Japan’s lost black hole satellite is back online, still tumbling through space
In late February, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, launched its next-generation X-ray observatory. This satellite, Hitomi, was designed to be the sixth in a series X-ray satellites whose operational histories stretch back to 1979. Hitomi could measure objects an order of magnitude fainter than its predecessor. The initial February 17 launch went smoothly, but Japan announced on March 27 that communication with the satellite had failed just as it was scheduled to begin its operational cycle. Initial attempts to reestablish communication with the satellite failed, but scientists were able to make brief contact with the craft as of Wednesday, March 30.
Hitomi (originally referred to as Astro-H pre-launch) is designed to explore how matter behaves when falling into black holes, the distribution of dark matter across galactic clusters, and to keep an eye on supernovae if and when they are detected. X-ray astronomy is one of the types of astronomy that can’t be performed on Earth, since our atmosphere absorbs X-rays before they reach the surface. Since no one has figured out a way to lift Mauna Kea into geosynchronous orbit, we have to do this kind of observation with specialized satellites, and Hitomi was meant to be a critical next-generation observatory. After the satellite went dark three days ago, it was thought to have been destroyed — except now it’s making intermittent contact with JAXA.
The current thinking is that the satellite is now spinning wildly — an opinion lent credence by a video shot by astronomer Paul Maley and reported by Gizmodo. That video shows the satellite moving at fairly high speed, but with wildly irregular brightness, as though it were caught in a tumble. The irregularity in its brightness is caused by light reflecting off different areas of the observatory, possibly including its solar panels. According to Maley, the damaged [satellite] appears to undergo one full rotation every 23.5 seconds.
Showing posts with label satellite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label satellite. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Engineers lose control of U.S. military weather satellite
Engineers lose control of U.S. military weather satellite
The U.S. Air Force has been unable to send commands to the service’s newest weather satellite for nearly a month, and engineers are trying to determine if the spacecraft can be salvaged, officials said last week.
The polar-orbiting Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19, or DMSP F19, spacecraft stopped responding to orders from the ground Feb. 11, the Air Force said in a March 3 press release.
“At this time, it is not known what caused the anomaly or if the satellite will be recovered, and the anomaly is under investigation,” the Air Force said. “There are no other known issues with the satellite.”
Designed for a five-year service life, DMSP F19 launched April 3, 2014, from California atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. It is the newest in the Air Force’s series of DMSP weather observatories designed to help forecasters predict storms, clouds, fog and dust storms that could inhibit global military operations.
Satellite operators in Suitland, Maryland, are still receiving telemetry from DMSP F19 after the Feb. 11 anomaly, but it is unclear whether engineers can recover the satellite and continue its mission.
The Air Force said the DMSP F17 satellite, launched in November 2006, has been reassigned as the primary DMSP spacecraft, taking over for the crippled DMSP F19.
“There is no impact to the strategic weather mission, and the DMSP constellation remains able to support warfighter requirements through resilient systems and processes,” the Air Force statement said. “The constellation continues to provide weather and atmospheric data to users as it has for the past five decades.”
Officials generated a 30-day plan to reestablish command and control capability aboard DMSP F19. It will take “some time” to determine whether the DMSP F19 satellite can recovered, the Air Force said.
A detachment from the Air Force’s 50th Operations Group stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, oversees the DMSP satellites in conjunction with NOAA’s satellite operations center in Suitland.
Made by Lockheed Martin, the DMSP satellites have not been immune to technical faults in recent years.
DMSP F19 only partially deployed its power-generating solar array after its April 2014 launch, but officials said the glitch did not affect its mission.
The DMSP F13 satellite launched in 1995 exploded in orbit last year, spreading debris fragments and adding to the growing space junk problem in low Earth orbit. Engineers blamed the disintegration on a battery fault, and investigators said other DMSP satellites are susceptible to the same flaw that could lead to further explosions in orbit.
The retired NOAA 16 civilian weather satellite in polar orbit with largely the same design as the DMSP spacecraft also broke apart in space last year, shedding more debris in orbit. It is not clear whether the Lockheed Martin-built NOAA 16 satellite used the same suspect battery design as the DMSP spacecraft.
Lockheed Martin completed construction of the DMSP satellites a decade ago, and the Air Force pulls the spacecraft from storage to launch as needed. For example, the DMSP F19 satellite was finished in 1998 and stored in a clean room at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California, plant before technicians readied it for liftoff in 2014.
