Launch Forecast: 90 Percent ‘Go’
Weather forecasters from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron are predicting a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for launch of DSCOVR, the new NOAA satellite to monitor space weather. The primary concern is for thick clouds at launch time.
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 Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 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 (ACE) in supporting solar observations and provide 15- to 60-minute warning time to improve predictions of geomagnetic storm impact locations.
