Soil Mapping Spacecraft Ready for Flight

NASA is sending a new birth research spacecraft into orbit to measure and map the moisture within our plant, soil. the soil moisture active passive mission will use remote sensing instruments to create global maps of soil moisture helping us better understand water and carbon cycles map will get a boost into polar orbit aboard a United launch alliance Delta two rocket launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. the first stage of the Delta tube pulled into building eight thirty six on July twenty three two thousand fourteen it was offloaded and moved to the horizontal processing facility at the launch site on August for the first stage moved out to the mobile service tower at space launch complex two. a crane lifted the booster into the vertical position, then the error stage adapter was installed on the top of the rockets three solid rocket motors were attached to the first stage on August eighteen, and two days later booster was topped with the second stage. once inside, Astra Tech ‘s map was put through a series of inspections and tests to ensure is ready to perform during its three-year mission the spacecraft wrapped up its preflight processing in mid-November, final preparations began in the new year ‘s map was joined to his launch vehicle hardware on January seven, and during the following days, it was back in the protective cover and placed into a canister for the moved to space launch complex two. the observatory was transferred to the launch complex and hoisted into place atop a Delta two rocket on January fourteen and secure inside the protective payload bearing weight of the next week. Each of these milestones sets the stage for success as NASA sends its newest satellite on its mission to map Earth’s soil moisture