04.13.06

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468

Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(818) 354-0474

RELEASE: 27-06

NASA TO WEBCAST MINOTAUR LAUNCH OF COSMIC SPACECRAFT

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and 
Climate, or COSMIC, is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 
Calif., at 5:10 p.m. PDT (8:10 p.m. EDT) Friday, April 14, aboard a 
U.S. Air Force Minotaur rocket. The launch window is three hours in 
duration. The launch countdown will be available on the Internet 
beginning at 3 p.m. PDT (6 p.m. EDT) and may be accessed at:

http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/video/vafb.ram

A globe-spanning constellation of six weather and climate research 
satellites based upon a novel application of a NASA-developed 
technology, the network is expected to improve weather forecasts, 
monitor climate change and enhance space weather research.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed COSMIC's 
primary instrument, a science global positioning system (GPS) space 
receiver. JPL will also provide instrument flight software and 
technical support. The five-year mission is funded by Taiwan's 
National Space Organization and various U.S. agencies, including the 
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va., which leads science 
activities. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 
Boulder, Colo., manages the mission and designed the satellite array 
system. 

The low-orbiting satellites will be the first to provide atmospheric 
data daily in real time over thousands of points on Earth by 
measuring the bending of radio signals from the U.S. GPS as the 
signals pass through Earth's atmosphere, a technology known as radio 
occultation. The data will be used for research and operational 
weather forecasting.

	
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