Countdown to DSCOVR: Officials to discuss space weather mission

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Dec 11, 2014, 04:52 ET

SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NOAA will host a media teleconference to provide details about NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission. From its orbit one million miles away from Earth, the spacecraft will provide critical data necessary for NOAA space weather forecasters to issue timely and accurate warnings of solar storms that have the potential to disrupt major public infrastructure systems such as power grids, telecommunications, aviation and GPS.

In addition to the space weather instruments, DSCOVR will carry two NASA Earth-observing instruments that gather a range of ozone and aerosol measurements in the atmosphere and changes in the Earth's radiation budget. DSCOVR is scheduled for launch Friday, January 23, 2015 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

WHAT:
Media teleconference about the DSCOVR mission followed by Q&A

WHEN:
Thursday, December 18, 2014; 11 a.m. EST

WHO:

Dr. Louis Uccellini, assistant administrator, NOAA's National Weather Service
Suzanne Hilding, director, Office of Systems Development, NOAA's Satellite and Information Service
Dr. Richard Eckman, NASA DSCOVR program scientist
Colonel D. Jason Cothern, chief, Space Demonstrations Division, U.S. Air Force

HOW:
To obtain the call-in number and passcode, reporters may contact John Leslie at: [email protected]

The DSCOVR mission, led by NOAA, is a partnership with NASA and the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. Air Force is funding and overseeing the launch, which will be aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

For more information about the DSCOVR mission, visit:

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR/

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SOURCE NASA