Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report NPP (NPOESS Preparatory
Project) Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7920 Launch Site: Vandenberg
Air Force Base, Calif. Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 2 Launch
Date: Oct. 28, 2011 Launch Time: 2:48:01.828 a.m. PDT Orbital
Altitude: At Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the liftoff of
the Delta II rocket carrying NASA's NPP spacecraft occurred at
2:48:01.828 a.m. PDT. Spacecraft separation from the second
stage of the rocket occurred 58 minutes after launch at 3:46
a.m. The spacecraft's solar arrays successfully deployed 67
minutes after liftoff and immediately began supplying power to
the 4,994-pound satellite. Then, at 4:26 a.m. PDT, the
deployment sequence began for the six CubeSat research
satellites from four universities as elements of the Educational
Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) missions. NPP represents a
critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-
observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new
sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now