LIVE: Delta II - WISE - Dec 14, 09

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 10, 2009 (tentative)

Ground support equipment for the WISE spacecraft will arrive at
Vandenberg on Monday, Aug. 10. It will go to the Astrotech payload
processing facility located on north Vandenberg. WISE is scheduled to
arrive on Aug. 15 to begin processing for launch.

WISE will survey the entire sky in the mid-infrared with far greater
sensitivity than any previous mission ever has. The WISE survey will
capture over a million images, from which hundreds of millions of
astronomical objects will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse
of knowledge about the Solar System, the Milky Way, and the Universe.

[jacqmans]

News release: 2009-127                                                                       August 17, 2009

NASA's WISE Mission Arrives at Launch Site


PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has arrived at its last stop on Earth -- Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

WISE is scheduled to blast into space in December, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2. Orbiting around Earth, it will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, unveiling hundreds of thousands of asteroids, and hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies.

The spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg along the central California coast today, after a winding journey via truck from Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation in Boulder, Colo. Ball built the mission's spacecraft; its telescope and science instrument were built by Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah.

"WISE has arrived and is almost ready to go," said William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "After we check the spacecraft out and fill the telescope cooling tanks with solid hydrogen, we'll mate it to the rocket and launch."

WISE is an infrared space telescope like two currently orbiting missions, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA participation. But, unlike these missions, WISE will survey the entire sky. It is designed to cast a wide net to catch all sorts of unseen cosmic treasures. Millions of images from the survey will serve as rough maps for other observatories, such as Spitzer and NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, guiding them to intriguing targets.

"WISE will survey the cosmic landscape in the infrared so that future telescopes can home in on the most interesting 'properties,'" said Edward Wright, the principal investigator for the mission at UCLA.

The infrared surveyor will pick up the heat from a cornucopia of objects, both near and far. It will find hundreds of thousands of new asteroids in our main asteroid belt, and hundreds of near-Earth objects, which are comets and asteroids with orbits that pass relatively close to Earth. The mission will uncover the coldest stars, called brown dwarfs, perhaps even one closer to us than our closest known neighbor, Proxima Centauri, which is 4 light-years away. More distant finds will include nurseries of stars, swirling planet-building disks and the universe's most luminous galaxies billions of light-years away.

The data will help answer fundamental questions about how solar systems and galaxies form, and will provide the astronomical community with mountains of data to mine.

"WISE will create a legacy that endures for decades," said Peter Eisenhardt, the mission's project scientist at JPL. "Today, we still refer to the catalogue of our predecessor, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, which operated in 1983."

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was a joint infrared survey mission between NASA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. WISE's survey, thanks to next-generation technology, will be hundreds of times more sensitive.

The mission will scan the sky from a sun-synchronous orbit, 500 kilometers (about 311 miles) above Earth. After a one-month checkout period, it will map the whole sky over a period of six months. Onboard frozen hydrogen, which will cool the infrared detectors, is expected to last several months longer, allowing WISE to map much of the sky a second time and see what has changed.

JPL manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The mission's principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing will take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

NASA’s Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for government oversight of the Delta II and launch countdown management.

More information is online at http://wise.astro.ucla.edu .

 

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 10, 2009 (tentative)

Ground support equipment for the WISE spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg
on Aug. 10 and will be processed in the Astrotech payload processing
facility located on north Vandenberg. WISE arrived on Aug. 14 and was
offloaded and lifted out of its transportation canister on Saturday.

This week, the spacecraft is scheduled to be transferred to a work
stand to begin processing for launch.

WISE will survey the entire sky in the mid-infrared with far greater
sensitivity than any previous mission ever has. The WISE survey will
capture over a million images, from which hundreds of millions of
astronomical objects will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse
of knowledge about the Solar System, the Milky Way, and the Universe.

[AnalogMan]

"WISE has arrived and is almost ready to go," said William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "After we check the spacecraft out and fill the telescope cooling tanks with solid hydrogen, we'll mate it to the rocket and launch."

This is really a geek question and I am not really expecting a reply unless there are any WISE managers/engineers/technicians reading this forum.

How is the cryostat loaded with solid hydrogen?  I am anticipating that this is done by loading the tank with liquid hydrogen, which boils at 20.3K, followed by pumping away of the gaseous hydrogen above the liquid to cool the remaining hydrogen to solid state at 14K (atmospheric).

How soon does this have to happen before the payload is installed on the Delta II?  I'm guessing that heat load prior to launch may be quite important, or is the insulation on the cryostat good enough that this is not critical? 

[Jim]

How is the cryostat loaded with solid hydrogen?  I am anticipating that this is done by loading the tank with liquid hydrogen, which boils at 20.3K, followed by pumping away of the gaseous hydrogen above the liquid to cool the remaining hydrogen to solid state at 14K (atmospheric).

How soon does this have to happen before the payload is installed on the Delta II?  I'm guessing that heat load prior to launch may be quite important, or is the insulation on the cryostat good enough that this is not critical? 

I believe Liquid Helium is involved.  It will take a few weeks and it is off the pad.

[Lewis007]

Pictures of the arrival and first check-out of the WISE spacecraft at VAFB are now available at the KSC media gallery: http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009 (tentative)

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, WISE
has been transferred to a work stand to begin processing for launch.
The batteries are currently being charged in preparation for the
start of spacecraft functional testing on Aug. 24. The testing will
require approximately ten days.

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, WISE
has been transferred to a work stand to begin processing for launch.
Battery conditioning, spacecraft cleaning and post-ship functional
testing were completed on Aug. 25. The spacecraft functional testing
began on Aug. 24 and is expected to be complete in approximately
seven days.

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, the
WISE spacecraft functional testing was successfully completed early
this week as planned. Simulated launch pad operations tests were
performed on Sept. 1. These are functional tests associated with
launch day spacecraft flight system power on and final configuration
for launch. All were successfully completed.

Build-up of the Delta II at Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled to
begin on Oct. 19 with hoisting of the first stage into the launcher.

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 9:10 - 9:23 a.m. EST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, the
WISE spacecraft functional testing is complete. This week no work was
scheduled to allow for crew crest after the longer work days required
to support the ten days of spacecraft functional testing. Processing
will resume next week.

Vandenberg Air Force Base experienced the effects of a 3.9 magnitude
(light) earthquake at 4:22 a.m. PDT on Sept. 10. The epicenter was
offshore in the Pacific Ocean approximately 9 miles west of Lompoc.
WISE personnel performed an inspection of the spacecraft and no
anomalies were noted. Also, nothing unusual was found after an
inspection of the Astrotech payload processing facility.

