"Glory" Will Improve Understanding Of The Sun, Earth's
Climate
NASA's newest Earth-observing research mission is nearing
launch. The agency says the Glory mission will improve
our understanding of how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles
called aerosols affect Earth's climate. Glory also will extend a
legacy of long-term solar measurements needed to address key
uncertainties about climate change.
Glory is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California on Feb. 23 at 0509 EST. It will join a fleet called the
Afternoon Constellation or "A-train" of satellites. This group of
other Earth-observing satellites, including NASA's Aqua and Aura
spacecraft, flies in tight formation.
"Glory is going to help scientists tackle one of the major
uncertainties in climate change predictions identified by the
United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: the
influence of aerosols on the energy balance of our planet," said
Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in the
Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in
Washington. "This mission also marks the first satellite launch
under President Obama's climate initiative that will advance the
United States' contribution to cutting-edge and policy-relevant
climate change science."
Glory APS Sensor Installation NASA Image
Originally confirmed in 2005, Glory has been developed by a team
of engineers and scientists at several government, industry and
academic institutions across the country. The Glory spacecraft
arrived at Vandenberg on Jan. 11 after a cross-country road trip
from Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, VA. "The spacecraft is
in place at the launch, and all of the post-shipment inspections
and electrical tests have been completed," said Bryan Fafaul, Glory
project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
MD. The spacecraft will be mated to Orbital's Taurus XL 3110 rocket
next month.
Glory Arrives At Vandenberg AFB NASA Image
Glory will carry new technology designed to unravel some of the
most complex elements of the Earth system. The mission carries two
primary instruments, the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) and the
Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM). APS will improve measurement of
aerosols, the airborne particles that can influence climate by
reflecting and absorbing solar radiation and modifying clouds and
precipitation. TIM will extend a decades-long data record of the
solar energy striking the top of Earth's atmosphere, or total solar
irradiance.
Glory will fly in a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 438 miles,
about the distance from Boston to Washington. After launch, mission
operators will conduct verification tests for 30 days and then
begin to collect data for at least three years.
Glory On Orbit Artist's Rendering NASA Image
Glory is managed by Goddard for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. Launch management is provided by NASA's
Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.