Watching Launch of Kepler Space Mission Live

Kepler Space Mission - Ready for Launch, NASA TV

I love the Internet. As I write this, I am watching the launch live of the Kepler Mission on NASA TV from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Kepler satellite will be launched into an Earth-trailing solar orbit to get above the Earth’s atmosphere for a clearer view of outer space with its telescope and camera.

Called the Kepler Mission: A Search for Habitable Planets, of the recent missions by NASA, this is one of the most exciting as this satellite will observe the brightness of over 100,000 stars over 3.5 to 6 years to detect planets by the transit method, a method of measuring the intensity of the light from the star as a planet moves across the surface and blocks the light from the star. It’s goal is to not only measure the planets but look specifically for planets closer to the size of Earth, which possibly might be more Earth-like.

Kepler on launch pad - from NASA TV

You can watch it on the NASA Portal for Kepler, and listen and watch NASA Kepler webcasts, podcast, and videos, and get more information on their Kepler Launch Blog, and follow their tweets on @NASAKepler.

Kepler Mission launches - from NASA TV

Beyond the Cradle is a blog on WordPress.com by Rui Borges, a successor to spacEurope, both covering the “fight of promoting space exploration efforts worldwide.” The coverage of the Kepler Mission includes correspondence by some of the mission leaders and reports on preparation for the mission, including:

• Kepler Mission – Aiming at a New Earth – With Edna DeVore
• Kepler Mission – Aiming at a New Earth – With Alan Gould
• Kepler Mission – Quick Note from the Cape by Gibor Basri
• Kepler Mission – Harvester of Worlds – By Rui Borges
• Kepler Mission – Quick note from the Cape by David Latham
• Kepler Mission – The Future Starts Here – With Stuart Atkinson
• Kepler Mission – Yielding an Answer – With Jon Jenkins
• Kepler Mission – Launch in 60 minutes
• Kepler Mission – Aiming at a New Earth – launch post

Kepler Mission Launched leaving Earth - from NASA TV

I took a few minutes while awaiting the launch to find some other blogs discussing the Kepler Mission. Unfortunately, I found a lot of sites scraping the few original blogs and news sites. These are the few blog posts I found discussing and providing more information on the search for habitable planets with Kepler in our galaxy and beyond.

• Wired – Live: Planet-Hunting Space Telescope Blasts Off
• TreeHugger – NASA Kepler Mission: The Question of How Alone We Really Are is About to be Answered
• Discover Magazine Bad Astronomy Blog – Reminder 1: Kepler to launch Friday night!
• Astronomy.com Blog – Kepler satellite launches successfully
• The Plummet Onions – NASA’s Kepler mission to look for other planets capable of sustaining life
• Kepler to hunt for terrestrial-size exoplanets
• Cosmic Diary – Up, up and away! (Warning: Video in post plays automatically)
• Engadget – NASA’s Kepler spacecraft ready to begin searching for other, cooler “earths”
• Nasa Space Flight – LIVE: Delta II launches with Kepler Planet-Finder Launch
• NPR On Point – Kepler and the Search for Life
• Asymptotia – Kepler Ready!
• Scientific Blogging – 5 Quick Facts About The Kepler Mission To Find Earth-Sized Planets
• Spaceflight – Kepler Status

While I was excited about the various NASA projects to Mars, and upcoming exploration of the moon, the Trekie within me is eager to be a part of the search for intelligent life in the universe, and to go boldy where no one has gone before.

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, member of the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.