[Launch Alert] Vandenberg Launches Delta II

Sat Jun 11 12:48:53 EDT 2011

                             LAUNCH ALERT

                              Brian Webb
                     Ventura County, California
                  launch-alert-editor at earthlink.net
                        www.spacearchive.info

                                 2011 June 11 (Saturday) 09:37 PDT
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              TEAM VANDENBERG LAUNCHES DELTA II ROCKET
                     Vandenberg AFB News Release
                             2011 June 10

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Team Vandenberg launched a Delta
II rocket carrying the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones
Cientificas) observatory from Space Launch Complex-2 here at 7:20
a.m. PDT. 

Col. Richard Boltz, 30th Space Wing commander, was the launch
decision authority.

"Team Vandenberg performed brilliantly once again in ensuring safe
and successful launch operations," said Colonel Boltz. "We wish our
mission partners at NASA well as they begin their important work with
Aquarius."

The Aquarius/SAC-D observatory is a collaboration between NASA and
Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales
(CONAE).

Aquarius is the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D
spacecraft, built by CONAE. Aquarius will map global changes in
salinity - the concentration of dissolved salt - at the ocean
surface. 

Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in
rainfall, evaporation, and the melting or freezing of ice influence
ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate.
According to NASA officials, the three-year mission will provide new
insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to
these fundamental climate processes.

See www.nasa.gov/aquarius for updates on post-launch Aquarius mission
status.

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     PRATT& WHITNEY ROCKETDYNE HELPS BOOST SATELLITE DESIGNED TO
             MEASURE SALT CONCENTRATIONS IN WORLD OCEANS
              Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Press Release
                            2011 June 10

CANOGA PARK, Calif. -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne today demonstrated
its continued support of NASA and the scientific community by
successfully boosting an international spacecraft designed to measure
the concentration of salt on ocean surfaces. The mission launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a United Launch Alliance
Delta II rocket with a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A engine. Pratt
& Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX)
company.

"The RS-27A performed flawlessly, boosting the launch vehicle with the
reliability and performance that it's known for," said Elizabeth Jones,
RS-27A program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "We're equally
proud to know the RS-27A engine is playing a vital role in helping
scientists better understand our planet and how ocean salt affects
weather conditions worldwide, and we look forward to continuing to
support NASA and our international partners in future endeavors."

The Aquarius/SAC-D mission is a collaborative effort between NASA and
Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales
(CONAE), with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy. The
Argentine-built SAC-D spacecraft will carry a suite of instruments on
the three-year mission in space. Aquarius, the main instrument on the
mission, is designed to map salt concentration on the ocean surface -
a key indicator of ocean circulation and its role in climate change.
Other equipment onboard the spacecraft will monitor fires, volcanic
eruptions, and surface temperatures of the land and sea. 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred
provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system
solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial
applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas
and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced
hypersonic engines. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is headquartered in
Canoga Park, Calif., and has facilities in Huntsville, Ala.; Kennedy
Space Center, Fla.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Stennis Space Center, Miss;
and Carlstadt, N.J. For more information about Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne, go to www.prattwhitneyrocketdyne.com. 

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and
service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial
gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a
diversified company providing high technology products and services to
the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

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                         LAUNCH OBSERVATIONS

Launch Alert received the following reports from persons who attempted
to view yesterday's Delta II Aquarius/SAC-D launch:

Jason Oxford
Fresno, Calif.

That was fantastic. I followed the launch progression this morning
since 5:00am on Space Flight Now and was able to see the exhaust trail
during the launch from my house, 5 miles west of Fresno for about the
first minute of the rockets flight.

Rick Rairden
Palo Alto, Calif.

Failed to see the launch from Palo Alto. 
Sky looked clear enough, but probably just too much sunlight. 
Next daytime launch I'll try with binoculars.

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