{"id":16618,"date":"2015-01-31T20:44:12","date_gmt":"2015-01-31T12:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/full-story-delta-2-rises-to-occasion-with-smap-observatory\/"},"modified":"2015-01-31T20:44:12","modified_gmt":"2015-01-31T12:44:12","slug":"full-story-delta-2-rises-to-occasion-with-smap-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/full-story-delta-2-rises-to-occasion-with-smap-observatory\/","title":{"rendered":"Full story: Delta 2 rises to occasion with SMAP observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y9y9crLtd8A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE \u2014 The ever-dependable Delta 2 rocket continued its flawless service to NASA and Earth sciences today with the launch of a $916 million environmental probe focused on producing global maps of soil moisture from space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe SMAP project is absolutely thrilled to be catching a ride to space on the Delta 2 vehicle, a vehicle with a very long and well proven history,\u201d said Kent Kellogg, the SMAP project manager.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff occurred at 6:22 a.m. local on the 52nd NASA mission to use the Delta 2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDelta 2 is the workhorse. That\u2019s what we call it, and it has performed yet again,\u201d said Tim Dunn, the NASA launch director.<\/p>\n<p>Folded up origami-style to a neat 16-foot-tall package, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory was tucked aboard its medium-class launcher, which successfully flew for the 98th consecutive mission and 151st time overall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWater is fundamental to human life and SMAP will allow us to track how future water availability in different regions of the Earth will change,\u201d said Kellogg.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSoil moisture is the bank account of water in the land,\u201d added Dara Entekhabi, SMAP science definition team lead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing able to understand that in advance accurately and reliably will be invaluable for a number of different uses that will benefit everybody on the planet,\u201d said Kellogg.<\/p>\n<p>The first steps to spring to life came shortly after deployment from the rocket when the solar panels swung open to generate power.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3287\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3287\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3287\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch1.jpg\" alt=\"An artist's concept of the current spacecraft configuration. Credit: NASA\/JPL\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch1-678x381.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3287\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s concept of the current spacecraft configuration. Credit: NASA\/JPL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Coming up in the next several weeks, the marquee element of the scientific observatory will come online.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe call it the spinning lasso,\u201d said Wendy Edelstein of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, the SMAP instrument manager. Like the cowboy\u2019s lariat, the antenna is attached on one side to an arm with a crook in its elbow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SMAP is equipped with a 19.7-foot deployable gold, lightweight, rip-resistant mesh reflector antenna atop a boom structure that spins at 14.6 rpm (one complete rotation every four seconds) and measures the planet in swaths of 620 miles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the interesting part of the observatory, quite frankly,\u201d said Kent Kellogg, SMAP project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<\/p>\n<p>Astro Aerospace, part of Northrop Grumman, builder of deployable structures and mechanisms for spaceflight produced the antenna reflector system for SMAP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe antenna caused us a lot of angst, no doubt about it,\u201d Edelstein said. \u201cWe test, and we test, and we test some more. We have a very stable and robust system now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve built larger forms of these antennas,\u201d Kellogg said. \u201cThey are very proud to tell you that they\u2019ve never had a deployment failure in space. It\u2019s a pretty elegant design and we have a lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3288\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3288\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3288\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"An artist's concept of SMAP in its science-gathering mode. Credit: NASA\/JPL\" width=\"620\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-1024x771.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-326x245.jpg 326w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/launch2-80x60.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3288\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s concept of SMAP in its science-gathering mode. Credit: NASA\/JPL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Day 16, the boom supporting the antenna will be unstowed and extended into a \u201ctail wagging the dog\u201d configuration. It will take 16 minutes for the 16-foot arm to unfold and lock into place.<\/p>\n<p>Next, on Day 20, after a few days of monitoring the spacecraft performance in the boom deploy configuration, the antenna itself will be unfurled like a camping chair in a 33-minute procedure.<\/p>\n<p>The antenna is stowed in a 12-inch-diameter, four-foot-long package for launch. Initially, it is allowed to \u201cbloom\u201d outward to 7 feet in diameter before being driven by a motor and piano wire to a tight, full 20-foot expanse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe get those deployments done within three weeks of being in space, nominally,\u201d Kellogg said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qfv9h_EiJro?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>About 50 days after launch the spin-up sequence begins. In between, the science instruments will be checked out and the science-gathering orbital altitude will be achieved.