Feb. 17, 2009

George H. Diller
NASA Vandenberg Resident Office, Calif.
805-605-3051
george.h.diller{at}nasa.gov

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole{at}nasa.gov

Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0474
alan.d.buis{at}jpl.nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-025

NASA ORBITING CARBON OBSERVATORY ON A TAURUS XL READY FOR LAUNCH

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The launch of NASA's Orbiting
Carbon Observatory, or OCO, aboard a Taurus XL rocket is scheduled
for Feb. 24. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg
Air Force Base, Calif., is set for 1:51:30 a.m. PST during a
four-and-a-half-minute launch window. The spacecraft's final polar
orbit will be 438 miles.

OCO is NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced
greenhouse gas driving changes in the Earth's climate. OCO will
provide the first complete picture of human and natural carbon
dioxide sources as well as their "sinks," the places where carbon
dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored. It will map the
global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study
their changes over time. The new observatory will dramatically
improve global carbon dioxide data, collecting about eight million
precise measurements every 16 days for at least two years.

ACCREDITATION

News media desiring accreditation for the launch of OCO should fax
their request on news organization letterhead to:

Lt. Justin Jessop
30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

FAX: 805-606-8303
Telephone: 805-606-3595
E-mail: justin.jessop{at}vandenberg.af.mil

Information required for U.S. media is full legal name, date of birth
and media affiliation.

PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE

Monday, Feb. 23: A prelaunch news conference will be held at 9 a.m.
PST in the 2nd floor conference room of the NASA Vandenberg Resident
Office, Building 840, at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Question-and-answer capability will be available from participating
NASA locations. The news conference briefers will be:

Eric Ianson, OCO program executive
NASA Headquarters

Chuck Dovale, NASA launch director
Kennedy Space Center

John Brunschwyler, Taurus program manager
Orbital Sciences Corporation

Ralph Basilio, OCO deputy project manager
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Capt. Damon Vorhees, launch weather officer, 30th Weather Squadron
Vandenberg Air Force Base

OCO MISSON SCIENCE BRIEING

Immediately following the OCO prelaunch news conference will be an
OCO
mission science briefing. Participating will be:

David Crisp, OCO principal investigator
JPL

Charles Miller, OCO deputy principal investigator
JPL

Media desiring to cover the prelaunch news conference should meet at
the south gate of Vandenberg Air Force Base on California State Road
246 at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 23. They will be escorted by 30th
Space Wing Public Affairs to the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office.

TAURUS XL PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Monday, Feb. 23: Immediately following the prelaunch news conference,
there will be an opportunity for the media to see and photograph the
Orbital Sciences Taurus XL at the launch pad with OCO encapsulated in
the payload fairing atop the rocket. Media will be escorted from the
news conference to the launch pad. Photographers not desiring to
attend the news conference should meet at the pass and identification
building at the Vandenberg main gate on California State Road 1 at
10:30 a.m. to be escorted to the launch pad.

REMOTE CAMERAS

Monday, Feb. 23: Media desiring to establish sound-activated remote
cameras at the launch pad should meet at the pass and identification
building located at the Vandenberg main gate on California State Road
1 at 10:30 a.m. to be escorted to the launch pad.

LAUNCH DAY PRESS COVERAGE

Monday, Feb. 23: Media covering the OCO/Taurus XL launch should meet
at 1 a.m. at the Vandenberg main gate located on California State
Road 1 to be escorted to the press viewing site. Press credentials
and identification from a bona fide news organization will be
required for access. Driver's license alone will not be sufficient.

After launch, media will be escorted back to the gate or escorted to
the NASA Mission Director's Center for quotes from launch management
officials, if desired.

NASA TELEVISION COVERAGE

The prelaunch news conference and coverage of the launch will be
carried live on NASA Television on the NASA TV "Public Channel"
(Channel 101). For information on receiving NASA TV go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/digital.html

NASA Television will carry the prelaunch news conference starting at
9
a.m. PST/noon EST on Monday, Feb. 23.

The prelaunch news conference will also be webcast at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

On launch day, Feb. 24, NASA TV coverage of the countdown will begin
at 12 a.m. PST/3 a.m. EST. Liftoff is targeted to occur at 1:51:30
a.m. PST. Spacecraft separation from the Taurus occurs 13 minutes, 19
seconds after launch.

VOICE CIRCUIT COVERAGE

To monitor audio of the prelaunch news conference and the launch
coverage, dial the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed directly
at 321-867-1220, -1240 and -1260. This system is not two-way
interactive. "Mission Audio" of countdown activities without NASA
launch commentary will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at
midnight.

WEB COVERAGE

Launch coverage of OCO/Taurus XL countdown activities will be
available on the NASA Web site by going to the home page at:

http://www.nasa.gov

Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at midnight PST.
Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well
as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and
liftoff.

To access these features, go to NASA's OCO mission Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/oco

NASA OCO/TAURUS XL NEWS CENTER

The OCO/Taurus News Center at the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office
currently is open and may be reached at 805-605-3051. A recorded
status report is also available by dialing 805-734-2693.


-end-
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32