NAIL: Next, you will hear from the people closest to the missions. From the Pegasus rocket to the advanced micro
satellites, we'll get an up-close, in-depth look at NASA's newest experimental satellite mission.
Launch director Chuck Dovale will be here to take us through our important launch day preparations and activities.
ST5 team members Art Azarbarzin, Christopher Stevens and Jim Slavin will give us a mission briefing and answer
webcast viewer questions. At the end of the show, we'll announce who submitted the winning entries from our mission
question board. But first, Air Force Capt. David Bieger, our launch weather officer, joins us. Welcome, captain.
CAPT. DAVID BIEGER: Thanks, Tiffany. It's great to be here. NAIL: David, since ST5 differs from a typical flight pattern
because the satellites will be launched from the bottom of a jet plane, what special weather conditions do you have to be
aware of and how does the forecast look on launch day? BIEGER: Well, that's a good question, Tiffany. I'm going to
focus on several things. First, going to focus on monitoring airfield minimums for takeoff and landing of the L-1011 aircraft,
and this is to protect both the crew on board as well as the launch vehicle. I'm also going to monitor solar constraints for
safety, that are designed to protect the vehicle against both natural and triggered lightning. And lastly, I'm going to monitor
for turbulence and precipitation along the flight path and in the drop box to ensure safety of the launch vehicle and L-1011
through flight through the upper atmosphere. If any of these constraints are outside of established minimums, Orbital and
the 30th Space Wing will hold or scrub the launch to ensure mission assurance and safety of the local population. Taking a
look at satellite, a vigorous, upper-level low will track north of the central coast, with an associated frontal boundary
extending westward through the drop box. This will bring a broad area of moisture to the mid and upper levels and
enhance showering thunderstorm development below flight level. A deck stratocumulous and cumulous clouds will move toward
the central coast ahead of the boundary, with rain showers likely at Vandenberg. This is a concern for launch because there cannot
be any precipitation below 24,000 feet at the airfield or along the flight path and we cannot have thunderstorms within 10
nautical miles of the launch vehicle. The launch forecast for T-0 calls for several layers of cumulous clouds from 2,000 to
20,000 feet. Showers and thunderstorms will be present in the drop box below flight level, and upper-level winds are
expected from 90 to 95 knots due west. The overall probability that weather constraints will be violated for launch is 80
percent, and this is due to several constraints. The chief among them are turbulence, cumulous clouds and precipitation at
the airfield. Should we have to make a second attempt, that system's going to track into southern California, take away a
lot of the showers and thunderstorms. We'll have lingering moisture, cumulous clouds and strato-cumulous clouds, but
our overall probability of violating constraints on a 24-hour slip will only be 20 percent.
NAIL: Thank you, David, for joining us today. BIEGER: My pleasure.