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Atlas V SDO Mission Overview
Rocket/Payload: Atlas V launching NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission.
Date/Launch Time/Site: Feb. 10, with a launch window of 10:26-11:26 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral AFS, FL. If the launch scrubs, the next launch attempt is set for Feb. 11 with a launch window of 10:23-11:23 a.m. EST.
Special Launch Notes: This is the first ULA launch of 10 scheduled for 2010. The SDO mission marks the 20th Atlas V launch in program history since its first launch in 2002 and will be launched on an Atlas V 401 configuration.
Payload Description: The Solar Dynamics Observatory is the first mission to be launched for NASA`s Living With a Star (LWS) Program, a program designed to understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. SDO is designed to help us understand the Sun`s influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.
Viewing the Launch Online: A live simulcast
of the TV broadcast of the launch begins on the ULA
Web cast page at
7:15 a.m. EST on launch day. The NASA Web site will also carry
the launch at http://www.nasa.gov.
Launch Updates: To
keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown,
dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321. Or follow
our launch updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ulalaunch.
Go Atlas V! Go Centaur! Go SDO! |