Follow the Countdown

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:39:56 PM EST

Join us on launch day and follow the action as the clock ticks toward liftoff of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory aboard an Atlas V rocket.

SDO Launch news coverage

The SDO launch generated a lot of interest in the press, appearing in
hundreds of newspapers and television shows around the world. Here
are the top 15%:

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/02/11/solar.dynamics.observatory/?hpt=Sbin

MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35348099/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Associated Press

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_SOLAR_LAUNCH?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Fox News.com

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/11/nasa-launches-observatory-study-sun/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fscitech+%2528Text+-+SciTech%2529

BBC

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017792652

Space.com

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solar-dynamics-observatory-100209.html

USA Today

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/02/nasa-solar-observatory-successfully-reaches-orbit/1

Sky & Telescope

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/84137212.html

Wired

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/watching-the-sun-sdo-launches-for-solar-science/

Information Week

http://www.informationweek.com/news/storage/virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222900062

nasaspaceflight.com

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/02/live-atlas-solar-sdo-launch/

Universe Today

http://www.universetoday.com/2010/02/11/the-solar-dynamics-observatory-soars-to-study-the-sun/

CBC

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/02/11/tech-space-solar-observatory.html

NetworkWorld

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/021110-layer8-nasa-solar-satellite.html

PR Newswire

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pratt--whitney-rocketdyne-successfully-powers-launch-of-nasas-solar-dynamics-observatory-mission-84130837.html

eWeek

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government-IT/NASA-Launches-Solar-Dynamics-Observatory-447428/

Nature Online blog

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/02/solar_science_satellite_succes.html

Orlando Sentinel blog

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_space_thewritestuff/2010/02/solar-mission-launches.html

Scientific American blog

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=nasas-solar-dynamics-observatory-la-2010-02-11

Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_14381585

Central Florida News

http://www.cfnews13.com/Space/DestinationSpace/2010/2/9/atlast_v_set_to_launch_wednesday.html?ItemId=475094

The Canadian Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jq6AXgwbLWgobsz-waaXmb68G4Xg

Sydney Morning Herald

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nasa-launches-spacebased-solar-observatory-20100212-nvge.html

www.redorbit.com

Solar Dynamics Observatory Set For Feb 9 Launch

cnet.com

Solar spacecraft to record sun at Imax resolution

gearlog

Multiple Tweetups Planned for Solar Dynamics Observatory Launch

Times Online

Nasa mission to unravel sun's threat to Earth

Science Daily

Instruments to Study Space Weather Set for NASA Launch

montana state university

MSU helped design solar telescopes to be launched Feb. 9

TG daily

Probe will warn of solar storms

Aviation Week

Solar Dynamics Observatory Nearing Launch

Space Ref

Celebrate the Launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory With Tweetups and Launch Events

Spaceflight Now

Launch nears for observatory to monitor Sun's behavior

Sat News

NASA And ULA Solar Dynamics Observatory — We'll Follow The Sun

Universe Today

NASA's Solar Crown Jewel Bolted atop Atlas Rocket

Trans World News

Astronomy.FM to Host First "Virtual" Tweetup to Celebrate NASA Solar Observatory Launch

Spacedaily Today

UK Scientists Gear Up For NASA's SDO (Feb 03, 2010)

Satnews Publishers

NASA And ULA Solar Dynamics Observatory — We'll Follow The Sun (Jan 28, 2010)

Florida Today

SDO Placed In Fairing, On Track For February Launch

SPACE.COM

New Space Telescope to Target Sun Storms

The London Times (UK)

Sun view costs NASA $856m - but you can watch free on iPhone

The Independent (UK)

Do not adjust your sets: solar storms could cause blackouts at Olympics

BBC News, February 11, 2010

SDO solar observatory launches from Cape Canaveral

Wired Magazine, May 1, 2009

Cute Little Spacecraft Will Take Amazing Pictures of the Sun

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), February 11, 2010

NASA launches sun-watching satellite

BBC, Feb. 10, 2010

How solar observatory will launch

BBC, Feb. 10, 2010

Ten years of solar activity

The Register (UK), Feb. 11, 2010

Sun-gazing sat heads for the heavens: Solar Dynamics Observatory lifts off

Calcutta Tube (India), Jan. 31, 2010

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to be launched Feb 9

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), February 13, 2010

Staring into the Sun

Space Daily (UK), February 3, 2010

UK Scientists Gear Up For NASA's SDO

The Daily Mail (UK), February 3, 2010

Solar firestorm set for 2012 could cause communications blackout during London

New Zealand Herald, Feb. 3, 2010

Solar activity my disrupt Olympics viewing

Astronomy Magazine, Feb. 2, 2010

NASA to launch Sun-studying satellite

BBC News, Feb 10, 2010

Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises

Florida Today, Feb. 5, 2010

Solar Dynamics Observatory: The 'variable sun' mission

Florida Today, Feb. 12, 2010

Strength of Atlas hurls sun-studying satellite into space

USA Today, Feb. 9, 2010

Unlocking sun's secrets key to Earth's security

Hindustan Times, Feb. 9, 2010

NASA ready to launch satellite to explore sun

San Jose Mercury News, Feb. 8, 2010

Launch of NASA satellite delayed until Wednesday

Gulf Times (Qatar), Feb. 11, 2010

Nasa's solar probe rockets towards Sun

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA Launches Solar Observatory

