[Launch Alert] Web Site Updated

Sat Sep 4 10:42:15 EDT 2004

                             LAUNCH ALERT

			           Brian Webb
		         Ventura County, California
		        E-mail: kd6nrp at earthlink.net
	         Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

				         2004 September 4 (Saturday) 07:37 PDT
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                          WEB SITE UPDATED

After several weeks of work, I have finished extensively revising and
expanding the Viewing Vandenberg AFB Launches page on my web site. The
updated page is posted at:

    http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbview.htm

I would appreciate it if those of you interested in observing
Vandenberg launches would carefully read this page for technical
accuracy, identify any missing topics or other problems, and e-mail
your comments to me at kd6nrp at earthlink.net.

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               NASA TO CAPTURE FIERY GENESIS RE-ENTRY
                  Ames Research Center News Release

Scientists expect to get the most detailed look at a hypervelocity
re-entry when NASA uses an aerial laboratory to observe the fiery
return of the Genesis sample return capsule from interplanetary space.

On Sept. 8, 2004, NASA will send the U.S. Air Force's Flying Infrared
Signatures Technologies Aircraft (FISTA) to an altitude of 39,000
feet for a front row seat to the sample return capsule's (SRC) fiery
re-entry. The aircraft will be fitted with multiple scientific
instruments including ultraviolet, infrared and visible-light
spectrometers, as well as high-resolution still cameras and high-
definition video cameras. Researchers from NASA Ames Research Center,
located in California's Silicon Valley, and the SETI Institute,
Mountain View, Calif., will observe this 'artificial' meteor.
Principal investigator and meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens of the
SETI Institute is leading the diverse and independent science team.

"Genesis will be the first of several return capsules as part of
NASA's ongoing science and exploration missions," said Paul Wercinski,
the Genesis observation campaign project manager at NASA Ames. "This
is a unique opportunity to study the physics of re-entry up close and
assess the effectiveness of thermal protection systems for re-entry
vehicles. What we learn from Genesis will be useful for those future
missions," he added.

Genesis, launched in August 2001, captured samples from the
storehouse of 99 percent of all the material in our solar system -
the sun. After they return, these samples, collected on wafers of
gold, sapphire, silicone and diamond, will be analyzed by scientists.
The samples will provide vital information on the composition of the
sun, and shed light on the origins of our solar system.

Scientists at NASA Ames are keenly interested in the airborne
observations in order to understand how the capsule's heat shield
performs under these 'super-orbital speed entry' conditions. These
observations may help develop the tools used to simulate re-entry
conditions.

"One of our key objectives is to acquire flight data that
substantiate our ability to predict the amount of thermal radiation
that heats the capsule during reentry," said Dr. Dean Kontinos, chief
of the NASA Ames Reacting Flow Environments Branch. "These thermal
radiation models are essential for designing future exploration
vehicles."

The Genesis SRC will return from interplanetary space and turn
briefly into a bright meteor over Oregon and Nevada. The capsule will
experience peak heating conditions as it decelerates near the Oregon/
Nevada border enroute to Utah. During this heating phase of the
capsule, the airborne observers will train their cameras at the
'artificial' meteor. The Genesis mission will end over the U.S. Air
Force Utah Test and Training Range, where the capsule will be
recovered.

The re-entry is of particular interest to meteor astronomers since
the SRC is an analog to meter-sized asteroids that deposit organic
material in Earth's atmosphere. The return of the Genesis capsule is
like a meteor on queue, giving scientists a unique opportunity to
study what happens during re-entry.

"We are interested in the physical and chemical conditions in the
shockwave that can change the organic material in asteroids into pre-
biotic molecules for life's origins," Jenniskens said.

Organizations participating in the Genesis SRC aerial observation
campaign are: NASA Ames; the NASA Engineering and Safety Center,
Hampton, Va.; the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif.; Aerospace
Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.; Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md.;
Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, Calif.;
the Air Force Academy, USAF, Colo.; University of Alaska, Fairbanks;
University of California, San Francisco; University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque; University of Regina, Regina, Canada; University of
Utah, Logan; the Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M. and
the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.

FISTA is operated by the U.S. Air Force 412 Test Wing at Edwards Air
Force Base, Edwards, Calif. During the decent, the aircraft will
follow prescribed safety procedures and maintain a safe distance from
the capsule's trajectory. FISTA is a modified KC-135 aircraft
previously used as an aerial laboratory for the observation of the
Leonid meteor storms.

