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NASA/VAFB
The payload fairing containing the Landsat Data Continuity Mission spacecraft arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-3E where it will be hoisted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V for launch. Image released Jan 25, 2013.
By Mike Wall, SPACE.com
NASA is gearing up for the Monday launch of an Earth-observation satellite that will continue a celebrated 40-year project to monitor our planet's surface from space.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission is slated to blast off Monday at 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT/10:02 a.m. PST) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The LDCM satellite is the eighth overall in the Landsat program, which has been scrutinizing Earth from orbit continuously since Landsat 1 launched in 1972.
Mission team members call LDCM the most advanced and capable Landsat spacecraft ever built. It should help the United States and other nations around the world monitor environmental change and better manage their natural resources, they say.
"LDCM will continue to describe the human impact on Earth and the impact of Earth on humanity, which is vital for accommodating seven billion people on our planet," LDCM project manager Ken Schwer, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., told reporters Friday during a prelaunch press briefing. [Photos: The Next Landsat Earth-Observing Spacecraft]
The $855 million LDCM mission is a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey, which will take over operations after the spacecraft's launch and initial checkouts. At that point, the satellite will be renamed Landsat 8.
Landsat 8 will zip around the Earth at an altitude of 438 miles, using two sensors to study the planet's surface in the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The SUV-size satellite will achieve full Earth coverage every 16 days, though its work will lower this to once per eight days for the program overall. That's because Landsat 8 will fly eight days behind Landsat 7, which launched in 1999 and recently became the only currently operational Landsat spacecraft. (Landsat 5 retired recently after 29 years of service).
Landsat 8's observations will have a broad range of applications, from illuminating the impacts of climate change to monitoring agricultural output to helping authorities respond to natural disasters, scientists said.
"Landsat data is a global resource, empowering nations to individually monitor and report," said Mike Wulder of the Canadian Forest Service in Victoria, British Columbia. "Further, Landsat data allows us to see what the world looks like, and how it has changed over time."
The weather should be good at Vandenberg during Monday's launch window, officials said, but it hasn't been cooperating today. The mission team wanted to perform some ordnance connections on LDCM's launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, earlier Friday, but were unable to do so because of the threat of lightning.
"We've got to be able to get that work done," said NASA launch director Omar Baez. "If we don't, then we'll have to reassess the schedule. But it's too early to tell."
Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
- NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity Mission Satellite Launch | Animation
- Earth Pictures From Space: Landsat Satellite Legacy
- Top 10 Game-Changing Earth Photos From Landsat Satellites
Leave a Comment:
If anyone is wondering why we are cutting back on Space exploration. Because our Politicans have run out of other peoples money to spemd. The more money we print the more imported goods cost as the Dollar sinks across the World.
Our only Hope is for the people of this country to act under Articla V of the Constitution and put Congress in it's place
So what does amedning the Constitution got to do with a sattlellite?
Compromise:
Sounds like you been listening to the propaganda news that is saying that the only way obama can fix the problem is to let him take away congress power and give total control to obama!!!!!
By the way isn't the definition of the word compromise mean that not only does congress have to give so does the senate and the white house? People like you seem to think this is all Congress and the white house is doing everything perfect!!!!!
I think we need to take the power from all of DC and put it back where it belongs, with the people.
If DC did what the people wanted it would be a whole lot different than it is right now and do not think that it would be obama getting his way because I am sorry but the majority of the people are tired of all of the spending and lying and thievery from all of the politicians including obama!!!!
Quit listening to the propaganda and people like chris rock, the obamas are not the mom and dad of the country they work for us we do not work for them!!! This is a republic not a monarchy!
The hearts of mankind facilitate the doing of good things. Our needs facilitate the doing of violent things. We have some more evolution ahead if we are to become the supreme beings we now think of ourselves as.
More gubment spying on citizens.
Rex-man, thanks for getting this one out there. I won't accuse you of TROLL-ing because you're way to smart for that.
The last thing the government needs to spy on us is another satellite. They have Google, the NSA and DRONES for that, among other technical and HUMINT means.
