Alive
The launch of a NASA rocket from the remote desert of the Northern Territory has been delayed due to constant winds.
After the delay of a previous day due to heavy rain, the suborbital imaging spectrograph for the irradiation of the transition region of the host stars of the nearby exoplanet, or SISTINE, was again delayed. mission launch Tuesday night.
“We did the countdown with all the launch intentions, but the constant winds were outside the parameters we considered safe,” Michael Jones, executive chairman and CEO of the Equatorial Launch Australia group, said in a statement.
“From that base, we made the decision to delay the launch tonight.”
We delayed the launch of @NASA SISTINE tonight due to the impact of the weather. Michael Jones, general manager, said: “We went through the intention of the countdown to launch, but the constant winds were outside the parameters we considered safe.” Details of the rescheduled window will be available soon.
– Equatorial Launch Australia (@ela_space) July 5, 2022
Information about a rescheduled release window will be provided in due course, Jones said.
A successful first launch took place late last month from the Arnhem Space Center on the Dhupuma Plateau near Nhulunbuy.
Along with a third rocket to be launched later this month, the SISTINE rocket will take measurements of ultraviolet light to help reduce the search for habitable planets.
The two missions will work together to get a complete picture of ultraviolet light from Alpha Centauri A and B stars.
The amount of ultraviolet radiation emitted by different types of stars is little known.
Without accurate knowledge, astronomers cannot accurately predict which planets could host life.
ICYMI here is the live recording of our first launch, Australia’s first commercial space launch and @ NASA’s first commercial space launch with probably the most enthusiastic launch commentary you’ll ever hear from the iconic @ btucker22
– Equatorial Launch Australia (@ela_space) June 30, 2022
“We need to understand the stars to be able to understand any planet we find there,” said Kevin France, an astronomer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and lead researcher on the SISTINE mission.
The rocket launched last month will also help scientists explore how the light of a star can influence the habitability of a planet.
The rocket carries an X-ray quantum calorimeter, which allows scientists at the University of Michigan to measure interstellar X-rays accurately to provide new data about the structure and evolution of the cosmos.
On Earth, oxygen is a biomarker associated with life.🌱But biomarkers are not as reliable for planets orbiting other stars.
NASA is launching the SISTINE mission on a sound rocket to study stars and their effect on exoplanet atmospheres. Full story: pic.twitter.com/z191Od4Oct
– NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) August 2, 2019
About 75 NASA personnel are in Arnhem Land for the missions, the first the agency has done in Australia in 27 years and the first from a commercial spaceport outside the United States.
NASA was last launched from Australia in 1995, when its rockets left the Royal Australian Air Force’s Woomera Range complex in South Australia.
The local Yolngu helped build the Arnhem Space Center, owned by Equatorial Launch Australia, on its lands.
They are also involved in the next launch, including the recovery of rocket modules when they return to Earth.
-AAP