Category: Satellites

Sea Launch Company deployed Loral?s Telstar 18 communications satellite into orbit tonight from its ocean-based platform on the Equator. Early data indicate all systems aboard the spacecraft are in excellent condition.

The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 8:59 pm PDT (3:59 GMT , June 29), as scheduled, from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude. On its way to a final orbital position at 138 degrees East Longitude, the spacecraft was separated into a reduced apogee orbit. A ground station in Perth, Australia, acquired the spacecraft?s first signal, shortly after spacecraft separation.

After the completion of the mission, Jim Maser, president and general manager of Sea Launch, said, ?We are still assessing the data and we are optimistic the spacecraft will achieve its specified lifespan on orbit. We are supporting our Loral customer in this assessment. We will issue additional information as it becomes available.?

Built by Space Systems/Loral and operated by Loral Skynet ? both subsidiaries of Loral Space & Communications ? the high-powered 1300-model spacecraft carries 54 active transponders, 16 Ku-band transponders and 38 C-band transponders. Once operational in the next few weeks, the Ku-band will reach China, India, Taiwan and Hong Kong, while the C-band capacity will cover Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands and Hawaii. The satellite will host cable programming, direct-to-home broadcasting, Internet, VSAT and IP-based two-way services within Asia while providing an inter-connect to the United States.

Sea Launch Company, LLC, headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and marketed through Boeing Launch Services (www.boeing.com/launch), is the world?s most reliable commercial heavy-lift launch services provider. This multinational partnership offers the most direct and cost-effective route to geostationary orbit. With the advantage of a launch site on the Equator, the reliable Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a heavier spacecraft mass or provide longer life on orbit, offering best value plus schedule assurance. For additional information and images of this mission, please visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com

Original Source: Boeing News Release

Image credit: ILS
A Russian-built Proton rocket successfully carried the Intelsat 10-02 satellite into orbit today, marking the sixth mission of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).

The Proton M vehicle lifted off from Baikonur?s Pad 39 at 4:27 a.m. today local time (22:27 Wednesday GMT, 6:27 p.m. Wednesday EDT). The rocket?s Breeze M upper stage injected the spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit about 9 hours and 10 minutes later. The Intelsat 10-02 satellite will be positioned at 359 degrees East longitude (1 degree West), and will provide video, corporate networking, internet and voice services across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America and portions of Asia and North America.

ILS, based in McLean, Va., is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) of the United States and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Russia. ILS was formed to market and manage the missions for the Khrunichev Proton and the Lockheed Martin Atlas launch vehicles. ILS? two vehicle families have successfully launched 32 Intelsat satellites over three decades.

?This was another outstanding mission for Proton,? said ILS President Mark Albrecht. ?The Intelsat 10-02 satellite is not only the largest Eurostar E3000 model spacecraft ever built by EADS Astrium, it also is the largest commercial satellite carried by a Proton vehicle. Clearly, Proton?s accuracy and reliability are the reasons it is a vehicle of choice for customers around the world.?

?This successful launch, celebrated during the year of Intelsat?s 40th anniversary, reinforces our historic commitment to delivering the highest quality communications and technology to our customers throughout the world,? said Conny Kullman, CEO of Intelsat Ltd. ?We are grateful to ILS for its efficiency and hard work, which has resulted in our being able to welcome another high-powered satellite to our global fleet.?

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of EADS Astrium, said, ?This is a major event for EADS Astrium, as Intelsat 10-02 is the second Eurostar E3000 model launched by ILS this year. Intelsat 10-02 is also the largest as well as the most powerful satellite ever ordered by Intelsat.?

This was the first of two launches this month for ILS, with the next mission the launch of a U.S. government payload on an Atlas rocket set for June 30. ILS launch teams have been managing campaigns for the two vehicles continuously since last November.

?Between the two launch sites, we have achieved an incredible launch tempo over the last eight months, with eight consecutive successful campaigns thus far and two more in progress,? Albrecht said. ?We expect to continue at this pace the rest of the year.?

