DSCOVR Forecast Remains 90 Percent ‘Go’
There is a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for launch of DSCOVR, NOAA’s new deep space satellite to monitor space weather. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. The spacecraft is targeted for launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:10:12 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida.
DSCOVR will maintain the nation’s solar wind observations, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA’s space weather alerts, forecasts, and warnings. Space weather events like geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind can affect public infrastructure systems, including power grids, telecommunications systems, and aircraft avionics. DSCOVR will succeed NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer in supporting solar observations and provide 15- to 60-minute warning time to improve predictions of geomagnetic storm impact locations.