Build-up of the Delta II at Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled to
begin on Oct. 19 with hoisting of the first stage into the launcher.

[gospacex]

This bird may find us a few more planets (in *our* Solar system, not exoplanets)!

[jacqmans]

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 9:10 - 9:23 a.m. EST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, WISE
spacecraft testing continues. This week the Mission Sequence Test and
Operational Readiness Test are under way and will conclude next week.


Build-up of the Delta II at Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled to
begin on Oct. 19 with hoisting of the first stage into the launcher.

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-100209

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: No earlier than Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 - 6:23 a.m. PST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, WISE
spacecraft processing is going well and continues on schedule. The
spacecraft instrument closeouts are under way. The spacecraft launch
initiation test is complete. The spacecraft has also been weighed and
mated to the payload attach fitting. A contamination inspection and
cleaning is being performed.

Build-up of the Delta II at Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled to
begin on Oct. 19 with hoisting of the first stage into the launcher.

A brush fire has been under way near the Vandenberg main gate but has
not had a significant impact on activities at NASA's Space Launch
Complex 2 or on payload processing. The fire has been contained and
is now burning only at a low level.

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-100909

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 - 6:23 a.m. PST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, WISE
spacecraft testing is complete. Work now is beginning to prepare the
spacecraft for loading of the cryogenic hydrogen which will be used
to supercool the infrared telescope during its six months of
observations.

Build-up of the Delta II rocket at Space Launch Complex 2 is scheduled
to begin on Oct. 16 with hoisting of the first stage into the
launcher.

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-101609

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad: SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 - 6:23 a.m. PST

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, work
has been under way this week to set up the necessary ground support
equipment for loading of the cryogenic hydrogen which will be used to
supercool the infrared telescope during its six months of
observations. The vacuum pumpdown of the spacecraft is now under way
and will be followed by testing at cryogenic temperatures. This will
be followed by two weeks of activity to load and then freeze the
cryogenic hydrogen.

Build-up of the Delta II rocket at Space Launch Complex 2 now is
scheduled to begin next week with hoisting of the first stage into
the launcher on Monday. The three solid rocket boosters will then be
attached on Oct. 21, and the second stage will be hoisted atop the
first stage on Oct. 22.

[Antares]

Next come the light poles

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-103009

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad:  SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 â?" 6:23 a.m. PST

Build-up of the Delta II rocket at Space Launch Complex 2 was
completed last week as planned. Testing was conducted this week on
the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite transmitter that will be tested
on this Delta II for possible use on future missions.

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, work
has been completed to test the spacecraftâ?Ts sensors at cryogenic
temperatures. Work is now under way to load and then freeze the
cryogenic hydrogen. This will be used to supercool the infrared
telescope during its six months of observations. This work requires
approximately two weeks and will be followed by one final week of
spacecraft testing.

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-110609

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad:  SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date: Dec. 7, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 - 6:23 a.m. PST

Testing has been conducted successfully on the Tracking & Data Relay
Satellite transmitter that will be used on the rocket. It will relay
vehicle data to the ground during the launch and will be evaluated
for possible use on future Delta II missions from Vandenberg. Second
stage propellant system qualification testing has been completed.
Three days of guidance and control system checks are currently under
way. The Delta II flight simulation is currently scheduled for Nov.
11. The first stage will be loaded with liquid oxygen on Nov. 12 for
leak checks and associated testing.

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, work
continues to load and then freeze the cryogenic hydrogen. This
activity is approximately 60 percent complete and will continue for
about another week. This will be used to supercool the infrared
telescope during its six months of observations. There then will be
one final week of spacecraft testing before work begins to prepare
WISE to move to the launch pad for integration with the Delta II.

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-216

WISE STAR AND ASTEROID-HUNTING SPACECRAFT TOPIC OF NASA BRIEFING

WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at
noon EST, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Wide-field Infrared
Survey Explorer, or WISE, mission. WISE is scheduled to launch Dec.
7, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Once in Earth orbit,
WISE will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, unveiling
hundreds of thousands of asteroids and hundreds of millions of stars
and galaxies.

The briefing will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium
at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. S.W., in Washington. NASA TV will
broadcast the briefing on the NASA Education Channel.

Panelists will be:
-- Jon Morse, NASA's Astrophysics division director at NASA
Headquarters
-- Edward (Ned) Wright, WISE principal investigator at UCLA
-- William Irace, WISE project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
-- Amy Mainzer, WISE deputy project scientist, JPL
-- Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project scientist, JPL

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations,
including NASA's Kennedy Space Center, or by phone. To reserve a
phone line, journalists should send an e-mail listing name, media
affiliation, and telephone number to:

[email protected]

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the WISE mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/wise


-end-

[madscientist197]

Is there going to be a 'warm' WISE mission, like the Spitzer warm mission? Or will WISE run out of attitude propellent?

[Analyst]

Propellant is not an issue. But it is very doubtful there can be any useful science with a "warm" mission. WISE - in contrast to Spitzer - is in Earth orbit (thermal issues) and it is a full sky survey mission, once done, you can improve it only marginally by doing it again and again.

Analyst

[Chris Bergin]

Thanks PR, title changed for new NET.

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 09-269

NASA'S WISE GETS READY TO SURVEY THE WHOLE SKY

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or Wise, is
chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll. NASA's
newest spacecraft is scheduled to roll to the pad on Friday, Nov. 20,
its last stop before launching into space to survey the entire sky in
infrared light.

Wise is scheduled to launch no earlier than 9:09 a.m. EST on Dec. 9
from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will circle Earth
over the poles, scanning the entire sky one-and-a-half times in nine
months. The mission will uncover hidden cosmic objects, including the
coolest stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous galaxies.

"The eyes of Wise are a vast improvement over those of past infrared
surveys," said Edward "Ned" Wright, the principal investigator for
the mission at UCLA. "We will find millions of objects that have
never been seen before."

The mission will map the entire sky at four infrared wavelengths with
sensitivity hundreds to hundreds of thousands of times greater than
its predecessors, cataloging hundreds of millions of objects. The
data will serve as navigation charts for other missions, pointing
them to the most interesting targets. NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Space
Telescopes, the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory,
and NASA's upcoming Sofia and James Webb Space Telescope will follow
up on Wise finds.

