Author Topic: LIVE: Delta II - Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July 2, 2014  (Read 158737 times)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #80 on: 04/28/2014 03:52 pm »
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – At Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the mobile service tower rolls away from the launch stand supporting the Delta II first stage. Operations are underway to mate the rocket's first and second stages. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in July. The rocket's second stage will insert OCO-2 into a polar Earth orbit. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas. To learn more about OCO-2, visit oco.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #81 on: 04/28/2014 05:06 pm »
Initial vehicle power-on test was successfully run last Wednesday and Thursday.

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #82 on: 04/30/2014 07:20 pm »

April 30, 2014

NASA's Carbon-Counting Spacecraft Arrives at Launch Site


A NASA spacecraft designed to make precise measurements of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., to begin final preparations for launch.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 arrived Wednesday at its launch site on California's central coast after travelling from Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Gilbert, Ariz. The spacecraft now will undergo final tests and then be integrated on top of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for a planned July 1 launch.

The observatory is NASA's first satellite mission dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, a critical component of Earth’s carbon cycle that is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. It replaces a nearly identical spacecraft lost due to a rocket launch mishap in February 2009.

OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding both the sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how they are changing over time. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution more than 200 years ago, the burning of fossil fuels, as well as other human activities, have led to an unprecedented  buildup in this  greenhouse gas, which is now at its highest level in at least 800,000 years. Human activities have increased the level of carbon dioxide by more than 25 percent in just the past half century.

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap the sun's heat within Earth's atmosphere, warming it and keeping it at habitable temperatures. However, scientists have concluded that increases in carbon dioxide resulting from human activities have thrown Earth's natural carbon cycle off balance, increasing global temperatures and changing the planet's climate.

While scientists understand carbon dioxide emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels and can estimate their quantity quite accurately, their understanding of carbon dioxide from other human-produced and natural sources is relatively less quantified. Atmospheric measurements collected at ground stations indicate less than half of the carbon dioxide humans emit into the atmosphere stays there. The rest is believed to be absorbed by the ocean and plants on land.

But the locations and identity of the natural "sinks" absorbing this carbon dioxide currently are not well understood. OCO-2 will help solve this critical scientific puzzle. Quantifying how the natural processes are helping remove carbon from the atmosphere will help scientists construct better models to predict how much carbon dioxide these sinks will be able to absorb in the future.

The mission’s innovative technologies will enable space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the sensitivity, resolution and coverage needed to characterize the sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural sinks that moderate their buildup, at regional scales, everywhere on Earth. The mission's data will help scientists reduce uncertainties in forecasts of how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere and improve the accuracy of global climate change predictions.

In addition to measuring carbon dioxide, OCO-2 will monitor the "glow" of the chlorophyll contained within plants, a phenomenon known as solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, opening up potential new applications for studying vegetation on land. NASA researchers, in collaboration with Japanese and other international colleagues, have discovered that data from Japan's GOSAT (Greenhouse gases observing SATellite, also known as Ibuki in Japan), along with other satellites, including OCO-2, can help monitor this “signature” of photosynthesis on a global scale.

The observatory will fly in a 438-mile (705-kilometer) altitude, near-polar orbit in formation with the five other satellites that are part of the Afternoon, or "A-Train" Constellation. This international constellation of Earth-observing satellites circles Earth once every 98 minutes in a sun-synchronous orbit that crosses the equator near 1:30 p.m. local time and repeats the same ground track every 16 days. OCO-2 will be inserted at the head of the A-Train. Once in this orbit, OCO-2 is designed to operate for at least two years. This coordinated flight formation will enable researchers to correlate OCO-2 data with data from other NASA and partner spacecraft.

OCO-2 is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program mission managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Orbital built the spacecraft and provides mission operations under JPL’s leadership. The science instrument was built by JPL, based on the instrument design co-developed for the original OCO mission by Hamilton Sundstrand in Pomona, Calif. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

For more information about the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, visit:

http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov

and

http://www.nasa.gov/oco-2

NASA monitors Earth’s vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet. OCO-2 is the second of five NASA Earth science missions launched into space this year, the most new Earth-observing mission launches in the same year in more than a decade.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow
Jacques :-)

Offline Helodriver

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #83 on: 05/04/2014 04:10 am »
Anyone know the date integrating the spacecraft with the booster is expected? I'd like to see that in person.
Thx.