ILS has established itself as the indisputable leader of launch services worldwide and offers the industry’s two best launch systems: Atlas and Proton. With a remarkable launch rate of 64 missions during the past three years, the Atlas and Proton launch vehicles have consistently demonstrated the reliability and flexibility that have made them the vehicles of choice. Further demonstrating ILS as the industry leader, ILS has signed more new contracts than its competitors combined over the same three-year period. For more information, visit www.ilslaunch.com.

Image credit: ILS
International Launch Services (ILS) marked another successful mission tonight, after its Atlas IIAS rocket placed the AMC-11 satellite into orbit for SES AMERICOM.

Both the rocket and the satellite were built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT), which is also a partner in the ILS joint venture. This was the fifth launch for ILS in 2004, four of which have been on Atlas rockets. This also was the 72nd consecutive successful launch for the Atlas vehicle family.

The Atlas IIAS rocket lifted of from Cape Canaveral?s Launch Complex 36B at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT). The satellite, an A2100 model, was injected into a transfer orbit 28 minutes later. The AMC-11 spacecraft is a twin to AMC-10, launched in February, and together they form SES AMERICOM?s premier cable neighborhood and the platform for its HD-PRIME service.

?We?re proud to deliver another satellite on target for SES AMERICOM,? said ILS President Mark Albrecht. ?We look forward to the same success with our two Proton launches this summer with WORLDSAT 2 and AMC-15, and the AMC-16 mission scheduled for an Atlas V at the end of this year. You could say SES AMERICOM is an ILS Frequent Flyer.?

Albrecht noted the long-standing relationship shared by ILS, SES AMERICOM and its parent company, SES GLOBAL. To date ILS has launched 16 satellites for companies affiliated with SES GLOBAL, including seven for the SES AMERICOM fleet. Last month, the companies announced that three additional satellites for SES AMERICOM and SES ASTRA will be launched on ILS vehicles.

Dean Olmstead, president and CEO of SES AMERICOM, said: ?We have great confidence in ILS, as evidenced by our recent experience with the Atlas IIAS and Proton launch vehicles. We are optimistic that the two Proton launches scheduled for August and October, as well as our first Atlas V launch in December, will be just as flawless as tonight?s AMC-11 Atlas IIAS launch.?

ILS has established itself as the indisputable leader of launch services worldwide and offers the industry’s two best launch systems: Atlas and Proton. With a remarkable launch rate of 63 missions during the past three years, the Atlas and Proton launch vehicles have consistently demonstrated the reliability and flexibility that have made them the vehicles of choice. Further demonstrating ILS as the industry leader, ILS has signed more new contracts than its competitors combined over the same three-year period. By any measure, ILS is truly the global leader.

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Russian rocket builder Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. ILS markets and manages the missions on the Atlas rocket in the United States and on the Proton rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. ILS was formed in 1995, and is based in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Original Source: ILS News Release

Image credit: Orbital Recovery
Orbital Recovery Ltd. today signed a long-term, exclusive launch services contract for the ConeXpress Orbital Life Extension Vehicle (CX OLEV?) – a unique spacecraft that will be deployed by Ariane 5 to serve as an orbital space tug.

This agreement – inked with Arianespace at the Berlin Air Show – covers the initial flight of a CX OLEV? in 2007, followed by four additional launches beginning in 2008. Orbital Recovery Ltd. will order further flights in sets of three missions.

The ConeXpress Orbital Life Extension Vehicle will be carried as a secondary payload on Ariane 5. Its liftoff mass will be approximately 1,200-1,400 kg. Developed by European industry, CX OLEV is designed to extend the useful lifetime of multi-million dollar telecommunications satellites by 10 years or more, and also is capable of rescuing satellites stranded in incorrect orbits.

“Ariane is known for setting the standards in commercial launch services, and we look forward to using Ariane 5 for our CX OLEV – which will set the standards for the in-orbit servicing of telecommunications satellites,” said Phil Braden, Chief Executive Officer of Orbital Recovery Ltd.

