Spacecraft To Study Clouds At Edge Of Space Arrives At Vandenberg

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Man-made noctilucent cloud, no classification possible. The trail of a rocket created an artificial cloud showing irridescence. On this occasion, the height was estimated to be 80-90 km. This photograph is from the book "Observing Noctilucent Clouds" by M. Gadsden and P. Parviainen, edited by IAGA in 1995

Gallery of Noctilucent cloud images via AIM at Hamptonu

by Staff Writers
Vandenberg AFB (SPX) Mar 14, 2007
NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft arrived Saturday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for a targeted April 25 launch aboard a Pegasus XL rocket. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere.

The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change.

Mating of the three stages of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL has been underway at Vandenberg. The AIM spacecraft now joins the Pegasus rocket at the facility. AIM will undergo a series of readiness tests to verify its state of health, and the instruments will be cleaned and calibrated. Technicians also will partially deploy the craft's solar arrays for illumination testing.

AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Approximately one week later, after the test team performs a launch countdown rehearsal and flight simulation, the payload fairing will be installed around the spacecraft.

Two days before launch, the Pegasus rocket with the AIM spacecraft will be transported to the Vandenberg runway where it will be attached beneath the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft.

NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is managing the AIM launch, and Orbital Sciences Corporation is conducting launch services.

AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics.

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Thailand Considers Declaring Emergency Over Haze

Bangkok (AFP) March 13, 2007
Thailand may declare an environmental emergency in tourist hotspot Chiang Mai and two other northern provinces after a thick smog blanketed the region, the environment minister said Tuesday. Kasem Snidwong Na Ayuttaya said air quality in three provinces was double the hazardous level after widespread forest fires and farmers setting blazes to clear land.

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