Week of September 11 – 15, 2017
NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Ends Its Historic Exploration of Saturn
A thrilling epoch in the exploration of our solar system came to a close this week, as NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its fateful plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere. The spacecraft launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. Cassini’s plunge brings to a close a series of 22 weekly “Grand Finale” dives between Saturn and its rings, a feat never before attempted by any spacecraft.
Three New Crew Members Arrive at International Space Station
After a six-hour flight, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Joe Acaba and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos arrived at the International Space Station Sept. 12. The three launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and orbited Earth four times before docking at the space station.
NASA’s Dragonfly Project Demonstrates Robotic Satellite Assembly
A revolutionary NASA Technology Demonstration Mission project called Dragonfly, designed to enable the robotic self-assembly of satellites in Earth orbit, has successfully completed its first major ground demonstration. A lightweight robotic system, Dragonfly can install delicate satellite antenna, yet also assemble satellites too massive to be launched to space in their final flight-ready state.
NASA’s Suite of Earth-observing Instruments Observes Hurricane Irma
As Hurricane Irma approached Florida, made landfall and progressed north into the Southeastern United States, NASA employed its full suite of Earth-observing instruments to help officials and other federal agencies track and predict the storm’s path. Check out this great running blog that tracked the storm in real time.
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