Showing posts with label Wise space telescope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wise space telescope. Show all posts

Monday, December 14, 2009

WISE Satellite Set To Map The Infrared Universe

Photo: EYE FOR THE INVISIBLE: Technicians prepare the WISE satellite for launch. NASA

From Scientific American:

NASA's latest space surveyor should be able to peer at distant galaxies and uncover dim objects right in our own celestial backyard.

Nestled into the payload of a Delta 2 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is a satellite that should open new targets for astronomical study both near and far. NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), slated for launch no earlier than 6:09 A.M. Pacific Standard Time on December 11, is charged with mapping the sky in the mid-infrared to create an atlas of objects whose emitted light is invisible to human eyes and largely absorbed by Earth's atmosphere.

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

NASA Comet Hunter Set For Monday Launch

From Information Week:

Weekend liftoff of WISE space telescope scrubbed due to faulty steering engine.

NASA delayed until Monday the launch of a space telescope designed to create a highly detailed map of the heavens and spot comets and asteroids that could pose a threat to life on Earth.

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, was slated to lift off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base atop a Delta II rocket Friday, but a balky booster steering engine forced the delay.

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