<\/p>\n<p>The spinning initially goes to 4.5 rpm for a few days of testing before gradually stepping up to the nominal 14.6 rpm within 60 days of launch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe initially want to spin up to just about four-and-a-half rpm, this is a low spin rate. As we begin to spin up, the spacecraft actually counter-rotates in the opposite direction. This is by design, and is a feature of the fact that we\u2019re trying to spin up a very large structure with a relatively small spacecraft. Once the antenna has reached a stable spin rate, the spacecraft attitude system will regain sun pointing very quickly and we continue on.\u201d Kellogg said.<\/p>\n<p>The 2,081-pound craft\u2019s birth in orbit appears quite sporty, almost doubling in height, and there is risk, but Kellogg is confident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might go look at one of those Mars entry, descent and landing animations and then come back and look at us. We will look pretty tame in comparison,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is one of these things, though, that your ability to test it on the ground simulating the effects of space, microgravity, is limited. So we recognize that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always a risk with these complex deployable structures of some sort of snag event or something that is masked during ground testing. We think the risk of that is pretty low.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of confidence that this mission is going to provide top-quality science data for many years in space,\u201d Kellogg said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing mission. It\u2019s amazing for science because by measuring real accurately soil moisture, it tells us about all of the three major cycles that make up our planet Earth \u2014 the water cycle, the energy cycle and the carbon cycle. So SMAP actually unifies Earth system science in one mission,\u201d said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut science on one hand and applications on the other hand. The measurements from SMAP actually are going to impact positively the lives of just about everybody on Earth because the understanding we get and the measurements we get of soil moisture from SMAP are going to make better weather forecasts regionally, they are going to help us monitor droughts and predict flood areas in short term predictions\u2026.SMAP is really going to be contributing to science and societal benefits. That\u2019s the great thing about this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3485\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3485\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3485\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/dii_smap_l1-721x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Credit: ULA \" width=\"620\" height=\"881\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/dii_smap_l1-721x1024.jpg 721w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/dii_smap_l1-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/dii_smap_l1-768x1091.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/dii_smap_l1.jpg 1267w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3485\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: ULA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This was the 370th Delta rocket launch, the first of the year and United Launch Alliance\u2019s 93rd mission. ULA plans three more Delta missions this year.<\/p>\n<p>March 25 @ Cape Canaveral: The year\u2019s first Global Positioning System replacement launch for the navigation network will occur using a Delta 4 rocket. The GPS 2F-9 bird will signal the final quarter of the Block 2F fleet to take flight.<\/p>\n<p>June TBD @ Vandenberg: The National Reconnaissance Office will use a Delta 4 rocket to carry out the NROL-45 mission. The NRO is the secretive government agency responsible for flying the country\u2019s spy satellites. This will be the first of two NRO launches from California in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>July 21 @ Cape Canaveral: A familiar pairing of the Delta 4 rocket with the Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite for the U.S. Air Force will take flight with WGS 7. The craft form the new military communications system to provide blanket coverage over virtually the entire planet for troops, ships, drones and civilian leaders.<\/p>\n<p>The next Delta 2 launch will carry the JPSS 1 civilian weather satellite into polar orbit from Vandenberg in November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>See our earlier SMAP coverage.<\/p>\n<p>And see our Delta archive for further information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nJustin Ray has been a reporter with Spaceflight Now since the website\u2019s inception in November 1999. The online news service, based at Cape Canaveral, has documented U.S. and international space news with a specialty of live launch coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to that, Justin worked for two years as an aerospace reporter at the Florida Today newspaper and its pioneering Space Online website. He began his career as an intern at Patrick Air Force Base\u2019s public affairs office in 1996 and wrote for the Missileer base newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>The Ohio native has covered 137 Delta rocket launches, 100 Atlas flights, 65 space shuttle missions and construction of the International Space Station, plus scientific spacecraft such as the Mars rovers and Cassini.<\/p>\n<p>He attended college at the University of Central Florida and now resides in Satellite Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE \u2014 The ever-dependable Delta 2 rocket continued its flawless service to NASA and Earth sciences today with the launch of a $916 million environmental probe focused on producing global maps of soil moisture from space. \u201cThe SMAP project is absolutely thrilled to be catching a ride to space on the Delta [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4137,594,25,190,3967,750,603],"class_list":["post-16618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-delta-370","tag-earth-science","tag-launch","tag-nasa","tag-smap","tag-united-launch-alliance","tag-vandenberg"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16618"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}