A new video shows the dramatic moment a new NASA spacecraft spreads its symbolic wings, revealing its most important instrument in orbit around Earth.
The SWOT satellite (its name is short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography) was launched into space on December 16 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California.
Deploying its massive mast and antenna panels to SWOT to provide scientists with the first high-definition survey of our planet’s waters before it can begin its mission to measure the height of water covering more than 90% of Earth’s surface It was lying
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The dismantling of its large mast and antenna panels was completed over four days, ending on 22 December, and was captured by SWOT’s four adapted commercial cameras.
In the video, the masts can be seen rising from the opposite side of the spacecraft, exiting the SWOT and locking into place. Unfortunately, recording stopped before the cameras could capture the antennas at the end of the fully exposed mast. SWOT operators confirmed this using telemetry data from the craft.
The spacecraft, which orbits Earth at an altitude of about 533 miles (857 kilometers), has already unlatched its solar panel arrays, ensuring it receives a steady supply of electricity to operate. . The array unfolded just after SWOT was launched and took about 10 minutes and was also recorded by the spacecraft’s cameras.
The SWOT antennas are 33 feet (10 m) apart and are part of the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument. Not only will KRI measure and measure the height of water in Earth’s fresh water bodies and oceans, the instrument will be able to observe smaller-scale features such as currents and other features, less than 13 miles (20 kilometers) in radius.
Carine will also focus on Earth’s bodies of water such as lakes, rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters), and even reservoirs that are larger than about 62,500 square meters.
It collects data by bouncing radar pulses off Earth’s water surface and collects signals with its antennas. This data-collection area extends approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) from either side of SWOT.
Once fully operational, NASA says the data provided by SWOT will help scientists and politicians address the pressing problem of climate change by helping different communities adapt to a warmer climate and the challenges it brings. Can help you prepare.
SWOT was developed jointly by NASA and the Center National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK’s Space Agency. First conceived in 2007, the spacecraft entered its construction phase in 2016.
“The SWOT mission brings together two communities focused on a better understanding of the world’s oceans and its terrestrial surface waters,” NASA wrote in its article. SWOT Mission Website. (opens in new tab) “American and French oceanographers, hydrologists, and international partners have joined forces to develop this satellite mission to conduct the first global survey of Earth’s surface waters, observing the fine details of ocean surface topography and measure how water bodies change over time.”
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