NASA Opens Media Accreditation for Hurricane Microsatellites Launch

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Nov 28, 2016, 03:32 ET

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media accreditation now is open for the launch of NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission, currently scheduled for Monday, Dec. 12.

CYGNSS will launch aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket to be deployed from Orbital's "Stargazer" L-1011 carrier aircraft, which will take off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. Once airborne, the Pegasus rocket will launch over the Atlantic Ocean, about 126 miles east of Daytona Beach, Florida. The 90-minute launch window opens at 8:19 a.m. EST.

The CYGNSS constellation consists of eight microsatellite observatories that will measure the surface winds in and near a hurricane's inner core, including regions beneath the eye wall and intense inner rain bands that previously could not be measured from space.

Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at CCAFS and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, adjacent to Cape Canaveral. The deadline for U.S. news media to apply for access is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1. The deadline for international news media has passed.

All media accreditation requests should be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Media representatives must present two forms of unexpired government identification to receive their media credentials. One form must include a photo, such as a passport or driver's license. Questions about accreditation may be addressed to Jennifer Horner at [email protected] or 321-867-6598. For other questions or additional information, you may contact Kennedy's newsroom at 321-867-2468.

The NASA Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for spacecraft integration and launch management. Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia, provides the Pegasus XL launch service to NASA. The agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is responsible for the mission management of CYGNSS in collaboration with Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

For more information about the CYGNSS Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/cygnss

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SOURCE NASA