**NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION**

**SORCE PRESS KIT**

##### January 2003

![](media/image1.png){width="1.25in" height="1.15in"}

**Public Affairs Contacts for the SORCE Earth Sciences Mission**

David E. Steitz Policy/Program Office (202) 358-1730

NASA Headquarters, Washington

Lynn Chandler EOS Program Office (301) 286-2806

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. cell (301) 332-5927

SORCE Newsroom at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (321) 867-2468

Jim Scott University of Colorado (303) 492-3114

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

Barron Beneski Pegasus Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft (703) 406-5528

Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va.

NASA\'s Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the Earth
as an integrated system and applying Earth system science to improve
prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards using the vantage
point of space.

####### Media Services Information

**NASA Television Transmission**

NASA Television is broadcast on the satellite GE-2, transponder 9C, C
band, 85 degrees west longitude, frequency 3880.0 MHz, vertical
polarization, audio monaural at 6.8 MHz. On launch day, television
coverage will begin at 2 p.m. EST and continue through spacecraft
separation. The schedule for television transmissions for the SORCE
launch will be available on the NASA Television homepage at
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/.

**Audio**

Audio only commentary from the launch will be available on the NASA TV
Voice circuits that may be reached by dialing 321-867-1220, 1240, 1260,
7135, 4003, 4920.

**Webcasting**

A live webcast of the launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
will be available at

[http://www.ksc.nasa.gov](http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/)

**Briefings**

The pre-launch readiness press briefing is scheduled for January 24 at 2
p.m. EST. The press briefing will be held at KSC in the press site
auditorium. Additional information will be sent in a Note to Editors.

For information on launch accreditation call the Kennedy Space Center
News Center at 321/867-2468 or fax the following information on official
letterhead to:

Accreditations Secretary

NASA-KSC News Center

321/867-2692.

Full Name

Birthdate

Social Security Number

U.S. Citizen Yes/No

**News Center/Status Reports**

The SORCE News Center at KSC will open on January 23 and may be reached
at (321) 867-2468.

**Internet Information**

More information on the SORCE mission, including an electronic copy of
this press kit, press releases, fact sheets, status reports and images,
can be found at:

<http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce>

**or**

**http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2003/0106sorce.html**

###### **SORCE Quick Facts**

######## Launch Date/Time-January 25, 2003/3:14 p.m. EST

## Spacecaft Dimensions

**Stowed:** 39.4 inches (100 centimeters) wide x 63.1 inches (160.3
centimeters) high

**Deployed:** 133.6 inches (339.3 centimeters) wide x 63.1 inches (160.3
centimeters) high

**Weight at launch:** 632.7 pounds (287 kilograms)

**Power:** 348 watts of electric power from solar array

**Orbit:** 397.8 miles (640 kilometers)

**Mission Lifetime:** Five years (six-year design goal)

**Science Instruments:**

The four instruments on SORCE are the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM),
the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), Solar Stellar Irradiance
Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Photometer
System (XPS).

TIM, SIM and SOLSTICE will measure solar irradiance and the solar
spectrum to help scientists understand the Sun's role in climate change.
The XPS will measure high-energy radiation from the Sun.

**Launch Site**: Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Fla.

**Launch Vehicle:** Pegasus XL

**Launch Day - January 25**

**2:12 p.m EST** \-- L1011 Takes off from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla.

**3:14 pm EST** \-- Pegasus launches (beginning of 58-minute launch
window)

**Launch + 646 seconds** (slightly over ten minutes after launch) \--
SORCE spacecraft separation

**Launch + 653 seconds** \-- First Acquisition of SORCE Signal

**Launch + 30 days** - Beginning of science operations

**Launch + 60 days** -- Release of 1^st^ data

**Cost:** Spacecraft, Instruments, Launch Vehicle & Five Years of
Operations = \$122 million

**Spacecraft Builder/Integrator:** Orbital Sciences Corporation

**Instruments Builder:** University of Colorado's Laboratory for
Atmospheric Space Physics

**Launch Vehicle/Operations:** NASA\'s Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

**Mission Management:** University of Colorado's Laboratory for
Atmospheric Space Physics

**Management and scientific oversight and engineering support**: NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center

**Acquisition, management, processing, and distribution of the science
data:** University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space
Physics