{author}        National Aeronautics and Space Administration

{date}          12-Jan-2005

{description}   VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. Workers on Space Launch Complex
                2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California secure the engine on
                the first stage of a Boeing Delta 2 rocket. The rocket will be
                lifted up the launch service tower. The Delta 2 is the launch
                vehicle for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
                (NOAA-N) spacecraft.The NOAA-N satellite will be placed into a
                polar orbit aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket. The spacecraft will
                continue to provide a polar-orbiting platform to support (1)
                environmental monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring
                the Earth's atmosphere, its surface, and cloud cover, including
                Earth radiation, atmospheric ozone, aerosol distribution, sea
                surface temperature, and vertical temperature and water profiles
                in the troposphere and stratosphere; (2) measurement of proton
                and electron flux at orbit altitude; (3) data collection from
                remote platforms; and (4) the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided
                Tracking (SARSAT) system. Additionally, NOAA-N is the fourth in
                the series of support dedicated microwave instruments for the
                generation of temperature, moisture, surface, and hydrological
                products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared (IR)
                instruments have decreased capability. Launch is currently
                scheduled for no earlier than May 11, 2005.

{highres}       3000 x 1968

{highsize}      461373

{hightype}      JPEG

{keywords}      NASA,KSC,Kennedy Space Center

{lowres}        320 x 209

{lowsize}       76639

{lowtype}       GIF

{mediumres}     1024 x 671

{mediumsize}    93104

{mediumtype}    JPEG

{number}        KSC-05PD-0657

{slideres}      120 x 108

{slidesize}     15500

{slidetype}     GIF

{tinyres}       100 x 65

{tinysize}      8174

{tinytype}      GIF

{title}         KSC-05PD-0657

{type}          Image

{end}