Decatur-built Delta II launches mapping satellite
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - A Decatur, Alabama-built Delta II rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at 8:22 a.m. Saturday.
NASA launch manager Tim Gunn called the rocket a "workhorse" after the successful launch.
Minor debonds to the booster insulation were found during the inspection of Thursday's launch attempt and a standard repair was made.
The satellite successfully separated from the rocket about an hour after launch and began using its solar panels to generate power.
SMAP will provide a high-resolution, space-based measurements of soil moisture and its state. This will help scientists better predict natural hazards of extreme weather, climate change, floods and droughts, as well as help reduce uncertainties in our knowledge of Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles.
The entire globe will be mapped every 2-3 days for at least three years, and provide the most accurate and highest-resolution maps of soil moisture ever obtained.
The spacecraft will orbit Earth once every 98.5 minutes and repeat the same course every eight days.
Click here to watch the launch on YouTube.
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