Updates Water Under On The Radar - NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission updates

[Cosmic Penguin]

An interesting Earth science mission from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory using a big radar in space to watch for water changes in soil and under ice sheets, flying into space in less than 5 days time on January 29 at 6:20 am PST (14:20 UTC).

Detailed info coming soon......

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

An interesting Earth science mission from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory using a big radar in space to watch for water changes in soil and under ice sheets, flying into space in less than 5 days time on January 29 at 6:20 am PST (14:20 UTC).

Detailed info coming soon......

NASA's SMAP: Mapping the Water Under Our Feet

Sorry for the lack of updates - I fell ill again

Anyway countdown is progressing smoothly for launch into clear skies in less than 3 hours time. :tiphat:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Water on Earth goes around the planet in a lot of ways, but our knowledge of how they travel varies with the path taken. And I guess few people will argue that the most mysterious way, one that is scarcely understood, is going under our feet. With no way to dig deep into soil and measure the amount of water contained everywhere and anytime, the effect of water changes inside Earth are still not well understood.

To fill in the gaps in this part of the water cycle, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is flying a spacecraft that tackles just this problem by detecting signals from the water underground. SMAP uses a large L-band radar that actively scans for the density variations under vegetation and a radiometer that detects the thermal signals from the soil itself. Combining the more accurate radiometer and the more precise radar measurements, there will be advancements in the understanding of the effect of soil flooding/freezing on the climate and local ecosystem developments, as well as forecasting on possible flooding and drought conditions around the world.

With so many possible uses of the data, it is no wonder that this ends up as one of NASA's highly recommended Earth observation missions for development in the past few years!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuO0pH-1JYg"]NASA | SMAP Radiometer versus Radio Frequency Interference[/ame]

 

[Astro SG Wise]

Go SMAP! Watching the launch now.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

For your reference, here's the launch time line and the current weather:

Weather forecast for Lompoc, California on January 29, 2015 (6 a.m.)

Partly to mostly cloudy. High 22C. Winds NW at 10 to 15 km/h.

Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
6 AM|8°C|7°C|87%|0%|0%|46%|1018 hPa|8 km/h E|

Clear

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

And scrubbed for upper level winds just as I posted....

 

[boogabooga]

24 hour scrub

 

[Astro SG Wise]

Rats. Scrubbed

 

[Washingtonian]

I was there when the scrub occurred. Had to get up at 5:30 in the morning at the Air Force lodging at Vandenberg AFB, drive up New Mexico Avenue to 26th Street, where a bunch of cars were parked on the side, while we saw the rocket standing still at Slick 2. I was checking spaceflightnow when the scrub notice occurred, and we left before the majority of them did.

Luckily, I added an extra two days to my stay here just in case this did happen (and it was pretty likely it was to happen since winds hit the Central Coast frequently).

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Aaaand scrubbed again. Launch now NET the 31st, due to some debonded insulation on one of the boosters.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Weather still looking good (but keep in mind that I don't know what specific upper level winds criteria is required):

Weather forecast for Lompoc, California on January 31, 2015 (6 a.m.)

A mainly sunny sky. High 22C. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 km/h.

Time|Temps|Dew Point|Relative Humidity|Precip|Snow|Cloud cover|Pressure|Wind|Weather
6 AM|7°C|6°C|92%|0%|0%|30%|1012 hPa|6 km/h ENE|

Partly Cloudy

Meanwhile, here are some photos of the launch preparations:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Upper level winds now green! Liftoff is now at 14:22 UTC.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Good flight so far! One short burn away at apogee before SMAP deployment.

I forgot to mention that 4 cubesats from US institutions are hitching rides - FIREBIRD-IIA/B, GRIFEX and ExoCube. They will be set free after SMAP has been deployed.

 

[Astro SG Wise]

Sweet! Happened to get scrubbed til today, my Birthday! Coincidence? :hmm:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Sweet! Happened to get scrubbed til today, my Birthday! Coincidence? :hmm:

Maybe not. You will get another birthday candle tonight in the US (though Feb. 1 GMT) - more on that later!

Meanwhile, all 4 cubesats have been deployed. :tiphat:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

98th continuous success for the Delta II! Hurray for the good old green rocket!

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

The antenna have been deployed on Feb. 24: