Gore's satellite would give you a constant global view

March 13, 1998
Web posted at: 3:21 a.m. EST (0821 GMT)

From CNN White House Correspondent John King

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sources tell CNN that Vice President Al Gore will announce Friday that NASA will develop and launch an innovative new satellite that offers a 24-hour-a-day picture of the earth that would be available to internet users and television viewers.

The sources say the endeavor is a pet project of the vice president's and that he persuaded NASA officials to embrace it. The satellite is estimated to cost $20 million to $50 million and is projected for launch in 2000 aboard a NASA rocket.

Gore

Officials involved in the project said the satellite would orbit at a point of equal gravity between the earth and sun - so that unlike traditional satellites that orbit the earth, this one will provide a constant picture of the sliver of Earth that is getting sunlight.

Gore's primary purpose in pushing the project was his belief that science buffs would be fascinated by the chance to access an around-the-clock snapshot of Earth. But the officials said the satellite would also transmit data that would improve weather forecasting and serve other educational purposes.

The officials said the picture from the satellite would be available on the internet through NASA and be transmitted so that it was accessible on high-definition television. The vice president will make the announcement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Related stories:

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• Pictures support theory of water on Europa - March 2, 1998
• NASA uses radar to unlock secrets of ancient Cambodian city - February 12, 1998
• To Mars and beyond: NASA slates a busy year - January 30, 1998

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• NASA home page

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