"This is an exciting time for space telescopes," said Jon Morse,
NASA's Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "Many of the telescopes will work together, each
contributing different pieces to some of the most intriguing puzzles
in our universe."

Visible light is just one slice of the universe's electromagnetic
rainbow. Infrared light, which humans can't see, has longer
wavelengths and is good for seeing objects that are cold, dusty or
far away. In our solar system, Wise is expected to find hundreds of
thousands of cool asteroids, including hundreds that pass relatively
close to Earth's path. Wise's infrared measurements will provide
better estimates of asteroid sizes and compositions -- important
information for understanding more about potentially hazardous
impacts on Earth.

"With infrared, we can find the dark asteroids other surveys have
missed and learn about the whole population. Are they mostly big,
small, fluffy or hard?" said Peter Eisenhardt, the Wise project
scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Wise also will find the coolest of the "failed" stars or brown dwarfs.
Scientists speculate it is possible that a cool star lurks right
under our noses, closer to us than our nearest known star, Proxima
Centauri, which is four light-years away. If so, Wise will easily
pick up its glow.
The mission also will spot dusty nests of stars and swirling
planet-forming disks, and may find the most luminous galaxy in the
universe.

To sense the infrared glow of stars and galaxies, the Wise spacecraft
cannot give off any detectable infrared light of its own. This is
accomplished by chilling the telescope and detectors to ultra-cold
temperatures. The coldest of Wise's detectors will operate at below 8
Kelvin, or minus 445 Fahrenheit.

"Wise is chilled out," said William Irace, the project manager at JPL.
"We've finished freezing the hydrogen that fills two tanks
surrounding the science instrument. We're ready to explore the
universe in infrared."

JPL manages Wise for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program
managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The
science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory in
Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data
processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about the Wise mission is available online at:



http://www.nasa.gov/wise

[jacqmans]

STATUS REPORT: ELV-111709

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

Spacecraft: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7320
Launch Pad:  SLC-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Launch Date:  no earlier than Dec. 9, 2009
Launch Window: 6:10 - 6:23 a.m. PST

The launch of WISE aboard the Delta II is being rescheduled by
approximately two days. A launch date of Dec. 9 currently is under
review. This additional time will allow sufficient time for a review
of flight data from a Delta IV to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station planned early in the first week of December.

The Delta II flight simulation was conducted successfully on Nov. 11.
The first stage was loaded with liquid oxygen on Nov. 12 for leak
checks and associated launch vehicle testing. There were no issues or
concerns with the Delta II rocket.

At the Astrotech payload processing facility on north Vandenberg, work
is complete to load and then freeze the cryogenic hydrogen. This
hydrogen will be used to supercool the infrared telescope during its
six months of observations. There is one final week of spacecraft
testing which is under way. Work will then begin to prepare WISE to
move to the launch pad on or about Nov. 20 for integration with the
Delta II.

[John44]

 WISE L-20 News Conference
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5511

[gospacex]

Gosh, this thing may find an Earth sized Kuiper belt object!..

[Analyst]

Exploration in the true sense of the meaning. And so cost efficient.

Analyst

[Lewis007]

Launch has been delayed to December 11.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/main/index.html

[Ford Mustang]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-229

NASA'S WISE SKY SURVEYING SPACECRAFT READY FOR LAUNCH DEC. 11

WASHINGTON - The launch of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,
or WISE, aboard a Delta II rocket is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 11,
between 9:09 a.m. and 9:23 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California. NASA will provide television and Internet coverage of
prelaunch activities and liftoff of the agency's latest space science
mission.

After launch, WISE will scan the entire sky in infrared light with a
sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before, picking up
the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of
images. The mission will uncover objects never seen before, including
the coolest stars, the universe's most luminous galaxies and some of
the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets.

A prelaunch news conference will be held Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. at the NASA
Vandenberg Resident Office and broadcast on NASA Television.
Reporters can ask questions from participating NASA centers. A WISE
mission science briefing immediately will follow the prelaunch news
conference. The briefings will be webcast at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

A WISE webcast with launch and mission managers is scheduled for noon
Dec. 10. To access WISE features, visit NASA's WISE Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/wise

On Dec. 11, NASA TV coverage of the countdown and launch will begin at
7 a.m. Launch coverage of countdown activities also will be available
on the NASA Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov

Audio of the prelaunch news conference and launch coverage will be
available by dialing 321-867-1220/1240/1260. This is a listen-only
audio system. Mission audio of countdown activities without NASA
launch commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at 6 a.m.


Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog starts at 7 a.m. The
coverage will feature real-time updates of countdown milestones, as
well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and
liftoff.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/ksc_blogs.html

The WISE mission news center is operational at the NASA Vandenberg
Resident Office. Reporters should call 805-605-3051 for launch
information. Recorded status reports also are available by dialing
805-734-2693.

[cd-slam]

The Kennedy link shown in the presser is just a general page, the specific page for the mission blog is at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/launch/launch_blog.html

I wondered why Kennedy site would have a blog for a Vandenberg launch.

[Jim]

The Kennedy link shown in the presser is just a general page, the specific page for the mission blog is at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/launch/launch_blog.html

I wondered why Kennedy site would have a blog for a Vandenberg launch.

A.  There is no NASA equivalent center at VAFB (like KSC and CCAFS)
B.  KSC has a resident office at VAFB.
C. KSC manages all ELV launches for NASA

[Chris Bergin]

Lockheed Martin Cryostat to Fly on NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Mission

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec 09, 2009  -- NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) - scheduled for launch on Dec. 11, 2009 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. - will scan the entire sky in infrared light, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. Two Thermos-like annular tanks filled with solid hydrogen, called a dual-stage cryostat, built by the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (NYSE: LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, will keep the mission's sensitive infrared telescope and detectors chilled to near absolute zero. Expected to last about 10 months, the solid hydrogen cryostat will cool the WISE focal plane to 7.6 Kelvin (minus 446 degrees Fahrenheit) and the optics to 12 Kelvin (minus 438 degrees Fahrenheit).

"After years of effort, it is very satisfying to finally reach the milestone of launch," said Iran Spradley, Senior Manager of the Thermal Sciences Department at the ATC. "We look forward with anticipation to the many discoveries that WISE is sure to make, and are enormously pleased to have played a role in this very important mission."

"Being a part of the WISE mission will always be a highlight in my career," said Larry Naes, recently retired Lockheed Martin WISE cryostat program manager. "From the very beginning of the program, our colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory assembled the best of the best to implement this mission, with a singular team focus to optimize the science and produce data that will contribute greatly to our understanding of the infrared universe."