Scientific American, Feb. 9, 2010

NASA Readies a Satellite to Probe the Sun - Inside and Out

One India (India), Feb. 12, 2010

NASA's solar mission takes off

The Money Times (India), Feb. 10, 2010

NASA to launch solar observatory to unravel secrets of the Sun

Thaindian (Thailand) News, Feb. 12, 2010

NASA launches spacecraft to study the sun

Sky & Telescope, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA's New Eye on the Sun

USA Today, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA rocket, solar observatory reach orbit

Information Week, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA Looks Into The Eyes Of The Sun

Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA launches satellite to help forecast solar storms

The Boulder Daily Camera, Feb. 25, 2010

Kate Becker: 'Oh no!' We don't understand solar storms - yet

TG Daily, Feb. 1, 2010

Probe will warn of solar storms

Xinhua Daily (China), Feb. 12, 2010

U.S. launches new solar observatory

CNN, Feb. 11, 2010

NASA launches Solar Dynamics Observatory

New York Times, Feb. 11 2010

NASA Launches Observatory to Study Sun

Fox News, Feb. 9, 2010

New Solar Observatory to Unlock Sun's Mysteries

SDO Launches!

The Atlas V roared to life Thursday morning to send the Solar Dynamics Observatory into space on its mission to evaluate the complex mechanisms of the sun. Liftoff came on-time at 10:23 a.m. EST from Launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Florida's Atlantic Coast.

The SDO spacecraft is in good shape midway through the launch phase that will eventually place it in an elongated orbit reaching more than 21,000 miles high. Eventually, SDO's orbit will be circularized and will reach about 22,300 miles in what is called geosynchronous orbit. From that altitude, the spacecraft will point its instruments at the sun and relay the readings instantly to a ground station in New Mexico. The research is expected to reveal the sun's inner workings by constantly taking high resolution images of the sun, collecting readings from inside the sun and measuring its magnetic field activity. This data is expected to give researchers the insight they need to eventually predict solar storms and other activity on the sun that can affect spacecraft in orbit, astronauts on the International Space Station and electronic and other systems on Earth.

Live coverage of the launch is available on NASA TV and NASA's Launch Blog.

SDO Launch Scrubbed

The February 10, 2010 scheduled launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has been scrubbed due to high winds. The launch is rescheduled for February 11, 2010 at 10:23 am.

For additional information:

1. NASA TV


2. SDO is go


3. SDO team members traveling to launch


4. Digital Learning Network DLiNfo Channel


5. Twitter Fall


6. UStream


7. SDO Portal Site


8. About SDO


9. SDO instruments


10. Movies

SDO Launch Rescheduled

The launch has been rescheduled for at least a day. The new scheduled launch will be on Wednesday February 10, 2010 at 10:30. All the guest activities will be moved to Tuesday. The reception will stay on Monday.

NASA to launch Sun-studying satellite

With its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), NASA will probe the Sun in greater detail than ever before and, with luck, begin to answer some of its biggest mysteries.
by: Bill Andrews, Assistant Editor
February 2, 2010

Despite being our planet's nearest star, the Sun can still perplex scientists, who don't understand much of its behavior and its effects on our weather system. NASA plans to launch a satellite February 9 that will gather more data than ever before about the Sun and — scientists hope — begin to provide answers.

Taking off on an Atlas V rocket, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will observe the Sun's atmosphere and inner workings with more precision than ever before, including collecting 60 images a minute with 10 times the resolution of high-definition television. It will be the first mission of NASA's Living With a Star Program.

"SDO will take full-disk, high-definition images of the Sun all of the time," says project manager Liz Citrin at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "These advances will provide the data to better understand how the Sun works and will allow us to develop the tools to predict its behavior."

read the rest of the article

New Space Telescope to Target Sun Storms

While astronomers gaze at stars farther and farther out in the heavens, some scientists want to take a closer look at the star closest to us: the sun.

NASA plans to launch a new spacecraft, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), to take the most detailed observations ever of the sun to understand its complex weather and storms.

"The sun changes every time we look at it, [it] is never the same," said Dean Pesnell, SDO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in a Thursday briefing.

Scientists hope data from the new probe will help them understand changes in the sun's magnetic field, which gets more and less active on an 11-year cycle, sending out periodic flares of charged particles that can disrupt technology on Earth.

The $808 million spacecraft is slated to launch Feb. 9 at 10:36 a.m. EST (1536 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

read the rest of the article

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Published By SPACE.com
Article By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Staff Writer
posted: 21 January 2010
05:19 pm ET