Operating as an orbital “tugboat,” the CX OLEV will supply propulsion, navigation and guidance to maintain a telecom satellite in its proper orbital slot for many years. Currently, telecommunications spacecraft are placed in a graveyard orbit as they deplete their on-board propellant loads near the end of the typical 10-15-year operation lifetimes – even though the satellites’ revenue-generating communications relay payloads continue to function.

Orbital Recovery Limited has identified more than 40 telecommunications satellites in orbit today that are candidates for life extension using the CX OLEV. In addition, the CX OLEV can be deployed to rescue spacecraft that have been placed in a wrong orbit, or which have become stranded in an incorrect orbital location during positioning maneuvers.

“We are pleased to provide launch services for this very innovative spacecraft, which continues Arianespace’s policy of working with promising new payloads and their operators,” said Arianespace Chief Executive Officer Jean-Yves Le Gall. “The mission flexibility of Ariane 5, combined with our experience in handling multi-satellite payloads, will enable the CX OLEV to be launched when needed to serve Orbital Recovery Ltd.’s mission requirements.”

In an original approach to spacecraft design, the CX OLEV is manufactured from the payload adapter that is used on every Ariane 5 mission. This allows flight-proven hardware to serve as the CX OELV structure, and opens regular launch opportunities for the space tug on Ariane 5.

Shaped like a truncated cone, the CX OLEV will continue to serve as a payload adapter for Ariane 5 missions, with the launcher’s primary satellite payload mounted atop it. Once the primary payload has been released, the CX OLEV will be deployed from the launcher to begin its own mission as an independent space tug.

The industry team developing CX OLEV is led by the Netherlands’ Dutch Space, and includes Germany’s DLR German Aerospace Center and Kayser-Threde. Aon Space is providing insurance brokering and risk management services.

Orbital Recovery Ltd. recently initiated the B1 Phase of its program, which is funded by the company and the European Space Agency under its ARTES 4 Public-Private Partnership initiative.

Original Source: Orbital Recovery News Release

Image credit: Boeing
Sea Launch Company today successfully delivered the DIRECTV 7S broadcast satellite to orbit from its ocean-based platform on the Equator, marking ten consecutive successes for this highly reliable system. Early data indicate the spacecraft is in excellent condition.

The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 5:42 am PDT (12:42 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude, precisely on schedule. All systems performed nominally throughout the flight. The Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 119 degrees West Longitude. A ground station in Weilheim, Germany, acquired the spacecraft?s first signal, shortly after spacecraft separation, as planned.

Immediately following the mission, Jim Maser, president and general manager of Sea Launch, said, “In a 29-minute flight with a single-burn of our upper stage, Sea Launch has once again broken its own record by successfully deploying the heaviest commercial satellite in history. This achievement further solidifies Sea Launch?s position as the preeminent heavy lift commercial launch service in the industry.”

“I want to congratulate DIRECTV on today?s exciting mission. We are so proud to be able to provide another launch for DIRECTV and we look forward to building upon a long and mutually beneficial relationship as you continue to expand your direct-to-home business. I also want to congratulate the entire Sea Launch team and thank each member of the team for their enormous contribution to today?s flawless mission.”

DIRECTV 7S, the second spot beam satellite in the DIRECTV fleet, will use highly focused spot beam technology to provide DIRECTV with the capacity to deliver local channels to 41 additional markets, expanding local channel coverage to a total of 106 markets. Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) at their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, Calif., the 1300-series spacecraft is one of several high capacity direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellites SS/L has produced for DIRECTV, the leading U.S. digital television provider. This is Sea Launch’s second mission for DIRECTV and third for Loral. The first DIRECTV launch was on October 9, 1999, when Sea Launch successfully placed DIRECTV 1R into orbit. The most recent launch for Loral was Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 on January 10, 2004.

