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InCubed launches highlight ESA’s support for innovation
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:02:01 ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
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By Space Force
USSF and NASA successfully launched the STP-H10 mission carrying six experiments as a part of a resupply mission to the ISS
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By Space Force
USSF and NASA successfully launched the STP-H10 mission carrying six experiments as a part of a resupply mission to the ISS
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
In our modern wireless world, almost all radio frequency (RF) spectrum bands are shared among multiple users. In some domains, similar users technically coordinate to avoid interference. The spectrum management team, part of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program, represents the collaborative efforts across U.S. agencies and the international community to protect and enable NASA’s current and future spectrum-dependent science, exploration, and innovation.
Coordination with Other Spectrum Stakeholders
NASA works to promote the collaborative use of the RF spectrum around Earth, and beyond. For example, NASA coordinates closely with other U.S. government agencies, international civil space agencies, and the private sector to ensure missions that overlap in time, location, and frequency do not cause or receive interference that could jeopardize their success. The spectrum management team protects NASA’s various uses of the spectrum by collaborating with U.S. and international spectrum users on technical matters that inform regulatory discussions.
As a founding member of the Space Frequency Coordination Group, NASA works with members of governmental space- and science-focused agencies from more than 35 countries. The Space Frequency Coordination Group annual meetings provide a forum for multilateral discussion and consideration of international spectrum regulatory issues related to Earth, lunar, and deep space research and exploration. The Space Frequency Coordination Group also provides a forum for the exchange of technical information to facilitate coordination for specific missions and enable efficient use of limited spectrum resources in space.
Domestic and International Spectrum Regulators
Creating and maintaining the global spectrum regulations that govern spectrum sharing requires collaboration and negotiation among all its diverse users. The International Telecommunication Union manages the global spectrum regulatory framework to optimize the increasing, diverse uses of the RF spectrum and reduce the likelihood of RF systems experiencing interference. U.S. regulators at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission are responsible for developing and administering domestic spectrum regulations. Organizations across the world cooperatively plan and regulate spectrum use. The spectrum management team participates on behalf of NASA at both national and international levels to ensure that the U.S. domestic and international spectrum regulatory framework supports and enables NASA’s current and future missions.
NASA collaborates with domestic and international spectrum stakeholders to provide technical expertise on space spectrum topics to ensure regulations continue to enable space exploration, science, and innovation.NASA Share
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Last Updated Apr 23, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
From left, Ramon Pedoto, Nathan Walkenhorst, and Tyrell Jemison review information at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The three team members developed new automation tools at Marshall for flight controllers working with the International Space Station (Credit: NASA/Tyrell Jemison Two new automation tools developed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are geared toward improving operations for flight controllers working with the International Space Station from the Huntsville Operations Support Center.
The tools, called AutoDump and Permanently Missing Intervals Checker, will free the flight control team to focus on situational awareness, anomaly response, and real-time coordination.
The space station experiences routine loss-of-signal periods based on communication coverage as the space station orbits the Earth. When signal is lost, an onboard buffer records data that could not be downlinked during that period. Following acquisition of signal, flight controllers previously had to send a command to downlink, or “dump,” the stored data.
The AutoDump tool streamlines a repetitive data downlinking command from flight controllers by detecting a routine loss-of-signal, and then autonomously sending the command to downlink data stored in the onboard buffer when the signal is acquired again. Once the data has been downlinked, the tool will automatically make an entry in the console log to confirm the downlink took place.
“Reliably and quickly sending these dump commands is important to ensure that space station payload developers can operate from the most current data,” said Michael Zekoff, manager of Space Systems Operations at Marshall.
As a direct result of this tool, we have eliminated the need to manually perform routine data dump commands by as much as 40% for normal operations.
Michael Zekoff
Space Systems Operations Manager
AutoDump was successfully deployed on Feb. 4 in support of the orbiting laboratory.
The other tool, known as the Permanently Missing Intervals Checker, is another automated process coming online that will improve team efficiency.
Permanently missing intervals are gaps in the data stream where data can be lost due to a variety of reasons, including network fluctuations. The missing intervals are generally short but are documented so the scientific community and other users have confirmation that the missing data is unable to be recovered.
“The process of checking for and documenting permanently missing intervals is challenging and incredibly time-consuming to make sure we capture all the payload impacts,” said Nathan Walkenhorst, a NASA contractor with Bailey Collaborative Solutions who serves as a flight controller specialist.
The checker will allow NASA to quickly gather and assess payload impacts, reduce disruptions to operations, and allow researchers to get better returns on their science investigations. It is expected to be deployed later this year.
In addition to Walkenhorst, Zekoff also credited Ramon Pedoto, a software architect, and Tyrell Jemison, a NASA contractor and data management coordinator with Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc, for their work in developing the automation tools. The development of the tools also requires coordination between flight control and software teams at Marshall, followed by extensive testing in both simulated and flight environments, including spacecraft operations, communications coverage, onboard anomalies, and other unexpected conditions.
“The team solicited broad review to ensure that the tool would integrate correctly with other station systems,” Zekoff said. “Automated tools are evaluated carefully to prevent unintended commanding or other consequences. Analysis of the tools included thorough characterization of the impacts, risk mitigation strategies, and approval by stakeholders across the International Space Station program.”
The Huntsville Operations Support Center provides payload, engineering, and mission operations support to the space station, the Commercial Crew Program, and Artemis missions, as well as science and technology demonstration missions. The Payload Operations Integration Center within the Huntsville Operations Support Center operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
For more information on the International Space Station, visit:
www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
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Last Updated Apr 11, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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