The WISE mission will build on the heritage of NASA's very successful Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) launched in 1983. WISE, however, will have hundreds of times greater sensitivity and will uncover objects never before seen, including the coolest stars and the most luminous galaxies in the universe. The vast catalogs of infrared objects generated by WISE will help answer fundamental questions about the origins of planets, stars and galaxies, and provide astronomers a treasure trove of data that will be accessed for decades.

It is near-Earth objects, both asteroids and comets with orbits that come close to crossing Earth's path that will be the closest of WISE's discoveries. It is expected that WISE will find hundreds of these, and hundreds of thousands of additional asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. By measuring the objects' infrared light, astronomers will get the first good estimate of the size distribution of the asteroid population. This information will reveal approximately how often Earth can expect an encounter with a potentially hazardous asteroid.

WISE will orbit Earth at an altitude of 326 miles, circling pole to pole about 15 times each day. A scan mirror within the WISE instrument will stabilize the line of sight so that snapshots can be taken every 11 seconds over the entire sky. Each position on the sky will be imaged a minimum of eight times, and some areas near the poles will be imaged more than 1,000 times. About 7,500 images will be taken every day at four different infrared wavelengths.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The mission's principal investigator, Edward L. (Ned) Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected in 2002 under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp, Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing will take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. The mission's education and public outreach office is based at the University of California, Berkeley.

The ATC is the research and development organization of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC). LMSSC, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

[jacqmans]

News release: 2009-188                                                                      Dec. 9, 2009

NASA's WISE Set to Blast Off and Map the Skies

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-188&cid=kintera_release_2009-188

PASADENA, Calif. -- The countdown clock is ticking, with just days to go before the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, rockets into space on a mission to map the entire sky in infrared light.

NASA's newest spacecraft is currently perched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Santa Barbara, Calif. It is scheduled to roar into space at dawn on Dec. 11, at 6:09:33 a.m. PST (9:09:33 a.m. EST), on a short journey to its final Earth-circling orbit 525 kilometers (326 miles) overhead.

After a one-month checkout, the mission will spend the next nine months mapping the cosmos in infrared light. It will cover the whole sky one-and-a-half times, snapping millions of pictures of everything from near-Earth asteroids to faraway galaxies bursting with new stars.

"The last time we mapped the whole sky at these particular infrared wavelengths was 26 years ago," said Edward (Ned) Wright of UCLA, who is the principal investigator of the mission. "Infrared technology has come a long way since then. The old all-sky infrared pictures were like impressionist paintings -- now, we'll have images that look like actual photographs."

At liftoff, the main Delta II engine and three solid-motor boosters will ignite, providing a total liftoff thrust of more than 1,812,000 newtons (407,000 pounds). The rocket will tilt toward the south, cross the California coastline and head out over the Pacific Ocean. At one minute and 39 seconds after launch, the three spent boosters will fall away from the rocket. Two minutes and 45 seconds later, the main engine will cut off, and 14 seconds later, the vehicle's second stage will ignite. At four minutes and 56 seconds after liftoff, the "fairing" covering the satellite will split open like a clamshell and fall away.

The second stage of the rocket will then cut off, reigniting again 52 minutes after launch. It will shut down a second time and then, at about 55 minutes after launch, the spacecraft will reach its final orbit and separate from the rocket. Engineers expect to pick up a signal from WISE anywhere from about one to 10 minutes after separation.

The next major event will occur about 20 minutes after separation -- the valves on the spacecraft's cryostat will automatically open. The cryostat houses and chills the telescope and infrared detectors with tanks of frozen hydrogen. Valves on the cryostat are opened after launch to allow boiled-off hydrogen to escape, thereby preventing the instrument from warming up.

"It is important to relieve the pressure due to the warming hydrogen as soon as possible," said William Irace, the mission’s project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "By venting the hydrogen to space, we cool our instrument down to extremely low temperatures so that the eyes of WISE won't be blinded by their own heat."

After the spacecraft is checked out and calibrated, it will begin the task of surveying the whole sky. This will take about six months, after which the spacecraft will begin to sweep the sky a second time, covering about one-half before the frozen coolant runs out. The mission's primary lifetime is expected to be about 10 months.

The closest of the mission's finds will be asteroids and comets with orbits that come relatively close to Earth's path around the sun. These are called near-Earth objects. The infrared explorer will provide size and composition information about hundreds of these objects, giving us a better idea of their diversity. How many are dark like coal, and how many are shiny and bright? And how do their sizes differ? The mission will help answer these questions through its infrared observations, which provide information that can't be obtained using visible-light telescopes.

"We can help protect our Earth by learning more about the diversity of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets," said Amy Mainzer, deputy project scientist for the mission at JPL.

The farthest of the mission's targets are powerful galaxies that are either churning out loads of new stars or dominated by voracious black holes. These galaxies are shrouded in dust, and often can't be seen in visible light. WISE will expose millions, and may even find the most energetic, or luminous, galaxy in the universe.

"WISE can see these dusty objects so far away that we will be looking back in time 10 billion years, when galaxies were forming," said Peter Eisenhardt, the mission's project scientist at JPL. "By scanning the entire sky, we’ll learn just how extreme this galaxy formation process can get."

JPL manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The mission's principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

More information about Wise is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/wise and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/ .


- end -

[John44]

 WISE Prelaunch News Conference
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5576

 WISE Mission Science Briefing
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5577

[faustod]

What about a rumoured launch delay by 24 hous?

[avitek]

Difference in countdown clocks on

http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/

and

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/main/index.html

[avitek]

Justin Ray on Spaceflight Now says:

0620 GMT (2:20 a.m. EST)
The WISE team says the next launch attempt will be Saturday morning at 6:09 a.m. local time (9:09 a.m. EST; 1409 GMT).
Still no official word on why this 24-hour delay from Friday has occurred.

0540 GMT (1:40 a.m. EST)
DELAY. Launch of the WISE spacecraft has been postponed. Information about the reason behind the delay and a new target date have not yet been released by NASA.

[WHAP]

Weather would be the most obvious reason, although there's always the possibility of a technical issue.

I like the "still no official word" bit.  At 2:20 am, what do you expect?

[butters]

Reports suggest the delay is due to a problem with a "booster steering engine".  Not sure if that refers to TVC or RCS. 

[Art LeBrun]

Reports suggest the delay is due to a problem with a "booster steering engine".  Not sure if that refers to TVC or RCS. 

