NASA launches Earth-observing satellite

The Delta-2 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on Saturday.

It is on a mission to track the amount of water locked in soil, which may help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers get ready for drought conditions.

A Delta 2 rocket carrying Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite was launched early Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s central coast.

The satellite is on a three-year mission to track the amount of water locked in soil, which may help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers get ready for drought conditions.

NASA launch manager Tim Dunn said there were zero launch problems with the rocket, calling the Delta 2 a “workhorse.”

Once the satellite reaches the desired orbit 430 miles or 692 kilometers high, engineers will spend two weeks checking out the two instruments, which will measure moisture in the soil every several days to produce high-resolution global maps.

Scientists hope data collected by the satellite, the latest to join NASA’s Earth—orbiting fleet, will improve flood forecasts and drought monitoring.

At a news conference broadcast online, SMAP mission project manager Kent Kellogg said the launch went off without a hitch.

“This data will benefit not only scientists seeking a better understanding of our planet, climate and environment ... it’s a boon for emergency planners and policy makers,” said Geoffery Yoder, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for programs.

Currently, drought maps and flash flood guidance issued by the federal government are based on computer modeling. SMAP will take real-time measurements that can be incorporated into forecasts, said Dara Entekhabi, mission science team leader from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Besides the satellite, the rocket also carried three research nanosatellites for JPL, Montana State University and California Polytechnic State University. More than 100 university students took part in designing and building the tiny satellites known as CubeSats.