Solar Dynamics Observatory to Launch Today

Image above: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with its Solar Dynamics Observatory payload stands at Launch Complex 41 in preparation for liftoff. Photo credit: NASA TV

SDO Team Continues Weather Watch as Launch Day Begins

The launch team for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, isn't working any issues that would prevent liftoff at 10:23 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The only concern is the weather, which remains 60 percent "go."

The wind forecast for launch time is close to the 20 knot limit, but lower than yesterday's first launch attempt that ended in a scrub because of high wind.

The SDO spacecraft is headed to an orbit about 22,300 miles above Earth. From that altitude, the spacecraft will point its instruments at the sun and relay the readings instantly to a ground station in New Mexico. The research is expected to reveal the sun's inner workings by constantly taking high resolution images of the sun, collecting readings from inside the sun and measuring its magnetic field activity. This data is expected to give researchers the insight they need to eventually predict solar storms and other activity on the sun that can affect spacecraft in orbit, astronauts on the International Space Station and electronic and other systems on Earth.

Live coverage of the launch is available on NASA TV and NASA's Launch Blog.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/index.html