Apr 14 2006
From The Space Library
An Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:40 p.m. (EDT), carrying six Taiwanese-American weather microsatellites. The launch of the weather satellites was part of a US$100 million mission known in the United States as COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, and Climate) and as FORMOSAT 3 in Taiwan. Taiwan’s National Science Council and National Space Organization had provided primary funding for the project, with contributions from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and its partners, including NASA. After an initial orbit approximately 300 miles (500 kilometers) above Earth, the satellites would achieve their final circular orbits 13 months later, orbiting between 435 and 500 miles (700 and 800 kilometers) above Earth. The principal instrument on each of the 155-pound (62-kilogram) satellites would be a GPS receiver, originally developed by NASA’s JPL. Working together with other on-board instruments, GPS antennas would track the extent to which the GPS signals bend when they pass through (are occulted by) the Earth’s atmosphere. Measuring the degree to which the signals bend would enable scientists to evaluate atmospheric conditions, such as air density, temperature, moisture, and electron density. According to Jay S. Fein, Program Director in the NSF’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences, the satellites would obtain new information that would “have a tremendous impact on geosciences research and weather prediction, and would be an important contribution to global Earth observations.”
Leonard David, “COSMIC Constellation To Study Atmosphere,” MSNBC.com, 14 April 2006; Tariq Malik, “Minotaur Rocket Orbits COSMIC Constellation To Scan Earth’s Atmosphere,” Space.com, 14 April 2006, http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060414_cosmic_mino_launch.html (accessed 24 June 2010); Justin Ray, “Mission Status Center,” Spaceflight Now, 15 April 2006.
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