I'm fairly sure this is Landsat 8 as advertized. The test will be the honesty of the scientists and P.R. people, and whether what they put out there for the public is EVEN CLOSE to what they actually find. East Anglia "Hide the Decline," and therefore make Al Gore some more government-mandated cash, anyone?
davy and rex, Your both Trolls drinkinh Troll Aid, it smells on your breath. Like all trolls you are paranoid skeetzos. About monitoring Food supplies, I can see a deffinate Military use of that info. You can never know enough about your enamies. Since we are a Capitalist Sociaty I don't like what advantage that it can give the Capitalist. Do you skeetzos even have a clue to what an enemy is and where they can be? The explanation of how Capitalist work and your situation in life today fits Carl Marxs' discription that he wrote 160 years ago and was published 140 years ago. No, I'm not a Communist but I do read and dabble in History and it is amazing how poeple years ago had a definition or perception that fits exactly to today. If History repeats itself than we will become a socialist country before becoming a Communist country. They will probably call these other forms of government by different names. That ought to help you with your paranoia.
You green Nazis can scream "recycle, reuse, reduce" and "climate change" all you want but the main problem is over-population, unless we can get the third world(including stupid welfare recipients in the US) to quit popping out kids we are doomed.
It actually should be "Reduce, Reuse and recycle." Sometimes recycling takes more resources. Reduce unwanted children by birth control. Reuse foodstamp cards for more free food. Recycle beer bottles for fillups.
"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" isn't a bad thing necessarily. I do find it rather interesting that my son recites this from watching, of all things, Bob the Builder videos. PBS Brainwashing at a vulnerable age, anyone?
Guess I'd rather see stuff recycled than feeding the thousand or so "Mount Trashmore" mounds that are growing around our cities...
Shawn-1486781
The USA's population is still INCREASING, unlike most other Western Countries...
China's population has been DECREASING for years, like many other Asian Countries...
Lets start with YOUR family...
boraboy,
The most effective 'Birth Control' has been, INCREASING the standard of living. Abortion is just demographic shaping and/or MURDER, depending on when you consider LIFE commencing...
DaveyJonesDetroit,
Ask your son about those recycled Electric Vehicle batteries. Only two recyclers in the World are currently doing this, due to commercial non-viability and fires/explosion hazards. BTY - The current process recycles/saves NO Rare Earths, only a little plastic & metal...
BTY - Those trash dumps can supply methane and sites for more Golf Courses... Ha! Ha!
Yes, land fills do create methane for many years and the are expiremental business on some sites that use this methane to make their business operate. These are small 1 person type businesses that these people couldn't make a living at soley with out the free menthane.
I guess that you have never been to a country that doesn't have many resources and the entire country works on the recycling system. They have been doing it years before it was even suggested here. The only problem is that it take involvement of everyone to make it work. So as long as we have procrastinating, lazy, don't want to be a part of sociaty peolpe like you (otherwise known as Cheesing Trolls) around it will always be complained about. By the way, you can eat off the streets in these countries.
6dogs,
Roanoke, VA was using sewer gas to run their circulating pumps and they also usedNG from an old garbage collection site. This was in 1970...
Many Asian countries are using the gas from their personnel home septic tanks to cook their meals...
Currently the local hog farm (largest in Thailand) has been using bio/compost gas to power their electrical generator, for decades. This is also catching on @ the Hog Parlors in the USA...
Not quite the little Mom-Pop operations you envisioned...
If the asteroid hits a satellite it will form a Ring Of Death around this rock.
Duane, you might be onto something there, kinda like a NASCAR pileup in turn 3 at Daytona. Who knows, that might actually help RID US of the (what is the number?) 10,000 or so pieces of man-made space junk flying around us since 1957...
Here's hoping the good folks on ISS are out of harm's way.
Do you guys everr pay attention to anything? That has already happened. In fact the Swiss or the Sweeds already have an Idea on how to clean up all the trash up there.
They are all powerful. Why do they use such stupid headlines... oh i clicked on it. I was hoping to see some laser beams or something with Missiles.
NASA reported a 14:1 economic return on investment on technologies derived from Apollo alone. Landsat 8 in conjunction with Landsat 7 will provide HUGE returns in terms of land-use, farming, and other economic development for all of us, including the Third World.
NASA remains a fairly good investment, as compared to subsidizing ADM and others to crank out more high-fructose corn syrup which only serves to worsen the raging totally out-of-control Obesity-Diabetes epidemic that will likely SINK our economy with healthcare costs. We need to subsidize SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY, not the expansion of our waistlines, or paying unmarried women to crank out more babies to feed, with daddy only as a sperm donor. [Oops, subsidizing more babies and our friends from south of Texas to vote Democrat IS part of the Democrat platform, whether it's written or not.]
