NASA'S WISE Spacecraft Ready for Launch Dec. 9 from California
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WASHINGTON -- The launch of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey
Explorer, or WISE, aboard a Delta II rocket is scheduled to occur
between 9:09 a.m. and 9:23 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 9, from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NASA will provide television
and Internet coverage of prelaunch activities and launch.
After launch, WISE will scan the entire sky in infrared light with a
sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before, picking up
the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of
images. The mission will uncover objects never seen before, including
the coolest stars, the universe's most luminous galaxies and some of
the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets.
A prelaunch news conference on NASA Television will be held on Dec. 7
at 4 p.m. at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office. Reporters can ask
from participating NASA centers. A WISE mission science briefing will
immediately follow the prelaunch news conference. The briefings will
be webcast at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
On Dec. 9, NASA TV coverage of the countdown and launch will begin at
7 a.m. A WISE webcast with launch and mission principals is scheduled
for noon on Dec. 8. To access WISE features, visit NASA's WISE Web
site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/wise
Audio of the prelaunch news conference and the launch coverage will be
available by dialing 321-867-1220/1240/1260. This is a listen-only
audio system. Mission audio of countdown activities without NASA
launch commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at 6 a.m.
Launch coverage of WISE/Delta II countdown activities also will be
available on the NASA Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov
Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at 7 a.m.
Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well
as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and
liftoff.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/
Beginning Dec. 3, a WISE mission news center will be operational at
the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office. Reporters should call
805-605-3051 for launch information. Recorded status reports also
will be available at that time by dialing 805-734-2693.
Source: NASA
