spacetoday.net: News briefs: November 19

Posted: Tue, Nov 20, 2001, 8:20 AM ET (1320 GMT)

Two NASA earth and space science satellites are ready for launch early next month. NASA officials said Monday that the Jason 1 and TIMED missions will launch December 7 on a Titan 2 from Vandenberg AFB, California. Jason 1 will study ocean circulation as a followup to the Topex/Poseidon mission. TIMED, the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics spacecraft, will study electrical currents in the upper atmosphere.
A DIRECTV satellite is scheduled for launch next week. DIRECTV-4S, a Boeing 601HP spacecraft, will be launched on an Ariane 4 on November 26 from Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite is the first DIRECTV spacecraft to use spot beams to broadcast local programming for major metropolitan markets.
The National Science Foundation has approved a $58-million expansion plan for the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico, observatory officials announced Monday. The project will replace 1970s-era electronics at the VLA and add up to eight additional antennas to the existing 27, improving the capabilities of the VLA by a factor of 10. Canada and Mexico will also fund VLA expansion.