INDUSTRY NEWS
NASA tech demonstrations and science missions launched into space –
NASA technology demonstrations and other science missions were launched into
space aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from the space agency’s Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The missions were part of the
Department of Defense’s Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) launch. The missions will help in smarter
spacecraft design and benefit the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration plans by offering more insight into the effects of
radiation in space and testing an atomic clock that could change how spacecraft
navigate. Now that the launch and deployments have completed, the missions will
start to power on, communicate with Earth and gather data. Each of these
missions will operate for a year, offering sufficient time to mature the
technologies and gather valuable science data. Two NASA CubeSats that form the
Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment (E-TBEx) were deployed. Working along with
NOAA’s COSMIC-2 mission, E-TBEx will explore bubbles in the electrically charged
layers of Earth’s upper atmosphere which can disrupt communications and GPS signals. NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock is a compact instrument traveling aboard a commercial
satellite that was released into a low-Earth orbit. The clock will test a new
way for spacecraft to navigate in deep space. The technology is expected to
make GPS-like navigation possible on the Moon and Mars. The Green Propellant
Infusion Mission (GPIM) was deployed and has started to power on. GPIM will
test a new propulsion system that operates on a high-performance, non-toxic
spacecraft fuel. This technology is expected to help propel constellations of
small satellites in and beyond a low-Earth orbit. The last spacecraft to be
released from STP-2 was the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX). Onboard the rocket was an
instrument designed by JPL to measure spacecraft vibrations and four NASA
experiments that collectively form the Space Environment Testbeds (SET). SET
will examine how to better protect satellites from space radiation by analyzing
the harsh environment of space near Earth. This mission will test several
strategies to reduce the impact.
Back to 2019-07-10 issue of C.E. WeeklyBack to Members Base Camp Back to CJHunter Home Page |
Phone: (425) 806-5200 Fax: (425) 806-5585 Email: staff@cjhunter.com |
ContractJobHunter is a service of: ContractJobHunter.com LLC P.O. Box 3006, Bothell, WA 98041-3006, USA Disclaimer The content of this website is Copyright 2024 ContractJobHunter.com LLC |
Terms of Use of ContractJobHunter Refund Policy Privacy Policy |