Dwayne Brown/Tabatha Thompson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726/3895
Cynthia O'Carroll
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-4647
George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
RELEASE: 07-62
SPACECRAFT TO STUDY CLOUDS AT EDGE OF SPACE ARRIVES AT VANDENBERG
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the
Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft arrived Saturday at Vandenberg Air Force
Base, Calif., for a targeted April 25 launch aboard a Pegasus XL
rocket.
The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar
mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the
Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The
mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what
has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at
lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis
for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and
its relationship to global climate change.
Mating of the three stages of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL has been
underway at Vandenberg. The AIM spacecraft now joins the Pegasus
rocket at the facility. AIM will undergo a series of readiness tests
to verify its state of health, and the instruments will be cleaned
and calibrated. Technicians also will partially deploy the craft's
solar arrays for illumination testing.
AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week
of April, after which final inspections will be conducted.
Approximately one week later, after the test team performs a launch
countdown rehearsal and flight simulation, the payload fairing will
be installed around the spacecraft.
Two days before launch, the Pegasus rocket with the AIM spacecraft
will be transported to the Vandenberg runway where it will be
attached beneath the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft.
NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is
managing the AIM launch, and Orbital Sciences Corporation is
conducting launch services.
AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer
Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for
world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics
and astrophysics. The Explorers Program Office at Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages this NASA-funded mission. The
Center for Atmospheric Sciences at Hampton University, Hampton, Va.,
leads the mission. The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
at the University of Colorado, Boulder, built two of the spacecraft's
three instruments, manages the mission and will control the satellite
after launch. The Space Dynamics Laboratory of Utah State University,
Logan, built the third instrument. Orbital Sciences Corporation,
Dulles, Va., designed, manufactured and tested the AIM spacecraft.
For more information about NASA and the AIM program, visit:
-end-
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