WATCH LIVE SUNDAY @ 12:35 am ET: SpaceX Launch Webcast for AsiaSat 6

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WATCH LIVE SUNDAY @ 12:35 am ET: SpaceX Launch Webcast for AsiaSat 6
Space.com
By Space.com Staff | September 06, 2014 09:00am ET



The private spaceflight company SpaceX will attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the AsiaSat 6 commercial communications satellite on Sunday at 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) after more than a week of delay to allow extra rocket checks. You can watch the launch live here beginning at 12:35 a.m. EDT courtesy of SpaceX:

A SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket will launch AsiaSat 6, marking the company's second launch in two months for customer Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat). On Aug. 5, SpaceX launched AsiaSat 8 into orbit.

For AsiaSat 6, SpaceX will launch the satlelite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit that ranges between 185 kilometers and 35,786 kilometers above Earth. The satellite is expected to be deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage about 32 minutes after liftoff, according to a SpaceX mission press kit. SpaceX has backup launch windows on Thursday and Friday, if needed.

The AsiaSat 6 launch will mark the fifth launch of 2014. The mission was originally slated to launch in May, and then on Aug. 26. It was delayed one more day while SpaceX analyzed a recent failure of a three-engine Falcon 9 Reusable rocket prototype during an Aug. 22 test launch in Texas. The delay was only a safety measure, as the Falcon 9 rocket launching AsiaSat 6 has a different nine-engine configuration, SpaceX officials said in an update.

NASA officials will hold a news conference to discuss a new robotic Earth-observing mission launching to the International Space Station later this month. The updated will air live on NASA TV starting at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT). You can follow the briefing live in a webcast here at the start time:
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More from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/september/nasa-hosts-media-briefing-to-announce-new-earth-observing-role-for/#.VAnQo2RdXuU

The new Earth-observing mission, ISS-RapidScat, is expected to launch aboard a robotic SpaceX Dragon capsule no earlier than Sept. 19. It will be the first Earth-observing instrument mounted on the exterior of the station, according to NASA.

"ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds for climate research, weather predictions and hurricane monitoring from the space station's unique vantage point," NASA officials said in a statement. "The second instrument is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a laser instrument that will measure clouds and the location and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, and other particulates in the atmosphere. CATS will follow ISS-RapidScat on the fifth SpaceX space station resupply flight."

Participants in the briefing are:
• Julie Robinson, ISS Program chief scientist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
• Steve Volz, associate director for flight programs in the Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Melanie Miller, lead SpaceX-4 robotics officer, Johnson
• Ernesto Rodriguez, ISS-RapidScat project scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
• Matthew McGill, CATS principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland


HD Views from the International Space Station

NASA is now live-streaming views of Earth from space captured by four commercial high-definition video cameras installed on the exterior of the International Space Station. The project, known as the High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment, aims to test how cameras perform in the space environment. Full Story: NASA Now Streaming Live HD Camera Views of Earth from Space


NASA Satellite TV Information:

NASA TV is available in continental North America, Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-18C. A Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) is needed for reception. Below are parameters for each channel:

Uplink provider = AMC 18 C
 Transponder = 3C
 105 degrees W
 C-Band
 Downlink Frequency: 3760 MHz
 Downlink Polarity: Vertical
 Transmission Format = DVB-S, 4:2:0
 FEC = ¾
 Data Rate = 38.80 Mbps
 Symbol Rate = 28.0681
 Modulation: QPSK/DVB-S


http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html