Tag: SMAP
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Radar on NASA’s SMAP Earth observing satellite declared lost
Artist’s concept of the SMAP spacecraft and its rotating antenna. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech One-half of the instrument payload aboard NASA’s $916 million Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite has failed after collecting just two months of data, NASA announced Wednesday after weeks of troubleshooting turned up no progress in recovering the sensor. A radiometer instrument on the…
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NASA troubleshoots radar outage on new SMAP satellite
Artist’s concept of the Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Engineers have so far been unable to restart a balky radar aboard NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive environmental satellite launched in January, robbing scientists of the most detailed maps of how much water is locked up in the top layers of Earth’s…
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SMAP observatory unfurls large science antenna structure
CAPE CANAVERAL — Deploying its marquee element in space Tuesday, NASA’s new Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft took a major step towards realizing its science potential. SMAP unfurled a 19.7-foot lightweight, gold, rip-resistant, mesh reflector antenna atop a boom structure that will spin at 14.6 rpm, completing one rotation every four seconds. Having unfolded the…
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Photos: Final batch of SMAP launch shots aboard Delta 2 rocket
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket lifts off with NASA’s SMAP observatory at 6:22 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 31 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: William G. Hartenstein / United Launch Alliance “We had a terrific ride into space aboard the United Launch Alliance’s Delta 2 vehicle. They deposited…
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Photos: Gallery of Delta 2 launch
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket lifts off with NASA’s SMAP observatory at 6:22 a.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 31 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Photo
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Video: Highlights of weekend’s Delta 2 launch
The United Launch Alliance flight highlights reel for the Delta 2 rocket and NASA’s SMAP observatory from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch camera replays provide these different angles of the Delta 2 rocket launching with SMAP.
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Photos: Delta 2 rocket blasts off with SMAP satellite
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 was launched Saturday at 6:22 a.m.local time with NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
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Camera aboard Delta 2 rocket watches SMAP begin life in orbit
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE — A video camera mounted aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket beamed back remarkable views of NASA’s SMAP spacecraft being deployed into orbit and opening its solar panels Saturday. “I guess most people saw that wonderful spacecraft separation video that we had that was transmitted back to us from…
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Full story: Delta 2 rises to occasion with SMAP observatory
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE — The ever-dependable Delta 2 rocket continued its flawless service to NASA and Earth sciences today with the launch of a $916 million environmental probe focused on producing global maps of soil moisture from space. “The SMAP project is absolutely thrilled to be catching a ride to space on the Delta…
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Video: Delta 2 blasts off from Vandenberg
NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite blasts off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket Saturday, launching into orbit on a three-year mission to measure moisture levels in Earth’s soils. The spacecraft launched at 6:22 a.m. PST (9:22 a.m. EST; 1422 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Delta 2’s upper stage…