[Launch Alert] Delta II Launch Scheduled

[Launch Alert]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
From: 30th Space Wing Public Affairs, www.vandenberg.af.mil

DELTA II LAUNCH SCHEDULED

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -  Team Vandenberg is scheduled to launch
a NASA satellite on a United Launch Alliance rocket from Space Launch
Complex-2 here Thursday, Jan. 29, at 6:20 a.m. PDT.

The Delta II rocket will carry NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive; the
first Earth-observing satellite.

Col. Shane Clark, 30th Space Wing vice commander, will be the Launch
Decision Authority.

"We are excited to take on our first launch of 2015," said Clark. "Every
launch takes dedication and teamwork.  I am extremely proud of the team and
our strong partnership with NASA. Everyone involved has been working
tirelessly to ensure this is a safe and successful launch." 

SMAP is designed to collect global observations of surface soil moisture and
its freeze/thaw state. High resolution space-based measurements of soil
moisture and whether the soil is frozen or thawed will give scientists a new
capability to observe and predict natural hazards of extreme weather,
climate change, floods and droughts, and will help reduce uncertainties in
the understanding of Earth's water and carbon cycles.