_Swath.jpg 18 мегабайт :) :)
Первый снимок, меньше чем через 30 дней после пуска. Удачной судьбы новой платформе.
Ох, граждане, это что ж такое делается-то? :shock:
Судя по американским данным, два кубика из этого запуска не пожелали разделиться и летают вместе...
А SCN 37850 отошел к обломку жертвы "Иридиума".
2011-061A 37849 NPP
1993-036BPE 37850 COSMOS 2251 DEB
2011-061B 37851 DICE 1
2011-061C 37852 DICE 2
2011-061D 37853 RAX-2
2011-061E 37854 AUBIESAT-1
2011-061F 37855 M-CUBED/EXP-1 PRIME
Не, вы только вдумайтесь: пуск состоялся 28 октября. В Satellite Situation Report от 31 октября даются 8 объектов (NPP и ступень легко вычленяются, плюс к этому шесть мелких). Эти шесть мелких присутствуют в Satellite Situation Report'ах 7, 14, 21, 28 ноября. Орбиты у них примерно одинаковые - 101.7°, [814...817] х [455...457] км.
А вот в отчете от 5 декабря (крибле-крабле) мелких остается только пять. Шестой объект волшебным образом оказывается на орбите 74.0°, 848 х 764 км.
Всё, занавес. :twisted:
Собственно говоря - а как M-Cubed и E-1 Prime могли не разделиться, если они никак между собой не скреплены изначально? Антеннами сцепились что ли?
Больше верится в то, что один из них по какой-то причине не вышел из контейнера P-POD (силы пружины не хватило или еще почему-то). Знать бы еще, кто в этом стручке последним сидел. :roll:
ЦитироватьНе, вы только вдумайтесь:
...
Всё, занавес. :twisted:
Норад в последнее время совсем охренел :cry:
Не в этом дело.
Дело в том, что они в течение месяца сопровождали 6 объектов, при том, что в реальности их (как получается) было пять.
Не месяц - пол-месяца. Но не суть.
Вообще конечно по-уму для того, чтобы понять, как из пяти получилось шесть, надо брать все наборы на все 6 мелких - и сортировать где кто.
На радиолюбительских частотах слышны оба сиамских близнеца:
http://umcubed.org/
ЦитироватьM-Cubed Docked to E1-P?
December 6th, 2011
What was initially just a "thinking outside the cube" theory has now become much more of a reality. When we first started diagnosing why M-Cubed was so quiet and why we weren't receiving beacons at expected intervals, we threw out the idea that perhaps it was stuck to Explorer 1-Prime. After studying the Doppler shifts of both satellites, we have concluded the consistent correspondance between the two sats is far more than a coincidence. Also, NORAD has not picked up any further satellites between the two objects we believe are M-Cubed and E1-P.
The image below shows exactly how close M-Cubed and E1-P's Doppler's match up.
The spectogram below shows that E1-P may actually be amplifying and mirroring M-Cubed's signal. A special thanks to Mike Rupprecht (DK3DWN) and Tetsu san (JA0CAW) for their continued work tracking M-Cubed around the world!
Т.е. из контейнера они вышли.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2012/01/20/04.xml&headline=NPP%20Commissioning%20Resumes%20After%20VIRS%20Anomaly
ЦитироватьNPP Commissioning Resumes After VIRS Anomaly[/size]
(http://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/space_images/NASA/Miscellaneous/NPP-NASA.jpg)
Jan 20, 2012
By Frank Morring, Jr.
Controllers have restarted on-orbit checkout of the Npoess Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, which was suspended last year after the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor begin losing sensitivity in four of its channels.
The spacecraft originally was scheduled to become fully operational in December, but its commissioning was put on hold while the VIIRS problem was analyzed.
Engineers found the Raytheon-built instrument's mirror was contaminated with tungsten oxides, possibly as a result of nonstandard processing when the mirror was coated. The irreversible contamination appears limited to the VIIRS mirror, and managers expect mirror darkening to stop at a level that will permit it to operate within design requirements.
It will take about six weeks to complete commissioning, which resumed on Jan. 18. The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder, which was the first instrument activated in November, is already generating scientific data for snow and rain studies.
Ultimately VIIRS will collect radiometric imagery of the land, atmosphere and oceans in 22 visible and infrared wavelengths. In addition to the remaining VIIRS channels, NASA says three other instruments remain to be commissioned: the Cross-track Infrared Sounder, the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System.
