Rockot launches gravity mapping satellite
Posted: Tue, Mar 17, 2009, 9:37 PM ET (0137 GMT)
A Russian rocket successfully launched Tuesday a European satellite designed to accurately map the Earth's gravity field. The Rockot vehicle lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 10:21 am EDT (1421 GMT) and placed 1,050-kilogram the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) spacecraft into a 280-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 96.7 degrees. GOCE was scheduled to launch yesterday but the launch was scrubbed in the final seconds when the doors of the service tower at the launch pad failed to open, preventing the tower from moving away from the launch pad. The spacecraft, built by a European industry team that includes Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium, is designed to measure the Earth's gravity field with unprecedented resolution, allowing scientists to better study ocean circulation and sea-level change. GOCE is the first in a new series of ESA Earth sciences spacecraft.
A Russian rocket successfully launched Tuesday a European satellite designed to accurately map the Earth's gravity field. The Rockot vehicle lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 10:21 am EDT (1421 GMT) and placed 1,050-kilogram the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) spacecraft into a 280-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 96.7 degrees. GOCE was scheduled to launch yesterday but the launch was scrubbed in the final seconds when the doors of the service tower at the launch pad failed to open, preventing the tower from moving away from the launch pad. The spacecraft, built by a European industry team that includes Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium, is designed to measure the Earth's gravity field with unprecedented resolution, allowing scientists to better study ocean circulation and sea-level change. GOCE is the first in a new series of ESA Earth sciences spacecraft.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, February 23
AAC Clyde Space presents INFLECION: Safer Oceans, Smarter Shipping, and Greener Future
AAC Clyde Space — 1:45 pm ET (1845 GMT) European Commission Supports Atmos With €13.1 Million EIC Funding
Atmos Space Cargo — 1:44 pm ET (1844 GMT) Welcoming Head of Product to Dominate Innovation Across Navigation and Autonomy
Advanced Navigation — 1:42 pm ET (1842 GMT) Mystery of 'remarkable' cosmic explosion that lay hidden for years
Royal Astronomical Society — 1:41 pm ET (1841 GMT) DESI Uncovers 300 New Intermediate-Mass Black Holes Plus 2500 New Active Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies
National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory — 1:40 pm ET (1840 GMT) |
