Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Sentinel-2C to Vega and orbit – fit-check to liftoff timelapse
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory orbiting above Earth.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KBRwyle) To drive the development of key space-based capabilities for the United States, NASA is exploring an opportunity to demonstrate technology to raise a spacecraft’s orbit to a higher altitude. Two American companies – Cambrian Works of Reston, Virginia, and Katalyst Space Technologies of Flagstaff, Arizona – will develop concept design studies for a possible orbit boost for the agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Since its launch in 2004, NASA’s Swift mission has led the agency’s fleet of space telescopes in investigating changes in the high-energy universe. The spacecraft’s low Earth orbit has been decaying gradually, which happens to most satellites over time. Because of recent increases in the Sun’s activity, however, Swift is experiencing additional atmospheric drag, speeding up its orbital decay. This lowering orbit presents an opportunity for NASA to advance a U.S. industry capability, while potentially extending the science lifetime of the Swift mission. The concept studies will help determine whether extending Swift’s critical scientific capabilities would be more cost-effective than replacing those capabilities with a new observatory.
“NASA Science is committed to leveraging commercial technologies to find innovative, cost-effective ways to open new capabilities for the future of the American space sector,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To maintain Swift’s role in our portfolio, NASA Science is uniquely positioned to conduct a rare in-space technology demonstration to raise the satellite’s orbit and solidify American leadership in spacecraft servicing.”
The concept studies are being developed under Phase III awards through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, to American small businesses from a pool of existing participants. This approach allows NASA to rapidly explore affordable possibilities to boost Swift on a shorter development timeline than would otherwise be possible, given the rapid rate at which Swift’s orbit is decaying.
At this time NASA does not have plans for an orbit boost mission and could still allow the spacecraft to reenter Earth’s atmosphere, as many satellites do at the end of their lifetimes. NASA is studying a potential Swift boost to support innovation in the American space industry, while gaining a better understanding of the available options, the technical feasibility, and the risks involved.
NASA will also work with Starfish Space of Seattle, Washington, to analyze the potential of performing a Swift boost using an asset under development on an existing Phase III SBIR award. Starfish is currently developing the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) demonstration for NASA, with the primary objective of inspecting multiple U.S.-owned defunct satellites in low Earth orbit.
“Our SBIR portfolio exists for circumstances like this – where investments in America’s space industry provide NASA and our partners an opportunity to develop mutually beneficial capabilities,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. “Whether we choose to implement the technologies in this circumstance, understanding how to boost a spacecraft’s orbit could prove valuable for future applications.”
Swift was designed to observe gamma-ray bursts, the universe’s most powerful explosions, and provide information for other NASA and partner telescopes to follow up on these events. Its fast and flexible observations have been instrumental in advancing how scientists study transient events to understand how the universe works. For more than two decades, Swift has led NASA’s missions in providing new insights on these events, together broadening our understanding of everything from exploding stars, stellar flares, and eruptions in active galaxies, to comets and asteroids in our own solar system and high-energy lightning events on Earth.
As neutron stars collide, some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma rays.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab “Over its extremely productive lifetime, Swift has been a key player in NASA’s network of space telescopes – directing our fleet to ensure we keep a watchful eye on changes in the universe, both far off and close to home,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters. “Now, this long-lived science mission is presenting us with a new opportunity: partnering with U.S. industry to rapidly explore efficient, state-of-the-art solutions that could extend Swift’s transformative work and advance private spacecraft servicing.”
Cambrian and Katalyst have each been awarded $150,000 under Phase III SBIR contracts for concept design studies. The NASA SBIR program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage, non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through this program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with less than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important problems facing our country.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the UK Space Agency, University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory in Italy, and the Italian Space Agency. To learn more about the Swift mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/swift
-end-
Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546 / 321-432-4624
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
View the full article
-
-
By European Space Agency
Video: 00:07:00 Highlights and liftoff of Vega-C flight VV27 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 23:03 local time on 25 July (03:03 BST/04:03 CEST on 26 July).
Flight VV27 was operated by Arianespace and launched Airbus’s four CO3D satellites and the French space agency CNES MicroCarb mission.
The four small satellites in the CO3D constellation (an abbreviation of the French 'Constellation Optique en 3D') are set to map the globe in three dimensions from low Earth orbit, to serve public and private sector needs.
MicroCarb is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide on a global scale. ESA coordinated and procured the launch of MicroCarb on behalf of the European Commission, as part of its In-Orbit Demonstration / In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV) programme.
View the full article
-
By NASA
3 min read
Summer Triangle Corner: Vega
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and look up during July evenings, you’ll see the brilliant star Vega shining overhead. Did you know that Vega is one of the most studied stars in our skies? As one of the brightest summer stars, Vega has fascinated astronomers for thousands of years.
