LDCM Landsat 8 Feb. 11 Launch Date Gets Go Signal

Ready for the launch of Landsat 8 or LDCM?

Managers today gave the "go" to proceed toward a Feb. 11 launch of NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. During today's Flight Readiness Review, managers decided to follow up with a few open issues leading up to the Launch Readiness Review on Friday.

Also taking place today is the Launch Countdown Coordination Meeting, which will pave the way for tomorrow's Countdown Dress Rehearsal.

At this time, the launch is scheduled for 10:02 a.m. PST (1:02 p.m. EST), beginning a 48-minute launch window. The long-range weather forecast calls for mostly clear skies on launch day.

LDCM is the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, continuing the Landsat program's 40-year record of monitoring Earth's landscapes from space. LDCM will expand and improve on that record with observations that advance a wide range of Earth sciences and contribute to the management of agriculture, water and forest resources. LDCM launches from Vandenburg Air Force Base aboard an Atlas V-401 rocket from United Launch Alliance.

The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center