The countdown is underway for launch of NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. Ground fog at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip may delay the planned takeoff of Orbital ATK’s L-1011 Stargazer airplane from its target of 7:33 a.m. EST. Visibility currently is a quarter mile. Should there be a need for the L-1011 aircraft to return to the Skid Strip with Pegasus still attached, the flight rule requires at least one mile of visibility. After takeoff from the Cape, the Stargazer aircraft will fly off shore where the Pegasus rocket will be released. Five seconds later, the solid propellant engine will ignite and boost the eight CYGNSS hurricane observatories to orbit. The satellites will help scientists probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a crucial role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes. Release of the Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EST.
Photo credit: NASA