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #84 on: 05/09/2014 01:08 am »
OCO-2 Spacecraft Evaluated in Electrical Testing

Monday, May 5, 2014 - 14:21

Electrical testing including a "Limited Performance Test" of the OCO-2 spacecraft is under way at the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California ahead of the July launch of the mission. At Space Launch Complex-2, engineers are conducting hydraulic testing of the United Launch Alliance Delta II first stage which has been stacked at the pad. The launch vehicle, including the first stage booster, second stage and three solid rocket boosters, are ready to go through extensive testing before the OCO-2 spacecraft inside a payload fairing arrives next month for launch.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #85 on: 05/09/2014 08:44 pm »
OCO-2 Testing Proceeding Well

Friday, May 9, 2014 - 14:28

Pre-launch testing of the OCO-2 observatory continues to go well at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where the carbon-surveying spacecraft is being prepared for its July 1 launch. Engineers and technicians are conducting a functional checkout of the spacecraft propulsion system with fueling planned for May 14. At Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-2, the Delta II first stage hydraulic system testing is under way and the vehicle's telemetry system has been turned on for initial testing.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #86 on: 05/14/2014 06:49 pm »
OCO-2 Preparing for Fueling

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 11:36

The 6.6-foot-long, hexagonal OCO-2 spacecraft will be loaded Wednesday with propellants for its attitude control jets as launch preparations continue on pace for a July 1 liftoff. Meanwhile, United launch Alliance engineers and technicians at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the launch site for OCO-2, also are prepping the Delta II first stage for liquid oxygen loading next week as part of the process to certify the launch team. They will use the same process they use on launch day to fill the cryogenic oxygen tank. The filling demonstration also gives the team a chance to check the first stage for leaks or other flaws under super-cold conditions since liquid oxygen is stored at minus-297 degrees.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #87 on: 05/20/2014 10:12 pm »
Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2: NASA's New Carbon Sleuth

Published on May 20, 2014

NASA's OCO-2 mission, scheduled to launch July 1 from Vandenberg AFB, California, will make precise measurements of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. The orbiting observatory is NASA's first satellite mission dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, a critical component of Earth's carbon cycle that is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. OCO-2 will provide a better understanding of the sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and how they are changing over time. Learn more at http://science.nasa.gov/missions/oco-2/

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #88 on: 05/25/2014 03:14 pm »
Launch Team Completes Dress Rehearsal

Thursday, May 22, 2014 - 14:27

The United Launch Alliance and NASA team successfully completed the Delta II Wet Dress Rehearsal and Crew Certification at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with no significant issues. The test was performed at Space Launch Complex 2 and accomplished all objectives including loading liquid oxygen into the first stage, propulsion system checks, hydraulic testing and electrical tests. The launch team went through the same procedures they will use on for the launch day countdown. A test of the launch vehicle’s first and second stage systems, known as the Combined Systems Test, is scheduled for May 28. Meanwhile, the OCO-2 observatory has completed processing until the spacecraft is prepared to go to the launch pad during the second week of June. OCO-2 remains on schedule for a liftoff at 2:56 a.m. PDT on July 1.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #89 on: 06/06/2014 09:03 am »
OCO-2 Spacecraft Completes State-of-Health Check

Thursday, June 5, 2014 - 15:00

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 spacecraft was powered on June 2-3 for a state-of-health check and reaction wheel testing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Observatory closeouts are scheduled for next Monday, June 9. OCO-2's next step will be its June 13 move from the Astrotech payload processing facility to Space Launch Complex 2, where it will be hoisted atop the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #90 on: 06/09/2014 07:08 pm »

June 9, 2014

NASA Announces Briefing on New Mission to Track Global Carbon Dioxide

NASA will hold a media briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, June 12, at the NASA Headquarters James E. Webb Auditorium in Washington to discuss the upcoming Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission.
 
