GEORGE DILLER: This is Delta Launch Control, 26 minutes, 43 seconds into the launch of NOAA-N.
Joining us here in the Mission Director's Center is Marty Davis, the NOAA-N Program Manager from the Goddard Space Flight Center.
And, Marty, first of all, you've been following this for a long time. So how did that feel for you when you saw the ignition?
MR. DAVIS: It's always really good when it's your mission, and this is one of them.
MR. DILLER: Well, we're launching a polar-orbiting weather satellite,
but we've got Geo-synchronous and I guess there's one coming up at the Cape next month. Why is it we need both?
MR. DAVIS: Well, they're complementary systems, George. The polar-orbiting has -- the orbit has an altitude of about 470 miles.
So it's relatively close to the Earth. The geostationary is at 22,300 miles. Kind of far.
And so each mission, polar and geo, fill in for the disadvantages of the other.
POES provides global measurements for large scale, long-term numerical prediction models.
MR. DILLER: By POES you mean? MR. DAVIS: The polar-orbiting.
And GOES, the geostationary, does short-term monitoring of severe weather, hurricanes and rapidly developing storms,
because the polar takes time to get back over the same point on Earth.
Where geo, the geostationary, is in a staring mode. It's -- essentially looks like it's fixed over the -- you know, fixed point on Earth.
And since the polar-orbiting is closer to the surface, it can get very good resolution on things
like clouds, land surfaces, ocean surfaces.
But it takes several hours for it to get back over the same location and can't keep up with fast developing storms.
Last minute hurricane changes or tornadoes, the Polar-orbiting doesn't do well at.
But yet, the Geo-orbiting do great minute by minute because it's looking at the same point all the time.
But since the GOES, the geostationary, are further away from the surface, it's hard to see small environmental phenomena.
And that's why you do both of them.
Also, GOES can't see and northward of -- 70 degrees north and can't see the polar cap regions.
And POES can. And winds and clouds of the polar regions are very important to these prediction models.
So that's why NOAA supports and operates both polar and geo. And that's what keeps us in business.
And it's just unusual that this time our program office has two launches within a month.
MR. DILLER: That's right. We've got NOAA-N now which is the polar-orbiting satellite and GOES-N.
MR. DAVIS: GOES-N on the 23rd of June is the scheduled launch date.
MR. DILLER: And that's coming up from Cape Canaveral, riding on what?
MR. DAVIS: Delta IV launch vehicle.
MR. DILLER: All right. So that -- the two satellites complement each other.
We'll have two in orbit. So I kind of gather that at the end of their checkout periods,
they'll be operational during most of the hurricane season.
MR. DAVIS: Well, POES, the polar-orbiting, will be made operational as soon as it's checked out.
The geostationary is actually an in-orbit spare. We'll check it out.
We'll let NOAA know how well it works. And then we'll turn it over to them.
But it doesn't go into operation right away because the assets we presently have in orbit are doing fine.
MR. DILLER: Working fine.
MR. DAVIS: Yeah.
MR. DILLER: So then our next launch from here on a NOAA is coming up when, again?
MR. DAVIS: December '07.
MR. DILLER: '07. On another --
MR. DAVIS: Delta II.
MR. DILLER: Delta II. And it's a partner to the one we're launching tonight.
MR. DAVIS: Yep.
MR. DILLER: All right. Well, Marty, we'll look forward to having you come back after spacecraft separation to confirm
that the solar arrays have deployed on NOAA-N and see what data you've been able to glean on how things are going.
So at this point, we will resume the coast phase, which will be going on for about another 15 minutes or so.
And then over -- over the tracking stations in Africa, the heart of East Dock and the Malindi stations,
second stage re-orient itself for the restart for the second burn of the second stage and then spacecraft separation.
For that coverage, we'll be switching to another satellite transponder. We'll be on the same satellite, AMC6.
But we'll be switching now for the remainder of this coast phase from transponder 9 on AMC6 to transponder 23.
And we'll be resuming about ten minutes after the hour with the second stage restart and spacecraft separation activities.
At 32 minutes, 25 seconds into the flight of NOAA-N, this is Delta Launch Control.