The Genesis SRC aerial observation campaign is funded by the NASA
Engineering and Safety Center, Hampton, Va., as a means to better
understand the phenomena of high-speed entry of return capsules.
NASA's JPL manages the Genesis mission for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate, Washington.

For more information about the Genesis SRC entry observation campaign,
go to:

    http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/

For more information about the Genesis Mission, visit:

    http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/

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                SATELLITES DETECT GLOW FROM PLANKTON
                         NASA News Release

For the first time, scientists may now detect a phytoplankton bloom
in its early stages by looking at its red "glow" under sunlight, due
to the unique data from two NASA satellites*. According to a study
conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, this phenomenon can forewarn
fishermen and swimmers about developing cases of red tides that occur
within plumes of dark-colored runoff from river and wetlands,
sometimes causing "black water" events.

Dark-colored river runoff includes nitrogen and phosphorus, which are
used as fertilizers in agriculture. These nutrients cause blooms of
marine algae called phytoplankton. During extremely large
phytoplankton blooms where the algae is so concentrated the water may
appear black, some phytoplankton die, sink to the ocean bottom and
are eaten by bacteria. The bacteria consume the algae and deplete
oxygen from the water that leads to fish kills.

Chuanmin Hu and Frank Muller-Karger, oceanographers at the College of
Marine Science of University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Fla.,
used fluorescence data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard both NASA's Terra and
Aqua satellites. MODIS detects the glow or phytoplankton fluorescence,
from the plant's chlorophyll. The human eye cannot detect the red
fluorescence.

The ability to detect glowing areas of water helps researchers
identify whether phytoplankton are present in large dark water patches
that form off the coast of Florida. Without these data, it is
impossible to differentiate phytoplankton blooms from plumes of dark
river runoff that contain few individual phytoplankton cells.

Because colored dissolved organic matter that originates in rivers
can absorb similar amounts of blue and green color signals as plants
do, traditional satellites that simply measure ocean color cannot
distinguish phytoplankton blooms within such patches.

Although satellites cannot directly measure nutrients in lakes,
rivers, wetlands and oceans, remote sensing technology measure the
quantities of plankton. Scientists can then calculate how much
nutrient might be needed to grow those amounts of plankton.

Hu and others used this technique to study the nature and origin of a
dark plume event in the fall of 2003 near Charlotte Harbor, off the
south Florida coast. Moderate concentrations of one of Florida's red
tide species, were found from water samples.

"Our study traces the black water patches near the Florida Keys to
some 200 kilometers (124 miles) away upstream," said Hu. "These
results suggest that the delicate Florida Keys ecosystem is connected
to what happens on land and in two remote rivers, the Peace and
Caloosahatchee, as they drain into the ocean. Extreme climate
conditions, such as abnormally high rainfall in spring and summer
2003, may accelerate such connections," he added.

These findings are based on scientific analyses of several things.
Data used include satellite ocean color from MODIS and Sea-viewing
Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), and wind data from NASA's
QuikSCAT satellite. U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida's Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute, and other organizations provided rain, river
discharge, and field survey information.

By knowing which way the winds blow and the currents flow, Hu and
colleagues can predict where black water may move.

Red tides occur every year off Florida and are known to cause fish
kills, coral stress and mortality, and skin and respiratory problems
in humans. Previous studies show that prolonged "black water" patches
cause water quality degradation and may cause coral death. The use of
remote sensing satellites provides effective means for monitoring
and predicting such events.

The link between coastal runoff and black water events is an example
of how land and ocean ecosystems are linked together. "Coastal and
land managers over large areas need to work together, to alleviate
more black water events from taking place in the future," said
Muller-Karger.

This study appeared in a recent issue of the American Geophysical
Union's Geophysical Research Letters. Coauthors of the article
include Gabriel Vargo and Merrie Beth Neely from University of South
Florida and Elizabeth Johns from NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and
Meteorological Laboratory.

NASA's Science Directorate works to improve the lives of all humans
through the exploration and study of Earth's system, the solar system
and the Universe.

For more information and images on the Internet, visit:

    http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0826planktonglow.html

* All of the satellites mentioned in this release were launched from
California. Aqua, QuikSCAT, and Terra were launched from Vandenberg
AFB and SeaWiFS was air-launched from a jumbo jet southwest of
Monterey - Editor

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