Problems with VIIRS contributed to massive projected overruns on the ill-fated Npoess (National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System) civil/military weather satellite program, for which NPP was designed as a pathfinder. Npoess eventually was canceled.[/size]
NPP переименован в Suomi NPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) - в честь "отца спутниковой метеорологии" Verner E. Suomi.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/jan/HQ_12-026_NPP_Name.html
http://npp.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/feature2012-0126.html
Тематическая информация с аппарата - циклоны
'First Light' Taken by NASA's Newest CERES Instrument
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/npp-ceres-firstlight.html
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VIIRS Eastern Hemisphere Image - Behind the Scenes
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/viirs-globe-east.html
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22587.jpg)
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Infrared Sounder on NASA's Suomi NPP Starts its Mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/cris-operational.html
http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=1517421174
February 29, 2012
Northrop Grumman... Radiant Streams Collection
Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built instrument aboard...
...NASA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (Suomi NPP), was activated and has delivered its first images. The CERES model on Suomi NPP is known as Flight Model 5 (FM5). It is the sixth CERES instrument to be launched on a variety of NASA platforms, which include the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Earth Observing System (EOS) TERRA, and EOS AQUA. TERRA and AQUA each carry two CERES instruments. CERES instruments are broadband radiometers that measure the amount of reflected sunlight and thermal energy emitted by the Earth and its atmosphere.
CERES allows scientists to collect data to monitor the temperature of the planet and validate models that calculate the effect of clouds in driving planetary heating or cooling. Science teams around the world use CERES data to understand the Earth's radiation budget which helps compute global temperature changes over the long term. These temperature changes can be enough to increase or shrink arable land, lengthen growing seasons and enlarge cold zones or deserts.
CERES FM5 will carry forward the long-term Earth radiation budget measurements for the next several years. The CERES Flight Model 6 (FM6) instrument, currently in final testing, will be delivered in June as the first completed instrument for the next-generation of operational polar-orbiting environmental satellites called the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Maintaining the accuracy of the long-term data record started in the early 1980s requires overlap between CERES instruments on orbit. It was important that FM5 overlap the other CERES instruments on the EOS platforms, which are well beyond their design life, and that FM6 launches in time to overlap with FM5.
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23075.jpg)
A cross-section of the Earth's ozone layer as measured by the limb profiler, part of the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite that's aboard the Suomi NPP satellite. A new instrument, the limb profiler makes high vertical resolution measurements of of the ozone layer, a shield that protects the Earth's surface from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Smaller amounts of overhead ozone is shown in blue, while larger amounts are shown in orange and yellow. Suomi NPP is a partnership between NASA, NOAA and the Department of Defense.
Credit: NASA/NOAA[/url]
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26122.msg870604#msg870604
ЦитироватьRELEASE: 12-079
MULTI-AGENCY SATELLITE BEGINS CLIMATE AND WEATHER STUDIES
GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA has completed commissioning of the Suomi
National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (NPP), which is now
making global environmental observations. The satellite will provide
scientists with critical insight into the dynamics of the entire
Earth system, including climate, clouds, oceans, and vegetation. It
will also gather enhanced data for improving our nation's weather
forecasting system.
The mission, launched in October 2011, is the result of a partnership
between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the Department of Defense. All five of the satellite's
instruments now have been activated for science data collection.
"By providing cutting-edge measurements of important Earth system
processes, the Suomi NPP mission will increase researchers' knowledge
of our home planet, and provide direct societal benefit through more
accurate predictions," said Michael Freilich, director, Earth Science
Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This satellite mission,
which could only have come to fruition through a close interagency
partnership, is multifaceted and its data will be used by a multitude
of stakeholders in the U.S. and worldwide."
With the completion of commissioning activities, operation of the
Suomi NPP has now been turned over to a Joint Polar Satellite System
(JPSS) team. NOAA's JPSS Program provided three of the five
instruments and the ground segment for Suomi NPP. A government team
from the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md., will
operate the satellite.
"NOAA is thrilled with the performance of Suomi NPP," said Mary Kicza,
assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service
in Silver Spring, Md. "NOAA will be using the advanced data NPP
provides to improve life-saving weather forecasts and track volcanic
eruptions, and to improve our understanding of long-term weather and
climate patterns. Suomi NPP is an important mission for the nation."
The Suomi NPP mission is a bridge between NOAA and NASA legacy Earth
observing missions and NOAA's next-generation JPSS. Suomi NPP flies
for the first time the groundbreaking new Earth observing instruments
that JPSS will use operationally. The first satellite in the JPSS
series, JPSS-1, is targeted for launch in 2016.
