William Atkins
Thursday, 02 October 2008 22:54
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
The NASA Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is scheduled to liftoff on October 19, 2008, for its two-year mission to image the boundary of our solar system with interstellar space.
The IBEX spacecraft will be launched on a Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus XL launch vehicle (rocket) from Kwajalein Atoll, which is an island within the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Unlike most launches, the IBEX will be taken up on an aircraft from Kwajalein, along with the Pegasus rocket.
The pair will then be released above the equator so that the maximum amount of payload can be lifted at the highest speed possible.
The Earth rotates faster at the equator than at other locations on its surface because its diameter is at its maximum.
The Earth is shaped like an oblate spheroid, meaning it is fatter around its middle than around its poles.
Thus, its equatorial circle (and its equatorial diameter) is longer than its polar circle (and its polar diameter).
Planetary scientists often say that an oblate spheroid is shaped similar to a M&Ms candy (as sold in the United States) and a Skittles candy (as sold in such places as Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand).
Page two continues this important mission of IBEX, and why its mission is important to us on Earth.
