NASA successfully launched a new environmental satellite today

Erica Hupp/Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington May 20, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-1237/1753)

Cynthia O'Carroll
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-4647)

George H. Diller
NASA Resident Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
(Phone: 321/431-4908)

John Leslie
NOAA Satellites & Information Service
(Phone: 301/457-5005)

RELEASE: 05-129

NASA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE

NASA successfully launched a new environmental satellite today for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It will improve
weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world.

The NOAA-18 (N) spacecraft lifted off at 6:22 a.m. EDT from Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Calif., on a Boeing Delta II 7320-10 expendable launch vehicle.
Approximately 65 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the Delta II
second stage.

"The satellite is in orbit and all indications are that we have a healthy
spacecraft," said Karen Halterman, the NASA Polar-orbiting Operational
Environmental Satellites (POES) Project Manager, Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC), Greenbelt, Md. "NASA is proud of our partnership with NOAA in
continuing
this vital environmental mission," she added.

Flight controllers tracked the launch vehicle's progress using real-time
telemetry data relayed through NASA's Tracking and Date Relay Satellite
System
(TDRSS) starting about five minutes after launch. Approximately 26 minutes
after
launch, controllers acquired the spacecraft through the McMurdo Sound ground
station, Antarctica, while the spacecraft was still attached to the Delta
II.
Spacecraft separation was monitored by the TDRSS.

-more-
-2-

The solar array boom and antennas were successfully deployed, and the
spacecraft
was placed in a near-perfect orbit. The satellite was acquired by the NOAA
Fairbanks Station, Alaska, 86 minutes after launch and deployments, and a
nominal
spacecraft power system was confirmed. NOAA-N was renamed NOAA-18 after
achieving
orbit.

NOAA-18 will collect data about the Earth's surface and atmosphere. The data
are
input to NOAA's long-range climate and seasonal outlooks, including
forecasts for
El Nino and La Nina. NOAA-18 is the fourth in a series of five
Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellites with instruments that provide improved
imaging and sounding capabilities.

NOAA-18 has instruments used in the international Search and Rescue
Satellite-
Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT, which was established in 1982.
NOAA
polar-orbiting satellites detect emergency beacon distress signals and relay
their location to ground stations, so rescue can be dispatched. SARSAT is
credited with saving approximately 5,000 lives in the U.S. and more than
18,000
worldwide.

Twenty-one days after spacecraft launch, NASA will transfer operational
control
of NOAA-18 to NOAA. NASA's comprehensive on-orbit verification period is
expected
to last approximately 45 days.

NOAA manages the POES program and establishes requirements, provides all
funding
and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. GSFC
procures
and manages the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost-
reimbursable basis.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., was responsible for the countdown
management
and launch of the Delta II, which was provided by Boeing Expendable Launch
Systems, Huntington Beach, Calif.

For images of the launch, information about NOAA-N and the polar-orbiting
satellites, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/noaa-n

http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov

http://www.noaa.gov

http://nws.noaa.gov

-end-


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info