The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite deployed its solar varieties while in Earth orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES
Cameras on the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft caught the antennas for its primary science instrument unfurling in orbit.
However before it might do that, the SWOT satellite needed to unfold its large mast and antenna panels (see below) after effectively deploying the solar panel ranges that power the spacecraft. The objective displays and manages the satellite utilizing telemetry data, however the spacecraft is also geared up with 4 personalized business video cameras to tape-record the action.
The solar selections totally released shortly after launch, taking about 10 minutes.
2 electronic cameras aboard the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite caught the large mast and antenna panels of the spacecrafts primary science instrument deploying over four days, a procedure that was completed on December 22, 2022. The masts, which unfold from opposite sides of the spacecraft, can be seen extending out from the spacecraft and securing location, but the cameras stopped short of catching the antennas at the ends of the masts being totally deployed (a milestone the group verified with telemetry data). This video places the 2 camera views side by side. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES
The antennas effectively deployed over four days, a process that was finished on December 22. The two cameras concentrated on the KaRIn antennas recorded the mast extending out from the spacecraft and locking in place however stopped short of recording the antennas being fully released (a milestone the team confirmed with telemetry data.).
Thirty-three feet (10 meters) apart, at either end of the mast, the 2 antennas come from the groundbreaking Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument. Created to record accurate measurements of the height of water in Earths freshwater bodies and the ocean, KaRIn will see eddies, currents, and other ocean functions less than 13 miles (20 kilometers) throughout. It will likewise gather data on tanks and lakes bigger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters) and rivers larger than 330 feet (100 meters) across.
The objective caught the approximately 10-minute process with 2 of the 4 business cameras aboard the satellite (the exact same type utilized to catch NASAs Perseverance rover landing on Mars). The satellite released on December 16, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and the selections began their implementation at 5:01 a.m. PST. They provide 8 kilowatts of power to the satellite, which has a 1.5-kilowatt overall power demand.
KaRIn will do this by bouncing radar pulses off the surface of water on Earth and receiving the signals with both of those antennas, collecting information along a swath thats 30 miles (50 kilometers) wide on either side of the satellite.
The data SWOT offers will help researchers and decision-makers address a few of the most pressing environment concerns of our time and assistance communities prepare for a warming world.
More About the Mission.
SWOT was jointly developed by NASA and the French area company Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. CNES is supplying the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the double frequency Poseidon altimeter (established by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations. NASA is offering the launch lorry and the agencys Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, is handling the associated launch services.
2 cameras aboard the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite recorded the big mast and antenna panels of the spacecrafts main science instrument deploying over four days, a process that was completed on December 22, 2022. The mission caught the roughly 10-minute process with 2 of the 4 industrial cameras aboard the satellite (the same type utilized to capture NASAs Perseverance rover landing on Mars). The satellite released on December 16, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and the ranges began their release at 5:01 a.m. PST. They provide 8 kilowatts of power to the satellite, which has a 1.5-kilowatt overall power demand. CNES is supplying the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (established by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with assistance from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground operations.
