This photo shows the Delta II rocket, with the TIMED spacecraft onboard, streaking into the sky. The Delta II launch vehicle lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California, giving TIMED a boost into space. TIMED reached its orbit just 2 hours after launch.
Click on image for full size
NASA/
It's About TIMED!
News story originally written on December 14, 2001
The TIMED spacecraft was launched on December 7, 2001. The launch went well and TIMED is now in orbit around
Earth. Right now, the spacecraft's instruments are being turned on. The real science mission is expected to begin in early January.
TIMED (Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics) is going to study a region of the atmosphere called the MLTI region for at least 2 years. MTLI stands for the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/Ionosphere. Scientists do not understand this region of the atmosphere very well. It's really important to understand the MLTI region so that we might understand the whole atmosphere better. The Sun and humans have a big effect on the atmosphere, and the atmosphere plays a role in global change on Earth. But unless we understand the atmosphere as a whole, we won't know how much humans or the Sun effect the atmosphere and we won't know how the atmosphere plays into global change.
It is also important to understand the MLTI region, because many of our communication satellites orbit the Earth in this region. By better understanding the MLTI region, we'll better understand how long a satellite can last in that region, how spacecraft materials are damaged, and how satellites in this region would reenter through the Earth's atmosphere. Remember -- these communication satellites carry your TV cable stations and your cell phone signals, so this is important stuff!
The TIMED mission is the initial mission of NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Probes Program (STP).
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