Given favorable weather conditions in California, where the launch is set to take place, NASA will continue its Landsat Data Continuity Mission, a 40-year, ongoing effort to observe the surface of the earth.
Liftoff is set for 1:02 p.m. EST/10:02 PST on Monday, Feb. 11, and there will be a 48-minute launch window, according to a post on redOrbit.com.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission is a joint mission with the U.S. Geological Survey. The satellite will be situated in a polar orbit, circling the Earth about 14 times daily from an altitude of 438 miles, helping to provide a complete picture of the planet’s surface every 16 days.
SPACE.com reports the Landsat satellites have enabled better understandings of deforestation, glacial retreat, the shrinking Antarctic ice sheet, increasing wildfires and other changes taking place across the planet.
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