Vega is the brightest star in the small Greek constellation of Lyra, the harp. It’s also one of the three points of the large “Summer Triangle” asterism, making Vega one of the easiest stars to find for novice stargazers. Ancient humans from 14,000 years ago likely knew Vega for another reason: it was the Earth’s northern pole star! Compare Vega’s current position with that of the current north star, Polaris, and you can see how much the direction of Earth’s axis changes over thousands of years. This slow movement of axial rotation is called precession, and in 12,000 years, Vega will return to the northern pole star position.
A map of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle. This asterism is made up of three stars: Vega in the Lyra constellation, Altair in the Aquila constellation, and Deneb in the Cygnus constellation. Stellarium Web Bright Vega has been observed closely since the beginning of modern astronomy and even helped to set the standard for the current magnitude scale used to categorize the brightness of stars. Polaris and Vega have something else in common, besides being once and future pole stars: their brightness varies over time, making them variable stars. Variable stars’ light can change for many different reasons. Dust, smaller stars, or even planets may block the light we see from the star. Or the star itself might be unstable with active sunspots, expansions, or eruptions changing its brightness. Most stars are so far away that we only record the change in light, and can’t see their surface.
Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the bright star Vega, as illustrated here at left in brown. The ring of warm, rocky debris was detected using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, in which NASA plays an important role. NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s TESS satellite has ultra-sensitive light sensors primed to look for the tiny dimming of starlight caused by transits of extrasolar planets. Their sensitivity also allowed TESS to observe much smaller pulsations in a certain type of variable star’s light than previously observed. These observations of Delta Scuti variable stars will help astronomers model their complex interiors and make sense of their distinct, seemingly chaotic pulsations. This is a major contribution towards the field of astroseismology: the study of stellar interiors via observations of how sound waves “sing” as they travel through stars. The findings may help settle the debate over what kind of variable star Vega is. Find more details on this research, including a sonification demo that lets you “hear” the heartbeat of one of these stars, at: bit.ly/DeltaScutiTESS
In 2024, the James Webb Space Telescope revisited the Vega system to reveal a 100-billion-mile-wide disk of dust around this star. While the debris disk is confirmed, there is no evidence of planets as of today.
Originally posted by Dave Prosper: June 2020
Last Updated by Kat Troche: July 2025
View the full article
-
By NASA
Melissa Harris’ official NASA portrait. NASA/Robert Markowitz With over 25 years of experience in human spaceflight programs, Melissa Harris has contributed to numerous programs and projects during key moments in NASA’s history. As the life cycle lead and Independent Review Team review manager for the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program, she guides the agency through development initiatives leading to a new era of space exploration.
Harris grew up near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and spent time exploring the center and trying on astronaut helmets. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in legal studies from the University of Houston, master and subject matter expert certifications in configuration management, and ISO 9001 Lead Auditors Certification. When the opportunity arose, she jumped at the chance to join the International Space Station Program.
Harris (right) and her twin sister, Yvonne (left), at the Artemis I launch. Image courtesy of Melissa Harris Starting as a board specialist, Harris spent eight years supporting the space station program boards, panels, and flight reviews. Other areas of support included the International Space Station Mission Evaluation Room and the EVA Crew Systems and Robotics Division managing changes for the acquisition and building of mockups in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston. She then took a leap to join the Constellation Program, developing and overseeing program and project office processes and procedures. Harris then transitioned to the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Project Office where she was a member of the EVA 23 quality audit team tasked with reviewing data to determine the cause of an in-orbit failure. She also contributed to the Orion Program and Artemis campaign. After spending two years at Axiom Space, Harris returned to NASA and joined the commercial low Earth orbit team.
Harris said the biggest lesson she has learned during her career is that “there are always ups and downs and not everything works out, but if you just keep going and at the end of the day see that the hard work and dedication has paid off, it is always the proudest moment.”
Her dedication led to a nomination for the Stellar Award by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation.
Harris and her son, Tyler, at the Rotary National Award Banquet in 2024.Image courtesy of Melissa Harris Harris’ favorite part of her role at NASA is working “closely with brilliant minds” and being part of a dedicated and hard-working team that contributes to current space programs while also planning for future programs. Looking forward, she anticipates witnessing the vision and execution of a self-sustaining commercial market in low Earth orbit come to fruition.
Outside of work, Harris enjoys being with family, whether cooking on the back porch, over a campfire, or traveling both in and out of the country. She has been married for 26 years to her high school sweetheart, Steve, and has one son, Tyler. Her identical twin sister, Yvonne, also works at Johnson.
Harris and her twin sister Yvonne dressed as Mark and Scott Kelly for Halloween in 2024.Image courtesy of Melissa Harris Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at:
www.nasa.gov/commercialspacestations
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.