The briefings will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.
 
OCO-2, NASA’s first spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, is set for a July 1 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Its mission is to measure the global distribution of carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 replaces a nearly identical spacecraft lost in a rocket launch mishap in February 2009.
 
The briefing participants are:
 -- Betsy Edwards, OCO-2 program executive with the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
 -- Ralph Basilio, OCO-2 project manager with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California
 -- Mike Gunson, OCO-2 project scientist at JPL
 -- Annmarie Eldering, OCO-2 deputy project scientist at JPL
 
Media may ask questions from participating agency centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must send an email providing their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at [email protected] by noon Thursday.
 
Media and the public also may ask questions during the briefing on Twitter using the hashtag #AskNASA.
 
OCO-2 is one of five NASA Earth science missions scheduled for launch in 2014. NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.
 
For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow
 
JPL manages the OCO-2 mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
 
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and updated scheduling information, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
 
For more information about NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/oco2
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #91 on: 06/10/2014 07:42 am »
Teams Complete Tanking Demonstration on Delta II

Monday, June 9, 2014 - 15:11

Engineers and technicians completed the RP-1 tanking demonstration and leak test on the Delta II rocket that is to carry NASA's OCO-2 spacecraft into orbit in July. The tests were performed at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, launch site of the OCO-2 mission. Nearby at the Astrotech facility, spacecraft closeouts on the observatory are under way ahead of the mating of the spacecraft to the payload adapter ring Tuesday, June 10. The spacecraft will be taken to the launch pad Friday and connected to the Delta II's second stage. Everything remains on track to launch the mission July 1.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #92 on: 06/12/2014 06:38 pm »
Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2): NASA's New Carbon Counter

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory   
Published on Jun 12, 2014

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, launching July 2014, will study carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and help us understand how fast it will build up in the future. The mission will provide a more complete, global picture of the human and natural sources of CO2 as well their "sinks," the places where CO2 is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored (such as in plants and the ocean). Learn more about the mission at www.nasa.gov/oco2

« Last Edit: 06/12/2014 06:42 pm by catdlr »
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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #93 on: 06/12/2014 10:17 pm »
New NASA Observatory Set to Take On Carbon Conundrums

    

NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is in final preparations for a July launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Carbon dioxide is a critical component of Earth's carbon cycle and is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission will provide a more complete, global picture of the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide as well as their "sinks," the places where carbon dioxide is pulled out of Earth's atmosphere and stored. This new tool will map the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.

Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline jacqmans

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #94 on: 06/13/2014 02:19 pm »

June 12, 2014



New NASA Space Observatory to Study Carbon Conundrums

NASA’s first spacecraft dedicated to measuring carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere is in final preparations for a July 1 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
 
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission will provide a more complete, global picture of the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide, as well as their “sinks,” the natural ocean and land processes by which carbon dioxide is pulled out of Earth’s atmosphere and stored. Carbon dioxide, a critical component of Earth’s carbon cycle, is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate.
 
“Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere plays a critical role in our planet's energy balance and is a key factor in understanding how our climate is changing,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division in Washington. “With the OCO-2 mission, NASA will be contributing an important new source of global observations to the scientific challenge of better understanding our Earth and its future."
 
OCO-2 will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket and maneuver into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) altitude, near-polar orbit. It will become the lead satellite in a constellation of five other international Earth monitoring satellites that circle Earth once every 99 minutes and cross the equator each day near 1:36 p.m. local time, making a wide range of nearly simultaneous Earth observations. OCO-2 is designed to operate for at least two years.
 
The spacecraft will sample the global geographic distribution of the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and allow scientists to study their changes over time more completely than can be done with any existing data. Since 2009, Earth scientists have been preparing for OCO-2 by taking advantage of observations from the Japanese GOSAT satellite. OCO-2 replaces a nearly identical NASA spacecraft lost because of a rocket launch mishap in February 2009.
 
