Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is a name worth remembering. First of all, it’s a satellite. On February 27, 2014, GPM’s Core Observatory is scheduled to rocket into space from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center carrying a radar and radiometer capable of measuring precipitation in new ways. However, this joint NASA/JAXA mission is bigger than just one satellite. The scientists behind GPM are hoping that […]
Spinal Ultrasound Scan Operations: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins, with assistance from FE-6 Wakata and ground experts, performed his Flight Day 150 Spinal Ultrasound session. This investigation aims to characterize microgravity-associated spinal alterations during and after spaceflight using in-flight ultrasound. Results from this research will provide data to enhance crew health for long duration space missions. Cube …
Cygnus Re-Entry: Cygnus completed its De-Orbit Delta-V (DDV)-1 burn at 7:24 am CST this morning. The Re-Entry Delta-V (RDV) burn was initiated at 11:45 am CST. The vehicle crossed the Entry Interface and destructively re-entered the atmosphere off the coast of New Zealand at approximately 12:20 pm CST. The final loss of telemetry occurred at …
It’s funny what you can find in a satellite image. Mike Gartley, a research scientist at Rochester Institute of Technology, spotted the Landsat 5 satellite lurking in a Landsat 8 image of northwestern Brazil. Landsat 5 once flew in the orbit that Landsat 8 now lives in. But in January 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey lowered […]
Orbital 1 Departure: Today, the Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) in the hot backup configuration for Cygnus unberthing and release. Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata and FE-3 Hopkins demated Cygnus from the Node 2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) and used the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to uninstall …
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations: Four CubeSats were successfully launched by JAXA Robotic Flight Controllers from NanoRacks CubSat Deployer (NRCSD) locations 4 and 5 on Saturday, February 15th. The commands to launch the CubeSats from these locations needed to be sent several times in order for the deployer doors to open. Previous attempts last week to …
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Deploys: Four additional CubeSats were deployed overnight from the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) by JAXA Robotic Flight Controllers, for a total of 12 CubeSats launched this week. Unsuccessful attempts to launch from NRCSD locations 4 and 5 are under investigation by NASA NRCSD Teams. Additional attempts will be made to launch those …
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Deploys: After the failure to launch satellites from 2 NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) yesterday, Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) console teams were able to confirm from photographs taken by Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata that the push-pin assemblies on all NRCSDs located on the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) were in …
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Deploys: Following yesterday’s successful launch of four CubeSats, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Remote Manipulator System (RMS) was used this morning to launch two more satellites. An unsuccessful attempt was made to launch additional satellites from deployers 3 and 5. Ground teams are investigating the anomaly. The remaining satellites in the NRCSDs …
