The Merlin engines powering the SpaceX Falcon 9 run on kerosene and liquid oxygen. Ground controllers are overseeing the loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen this afternoon aboard the rocket. The propellant is super cold, measuring minus-297 degrees F. As the Falcon rocket sits at the pad, a portion of the propellant warms up enough to …
All conditions are go this afternoon as we count down to liftoff of NOAA's DSCOVR spacecraft at 6:10 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Air Force is providing the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for today's launch. DSCOVR is slated to go to a deep space location about a million miles …
The DSCOVR spacecraft will take readings for NOAA that will be used by the Space Weather Prediction Center. You can find out more about the center here or by going to www.spaceweather.gov.
NOAA's DSCOVR will launch to a place about a million miles away from Earth where the gravity of Earth and the sun is balanced. The spacecraft will be able to remain in roughly the same place in order to keep a view of the Earth and sun simultaneously. The area is called Lagrange 1, named …
Good afternoon from Florida where NOAA's newest spacecraft stands ready for liftoff at 6:10 p.m. EST. The spacecraft, called DSCOVR, will be sent to an orbit 1 million miles away from the Earth where it will be able to watch the Sun and Earth at the same time. A SpaceX Falcon 9 is being fueled …
Managers of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the DSCOVR spacecraft have given a "go" to load propellants aboard the two-stage Falcon. Weather remains 90 percent "go" and there are no technical issues that would prevent the launch of DSCOVR at 6:10:12 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida.
Our continuous countdown coverage to the launch of NOAA's DSCOVR mission will begin at 3:30 p.m. EST leading up to liftoff at 6:10 p.m. The weather is looking very good for this evening's liftoff, too, and forecasters continue to offer a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. The launch window is instantaneous …
Icebergs are white, right? Well, no, not completely. As seen in this shot (above) of a recently-flipped iceberg, their undersides can come in spectacular shades of blue and green. The photograph was captured in Cierva Cove, Antarctica, by videographer Alex Cornell during a family vacation. “[It] had this arresting alien-green color to it,” Cornell said […]
Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (JSSOD) Operations: Wilmore coordinated with ground teams using the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) to return the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) containing the JSSOD to the JEMAL slide table. The slide table was retracted, bringing the MPEP inside the JEMAL. Following the activities, he …