My first guess is a vernier engine or a the main engine. Is steering a proper term for LV function?

[jimvela]

Reports suggest the delay is due to a problem with a "booster steering engine".  Not sure if that refers to TVC or RCS. 

My first guess is a vernier engine or a the main engine. Is steering a proper term for LV function?

Possibly a noisy feedback pot on the 2nd stage...  And Wx looks crappy for Sat/Sun.  Sure hope they launch by Monday...

[Chris Bergin]

NASA Delta II WISE Mission Rescheduled for Dec. 14

 

Vandenberg AFB, Calif., (Dec. 10, 2009) - The launch of NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission is now rescheduled for Dec. 14, with a launch window of 6:09-6:23 a.m. PST.  The first launch attempt scheduled for Dec. 11 was delayed due to an anomaly in the motion of a booster steering engine.

          Mission managers have implemented a plan to completely resolve the anomaly.  This plan includes removing and replacing a suspect component on Friday, Dec. 11 allowing the Delta II to be ready for Monday’s launch attempt. The current weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather during the launch window. 

[Chris Bergin]

Moved for live coverage. Nearly had three launches today, until the Chinese delayed their spy sat launch.

[Chris Bergin]

Vandenberg AFB, Calif., (Dec. 13, 2009) - An United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite sits poised ready for launch on its Space Launch Complex-2 launch pad here.   The Delta II is set for liftoff at 6:09 a.m. PST.  WISE will scan the entire sky in infrared light, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. Photos by Bill Hartenstein, United Launch Alliance.

[Chris Bergin]

L-2 hours.

[Chris Bergin]

Launch Preview:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/12/live-ula-delta-ii-launch-with-wise/

By William Graham (fine work again).

[Chris Bergin]

Live coverage is on.

[Chris Bergin]

Hmm, unless I'm going blind, I forgot to update the mission booklet by ULA. Here it is:

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

"I've been with WISE so long and given so much heart and soul, it's like seeing one of my kids go off to college" (WISE) manager.

[Chris Bergin]

Go for LOX loading at T-65 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

Nice processing video playing from work done back in October.

Wise logo closeup:

[Chris Bergin]

LOX starting to vent:

[Chris Bergin]

No issues being worked.

[Chris Bergin]

Coming up on L-1 hour shortly.

[HyperTay]

How are you getting these sharp clear views from Chris? My NTV is blurry even on the 1200 feed, and the ULA feed is only slightly better.

[DaveS]

How are you getting these sharp clear views from Chris? My NTV is blurry even on the 1200 feed, and the ULA feed is only slightly better.

Weired. Mine is crystal clear.

[Chris Bergin]

Polling continues to be go.

[Chris Bergin]

Working slew tests.

How are you getting these sharp clear views from Chris? My NTV is blurry even on the 1200 feed, and the ULA feed is only slightly better.

No idea, using: 500 Kbps: http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1368570

[HyperTay]

And, just as I complain NTV clears right up! Thanks whoever does that at yahoo.

[Chris Bergin]

Checking their data link quality. Deemed acceptable.

[Chris Bergin]

T-15 minutes and holding.

[Chris Bergin]

LSP Promo playing.

Half way through the BIH.

L-30 minutes.

[Chris Bergin]

Polling to come out of the hold.

Go to proceed with count.

[Chris Bergin]

T-15 minutes and counting.

[Chris Bergin]

2nd Stage pressure checks. All good.

[Chris Bergin]

Next BIH at T-4 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

LOX Vent Valve cycling, with a close up.

[Chris Bergin]

Four mins to a BIH of 10 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

LOX topping to 100 percent.

[Chris Bergin]

Weather is go for launch.

[Chris Bergin]

Huzzah! They have good weather balloon data for upper level winds

[Chris Bergin]

T-4 mins and holding for 10 mins.

[Hungry4info3]

Huzzah! They have good weather balloon data for upper level winds

Great to hear! (Btw thanks, Chris, for the coverage  ).

[Chris Bergin]

Good config for terminal count. Round of applause in the control room for some reason.

[Chris Bergin]

Fill and Drain valve cycled three times. LOX Vent Valve cycled again.

[Chris Bergin]

Polling to come out of this final hold. All go.

[Chris Bergin]

Shortly coming out of the hold at T-4 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

WISE configured for launch.

[Chris Bergin]

Go to proceed with the terminal count.

T-4 minutes and counting.

[Chris Bergin]

First stage pressurization in work.

[Chris Bergin]

Arming of the vehicle's ordnance complete.

T-3 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

Sound Suppression Water (System) armed.

T-90 seconds.

[Chris Bergin]

Range for launch.

LD is go for launch.

T-60 seconds.

[Chris Bergin]

T-30 seconds.

Vehicle enabled for flight.

[Chris Bergin]

LAUNCH!

[Chris Bergin]

First stage. Pitch and Roll in.

[Chris Bergin]

T+50 seconds.

MaxQ

[Chris Bergin]

Groundlit solids burnout.

[Chris Bergin]

Solids jettisoned. Not visible.

[Chris Bergin]

T+2 mins.

[Chris Bergin]

T+2mins 55 seconds.

Vel: 3,500mph.

[Chris Bergin]

Telementry is behind on the solids being jettisoned.

60 seconds to staging.

[Chris Bergin]

MECO.

Staging. 1-2 Sep.

[Chris Bergin]

Second Stage ingition.

Fairing jettison.

"Very quiet ride."

[Chris Bergin]

T+6 minutes.

[Chris Bergin]

11,000 mph - this vehicle doesn't hang about does it!

[Chris Bergin]

Two minutes to the end of the burn.

[Chris Bergin]

Vehicle has been acquired by a TDRSS.

[Chris Bergin]

Altitude: 101nms.

Downrange: 983nms.

Velocity: 15,059 mph

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

SECO.

[jimvela]

11,000 mph - this vehicle doesn't hang about does it!

Nope.  Love this launcher- it'll haul your butt reliably to orbit, and in a hurry.

[Chris Bergin]

"Very very good numbers on SECO1."

50 minutes until the second burn.

[Chris Bergin]

Coasting at 16,800mph.

[Zipi]

First video about the launch has already reached Youtube:

[jcm]

Some more background: in astronomy we tend to alternate 'survey' missions which discover new sources (stars, galaxies, etc) and 'pointed' missions which follow up those discoveries with detailed study. The last all sky infrared survey was IRAS in 1983; Spitzer (and the European ISO to some extent) followed up those discoveries. WISE will do a much better survey (better positions, fainter objects); while there'll be awesome science coming from it, the WISE catalog will also serve as a finding list for followup by JWST and Herschel.

