NASA launches mission to study the sun

August 25, 1997
Web posted at: 1:20 p.m. EDT (1720 GMT)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- A $200 million mission to study the sun was launched on Monday after a one-day delay caused by stray shrimp fishermen.

An unmanned Delta II rocket lifted NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) solar observatory skyward at 10:39 a.m. EDT.

The satellite is to be hurtled to a point 1 million miles from Earth where the gravities of Earth and the sun balance each other. There, it will study atomic particles streaming from the sun as well from the far reaches of the Milky Way.

Rocket carrying ACE satellite lifts off 1.1MB/28 sec. QuickTime movie

Sunday morning's scheduled liftoff was postponed just minutes before launch because of two shrimp boats in harm's way in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral.

Although the U.S. Coast Guard was able to contact one shrimp boat before the end of the 25-minute launch window, it could not contact the other, which NASA said appeared to be either anchored or dead in the water.

Both were within the launch pad's security zone; the area must be cleared and secured for safety reasons before spacecraft can blast off.

The ACE craft is primarily designed to collect several different types of data on matter in outer space, and it will monitor solar winds and solar quiet and active periods.

Animation of Advanced Composition Explorer satellite in space
	314K/13 sec./240x180 572K/13 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

It will also provide a practical use for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Among the spacecraft's secondary payload is a tool that will alert NOAA to severe solar storms that are about to hit Earth.

Before the spacecraft can begin its work, it must travel almost 1 million miles (1.5 million km) to escape the effects of the Earth's magnetic field.

Scientists hope the data the craft collects on different types of matter in space will aid their investigations of the origin and evolution of solar and galactic matter.

And NOAA officials hope their project, the Real Time Solar Wind data format, will help them pinpoint approaching storms from outer space. Severe geomagnetic storms cause communications problems, abruptly increase drag on spacecraft, and can cause electric utility blackouts over a wide area.

Related story:

• New spacecraft to warn of disruptive solar storms - August 14, 1997

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
• The NASA Homepage
• NOAA Home Page
• Ace Spacecraft Nears Completion
• Ace Science Center

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.