NASA Launches Aura Satellite 20
ukcollin writes "NASA successfully launched the Aura satellite today after several
previous failed attempts. The Aura satellite was launched by a 12-story Delta 2 rocket, at 6:01am (EST) from Vandenberg AFB in California. The satellite is reported to have cost in excess of $785 million dollars, and its main
mission will be to study
the Earth's ozone to try and determine if the ozone hole is shrinking or increasing. Although it will be focused on the stratosphere (the ozone layer), it will also be tracking pollution, climate changes, etc. by scanning and analyzing each of Earth's atmospheric levels all the way down to the troposphere."
19 min till first post? (Score:3, Insightful)
Or maybe launching something into space is not a big deal and even if people are willing to debate the results of science even though they don't care about the people / things that carry it out. PS: 19 min till first post?
tis where I work (Score:3, Insightful)
The Air Force is extremely concerned about the pollution by their rockets. The EELV program (the new launch vehicles by Lockheed and Boeing, Atlas V and Delta IV) now has emissions as one of its factors when they finally decide on the rocket to use. Side note: the USAF originally wanted both rockets to launch and compete against each other, but now Congress wants them to decide on only one rocket. Someone is going to be hurt badly by this: either Lockheed, Boeing or the taxpayer.
I can't say which (delta or atlas) pollutes more (I'm probably not allowed to say, either), but I know the issue is being researched.