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Blog Category: NASA

Nation’s Newest Environmental Satellite Successfully Launched

Submitted on October 28, 2011 - 11:00am
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An arc of light illuminates the pre-dawn sky at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., as a Delta II rocket launches with the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft payload.

NPP is vital for NOAA’s weather forecast mission

America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite roared into orbit this morning, setting the stage for enhanced weather data NOAA scientists will use to develop life-saving severe weather forecasts days in advance.

The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force, Calif., at 2:48 a.m. PDT aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. At approximately 3:45 a.m. PDT, the spacecraft separated from the Delta II to the delight of NOAA and NASA officials.

NPP is a NASA Earth-observing satellite and features five new instruments that will collect more detailed information about Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans.  NASA will use NPP as a research mission, while NOAA will use the data for short and long-term weather forecasting and environmental monitoring.

“This year has been one for the record books for severe weather,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The need for improved data from NPP and the next generation satellite system under development by NASA and NOAA has never been greater.  They will enhance our ability to alert the public with as much lead time as possible.”

In 2011, data from polar-orbiting satellites like NPP allowed emergency managers and communities to prepare for severe weather events . Five days before a destructive and deadly tornado outbreak in Alabama and parts of the Southeast in April, NOAA forecasters were able to see the early atmospheric signs of the storm system developing and issue timely warnings.  NOAA  full release

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Space Coast Task Force Delivers Economic Strategies Report to President Barack Obama

Submitted on August 17, 2010 - 10:30am
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Secretary Locke and NASA Administrator Bolden provide blueprint for job creation and innovation to propel regional economy

Obama at NASA giving remarks; NASA photoThe President's Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development, co-chaired by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., today released its report to the president with recommendations to enhance economic development strategies along Florida’s Space Coast. The Task Force was charged with developing a plan for how best to invest $40 million in transition assistance from the federal government in the Space Coast region as the Space Shuttle program winds down.

Locke, Bolden, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and several other senior administration officials have visited the region multiple times since the creation of the Task Force to meet with area workers and experts.

“Over the past few months, we have worked diligently with local government officials, economic development agencies, and affected corporations and employees to develop a comprehensive plan that will create high-skill, high-wage jobs and a strong economic base in the Space Coast,” Locke said. “Space is a key driver of the 21st century American economy and that’s why the president believes so strongly in empowering NASA to pursue new avenues of discovery.”  Release  |  Report  |  NASA Space Coast Task Force

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Secretary Locke Visits Kennedy Space Center Lab, Meets with Displaced Workers on Florida's Space Coast

Submitted on August 4, 2010 - 2:00pm
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Phot of Locke in labSecretary Locke visited Florida’s Space Coast today to tour a world-class laboratory at Kennedy Space Center and meet with displaced workers to discuss what the Obama administration, the Commerce Department and NASA are doing to improve the local economy as the Space Shuttle program winds down, and to hear from them about the challenges they’re facing during the transition. Locke stressed the administration’s continued commitment to getting people back to work and preserving the region as a hub for innovation.

During his third visit to the region, Locke toured the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at Exploration Park, a research and technology facility at Kennedy Space Center, and met with recently laid off NASA contractors. He was joined by Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Economic Development John Fernandez, NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Charles Scales, and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana.

Locke and NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., are co-chairing the President’s Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development, a $40 million, multi-agency initiative that is building on and complementing ongoing local and federal economic and workforce development efforts. The Task Force is leading the effort to grow the Space Coast economy and prepare its workers for the opportunities of tomorrow. Its report to the president is due in mid-August. 

 

Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Commerce's Economic Development Administration Launches Interactive Web Site

Submitted on June 24, 2010 - 11:00am
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Satellite image of Florida

The Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development has launched an interactive Web site to encourage public comment on ways to promote economic growth and sustainability in the Space Coast region as it adapts to changes in America’s space program. The site offers valuable information about the work the Obama administration is doing to create jobs in the region by fostering a more supportive entrepreneurial environment.  Full release   Secretary Locke visit to Space Coast blog

Secretary Locke, NASA Administrator Bolden Hold Town Hall Meeting on Space Coast Economy

Submitted on June 4, 2010 - 11:41am
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Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke addresses business and industry leaders during a town hall meetingU.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. are in Orlando, Fla., today for a town hall meeting to hear directly from local leaders working to strengthen and diversify the Space Coast economy. Locke discussed the Obama administration’s continued commitment to job creation and strengthening of the economy, as well as address the May jobs report released this morning indicating that the economy added 431,000 jobs last month

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speak to reporters during a town hall meetingThe Obama administration is committed to taking steps to help Florida's Space Coast adapt and thrive in the years ahead. President Obama recently launched the Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development, a $40 million, multi-agency initiative for regional and economic growth to assist the Space Coast as the country's space exploration efforts expand and transform. The Task Force, co-chaired by Locke and Bolden, is leading the initiative to coordinate and implement a plan to grow the region’s economy and prepare its workers for the opportunities of tomorrow. The interagency effort will build on and complement ongoing local and federal economic and workforce development efforts. Remarks

NOAA: Ocean Stored Significant Warming Over Last 16 Years

Submitted on May 19, 2010 - 4:04pm
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The upper layer of the world’s ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new study. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs per each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet.

“We are seeing the global ocean store more heatOcean waves breaking over rocks than it gives off,” said John Lyman, an oceanographer at NOAA’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, who led an international team of scientists that analyzed nine different estimates of heat content in the upper ocean from 1993 to 2008.

The team combined the estimates to assess the size and certainty of growing heat storage in the ocean. Their findings will be published in the May 20 edition of the journal Nature. The scientists are from NOAA, NASA, the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom, the University of Hamburg in Germany and the Meteorological Research Institute in Japan.

The team combined the estimates to assess the size and certainty of growing heat storage in the ocean. Their findings will be published in the May 20 edition of the journal Nature. The scientists are from NOAA, NASA, the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom, the University of Hamburg in Germany and the Meteorological Research Institute in Japan.  

Read the full story here.

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