Through a cooperative arrangement with Boeing Launch Services (BLS), Sea Launch signed an agreement with Arianespace in November 2003 to launch DIRECTV 7S. This arrangement allowed Arianespace to negotiate a seamless transfer of the satellite to Sea Launch, and for DIRECTV to secure a guaranteed launch slot for this important mission. The launch services alliance utilizes launch systems from three leading service providers – Arianespace, Boeing Launch Services and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – to provide customers with on-time launches and total mission assurance.

Original Source: Boeing News Release

Image credit: Sea Launch
The Sea Launch team arrived at the launch site on the equator yesterday in preparation for the launch of the DIRECTV 7S broadcast satellite for DIRECTV Inc. on Tuesday, May 4, at 5:22am PDT (12:22:00 GMT), at the opening of a two-hour launch window. All systems are proceeding on schedule.

With launch site operations now underway, the marine crew has ballasted the Odyssey Launch Platform about 65 feet to ensure stability. The Sea Launch Commander (Assembly and Command Ship), will be stationed alongside the Odyssey, throughout the weekend, frequently connected by a link bridge that enables foot traffic between the two vessels.

The team will initiate a 72-hour launch countdown on Saturday, May 1. On the day before launch, the platform will be evacuated, with all personnel safely stationed on the ship, three miles from the platform, throughout launch operations. The rocket will be rolled out of its environmentally-protected hangar and automatically erected on the launch pad at L-27 hours.

Sea Launch?s Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 119 degrees West Longitude. DIRECTV 7S, the second spot beam satellite in the DIRECTV fleet, will use highly focused spot beam technology to provide DIRECTV with the capacity to deliver local channels to 42 additional markets, expanding local channel coverage to a total of 106 markets. The satellite is also capable of operating from 101 degrees West Longitude, the primary orbital slot for DIRECTV. Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) at their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, Calif., the 1300-series spacecraft is one of several high capacity direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellites SS/L has produced for DIRECTV, the leading U.S. digital television provider.

Sea Launch will carry a live satellite feed and streaming video of the entire mission, beginning at 5:00 am PDT (12:00:00 GMT). To downlink the broadcast, transponder coordinates are posted at: www.boeing.com/nosearch/sealaunch/broadcast.html
A simultaneous webcast will be posted at:
www.sea-launch.com/current_index_webcast.html

Sea Launch Company, LLC, headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and marketed through Boeing Launch Services ( www.boeing.com/launch ), is the world?s most reliable commercial launch services provider. With the advantage of a launch site on the Equator, the proven Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a heavier spacecraft mass or provide longer life on orbit, yielding best value plus schedule assurance. Sea Launch offers the most direct and cost-effective route to geostationary orbit. For additional information, visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com

Original Source: Boeing News Release

Image credit: NASA
Gravity Probe B ? a NASA mission to test two predictions of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity ? is orbiting 400 miles above Earth, and all spacecraft systems are performing well. Its solar arrays are generating power, and all electrical systems are powered on. The spacecraft is communicating well with its supporting satellite relay and ground stations. Launched April 20 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Gravity Probe B is managed by the Marshall Center.

At 9:57:24 am Pacific Daylight Time on Tuesday, April 20, 2004, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft had a picture-perfect launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in South-central California. The Boeing Delta II rocket hit the exact center of the bull’s eye in placing the spacecraft in its target polar orbit, 400 miles above the Earth.

“The Gravity Probe B Mission Operations Team has performed very well during this critical spacecraft activation period,” said Tony Lyons, Gravity Probe B NASA Deputy Program Manager from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Stanford Gravity Probe B Program Manager, Gaylord Green. “We couldn’t have asked for a better or more beautiful launch-nor a more perfect orbit insertion.”

At approximately one hour eleven minutes, the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed, and shortly thereafter, the on-board cameras treated all viewers, via NASA TV, to the extraordinary sight of the separation of the spacecraft from the second stage rocket, with a portion of the Earth illuminated in the background.

After two days in orbit, all Gravity Probe B systems are performing as planned. The solar arrays are generating power, and all electrical systems are powered on. The spacecraft is communicating well with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) and supporting ground stations.