WISE's PI, Ned Wright, is well known for theoretical studies in cosmology (back in the day when I was in that field, I remember some key papers from him that I used in my thesis, on the role of dust in the early universe) and was a major player in the COBE Big Bang study mission. Project Scientist Pete Eisenhardt is an expert in infrared from distant galaxies; deputy project scientist Amy Mainzer is an instrumentation expert who built a key component of the Spitzer telescope as a side project while still in grad school. And all three of them are super nice - I hope their mission goes as smoothly as ours has.

[Chris Bergin]

T+15 mins. 2,300 miles downrange.

Looks like we'll keep the loop, as opposed to some Sea Launch coast phase jazz music.

[Chris Bergin]

Launch replay, playing.

I want a home office that looks like this....

[Chris Bergin]

That's all we're getting for a while.

[Satori]

That's all we're getting for a while.

Well, it would be better to have a coast phase jazz music...

[Chris Bergin]

That's all we're getting for a while.

Well, it would be better to have a coast phase jazz music...

Indeed, and I was suprised the Augustine Commission overlooked ULA's shortcomings for coast phase jazz. You can be sure Elon won't miss that trick! He'll probably be on trumpet

Anyhoo, coming up on the second and final burn shortly.

[Herb Schaltegger]

Thanks for the coverage, guys.  Much appreciated by those of us stuck in White Collar Office Hell on a rainy Monday morning.

[jimvela]

Coverage is back live

[Chris Bergin]

And we're back.

T+46 minutes.

[Antares]

Vehicle has been acquired by a TDRSS.

First Delta II with solely TDRSS coverage for downrange telemetry, IIRC.  It replaces the boats and planes that had provided coverage previously, and could therefore be subject to their own launch commit criteria (bad weather, faulty equipment, availability, etc.).

[jimvela]

Not much happening atm

[Chris Bergin]

Land ahoy!

[jimvela]

less than 2 min to next burn.

[Chris Bergin]

60 seconds to the second burn of the second stage.

[Chris Bergin]

Second stage ignition.

[Chris Bergin]

SECO-2.

[Chris Bergin]

120 seconds to spacecraft sep.

[Chris Bergin]

60 seconds.

[jimvela]

Accelerometer data shows deploy...

[jimvela]

Empty 2nd stage, no discrepancies...

[Chris Bergin]

S/C Sep.

Congrats to all involved.

[Chris Bergin]

ULA Caps Banner Launch Year with Successful Delta II NASA WISE Launch

 

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., (Dec. 14, 2009) – Completing an incredible year in which it launched 16 successful missions, United Launch Alliance capped 2009 with the launch of a Delta II carrying NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft at 6:09 a.m. PST, today. Rocketing from Space Launch Complex-2, the launch was the eighth Delta II of 2009 and represents the 37th successful mission launched by United Launch Alliance in its first 36 months of operation. ULA’s first launch took place Dec. 14, 2006, and since then 11 Atlas Vs, 21 Delta IIs, and 4 Delta IVs have launched with 100 percent mission success.

 “I congratulate NASA, the 30th Space Wing, and all of our mission partners on a successful launch campaign, which culminated in today’s picture perfect launch,” said Jim Sponnick, Vice President, Delta Product Line. “My thanks to the NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Program (LSP) for the outstanding teamwork demonstrated throughout the six ULA/NASA KSC launches this year.  The men and women of ULA are extremely proud of our mission success record while merging the Atlas and Delta product lines into one cohesive team.  Launching successfully 16 times in one year is no easy feat and 37 missions in 36 months is certainly a high water mark for our industry. We look forward to a great 2010 with several critical missions ahead of us.” 

WISE will scan the entire sky using an infrared telescope with sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before possible, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images.  The mission will uncover objects never seen, including the coolest stars, the universe’s most luminous galaxies and some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets.

For the WISE mission, the spacecraft was launched on a Delta II 7320-10C configuration vehicle featuring a ULA first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems (ATK) strap-on solid rocket motors. An Aerojet AJ10-118K engine powered the second stage. The payload was encased by a 10-foot-diameter composite payload fairing.

[jimvela]

Good separation orbit parameters.

Woo hoo, this means my GSE/LSE, and the best damned spacecraft tech in the business will be back at the office in a few days.  :-)

[Chris Bergin]

SECO-2 numbers were very good.

Handshakes all round.

[Chris Bergin]

Good separation orbit parameters.

Woo hoo, this means my GSE/LSE, and the best damned spacecraft tech in the business will be back at the office in a few days.  :-)

Congrats Jim!

[jcm]

Waiting for vent valves and attitude acquisition (expected 1530 GMT per Amy's blog)

[Analyst]

The most flown US launch vehicle of 2009. A shame it will go away soon, to be replaced by ... new vehicles offering nothing new other than being unproven.

Analyst

[Satori]

Congrats to all involved! And thanks Chris for the coverage, very apreciated!

[psloss]

NASA TV commentary signed off, broadcast has ended.

[Chris Bergin]

Chuck's happy.

End of NTV coverage....but we'll obviously keep this thread going for s/c checkouts etc.

[jimvela]

Good separation orbit parameters.

Woo hoo, this means my GSE/LSE, and the best damned spacecraft tech in the business will be back at the office in a few days.  :-)

Congrats Jim!

My little bit of equipment and contribution is relatively small overall.

The group of folks that will be packing up to come home work their tails off to make this happen.  They don't get nearly the credit that they deserve.

Great bunch of folks.

[Jim]

The most flown US launch vehicle of 2009. A shame it will go away soon, to be replaced by ... new vehicles offering nothing new other than being unproven.

Analyst

No, Atlas V replaced it.

[Analyst]

For twice the price tag.

Analyst

[Jim]

For twice the price tag.

Analyst

A Delta II costs just as much without the USAF GPS subsidy

[Chris Bergin]

Bob Cabana to the KSC team:

To the KSC team,

I want to pass on my sincere congratulations to the LSP team for a job well done in the planning and execution of the WISE mission over the past six years.  I couldn’t be more proud of them for this successful launch that is testimony to the dedication and excellence of the entire LSP team.  KSC’s Launch Services Program is the model for enabling the current science missions and the future of commercial operations.  The WISE launch marks the seventh launch of an extremely busy year for LSP, delivering critical science missions for our Nation to better understand our universe.  I know how hard the LSP team has worked throughout the planning and execution of this mission and it’s been even harder to overcome the challenges of the last few weeks.  The team did a great job coming up with the technical solutions to solve these complex problems. I can’t say enough good things about LSP’s level of technical excellence and dedication.   
Again, congratulations to the entire LSP team for a job well done!

