ULA - Atlas V / LDCM launch poster / NASA - Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) patch.
Feb. 11, 2013
Liftoff Atlas V rocket carrying LDCM
The future of the Landsat program is on its way to orbit. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission spacecraft is riding into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket that lifted off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:02 p.m. EST. The on-time liftoff comes on the heels of a smooth countdown today at Space Launch Complex 3.
Landsat Launches on Atlas V Rocket
The payload fairing that protected LDCM during the first part of ascent separated on time and has fallen away, revealing the spacecraft. The Centaur's engine has shut down to begin a 55-minute coast phase before it reignites to put LDCM into its orbit above Earth.
Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft
NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the eighth satellite in the Landsat series, which began in 1972. The mission will extend more than 40 years of global land observations that are critical in many areas, such as energy and water management, forest monitoring, human and environmental health, urban planning, disaster recovery and agriculture. NASA's Launch Services Program as launched the LDCM spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
LDCM: A New Era in Earth Observation
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, will provide moderate-resolution measurements of Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave infrared, and thermal infrared. There are two instruments on the spacecraft, the Thermal InfraRed Sensor (TIRS) and the Operational Land Imager (OLI). LDCM will provide continuity with the nearly 40-year long Landsat land imaging data set, enabling people to study many aspects of our planet and to evaluate the dynamic changes caused by both natural processes and human practices.
For more information about the Landsat Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/main/index.html
Images, Videos, Text, Credits: NASA / NASA TV / NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Cheers, Orbiter.ch
