The H-IIA No. 23 rocket that will carry the GPM Core Observatory into space arrived at Tanegashima Space Center on Jan. 20, 2014. The rocket has two stages, a lower first stage that, with the help of two solid rocket boosters, gets it off the ground, and an upper second stage that lights up a […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/25/14
Cube Satellite (CubeSat) Operations and Deploys: This morning, Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata depressurized the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock, opened the outer hatch and extended the slide table out to the JEM Exposed Facility (JEF) on the exterior of the ISS. JAXA Flight Controllers removed the 8 NanoRacks CubeSat Deployers (NRCSDs) from the slide table …
Out of the Fog
Most years, the Swiss Air Force hosts an air show in the fall that sends planes roaring over the Axalp-Ebenfluh firing range near Brienz, Switzerland. Spectators often congregate at the Axalp, a resort area on a terrace that overlooks Brienz from an elevation of about 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). While waiting for the 2013 show […]
An Unusual First Stage Photo
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk released this photo yesterday of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the SpaceX-3 mission to the International Space Station. The unusual feature is the landing legs on the side of the rocket. According to Musk, they are 60 feet in diameter. He said the booster will …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/24/14
Growth of Homogeneous SiGe Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari) Experiment: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata removed the Sample Cartridge Serial Number 004 from Sample Cartridge Automatic Exchange Mechanism (SCAM) holder #4. The materials science investigation Growth of Homogeneous Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Crystals in Microgravity by the TLZ Method (Hicari) aims to verify the crystal-growth …
February Puzzler
Every month we offer a puzzling satellite image here on Earth Matters. The February 2014 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what the image shows, what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. Your answer […]
GPM’s Launch Rehearsal
When a satellite gets to space, the first thing it needs to do is check in with those who sent it there. NASA’s David Lassiter is the guy on the other end of the line. “My job is just to make sure E.T. can call,” he said. Responsible for radio frequency communications– RF comms–he’ll be […]
Live from Tanegashima, a New Precipitation Satellite is Ready to Launch
At the town line into Minamitane on Tanegashima Island, Japan, a giant billboard announces, “Global Precipitation Measurement / Launching of the rocket is coming soon!” Six days to be exact. I grinned when I saw it. Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, is why I’m in town. The launch window begins at 1:07 p.m. Feb. 27 […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 02/21/14
Aniso Tubule Experiment Operations: Today Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Wakata retrieved the Aniso Tublule sample from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) door where he had put it earlier this week, watered it, and placed it on the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) fluorescent microscope for 48 hours of observation. He placed the remainder of the …