On January 30th, NASA successfully launched the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base, on its mission to provide global measurements of soil moisture. A key feature of the spacecraft is the first application of the new AstroMesh-Lite® reflector, produced by Astro Aerospace, a Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) company.
This ultralight and extremely stiff reflector is ideally suited for high frequency communications and radar applications. Upon deployment, the reflector will help the satellite collect data while spinning atop the spacecraft on-orbit at nearly 15 revolutions per minute
ULA Delta II successfully launches SMAP | NASASpaceFlight.com
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has successfully conducted a rare Delta II launch on Saturday morning, at 6:22 am local, following a scrub on Thursday, along with a debonding of insulation on the booster, suffered during the subsequent detanking . The venerable rocket successfully orbited the Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite for NASA.
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