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NASA Delta II WISE launch scheduled
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A Delta II rocket is scheduled to launch between 6 - 6:30 a.m. PST Dec. 11 from Space Launch Complex-2 here.
The rocket will carry NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite.
Col. David Buck, the 30th Space Wing commander, is the western range launch decision authority for this mission.
Once in orbit the WISE satellite will scan the entire sky with infrared light a with sensitivity hundreds of times greater than ever before, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. The voluminous quantity of images the WISE satellite can generate will help scientists answer fundamental questions about the origins of planets, stars and galaxies, and provide data for astronomers.
The Delta II is an expendable launch, medium-lift vehicle used to launch military, civil and commercial payloads into low-earth, polar, geosynchronous transfer and stationary orbits.
For more information about the Delta II, call Mike Rein of the United Launch Alliance at 321-693-6250
For more information about the WISE satellite, call George Diller from NASA at 321-861-7643.