1
00:00:08,190 --> 00:00:04,170
Energetic music.

2
00:00:08,210 --> 00:00:12,220
Malissa: For NASA, the mission goes well beyond just the science and engineering.

3
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,250
It's also about public awareness. That's where the television crews from Kennedy

4
00:00:16,270 --> 00:00:20,290
Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center come into play. On the days leading up to launch,

5
00:00:20,310 --> 00:00:24,320
the crews work night and day to guarantee the public has access to

6
00:00:24,340 --> 00:00:28,350
live coverage of press conferences, briefings, and interviews with scientists.

7
00:00:28,370 --> 00:00:32,390
The goal is to make sure the public knows exactly what NPP

8
00:00:32,410 --> 00:00:36,450
is all about. It's two o'clock in the morning here at Vandenberg Air Force Base

9
00:00:36,470 --> 00:00:40,480
and NASA Television crews are getting ready to do interviews with former astronaut

10
00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:44,500
Piers Sellers for TV stations coast to coast. Piers: Ok, so

11
00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,530
here we are. It's the middle of the night, two days before the launch

12
00:00:48,550 --> 00:00:52,550
in the Mission Director Control Center, which is where we are at.

13
00:00:52,570 --> 00:00:56,560
So, all of the stations are getting the exciting news, building up

14
00:00:56,580 --> 00:01:00,590
to the launch of NPP.  So, we are trying to create some awareness of what's going on.

15
00:01:00,610 --> 00:01:04,600
Why is this important from a media point of view; well, this

16
00:01:04,620 --> 00:01:08,650
is science, technology being used to help people. This is

17
00:01:08,670 --> 00:01:12,690
important. So, we keep striving to get the message out there

18
00:01:12,710 --> 00:01:16,720
that this is science serving people in a positive way. People rely

19
00:01:16,740 --> 00:01:20,760
on weather forecast, particularly forecast for extreme weather.

20
00:01:20,780 --> 00:01:24,800
But it takes a lot of money, time, effort, and scientific sweat

21
00:01:24,820 --> 00:01:28,850
to get that information prepared and out to people.

22
00:01:28,870 --> 00:01:32,910
And I think it's interesting for people to realize how it's done. You have to have these big satellites;

23
00:01:32,930 --> 00:01:36,920
you have to have computer models and a lot of smart people working very hard

24
00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:40,940
to get you the information. Justin: This satellite is going to provide

25
00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,960
tremendous amount of information for what I do as a meteorologist. Visible

26
00:01:44,980 --> 00:01:48,990
images, data going into computer models but there is also going to be

27
00:01:49,010 --> 00:01:53,010
data that goes into long-range models for climate assessment. These are

28
00:01:53,030 --> 00:01:57,020
all things that impact all of us and the planet we live in. So, while

29
00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,040
we live down here and we step outside and we can look up,

30
00:02:01,060 --> 00:02:05,080
it is so important that we have our technology and we have the resources,

31
00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:09,120
the manpower and the brain power, to put something up in space that can look

32
00:02:09,140 --> 00:02:13,170
back down and give us that better perspective.

33
00:02:13,190 --> 00:02:17,210
Malissa: NASA has joined the social media movement to help spread the NPP message.

34
00:02:17,230 --> 00:02:21,260
They've invited a couple dozen enthusiastic bloggers and journalists

35
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,310
for a Tweet Up. The group is taking part in a series of all-day events

36
00:02:25,330 --> 00:02:29,370
to learn about NPP and share the message through their social media networks.

37
00:02:29,390 --> 00:02:33,390
Piers: I thinks it's important to realize what we are doing in this

38
00:02:33,410 --> 00:02:37,410
program. It's an important expensive program, a lot of tax payers money

39
00:02:37,430 --> 00:02:41,450
but it provides a hug benefit back to the tax payer. Your weather prediction,

40
00:02:41,470 --> 00:02:45,470
your climate record, climate understanding, all of that is important

41
00:02:45,490 --> 00:02:49,480
to people. So, we want to explain to them what we are about.

42
00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:53,510
Launch countdown announcer: Engine start, one, zero, and lift off (rocket launch roaring sound)

43
00:02:53,530 --> 00:02:57,520
of the Delta II with the NPP satellite, blazing the way

44
00:02:57,540 --> 00:03:01,550
to a new technology for climate research and weather forecasting.

45
00:03:09,580 --> 00:03:05,560
Roaring rocket sound.