NASA scientists have already begun creating consistent, multi-decade
Earth science data sets by combining the new NPP observations with
measurements from many of the legacy NASA and NOAA missions. These
long-term observations are critical to improving our understanding of
the Earth system and quantifying any changes.
"With the successful completion of commissioning, Suomi NPP is now
ready to provide the world with remarkable Earth observations," said
Ken Schwer, NPP project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Md.
Goddard managed the Suomi NPP mission for the Science Mission
Directorate's Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in
Washington.
For more information about the Suomi NPP mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/npp
Suomi NPP data will be available at: http://www.class.noaa.gov
For more information about the JPSS program, visit: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jpss/
Ozone Suite on Suomi NPP Continues More Than 30 Years of Ozone Data
02.23.12
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/omps-active.html
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23192.jpg)
Спутник Suomi NPP начал высокоскоростную передачу данных в реальном времени 2012-02-24
ЦитироватьШироковещательная передача данных съемочной аппаратуры нового спутника Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) успешно началась 23 февраля. Результаты наблюдений переданы в режиме прямого вещания в реальном масштабе времени по радиолинии высокоскоростной передачи данных HRD (High Rate Data). Для доступа пользователей к данным, передаваемым по радиолинии HRD со скоростью 15 Мбит/с на бесплатной основе, необходимо лишь наличие приемной станции X-диапазона. Большая часть станций «УниСкан» разработки и производства ИТЦ «СКАНЭКС» не требует аппаратных доработок для приема данных с Suomi NPP — необходима только установка программного обеспечения, которое сейчас находится в процессе тестирования.
Об особенностях функционирования и приема радиолинии HRD можно узнать на веб-портале лаборатории Direct Readout Laboratory (DRL, http://directreadout.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ). Благодаря общедоступным информационным ресурсам DRL пользователи имеют доступ к технологиям и данным космической съемки Земли, включая информацию о спутнике, средства получения и обработки данных, передаваемых в режиме непосредственного широкополосного вещания, а также образцы и шаблоны данных для правильного приема, обработки и анализа пользователями данных, передаваемых в режиме HRD.
На спутнике установлены приборы для измерения температуры, влажности и давления атмосферы — CrIS и ATMS, сбора данных о вертикальном и горизонтальном распространении озона в атмосфере — OMPS, изучения электромагнитного излучения — CERES. Особый интерес для съемки земной поверхности представляет 22-канальный радиометр VIIRS, который создан с учетом опыта эксплуатации сканеров MODIS на спутниках Aqua и Terra и по характеристикам существенно превосходит датчики AVHRR спутников серии NOAA. Первые снимки земной поверхности с помощью прибора VIIRS получены 21 ноября 2011 г.
Аппарат Suomi NPP был выведен на орбиту 28 октября 2011 г. и предназначен для получения оперативной информации о состоянии облачного покрова и поверхности Земли, концентрации взвешенных частиц и распределения водяного пара в атмосфере, мониторинга опасных атмосферных явлений, лесных пожарах, изменений ландшафта, ледовой обстановки в северных морях и сбора других данных. Первоначально спутник имел наименование NPP. Но в конце января управление NASA приняло решение переименовать спутник в Suomi NPP, в знак признания заслуг Вернера Э. Суоми (Verner Edward Suomi) — метеоролога из университета штата Висконсин (умер в 1995 году), считающегося «отцом спутниковой метеорологии».
Дополнительная информация о спутнике Suomi NPP и лаборатории DRL представлена соответственно на интернет-сайтах http://npp.gsfc.nasa.gov/ и http://directreadout.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ .
http://www.scanex.ru/ru/news/News_Preview.asp?id=n22413109
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Blue Marble 2012 - Arctic View
Fifteen orbits of the recently launched Suomi NPP satellite provided the VIIRS instrument enough time (and longitude) to gather the pixels for this synthesized view of Earth showing the Arctic, Europe, and Asia.
Suomi NPP orbits the Earth about 14 times each day and observes nearly the entire surface. The NPP satellite continues key data records that are critical for climate change science.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2286b.html
Hurricane Isaac at NightЦитироватьEarly on August 29, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi-NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of Hurricane Isaac and the cities near the Gulf Coast of the United States. The image was acquired at 1:57 a.m. local time by the VIIRS "day-night band," which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. In this case, the clouds of Isaac were lit by moonlight.
Issac, a slow-moving storm, made landfall as a category 1 hurricane near the mouth of the Mississippi River in southwestern Louisiana at about 6:45 p.m. local time on August 28, 2012.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2012/h2012_Isaac.html
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2345.html
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