At approximately 400 parts per million, atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level  in at least the past 800,000 years. The burning of fossil fuels and other human activities are currently adding nearly 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year, producing an unprecedented buildup in this greenhouse gas.
 
Greenhouse gases trap the sun's heat within Earth's atmosphere, warming the planet’s surface and helping to maintain habitable temperatures from the poles to the equator. Scientists have concluded increased carbon dioxide from human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning and deforestation, has thrown Earth's natural carbon cycle off balance, increasing global surface temperatures and changing our planet's climate.
 
Currently, less than half the carbon dioxide emitted into Earth’s atmosphere by human activities stays there. Some of the remainder is absorbed by Earth’s ocean, but the location and identity of the natural land sinks believed to be absorbing the rest is not well understood. OCO-2 scientists hope to coax these sinks out of hiding and resolve a longstanding scientific puzzle.
 
“Knowing what parts of Earth are helping remove carbon from our atmosphere will help us understand whether they will keep doing so in the future,” said Michael Gunson, OCO-2 project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California. “Understanding the processes controlling carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will help us predict how fast it will build up in the future. Data from this mission will help scientists reduce uncertainties in forecasts of how much carbon dioxide will be in the atmosphere and improve the accuracy of global climate change predictions.”
 
OCO-2 measurements will be combined with data from ground stations, aircraft and other satellites to help answer questions about the processes that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide and its role in Earth’s climate and carbon cycle. Mission data will also help assess the usefulness of space-based measurements of carbon dioxide for monitoring emissions.
 
The observatory's science instrument features three, high-resolution spectrometers that spread reflected sunlight into its component colors, then precisely measure the intensity of each color. Each spectrometer is optimized to record a different specific color absorbed by carbon dioxide and oxygen molecules in Earth’s atmosphere. The less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more light the spectrometers detect. By analyzing the amount of light, scientists can estimate the relative concentrations of these chemicals.
 
The new observatory will dramatically increase the number of observations of carbon dioxide, collecting hundreds of thousands of measurements each day when the satellite flies over Earth’s sunlit hemisphere. High-precision, detailed, near-global observations are needed to characterize carbon dioxide's distribution because the concentration of carbon dioxide varies by only a few percent throughout the year on regional to continental scales. Scientists will analyze the OCO-2 data, using computer models similar to those used to predict the weather, to locate and understand the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide.
 
OCO-2 is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program mission managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia, built the spacecraft bus and provides mission operations under JPL’s leadership. The science instrument was built by JPL, based on the instrument design co-developed for the original OCO mission by Hamilton Sundstrand in Pomona, California. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
 
For more information about the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, visit:
 
http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov
 
and
 
http://www.nasa.gov/oco2
 
Follow OCO-2 on Twitter at:
 
https://twitter.com/IamOCO2
 
OCO-2 is the second of five NASA Earth science missions to be launched this year. NASA monitors Earth’s vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.
 
For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #95 on: 06/16/2014 07:40 pm »

June 16, 2014

NASA Sets Media Events for OCO-2 Launch from California

The launch of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission (OCO-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is scheduled for Tuesday, July 1. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is targeted for 5:56 a.m. EDT (2:56 a.m. PDT) at the opening of a 30-second launch window.
 
OCO-2 is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural “sinks” that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup.
 
The OCO-2 and Delta II News Center at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office will open Thursday, June 26. To speak with a NASA communications specialist, call 805-605-3051 beginning at that time. A recorded launch status report also will be available by dialing 805-734-2693.
 
Prelaunch and launch activities will take place June 29 through July 1. U.S. journalists should fax their accreditation requests on news organization letterhead to Tech Sgt. Vincent Mouzon, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office at Vandenberg, at
 
805-606-4571 or email [email protected]. Information required must include full legal name, date of birth and media affiliation. A legal photo identification will be required upon arrival at Vandenberg.       
 
A prelaunch news conference and mission briefing will be held from 7-9 p.m. EDT (4-6 p.m. PDT) Sunday, June 29 in the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office. The briefings will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed on NASA.gov with question-and-answer capability available from other NASA field centers. Media also can post questions via Twitter by using the hashtag #AskNASA during the briefings.
 