All four Gyro Suspension Systems have now been activated. In addition, a lift check was successfully accomplished for gyros #2 and #3. “We’ve successfully achieved the first of many upcoming steps in preparing these four gyroscopes for science data collection,” said Rob Brumley, Stanford Gravity Probe B Deputy Program Manager, Technical. “We are all extremely gratified with the initial performance of these gyroscopes in space, including the first ever levitation of a Gravity Probe B gyro on orbit.”

The spacecraft’s Attitude Control System is maintaining initial attitude control. Fine attitude control should be achieved when thruster calibrations have been completed. After that, the ultra-precise science telescope will be locked onto the Gravity Probe B guide star, IM Pegasi, to within a range of 1/100,000th of a degree.

“All of us on the GP-B team are very grateful for the tremendous support we have received from NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and many others,” said Francis Everitt, Gravity Probe B Principal Investigator at Stanford University. “We’re off to a fine start, but we now have a great sense of responsibility to make sure we do the science in the best possible way.”

The spacecraft is being controlled from the Gravity Probe B Mission Operations Center, located at Stanford University. The Initialization & Orbit Checkout (IOC) phase of the Gravity Probe B mission is planned to last 45-60 days, after which the 12-month science data collection will begin. This will be followed by a two-month final calibration of the science instrument assembly.

NASA’s Gravity Probe B mission, also known as GP-B, will use four ultra-precise gyroscopes to test Einstein’s theory that space and time are distorted by the presence of massive objects. To accomplish this, the mission will measure two factors — how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and how the Earth’s rotation drags space-time around with it.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Gravity Probe B program for NASA’s Office of Space Science. Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., developed and built the science experiment hardware and operates the science mission for NASA. Lockheed Martin of Palo Alto, Calif., developed and built the GP-B spacecraft.

For supporting materials for this news release – such as photographs, fact sheets, video and audio files and more – please visit the NASA Marshall Center Newsroom Web site at:

Marshall Space Flight Center

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: NASA
The NASA space vehicle designed to test two important predictions of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Boeing Delta II expendable launch vehicle.

The spacecraft is being inserted into an almost perfect circular polar orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 400 statute miles. “The solar arrays are deployed, and we have received initial data that indicates all systems are operating smoothly. We are very pleased,” said Gravity Probe B (GP-B) program manager Rex Geveden of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Ala. “The Gravity Probe B space vehicle houses one of the most challenging science instruments ever devised and seeks to answer some of the most important questions about the structure of our universe,” he said.

The GP-B mission will use four ultra-precise gyroscopes to test Einstein’s theory that space and time are distorted by the presence of massive objects. To accomplish this, the mission will measure two factors, how space and time are very slightly warped by the presence of the Earth, and how the Earth’s rotation very slightly drags space-time around with it.

“This is a great moment and a great responsibility, the outcome of a unique collaboration of physicists and engineers to develop this near-perfect instrument to test Einstein’s theory of gravity,” said the experiment’s principal investigator Dr. Francis Everitt of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. “We are very grateful for all the support we have received at NASA and elsewhere for this exacting effort, truly a new venture in fundamental physics.”

In-orbit checkout and calibration is scheduled to last 60 days, followed by a 12-month science-data acquisition period and a two-month post-science period for calibrations.

During the mission, data from GP-B will be received a minimum of twice daily. Either Earth-based ground stations or NASA’s data relay satellites can receive the information. Controllers will be able to communicate with the orbiting space vehicle from the Mission Operations Center at Stanford University.

Data will include space vehicle and instrument performance, as well as the very precise measurements of the gyroscopes’ spin-axis pointing. By 2005 the GP-B mission will be complete. A one-year period is planned for scientific analysis of the data.

MSFC manages the GP-B program. NASA’s prime contractor for the mission, Stanford University, conceived the experiment and is responsible for the design and integration of the science instrument, as well as for mission operations and data analysis. Lockheed Martin, a major subcontractor, designed, integrated and tested the space vehicle and some of its major payload components. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Boeing Expendable Launch Systems were responsible for the pre-launch preparations, countdown and launch of the Delta II.