Keep Charging,

Bob

[Chris Bergin]

Vandenberg AFB, Calif., (Dec. 14, 2009) - An United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite launches at 6:09 a.m. PST from Space Launch Complex-2 here.   This was ULA’s 16th successful and final launch of 2009 and 37th launch in 36th months of operation.  WISE will scan the entire sky in infrared light, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. Photo by Bill Hartenstein, United Launch Alliance

[jimvela]

I hear that Spacecraft telemetry has come down, evidently WISE is alive and well. 

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 09-286

NASA'S WISE EYE ON THE UNIVERSE BEGINS ALL-SKY SURVEY MISSION

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey
Explorer, or WISE, lifted off over the Pacific Ocean this morning on
its way to map the entire sky in infrared light.

A Delta II rocket carrying the spacecraft launched at 9:09 a.m. EST
from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket deposited
WISE into a polar orbit 326 miles above Earth.

"WISE thundered overhead, lighting up the pre-dawn skies," said
William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "All systems are looking good, and we
are on our way to seeing the entire infrared sky better than ever
before."

Engineers acquired a signal from the spacecraft via NASA's Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite System just 10 seconds after the spacecraft
separated from the rocket. Approximately three minutes later, WISE
re-oriented itself with its solar panels facing the sun to generate
its own power. The next major event occurred about 17 minutes later.
Valves on the cryostat, a chamber of super-cold hydrogen ice that
cools the WISE instrument, opened. Because the instrument sees the
infrared, or heat, signatures of objects, it must be kept at chilly
temperatures -- its coldest detectors are less than minus 447 degrees
Fahrenheit.

"WISE needs to be colder than the objects it's observing," said Ned
Wright of UCLA, the mission's principal investigator. "Now we're
ready to see the infrared glow from hundreds of thousands of
asteroids, and hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies."

With the spacecraft stable, cold and communicating with mission
controllers at JPL, a month-long checkout and calibration is
underway.

WISE will see the infrared colors of the whole sky with sensitivity
and resolution far better than the last infrared sky survey,
performed 26 years ago. The space telescope will spend nine months
scanning the sky once, then one-half the sky a second time. The
primary mission will end when WISE's frozen hydrogen runs out, about
10 months after launch.

Just about everything in the universe glows in infrared, which means
the mission will catalog a variety of astronomical targets.
Near-Earth asteroids, stars, planet-forming disks and distant
galaxies all will be easy for the mission to see. Hundreds of
millions of objects will populate the WISE atlas, providing
astronomers and other space missions, such as NASA's planned James
Webb Space Telescope, with a long-lasting infrared roadmap.

JPL manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission was competitively
selected under the Explorers Program, managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by
the Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was
built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo.
Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared
Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center, Fla., managed the payload integration and the
launch service.

More information about the WISE mission is available online at:



http://www.nasa.gov/wise

[jacqmans]

News Release Issued: December 14, 2009 11:06 AM EST

ATK Propulsion and Composite Technologies Key to Successful Delta II Launch
ATK Supports NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Satellite
ATK Approaching 20 Years of Support for Delta II Missions




MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) played a key role in the successful launch of United Launch Alliance's Delta II rocket today from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., carrying the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite for NASA. The company provided solid rocket boosters and the composite payload fairing.


ATK manufactured the three, 40-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM), which are strap-on boosters that ignited with the Delta II first-stage main engine at liftoff. The boosters provided 336,000 pounds of maximum thrust helping carry the WISE satellite to its required orbit.


ATK manufactured the GEM-40 motors at its facility in Magna, Utah, continuing a tradition of flight support for Delta II missions that began in 1990. The composite cases for the GEM-40 boosters were produced at ATK's Clearfield, Utah, facility and are made of graphite epoxy material using an automated filament winding process the company developed and refined through its 50-year heritage in composite manufacturing.


The 10-foot diameter composite payload fairing, encapsulating the payload, was fabricated by ATK's Iuka, Miss., facility. The fairing was produced using advanced composite hand layup manufacturing, machining and inspection techniques. This was the 19th ATK-built fairing flown on a Delta II mission.


In addition, ATK Mission Operations in Pasadena, Calif., provided mission planning, sequence generation, and Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) ground station scheduling support for the mission. ATK's flight controllers provided real-time monitoring and command during prelaunch, launch and post launch and will continue for the duration of the mission. WISE is the 5th mission ATK's flight controllers support.


WISE is an infrared space telescope like two currently orbiting missions, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA participation. But, unlike these missions, WISE will survey the entire sky. Millions of images from the survey will serve as rough maps for other observatories, such as Spitzer and NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, guiding them to intriguing targets.


The Jet Propulsion Lab manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. More information is online at http://www.nasa.gov/wise and http://wise.astro.ucla.edu.

[John44]

 WISE Launch
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5579

 WISE Launch Replays
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5580

[robertross]

Thanks for the coverage everyone.

Congrats ULA & NASA. Job well done!

[Zipi]

Official Youtube video:

[woods170]

Some more background: in astronomy we tend to alternate 'survey' missions which discover new sources (stars, galaxies, etc) and 'pointed' missions which follow up those discoveries with detailed study. The last all sky infrared survey was IRAS in 1983;

With regards to the underlined text above: That's a load of BS. The last infrared all sky survey was not IRAS in 1983, but the Japanese Akari mission (the former ASTRO-F) from February 2006 to August 2007.
The first infrared all-sky survey was IRAS in 1983. More than 20 years later, the Japanese did a much better survey, making good use of the vastly improved IR sensor technology.
WISE, in it's current form is basically re-doing Akari, less than 3 years later, but concentrating more on the shorter wavelengths within the Infrared part of the spectrum and higher sensitivity.

I find the fact that NASA is conveniantly overlooking Akari slightly annoying.

[gospacex]

Some more background: in astronomy we tend to alternate 'survey' missions which discover new sources (stars, galaxies, etc) and 'pointed' missions which follow up those discoveries with detailed study. The last all sky infrared survey was IRAS in 1983;

With regards to the underlined text above: That's a load of BS. The last infrared all sky survey was not IRAS in 1983, but the Japanese Akari mission (the former ASTRO-F) from February 2006 to August 2007.
The first infrared all-sky survey was IRAS in 1983. More than 20 years later, the Japanese did a much better survey, making good use of the vastly improved IR sensor technology.