On launch day, NASA TV coverage and countdown commentary will begin at 3:45 a.m. EDT (12:45 a.m. PDT). Spacecraft separation from the rocket occurs 56 minutes 15 seconds after launch.  A post-launch news conference with OCO-2 mission officials will be held approximately two-and-a-half hours after launch.
 
Live countdown coverage also will be available online. Launch updates will begin on NASA’s launch blog at 3:45 a.m. EDT (12:45 a.m. PDT). Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. To view the launch blog, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/oco2
 
For NASA TV downlink and schedule information and streaming video, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California is responsible for project management of OCO-2. Orbital Sciences Corp. built the OCO-2 spacecraft. NASA’s Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida provides launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA’s launch service provider for the Delta II rocket.
Jacques :-)

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #96 on: 06/16/2014 07:42 pm »

June 16, 2014

NASA's OCO-2 Observatory Ready for Launch


The launch of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission (OCO-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 1.  Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is targeted for 2:56 a.m. PDT (5:56 a.m. EDT) at the opening of a 30-second launch window.
 
OCO-2 is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural “sinks” that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup.
 
The observatory will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.
 
The spacecraft’s final circular polar orbit will be 438 nautical miles (705 kilometers) at an inclination of 98.2 degrees.
 
 
ACCREDITATION
 
News media desiring accreditation for the prelaunch and launch activities of OCO-2 should contact:
 
Tech Sgt. Vincent Mouzon
 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office
 Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA 93437
 
Telephone: 805-606-3595
 Fax: 805-606-4571
 Email: [email protected]
 
Information required for U.S. media is full legal name, date of birth and media affiliation.  A legal photo identification will be required upon arrival at Vandenberg. The date for foreign news media to apply for accreditation has passed.
 
 
 
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE
 
Sunday, June 29:  The prelaunch news conference and mission science briefing will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. PDT (7 to 9 p.m. EDT) in the second floor conference room of the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office, Building 840, at Vandenberg Air Force Base.  The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed on NASA.gov with question-and-answer capability available from other NASA field centers. Media also can post questions via Twitter by using the hashtag #AskNASA during the briefings.
 
Media desiring to cover the event should meet at the south gate of VAFB on California State Road 246 at 3:30 p.m. to be escorted by 30th Space Wing Public Affairs to the news conference.
 
Participants in the prelaunch news conference will be:
 
Betsy Edwards, OCO-2 Program Executive
 NASA Headquarters
 
Tim Dunn, NASA Launch Manager
 Kennedy Space Center, Florida
 
Vernon Thorp, Program Manager, NASA Missions
 United Launch Alliance, Denver, Colorado
 
Ralph Basilio, OCO-2 Project Manager
 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California
 
Lt. Joseph Round, Launch Weather Officer, 30th Operations Support Squadron
 Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
 
 
MISSION SCIENCE BRIEFING
 
An OCO-2 Mission Science Briefing will be held immediately following the prelaunch news conference. Presenting the mission science objectives will be:
 
Ken Jucks, OCO-2 Program Scientist
 NASA Headquarters
 
David Crisp, OCO-2 Science Team Leader
 JPL
 
Annmarie Eldering, OCO-2 Deputy Project Scientist
 JPL
 
A post-launch news conference with OCO-2 mission officials also will be held at 5:30 a.m. PDT (8:30 a.m. EDT) on Tuesday, July 1, approximately 2.5 hours after launch.
 
 
 
REMOTE CAMERAS
 
Monday, June 30:  Media desiring to establish sound-activated remote cameras at the launch pad should meet at the pass and identification building located at the Vandenberg main gate on California State Road 1 at 9:30 a.m. to be escorted to Space Launch Complex 2.
 
 
 
NEWS MEDIA LAUNCH PAD PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Monday, June 30: There will be an opportunity for the media to photograph the Delta II with OCO-2 during rollback of the mobile service tower at the launch pad. Media should be at the pass and identification building at the Vandenberg main gate on California State Road 1 at 3 p.m. in preparation for going to Space Launch Complex 2. Photographers should be aware that first motion of tower rollback is targeted for 4 p.m. but does not always occur exactly as scheduled.
 
