This upcoming Friday evening (3-6) United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch the Kepler space observatory for NASA on a Delta II rocket (7925-10L configuration) from SLC-17B, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Launch is scheduled for 10:49 p.m. EST. and another opportunity at 11:13 p.m. EST. Kepler space observatory separation occurs approximately 62 minutes after liftoff. Kepler space observatory, named after Johannes Kepler, who was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century astronomical revolution. The mission will watch a patch of space for 3.5 years or more for signs of Earth-sized planets moving around stars similar to the sun. The patch that Kepler will watch contains about 100,000 stars like the sun. Using special detectors similar to those used in digital cameras, Kepler will look for slight dimming in the stars as planets pass between the star and Kepler. The Kepler's place in space will allow it to watch the same stars constantly throughout its mission, something observatories like Hubble cannot do. Broadcast coverage: Coverage starts at 9pm EST. NASA TV MPEG2 available on AMC-6 at 72° W, transponder 17C (4040 V) SR: 26665 VPID: 273 APID: 276 PCR: 273 (public channel) VPID: 4145 APID: 4148 PCR: 4145 (media channel) NASA TV MPEG2 available on AMC-7 at 137° W, transponder 18 (4060 V) SR: 26665 VPID: 273 APID: 276 PCR: 273 (public channel) VPID: 4145 APID: 4148 PCR: 4145 (media channel) Don't have a dish? Webcast is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ Additional coverage at: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d339/status.html http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/next_launch.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Mar 06 2009 - 04:38:07 UTC