Watch live: NASA, SpaceX to launch PACE mission to examine Earth's oceans

Doc Louallen, USA TODAY
·1 min read
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SpaceX is preparing to launch its second NASA mission of the year, a central Earth and climate satellite, on Tuesday morning.

A spacecraft called PACE, which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is scheduled to launch on Tuesday at 1:33 a.m. ET. The Falcon 9 rocket, which will carry the spacecraft designed to observe the Earth's ocean ecosystems, is scheduled to lift from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA and SpaceX technicians safely encapsulate NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Florida.
NASA and SpaceX technicians safely encapsulate NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Florida.

According to Spaceflight Now, the upcoming mission will be the first time in over 60 years that a U.S. government mission has aimed for a polar orbit from Cape Canaveral. Such launches were halted after a failed launch in 1960 caused debris to fall on Havana, killing a cow and sparking protests.

"This is a wonderful mission that is going to tell us about the health of our oceans and the quality of the air that we breathe," Nicky Fox, head of science at NASA, told ABC Chicago ahead of the scheduled launch.

How to watch the NASA launch

You should be able to watch on NASA's YouTube channel through the video player below.

You can also register as a virtual guest to attend the launch, which comes with updates, curated resources, and mission-specific information delivered to your inbox. After each activity, you can also receive commemorative stamps for your virtual guest passport.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch live: NASA to launch PACE mission to examine oceans