 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Staff Writers Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) Dec 05, 2019
A satellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory to measure low frequency waves in the magnetosphere will launch Dec. 4 to the International Space Station. The AFRL satellite being launched from Cape Canaveral is called the Very Low Frequency Propagation Mapper or VPM. Its mission is to collect data on the Demonstration and Science Experiments, or DSX, satellite the Air Force launched in June 2019. The VPM satellite was built at AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB, and is part of a resupply payload aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. "VPM is a "CubeSat" satellite that measures 4 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 12 inches high whose mission is to measure very low frequency, or VLF, waves within the magnetosphere," said Capt. Stephen Tullino, VPM Mission Manager. "It will primarily be a third party observer satellite to the DSX mission to prove that very low frequency waves can be injected within the magnetosphere." The primary goal for the satellite is to gather important data to better understand the effectiveness of the DSX satellite transmitter. VPM will remain in Low Earth Orbit for a total of 364 days to gather the data. The VPM program cost was roughly $4.5 million and the design uses commercially produced components to evaluate their utility. The spacecraft is using the Pumpkin 6 cubic unit (6U) CubeSat structure, Pumpkin batteries and solar panels to evaluate the capabilities of the Clydespace Electrical Power System, the utility of the Beaglebone Black as a flight computer, Blue Canyon Technologies XACT ADCS, Globalstar Simplex Transmitter Unit-3 beacon, and a Vulcan Wireless software-defined radio transponder. The VLF receiver was designed by Stanford University and constructed at AFRL along with the remaining spacecraft hardware. In addition to testing the effectiveness of the commercial spacecraft components, VPM will test commercial communication systems. It will be one of the first DoD missions to utilize the global communication network known as Kongsberg Satellite Services. Once on the ISS, VPM will remain there for approximately five weeks before it will be carried to a higher orbit by a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply capsule, and deployed mid-January 2020. Once VPM enters higher orbit, it will switch on and deploy two antennas that will be used to measure VLF waves. "This mission is unique in that it will be operating a VLF receiver in space as a dedicated receiver for another satellite (DSX) that will be transmitting VLF waves that it can observe," Tullino said. The satellite is currently at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and has been loaded into the SpaceX Dragon resupply capsule in preparation for launch.
Russian Roscosmos Says Progress MS-12 Burns Up in Atmosphere After Undocking Moscow (Sputnik) Nov 30, 2019 Russia's Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft, which undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) earlier on Friday, burned up as scheduled during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, with its debris landing in the Pacific Ocean, a representative of the main research arm of the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos said. "The elements of the Progress MS-12 spacecraft that did not burn fell in a non-navigable area of the South Pacific", the representative of the Central Research Institute for ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
