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
|
|
FAA restricts hours for commercial launches during shutdown
Posted: Sun, Nov 9 9:05 AM ET (1405 GMT) China postpones Shenzhou-20 return on orbital debris concerns
Posted: Sun, Nov 9 8:58 AM ET (1358 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, November 15
Emirates to put Starlink on aircraft in major win for SpaceX
Bloomberg News — 5:11 am ET (1011 GMT) DOJ Issued Seizure Warrant to Starlink Over Satellite Internet Systems Used at Scam Compound
Wired News — 5:09 am ET (1009 GMT) New Glenn Rocket Aces Launch and Landing, Setting Up Space Force for More Options
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 5:06 am ET (1006 GMT) Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket landed its booster on a barge at sea – an achievement that will broaden the commercial spaceflight market
The Conversation — 5:05 am ET (1005 GMT) Second Viasat Broadband Satellite Enters Space
Aviation Week — 5:04 am ET (1004 GMT) |
