On February 9th at no earlier than 10:30am EST, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will be launching aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The goal of this mission is to give astronomers a closer look at the sun and help us understand the source of the sun's energy so spaceweather can better be predicted. SDO is different compared to other satellites in that it will be collecting enough data to fill a single CD every thirty-six SECONDS! Not only that, but SDO has no data recording system here on Earth where its data will be stored, so it essentially has to build its own. In order for this to happen, SDO will be placed in a geosynchronous orbit and will remain constantly in orbit above its ground communication station in New Mexico. Derek PS.. I will want to see this one.. :-)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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