WASHINGTON — NASA will host a series of news briefings from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT, to discuss the agency’s next Earth-observing satellite mission.

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg on Friday, Oct. 28, during a nine-minute, 10 second window that opens at 5:48 a.m. NPP will collect critical data to improve our understanding of long-term climate change and short-term weather conditions. The second of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) missions also will launch with NPP aboard a Delta II rocket.

Participants in the prelaunch news briefing are:

– Andrew Carson, NPP program executive, NASA Headquarters, Washington
– Tim Dunn, NASA launch director, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
– Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA missions, United Launch Alliance, Cape Canaveral, Fla.
– Ken Schwer, NPP project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
– 2nd Lt. Lisa Cochran, launch weather officer, 30th Operations Support Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base

Participants in the NPP science briefing are:

– Jim Gleason, NPP project scientist, Goddard
– Mitch Goldberg, NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System program scientist, Silver Spring, Md.

Participants in the ELaNa briefing are:

– Roland Coelho, program lead, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
– Garrett Skrobot, ELaNa mission manager, NASA Launch Services Program, Kennedy

The briefings will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency’s website with question-and-answer capability available from agency field centers. Reporters also may email questions for participants during the briefings to Steve Cole at: stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov Emailed questions must include the journalist’s name, affiliation and a contact telephone number.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the NPP mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/npp