NASA postpones PACE mission launch due to unfavourable weather

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) postponed the launch of its PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission on Tuesday (February 6). The launch, a collaboration between NASA and Elon Musk-led SpaceX is now going to take place at 12:03 PM (IST) on February 7. The postponement was due to unfavourable weather conditions on Tuesday.

When launched, the satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit. When any object is placed in Sun-synchronous orbit it is synced to a constant position relative to the Sun.

This would further mean that it will cross Earth's equator at same local time for each orbit.

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The unique placement of the satellite will ensure that the Sun will be almost behind PACE when it observed Earth

The launch is slated to take place from the USA's Spaceport at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The launch will take place when the region will be in the dark side of the Earth. Because of this, the satellite will be over Indian subcontinent when it crosses equator for the first time on the side of the Earth illuminated by sunlight.

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"PACE's data will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. In addition, it will reveal how aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Novel uses of PACE data will benefit our economy and society. For example, it will help identify the extent and duration of harmful algal blooms. PACE will extend and expand NASA's long-term observations of our living planet. By doing so, it will take Earth's pulse in new ways for decades to come," says NASA on its website.

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"A SpaceX Falcon 9, whose first stage booster will have been used 3 previous times. SpaceX plans to recover the first stage as part of the process of PACE's launch," said NASA

(With inputs from agencies)