Think for a moment about the soil beneath your feet or outside your window. It is damp, dry, or frozen? Maybe it's flood-prone, or dry to the point of cracking. Locally and globally, soil moisture matters. Water in Earth's soil represents only a small percentage of our planet's total quantity of water. But food crops …
SMAP Awaits Liftoff; Countdown Coverage Begins Now
NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive observatory is nearly ready for its ride into Earth orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Countdown activities are in progress at Space Launch Complex 2 on California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. Liftoff is slated for 6:20 a.m. PST, 9:20 a.m. EST, the opening of a three-minute launch …
Mobile Service Tower Rollback
The mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 is rolled away from the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket late Wednesday. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Reveal
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission is one step closer to launch. On January 28, the mobile service tower (top) rolled back to reveal the Delta II rocket (second image). Liftoff of the Delta II rocket and its satellite cargo is targeted for launch from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 2 at 6:20 a.m. PST […]
Countdown Coverage Begins at 7 a.m. EST
Join us for continuous countdown coverage Thursday morning beginning at 7 a.m. EST. Liftoff of NASA's SMAP spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the meantime, visit this page for in-person viewing information, and check out our new video highlighting …
Robonaut’s Legs Powered Up, Station Lowers Orbit
The Expedition 42 crew worked Wednesday with fruit flies, a humanoid robot and a Dragon spacecraft. Also, Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-5 fired its engines for nearly five minutes, slightly lowering the station’s orbit to prepare for an upcoming ISS Progress 58 resupply mission. Commander Barry Wilmore and Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti packed gear inside the …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 01/28/15
Sally RideEarth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (Sally Ride EarthKAM): Samokutyaev installed the 180 mm lens on the EarthKam and continued with the week long imaging session. Not everyone can go to space, but everyone can see Earth from an astronaut’s perspective with the Sally Ride EarthKAM program. Thousands of students can remotely control …
SMAP Set to Investigate Earth
SMAP is ready to go! The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, which will map the water content of soils worldwide, passed its “launch readiness review” on January 27. There is also a favorable weather forecast for a launch on January 29. So the SMAP team is ready. “It has reached the point where it’s an […]
Launch Readiness Review Clears SMAP for Launch
Managers from NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) met Tuesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to assess the status of NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) spacecraft and the ULA Delta II rocket that will boost SMAP into space. At the conclusion of the Launch Vehicle Readiness Review, a poll was taken and …