For information about NASA and agency missions on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/

For information about the GP-B mission on the Internet, visit:

http://einstein.stanford.edu/ and http://www.gravityprobeb.com

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: Boeing
The Superbird-6 satellite is in orbit tonight thanks to a successful launch on an Atlas IIAS rocket provided by International Launch Services (ILS).

Liftoff of the Atlas vehicle, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), was at 8:45 p.m. EDT (00:45 April 16 GMT). The rocket released the satellite into its target transfer orbit 30 minutes later.

This was the fourth launch conducted this year by ILS, a Lockheed Martin joint venture. It also was ILS? second launch for Space Communications Corp. of Tokyo. Both Superbird spacecraft are 601 model satellites from Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) of Los Angeles.

?We appreciate that SCC again placed its confidence in ILS and Atlas,? said ILS President Mark Albrecht. ?And we?re delighted to have a role in inaugurating new telecommunications services in the Western Pacific region.?

Albrecht added: ?Tonight?s launch marks the 80th mission since the start of the commercial Atlas program. I want to acknowledge BSS and the team that builds the 601 model ? 26 of these satellites have flown on Atlas rockets of various configurations over the last 11 years. So this launch is a reunion of a winning trio of companies.?

The vehicle flown tonight was the 28th in the Atlas IIAS configuration. Two more flights of this model are scheduled in the next two months. This mission also was the second in two months carrying a satellite for Japan. On March 13, another Atlas rocket carried the MBSAT satellite for Mobile Broadcasting Corp. of Japan, in which SCC is an investor.

The Atlas launch vehicle line has proven its operational reliability over 71 consecutive successful flights since 1993. The current generation of vehicles has a wide performance range for payloads ranging from approximately 3 metric tons to 10 metric tons, with either a 4-meter or 5-meter diameter fairing.

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Russian rocket builder Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. ILS markets and manages the missions on the Atlas rocket in the United States at both Cape Canaveral and at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.; and on the Proton rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Together ILS Atlas and Proton vehicles have launched more than 30 satellite payloads for commercial services in the Asia-Pacific Rim.

ILS was formed in 1995, and is based in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

The Atlas rockets and their Centaur upper stages are built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver, Colo.; Harlingen, Texas; and San Diego, Calif.

Original Source: ILS News Release

Image credit: NASA/JPL
NASA’s Aura spacecraft, the latest in the Earth Observing System series, has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., to begin launch preparations.

Aura was transported from Northrop Grumman’s Space Park manufacturing facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. The spacecraft will undergo final tests and integration with a Boeing Delta II rocket for a scheduled launch in June.

Aura’s four state-of-the-art instruments, including two built and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will study the atmosphere’s chemistry and dynamics. The spacecraft will provide data to help scientists better understand Earth’s ozone, air quality and climate change. JPL’s Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer is an infrared sensor designed to study Earth’s troposphere-the lowest region of the atmosphere-and to look at ozone. JPL’s Microwave Limb Sounder is an instrument intended to improve our understanding of ozone in Earth’s stratosphere, vital in protecting us from solar ultraviolet radiation.

“The entire Aura team is very excited to see all our efforts come to fruition and is looking forward to a successful launch,” said Rick Pickering, Aura project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Aura fulfills part of NASA’s commitment to study Earth as a global system and represents a key agency contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This mission will continue the global data collection underway by NASA’s other Earth Observing System satellites: Terra, which monitors land; and Aqua, which observes Earth’s water cycle.

The Aura spacecraft is part of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research effort to determine how human-induced and natural changes affect the global environment.

For more information about Aura on the Internet, visit http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov . For more information about the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer on the Internet, visit http://tes.jpl.nasa.gov/ . For more information about the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Internet, visit http://mls.jpl.nasa.gov/ .

Original Source: NASA/JPL News Release