The U.S. Air Force has been unable to send commands to the service’s newest weather satellite for nearly a month, and engineers are trying to determine if the spacecraft can be salvaged, officials said last week.
The polar-orbiting Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19, or DMSP F19, spacecraft stopped responding to orders from the ground Feb. 11, the Air Force said in a March 3 press release.
“At this time, it is not known what caused the anomaly or if the satellite will be recovered, and the anomaly is under investigation,” the Air Force said. “There are no other known issues with the satellite.”
Designed for a five-year service life, DMSP F19 launched April 3, 2014, from California atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. It is the newest in the Air Force’s series of DMSP weather observatories designed to help forecasters predict storms, clouds, fog and dust storms that could inhibit global military operations.
Satellite operators in Suitland, Maryland, are still receiving telemetry from DMSP F19 after the Feb. 11 anomaly, but it is unclear whether engineers can recover the satellite and continue its mission.
The Air Force said the DMSP F17 satellite, launched in November 2006, has been reassigned as the primary DMSP spacecraft, taking over for the crippled DMSP F19.
“There is no impact to the strategic weather mission, and the DMSP constellation remains able to support warfighter requirements through resilient systems and processes,” the Air Force statement said. “The constellation continues to provide weather and atmospheric data to users as it has for the past five decades.”
Officials generated a 30-day plan to reestablish command and control capability aboard DMSP F19. It will take “some time” to determine whether the DMSP F19 satellite can recovered, the Air Force said.
A detachment from the Air Force’s 50th Operations Group stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, oversees the DMSP satellites in conjunction with NOAA’s satellite operations center in Suitland.
Made by Lockheed Martin, the DMSP satellites have not been immune to technical faults in recent years.
DMSP F19 only partially deployed its power-generating solar array after its April 2014 launch, but officials said the glitch did not affect its mission.
The DMSP F13 satellite launched in 1995 exploded in orbit last year, spreading debris fragments and adding to the growing space junk problem in low Earth orbit. Engineers blamed the disintegration on a battery fault, and investigators said other DMSP satellites are susceptible to the same flaw that could lead to further explosions in orbit.
The retired NOAA 16 civilian weather satellite in polar orbit with largely the same design as the DMSP spacecraft also broke apart in space last year, shedding more debris in orbit. It is not clear whether the Lockheed Martin-built NOAA 16 satellite used the same suspect battery design as the DMSP spacecraft.
Lockheed Martin completed construction of the DMSP satellites a decade ago, and the Air Force pulls the spacecraft from storage to launch as needed. For example, the DMSP F19 satellite was finished in 1998 and stored in a clean room at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California, plant before technicians readied it for liftoff in 2014.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Delta IV Launch (2012-01-19)
via youtube.com
Delta 4 rocket launching the WGS 4 military communications satellite as seen from the West Melbourne, Florida area.
Rocket: Delta 4
Payload: WGS 4
Date: Jan. 19, 2012
Site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral, Florida
From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/
"The Wideband Global SATCOM 4 spacecraft, better known as WGS 4, rode a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket away from the Florida spaceport's pad 37B at 7:38 p.m. EST (0038 GMT) on a 40-minute ascent to supersynchronous orbit.
Liftoff occurred at the opening minute of a launch window set months in advance.
Valued at $464 million, the 6.5-ton satellite will enhance military communications over a turbulent portion of the globe when it commences broadcasting duties in a few months."
Friday, June 22, 2012
ArduSat Kickstarter project puts an Arduino-based satellite up for rent
While most of us wouldn’t know where to start if we were given access to a satellite, the ArduSat Kickstarter project aims to enable people who would. The project involves designing a CubeSat — a standardized satellite form factor measuring just under four inches per side — based on Arduino hardware and which will be leased to scientists, students, and hobbyists as they need it.
via megalextoria.com
Anybody want to rent your own satellite?
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Solar panel shakes loose on Intelsat broadcast satellite
A stuck solar array on the Intelsat 19 broadcasting satellite dislodged itself last week, but engineers will not know how much of the craft's mission can be accomplished until its communications payload is activated.
The satellite's south solar array stayed folded against the spacecraft following its deployment from a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket June 1.
Intelsat announced last week the solar panel unfurled June 12, soon after Intelsat 19 reached geostationary orbit about 22,300 miles over the equator.
via megalextoria.com
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