Those wishing to attend should confirm their participation with Tech. Sgt. Vincent Mouzon in the 30th Space Wing Public Affairs office at 805-606-3595.
 
 
LAUNCH DAY MEDIA COVERAGE
 
Tuesday, July 1:  Media covering the OCO-2 launch aboard the Delta II rocket should meet at 1:45 a.m. at the Vandenberg main gate located on California State Road 1 to be escorted to the press viewing site. Press credentials and identification from a bona fide news organization will be required for access. A driver's license alone will not be sufficient.
 
After launch, media will be escorted back to the main gate. Media interested in participating in the OCO-2 post-launch news conference will be escorted to NASA Building 840 on south Vandenberg. Observatory and mission officials will provide the spacecraft status and discuss its state of health.  The event will begin at 5:30 a.m. PDT (8:30 a.m. EDT) and will be carried live on NASA Television.
 
 
NASA TELEVISION COVERAGE
 
NASA Television will carry the prelaunch news conference and mission science briefing starting at 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT) on Sunday, June 29. The prelaunch news conference also will be webcast at:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
 
On launch day, July 1, NASA TV launch commentary coverage of the countdown will begin at 12:45 a.m. PDT (3:45 a.m. EDT). Launch is targeted for 2:56 a.m. PDT (5:56 a.m. EDT). The flight azimuth of the Delta II after liftoff will be196 degrees. Spacecraft separation from the rocket occurs 56 minutes,15 seconds after launch.
 
For information on receiving NASA TV, go to:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
 
 
 
VOICE CIRCUIT COVERAGE
 
Audio only of the press conference and the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 12:15 a.m. PDT (3:15 a.m. EDT).
 
 
NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE
 
Extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the liftoff of OCO-2 aboard the Delta II rocket will be available on NASA's home page at:
 
http://www.nasa.gov
 
     
 A prelaunch webcast for the OCO-2 mission will be streamed on NASA’s website at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Monday, June 30. To view the webcast and the countdown blog or to learn more about the OCO-2 mission, visit:
 
http://www.nasa.gov/oco2
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
 
Join the conversation and follow the OCO-2 mission online by using #OCO2 on Twitter at:
 
https://twitter.com/lamOCO2
 
Throughout the launch countdown, the NASA Launch Services Program and NASA JPL Twitter and Facebook accounts will be continuously updated at:
 
https://www.twitter.com/NASA_LSP
 
https://twitter.com/NASAJPL
 
https://www.facebook.com/NASALSP
 
https://www.facebook.com/NASAJPL
 
https://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy
 
Launch coverage of the Delta II/OCO-2 countdown activities will be available on the NASA website by going to the NASA home page at:
 
http://www.nasa.gov
 
Live countdown coverage on NASA’s launch blog begins at 12:45 a.m. PDT (3:45 a.m. EDT).  Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Nancy Bray at 321-867-9112.
 
 
 
NASA OCO-2 AND DELTA II NEWS CENTER
 
The OCO-2 and Delta II News Center at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office will open Thursday, June 26. To speak with a NASA communications specialist, call 805-605-3051 beginning at that time.  A recorded launch status report also will be available by dialing 805-734-2693.
 
JPL is responsible for project management of OCO-2.  Orbital Sciences Corp. built the OCO-2 spacecraft. NASA’s Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida provides launch management.  United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA’s launch service provider of the Delta II rocket.
 
-end-
Jacques :-)

Offline Prober

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #97 on: 06/18/2014 08:31 pm »
Now for the good stuff .....hardware  ;D

2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

Offline Prober

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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #98 on: 06/18/2014 08:32 pm »
2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

Offline Prober

  • Senior Member
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Re: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) - July, 2014
« Reply #99 on: 06/18/2014 08:33 pm »
2017 - Everything Old is New Again.
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." --Isoroku Yamamoto

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