Given Near Earth Objects and Earth-Crossing planet killers, now is NOT the time to force NASA to be the agency of cultural outreach. Not much training for that in an Aerospace Engineering program.
If we want our species to survive, the test is whether we can get beyond our stomach, act in our enlightened self-interest, and develop a REAL and ROBUST manned and robotic DEEP SPACE CAPABILITY to detect, intercept, and deflect or destroy incoming asteroids WAAAY before they get close to us.
[WHAT AM I SAYING???] NAH, Just go back to ESPN2 and drool over the next draft pick. Nothing to see here, folks...
Considering the Planet killers only crop up every 80 to 100+ years or so that leaves them with a lot of free time. NASA may have contributed to the awareness of these Astroids but the monitoring of them is tasked to other groups of Scientist.
The USA still refuses to sign the UN theaty on Anti-Militarization of Space...
Well in essence we have, we are limited by The ABM Treaty of 1972, We sort of had a Military Race going on with The Star Wars Program, that never happened, but that got the Russians Nervous and caused them to divert money to their own Grandious Idea, that also never happened. The Air Force, I think, prior to 1972 had a bright idea to detonate a Nuculear or Atomic bomb on the Moon, that didn't happen either. At that time the cold war was going on and both countries wanted to show they had a Superiority in Space over one another.
Tell us about Ronny Rayguns "Star Wars" program, OK?
What "human impact"? Human impact was Gawd given just like our right to bear arms and legs, also there is no global climate change just "his/her" will. Blessed are the idiots (republicans) for they shall never inherit the earth, but we do have a planet Kolob for their consideration. ROFL! And the sooner they leave the better........... AMEN.
If you were to pay some attention to what physicist are saying the magnatic field of this planet is shifting and we are being left to speculate and suffer the conciquences of the event. Where in the Bible does it say to science is a sin? Doesn't this same book warn you about being ignorant? Is paying attention to what is happening around you a sin? If that is the extent of your wisdom you shouldn't really be driving a car.
see i have yto get a job -my dad would be king and my brother next
the tree is in the old antique store garden
my wife is a queen
i would be a prince forever
Good grief! Lots of paranoid people here. NASA has always launched prototype weather satellites, then NOAA makes them operational based on the prototype. This has been done for over 40 years. Its one of the few things NASA does right. But...suddenly its a spy satellite from right wing nutjobs. No wonder the Republicans keep losing.
Conspiracy theories are always more fun than boring facts. Never mind that military rockets are used to launch spy satellite. Never mind that spy satellites are launched unannounced. Never mind that NASA is organized for information exchange and is not an agency that one would use for a top-secret mission.
Is it time to set up a traffic light in space to keep all those satellites and junk from colliding? It took millions upon millions of years to get earth just right. Along come its keepers, who in a few hundred years are tearing it apart. Whadda society.
We could be doing alot more if our Politicans had not spent all of our money and indebted us to China for the next 50 years. Plus with the left wing Conspiracy in the White House we will be downgraded again and again
You realize, of course, that China holds only a fraction of debt, about the same percentage as held by the Japanese. Yet, no one goes around complaining about Japan.
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.....Go NASA
I wish there was somewhere I could present my idea for upper atmospheric electrical wind generation. Or UAEWG for short.
ahhhh sooooo scientists can keep an eye on earth..... not toooo much science involved when you have a predtermined conclusion.
Hello losers, ALL included.
Maybe it will be up there long enough to watch us over populate the planet and then die off.
If even a fraction of the trillions spent on military and space programs over the years had gone to our infra-structure we would be a leader country still. Instead, our politicians have allowed the U.S. to degrade and begin to crumble and we are now a follower nation. Our cities are falling apart, people are becoming dirt poor, nobody here is qualified to do anything anymore. The priorities for our country are simple....there are none, except for continuing to build a military machine bigger than anyone could ever have imagined.
just close up all that space stuff we on obama care need more free stuff we need new cars and free Disney vacations that the tax payers are working for us see ya have to go my free obama phone is ringing
haha loser so vote for romney again he'll prolly run next time like he did last two times
2,500 drones and 167 satellites aren't enough to watch you. They need more. The jig is nearly up. The USSA is a realty. "No more freedoms, Komrades!"