SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched the DSCOVR satellite on Wednesday, putting it on the path to the L1 point. Find out more about the launch in my article.
At approximately 13:41 UTC the Vega rocket launched the IXV spacecraft on its suborbital trajectory. For more information regarding the launch, check out my article. The four stage rocket was able to lift the spacecraft into the correct suborbital trajectory. From here the vehicle will coast and then begin to descend back towards Earth. A recovery ship is waiting for splashdown.
At 14:22 UTC on the 31 January, the Delta II rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, taking the NASA’s SMAP satellite to orbit.
SMAP, which stands for Soil Moisture Active Passive, is designed to measure soil moisture over a three-year period, every two to three days. SMAP will measure how much water is in the top layer (5cm) of soil, and using the data produce global maps of soil moisture. Scientists will use these to help improve our understanding of how water and carbon, in its various forms, circulate. |
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