Did they find something of note? Say, a largish transneptunian object?

[jcm]

Some more background: in astronomy we tend to alternate 'survey' missions which discover new sources (stars, galaxies, etc) and 'pointed' missions which follow up those discoveries with detailed study. The last all sky infrared survey was IRAS in 1983;

With regards to the underlined text above: That's a load of BS. The last infrared all sky survey was not IRAS in 1983, but the Japanese Akari mission (the former ASTRO-F) from February 2006 to August 2007.
The first infrared all-sky survey was IRAS in 1983. More than 20 years later, the Japanese did a much better survey, making good use of the vastly improved IR sensor technology.
WISE, in it's current form is basically re-doing Akari, less than 3 years later, but concentrating more on the shorter wavelengths within the Infrared part of the spectrum and higher sensitivity.

I find the fact that NASA is conveniantly overlooking Akari slightly annoying.

Ouch. I did forget Akari. The Akari source catalog has of course not yet been publicly released (as far as I can telll) so at this moment IRAS is still the only all sky survey available to the community.  That's not meant to be a complaint - it took us years to do the Chandra catalog which just came out a few months ago. I think the combined Akari and WISE datasets will be very exciting, and I apologize to my Japanese and European colleagues for overlooking them. (At least I did nod to ISO and Herschel). Mea maxima culpa.

 - Jonathan

[ChrisC]

On that tangent, NASA has certainly demonstrated what a poor job JAXA does of releasing their data.  Recent unmanned missions (MER, Cassini, Phoenix) have been aaaaall about getting the data out immediately (with the uncalibrated caveat of course).  JAXA ... mission after mission, little comes out publicly.  Kaguya, Nozomi ...

So, yeah, I'd go ahead and complain.

(note: all second hand opinions, I'm just a fan)

(ducks)

[woods170]

Some more background: in astronomy we tend to alternate 'survey' missions which discover new sources (stars, galaxies, etc) and 'pointed' missions which follow up those discoveries with detailed study. The last all sky infrared survey was IRAS in 1983;

With regards to the underlined text above: That's a load of BS. The last infrared all sky survey was not IRAS in 1983, but the Japanese Akari mission (the former ASTRO-F) from February 2006 to August 2007.
The first infrared all-sky survey was IRAS in 1983. More than 20 years later, the Japanese did a much better survey, making good use of the vastly improved IR sensor technology.
WISE, in it's current form is basically re-doing Akari, less than 3 years later, but concentrating more on the shorter wavelengths within the Infrared part of the spectrum and higher sensitivity.

I find the fact that NASA is conveniantly overlooking Akari slightly annoying.

Ouch. I did forget Akari. The Akari source catalog has of course not yet been publicly released (as far as I can telll) so at this moment IRAS is still the only all sky survey available to the community.  That's not meant to be a complaint - it took us years to do the Chandra catalog which just came out a few months ago. I think the combined Akari and WISE datasets will be very exciting, and I apologize to my Japanese and European colleagues for overlooking them. (At least I did nod to ISO and Herschel). Mea maxima culpa.

 - Jonathan

The initial version of the Akari Survey catalogue was released to the participating project teams in November 2008, approx. one year after finishing observations. That's quite good a release time for the release of refined data. The Japanese traditionally do not like to release 'raw' data, as that might lead to wild stories in the media (as once happened to the IRAS project teams... Someone claimed IRAS 'saw' the missing 10th planet, and that bogus observation was based on unprocessed data. Go figure...)
Both catalogues (Survey and point source) based on Akari data were planned to be made publicly available in the fall of 2009. They have been delayed by a few months for further refining. New release date is in early 2010.

The participating project teams in Akari have already submitted a number of scientific articles based on Akari data.

[jacqmans]

News release: 2009-206                                                                      Dec. 29, 2009

NASA's WISE Space Telescope Jettisons Its Cover

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-206&cid=release_2009-206

NASA's recently launched Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer opened its eyes to the starry sky today, after ejecting its protective cover.

Engineers and scientists say the maneuver went off without a hitch, and everything is working properly. The mission's "first-light" images of the sky will be released to the public in about a month, after the telescope has been fully calibrated.

"The cover floated away as we planned," said William Irace, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Our detectors are soaking up starlight for the first time."

WISE will perform the most detailed infrared survey of the entire sky to date. Its millions of images will expose the dark side of the cosmos -- objects, such as asteroids, stars and galaxies, that are too cool or dusty to be seen with visible light. The telescope will survey the sky one-and-a-half times in nine months, ending its primary mission when the coolant it needs to see infrared light evaporates away.

WISE launched on Dec. 14 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Once it was thoroughly checked out in space, it was ready to "flip its lid."

The cover served as the top to a Thermos-like bottle that chilled the instrument -- a 40-centimeter (16-inch) telescope and four infrared detector arrays with one million pixels each. The instrument must be maintained at frosty temperatures, as cold as below 8 Kelvin (minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit), to prevent it from picking up its own heat, or infrared, glow. The cover kept everything cool on the ground by sealing a vacuum space into the instrument chamber. In the same way that Thermos bottles use thin vacuum layers to keep your coffee warm or iced tea cold, the vacuum space inside WISE stopped heat from getting in. Now, space itself will provide the instrument with an even better vacuum than before.

The cover also protected the instrument from stray sunlight and extra heat during launch.

At about 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. PST), Dec. 29, engineers sent a command to fire pyrotechnic devices that released nuts holding the cover in place. Three springs were then free to push the cover away and into an orbit closer to Earth than that of the spacecraft.

Scientists and engineers are now busy adjusting the rate of the spacecraft to match the rate of a scanning mirror. To take still images on the sky as it orbits around Earth, WISE will use a scan mirror to counteract its motion. Light from the moving telescope's primary miror will be focused onto the scan mirror, which will move in the opposite direction at the same rate. This allows the mission to take "freeze-frame" snapshots of the sky every 11 seconds. That's about 7,500 images a day.

"It's wonderful to end the year with open WISE eyes," said Peter Eisenhardt, the mission's project scientist at JPL. "Now we can synch WISE up to our scan mirror and get on with the business of exploring the infrared universe."

WISE is scheduled to begin its survey of the infrared heavens in mid-January of 2010.

JPL manages the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. More information is online at http://www.nasa.gov/wise and http://wise.astro.ucla.edu .



- end -