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Delta II launches new NOAA weather satellite
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NOAA-19, the weather satellite formerly known as NOAA-N Prime, is now on orbit following last night's successful launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base. A Delta II rocket roared through a low layer of clouds as the workhorse launch vehicle marked success number 138 out of 140 tries.
The last of its kind, NOAA-19 will not only aid in weather observation and prediction, but also joins international satellite-aided search-and-rescue missions. NOAA said that such efforts have saved 22,000 lives since 1982.
NOAA-19 is the last of the TIROS series, which went into service in the 1960's. Continuously upgraded, the generations of satellites have provided decades of Earth oversight.
The satellite successfully unfurled its 20-foot-long, 9-foot-wide solar array at 75 minutes after launch. That was a crucial step in ensuring NOAA-19 will be able to perform its polar orbit mission.
The launch was managed by NASA's Kennedy Space Center and performed by space contractor United Launch Alliance. The overall mission is valued at $564-million.
NOAA-19 overcame years of delay following a Lockheed Martin factory accident that sent the precious cargo crashing to the floor. After a blistering safety investigation so controversial that astronaut Bryan O'Connor, NASA's Safety chief, disagreed with several findings, Lockheed Martin agreed to absorb some of the costs of rebuilding the satellite.
Last night's successful launch followed two prior attempts. Those flights were grounded by failures in launch pad equipment.
Image credit/NASA & NOAA
And a hat tip to the Florida Today Flame Trench team, who have compiled an enormous library of space documents. Florida Today is outside Kennedy Space Center, and they're the hometown resource for KSC-NASA events. Transparency disclaimer: I onced worked for Florida Today, and know & respect several of their space reporters.
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