The Canadian Space Agency’s Scientific Satellite
Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (SCISAT-1) is scheduled to
launch on Tuesday, August 12, between 10:05 and
11:02 p.m. EDT.
An L-1011 jet aircraft departing from Vandenberg Air Force
Base (VAFB), Calif., will carry the Pegasus XL vehicle that
will launch SCISAT-1. The L-1011 will drop the Pegasus, and
its 330-pound spacecraft, over the Pacific Ocean at
approximately 10:10 p.m. EDT. The SCISAT-1 mission will
provide scientists with improved measurements of the chemical
processes that control the distribution of ozone in Earth’s
atmosphere.
The pre-launch press conference is at the NASA Resident Office
at VAFB, Monday, August 11, at 4 p.m. EDT. The press
conference will be carried live on NASA TV with question and
answer capability available from NASA Headquarters; KSC; and
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Participants in the pre-launch news conference include:
- Charles Dovale, NASA launch director, Kennedy Space Center
- Bryan Baldwin, Pegasus Launch Vehicle program manager, Orbital Sciences Co.
- Glen Rumbold, SCISAT project manager, Canadian Space Agency
- Peter Bernath, SCISAT mission scientist, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- Roger Colley, Director General Space Science, Canadian Space Agency
- Launch weather officer, USAF 30th Weather Squadron, VAFB
Media should meet at the south gate of VAFB on California
State Road 246 NLT 3:30 p.m. EDT on Monday, August 11, for
escort to the NASA VAFB Resident Office.
Media desiring accreditation information should contact the
Air Force at:
Public Affairs Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Telephone: 805/606-3595
FAX: 805/606-8303
E-mail: pubaffairs@plans.vafb.af.mil
On launch day, media should meet at the VAFB main gate at 8:30
p.m. EDT to be escorted to the runway for the L-1011 take-off.
Media may follow the release and launch of Pegasus/SCISAT from
the viewing room of the NASA Mission Director’s Center,
Building 840 on South VAFB.
Assuming a nominal flight of the Pegasus launch vehicle, a
post-launch news conference will not be held. However, launch
vehicle and spacecraft representatives will be available
afterward to informally answer questions from the media.
Launch coverage on NASA Television begins at 8:30 p.m. EDT
through spacecraft separation from the Pegasus vehicle. NASA
TV is broadcast on AMC-9, Transponder 9C, C-band, located at
85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz.
Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
Live launch commentary and audio of the Pegasus/SCISAT
briefing will be available on the “V” audio circuits available
at: 321/867-1220/1240/1260/7135.
The Pegasus/SCISAT News Center at the NASA VAFB Resident
Office will be staffed starting on Monday from 11 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. EDT; phone: 805/605-3051/3001. A recorded status report
is available at: 805/734-2693.
Click the “Watch NASA TV Now!” link for live Web cast at:
NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise sponsors the mission and is
responsible for countdown and launch management. Orbital
Sciences Corp. will provide the launch service, and the
Canadian Space Agency is responsible for spacecraft
development.
