Commissioning of the bus, or the main structure of the satellite, has now been completed for NASA’s Arcstone lunar calibration instrument. Arcstone will now continue to go through commissioning to test its components and hardware and is expected to begin gathering science measurements approximately three weeks after launch – known as first light. As a […]
NASA’s Arcstone lunar calibration instrument lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter-14 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:25 PDT on June 23, 2025. Blue Canyon Technologies, which operates the spacecraft, established the first contact with Arcstone, and testing and commissioning are ongoing. Continue to follow NASA’s […]
Editor’s note: SpaceX is now targeting Monday, June 23 for the launch of the Transporter-14 mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The 57-minute launch window opens at 2:18 p.m. PDT (5:18 p.m. EDT). NASA is preparing to launch a new lunar […]
A NASA-developed CubeSat, Technology Education Satellite 22 (TES-22), launched at 11:09 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Jan. 14, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The small satellite will test a variety of technology, including a deployable drag sail to help deorbit the spacecraft, and provide valuable information about a …
Two shoebox-size satellites, part of NASA’s Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment (PREFIRE) mission, are delivering measurements on the amount of heat in the form of far-infrared radiation that the Arctic and Antarctica emit to space. This aspect of the polar environment has never been systematically measured before and will offer crucial insights into …
Mission operators for NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System continue to analyze data from the spacecraft and characterize the performance of its composite booms. Following successful deployment of the booms and solar sail, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System still slowly tumbles in orbit because the spacecraft’s attitude control system is not yet reengaged. Before …
Since deploying its sail last week, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft continues sending images and data, helping the team better understand how the boom technology demonstration performed. The primary objective of the demonstration is to conduct the deployment operation and use it to inform the use of large-scale sails for future missions. The …
NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is now fully deployed in space after a successful test of its sail-hoisting boom system. Mission operators confirmed success at 1:33 p.m. EDT (10:33 a.m. PDT) on Thursday, Aug. 29, after receiving data from the spacecraft. Centrally located aboard the spacecraft are four cameras which captured a panoramic view of …
NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System has begun deployment operations. Upon an initial attempt to unfurl, the solar sail paused when an onboard power monitor detected higher than expected motor currents. Communications, power, and attitude control for the spacecraft all remain normal while mission managers work to understand and resolve the cause of the interruption …
NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative soon will send two CubeSats to the International Space Station as cargo on the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply mission. CySat-1, designed and built by students from Iowa State University, measures Earth’s soil moisture content from low Earth orbit. The measurements will be taken with a software-defined radiometer, a system that …
