Space X: Most Difficult Launch

Space X Falcon Heavy. Adapted from space.com

Today, Space X will commence the STP-2 mission, stated by Elon Musk as being the most difficult launch to date. The mission will use a Falcon Heavy rocket to put 24 payloads into 3 different orbits. The 2 side boosters will come back to land at LZ-1 and LZ-2 at Cape Canaveral, and the centre core will land on “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship situated in the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch the launch live here.

Update: The primary mission of STP-2 was successful, along with 2/3 of secondary mission landing both side boosters. Congratulations again to all involved with the planning and execution of the mission!

RCM Launch

Image of RCM using AIS. Adapted from asc-csa.gc.ca.

Today, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) Earth Observation satellite trio will takeoff on-board a 2 stage Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At 14:17 UTC, the pre-flown first stage (Crew Dragon) will start its journey into orbit. The launch window will last 13 minutes. Below are some details of the satellites (3 identical):

Payload: SAR, AIS

Frequency: C-band @ 5.405GHz

Period: 96min

Altitude: 600km Sun-synchronous (100m orbital tube)

Imaging time: 15m/orbit, 12.5m continuous

Polarizations: single, dual co-cross, compact, quad

You can watch the launch live from either the CSA Facebook page or from SpaceX.

Congratulations to all involved getting RCM to where it is today. Here is to a successful launch and long life!

Prost!

Update: Successful Falcon 9 liftoff, successful first stage landing, SECO-1, SECO-2, and all 3 payload deployments. Mission success.

Imaged: Supermassive Black Hole

Rendered image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of galaxy M87. Adapted from nasa.gov.

The first image of a black hole has been obtained by scientists and released to the public. The image you see above was created using a network of radio telescopes coined the “Event Horizon Telescope”. Data is still being analyzed and compared to models, including the analysis of coordinated multi-spectral signatures captured from the coordinated collections of various ground-based telescopes. More information on this discovery is available from nasa.gov.

Andrew Chael, an astrophysicist on the team behind the discovery, together with Katie Bouman, created the code which has allowed us to see the black hole. This code exploits radar interferometry in order to create the data you see above. Congratulations to Andrew and Katie on solving this problem and creating the necessary collaborations which made such a feat possible!

Crew Dragon Docks with ISS

Image adapted from: spacex.com

On March 2, 2019, SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon Crew capsule and docked with the ISS. This is the first autonomously guided mission to dock with the ISS. Additionally, Falcon 9’s first stage was successfully landed on droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” situated in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX, a private organization, has truly showcased the capabilities and drive of their team. Elon Musk has accomplished what few could even dream of. Big congratulations to you Elon and your team.

You can read more about the launch at spacex.com

Variable-rate Irrigation Potato Research

Here I am giving a presentation at the Carberry, MB offsite on the VRI and microwave tech. Photo adapted from the Manitoba-Cooperator.

I gave a presentation in Carberry, MB a few months ago on the topic variable-rate irrigation. We have been working on a VRI system using microwave technology, similar to that on spacebourne soil moisture missions such as NASA’s SMAP. This type of system measures the passive microwave emissivity from the soil and derives a soil moisture value for the top 10 to 30cm. You can read more about the information from the Manitoba-Cooperator here.

Solar Eclipse!

August 2017 solar eclipse

On Monday, August 21, there will be a solar eclipse! To find out what time you should start setting your eyes to the skies, check out this website. It will also tell you when the start, peak and end of the eclipse is as well as what percent coverage you will be seeing from your viewing location. Don't forget protection!

Exoplanets!

NASA's rendition of the view from one of the newly discovered expoplanets. Credit: NASA

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovered a set of 7 exoplanets, 3 of which are located within the habitable zone around the parent star. The planets exist about 40 light-years away from us within the Aquarius constellation. The exoplanets were named TRAPPIST-1, after the Chilean telescope used to locate the planets.

The system's parent star is classified as an ultra-cool dwarf. The low temperature, in contrast to our own sun, creates the possibility of liquid water  to exist on planets even orbiting close to the star (which, of course, may create the possibility of life to exist there). These planets may also be tidally locked to the dwarf star, meaning parts of the planet would be in permanent darkness while other parts would be in constant light.

NASA has extended the ability to visit this planet (...in VR), and you can do that by clicking here.

MDA Acquires DigitalGlobe

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WorldView-4 image of Brasilia acquired 2017-JAN-11. Credit: DigitalGlobe

MDA, a Canadian satellite manufacturing and space company (Canadarm and Canadarm2) announced they have acquired DigitalGlobe for $2.4 billion. DigitalGlobe, founded in 1992, focuses on high resolution optical imaging satellites. The company partnered with Taqnia in 2016 to develop a constellation of satellites, which will be similar to the Terra Bella consteallation owned by Google.

Juno has arrived

The Juno spacecraft entered the orbit of Jupiter on July 4th, 2016 after a 5 year journey. The first image of Jupiter and its 3 moons was taken on July 10th using the JunoCam optical imager.

Juno's payload includes instruments such as the IR spectrometer and a 6 wavelength radiometer for atmospheric sounding and composition.

More information on Juno's payload may be found here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/spacecraft/index.html

Supermoon!

On Sunday, September 27th, a Supermoon cosmic event will occur. This phenomenon will manifest at approximately 1:00 UTC (or 8:00 CST). A Supermoon occurs when the moon reaches its perigee at the same time as a lunar eclipse. The last Supermoon appeared in 1982, so for many this will be the first opportunity to witness such an event. Below are some tools you may use to enhance your Supermoon viewing experience:

Clear Outside: use this application to identify sky conditions for a given date.

http://clearoutside.com/forecast/50.7/-3.52

NASA: additional information on the science behind the Supermoon and where and when to view this event.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-scientist-sheds-light-on-rare-sept-27-supermoon-eclipse

Improving Precision Agriculture

BlackBridge is acquiring 5 meter spatial resolution throughout Canada and the U.S. to facilitate the advancement of precision agriculture. Read more about this story here.

Philae has landed!

Phliae probe adapted from esa.int