Mission controllers for NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission have received signals from the mission’s three satellites confirming that they are in good health and operating as expected.The EZIE spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 15 EDT (March 14 PDT).Over the next two months, EZIE’s mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, will conduct full science and instrument checkouts – called commissioning – for the three spacecraft.Once this commissioning is complete, EZIE will begin its science investigation into the intense electrical currents called electrojets that flow through our upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky. Mapping the electrojets will help scientists better predict the effects of geomagnetic storms and other space weather phenomena that can impact our technological society.
Our Pioneer spacecraft is on-orbit powering Varda Space Industries' W-3 mission. Once processing is complete, the Rocket Lab team will initiate deorbit maneuvers to safely return Varda’s reentry capsule back to Earth.
The following satellites were supposed to be on Transporter 13. I could not find any new launch information for them.TRYAD 1/2 (ELaNa 64)Time Flies (TrustPoint 3)Zohar
Big day for Mission Space—Zohar-1 is being switched on today, and we’re about to receive the first data.
🛰️ Hooray! Today, we received the first signals from Zohar-1, confirming that it’s operating nominally and communicating as expected. This marks a key moment for Mission Space as we push forward in space weather monitoring!Zohar-1 is designed to detect and analyze space radiation in real time, delivering critical data for industries reliant on accurate space weather forecasts.
🛰️ Welcome to Space! Today, we received the first telemetry data from Zohar-1, confirming that it’s operating nominally and communicating as expected. This marks a key moment for Mission Space as we push forward in space weather monitoring and waiting to receive our data as planned.
🚀 Mission update: Zohar is online!First telemetry is in—Zohar powered on, and all tests ran nominally. ✅ The CPU is up and running, processing internal data as expected. 📊 The graph confirms everything is functioning as planned.Next milestone: a mission timeline update within two weeks, keeping us right on schedule. More updates soon!
I understand that the first two HERMES Pathfinder cubesats have been deployed from @D_Orbit ION.
Another successful deployment from the Albapod!With Alba Orbital’s own Unicorn-2Q, Hades ICM, and Hydra-W all phoning home.A big congratulations to @ic_mercury , SmartIR and Hydra Space Systems.
Welcome to space, @Deloitte!We're proud to have worked with Deloitte to design, build, and operate the recently launched Deloitte-1 satellite, marking their first satellite in orbit—powered by Spire Space Services.We simplify space, empowering companies like Deloitte to achieve their own “first” and harness the power of space-based data.
Myriota announced the launch of a further four satellites that have been added to its UltraLite LEO constellation, in partnership with Spire, a leading global provider of space infrastructure. These nanosatellites are in the process of being onboarded following their launch on 14th March on SpaceX’s Transporter-13 mission, with more launches set to further expand the constellation throughout the rest of the year.
The first data points from the Wingbits x @SpireGlobal satellite are officially here! Our eye in the sky is working overtime to map some difficult-to-reach places. Learn more about why we launched a satellite 👇https://wingbits.com/blog/why-wingbits-launched-a-satellite
🤩📸 An spectacular image of our planet from the first #Startical's satellite! 🛰️🌍 #Startical, company created by @ENAIRE and @IndraCompany, launched the IOD-1 satellite with the technology to enhance flight #safety, #efficiency, and #punctuality, and It will also facilitate the creation of new routes, contributing to reduced operational costs and lower CO₂ emissions.👏👏 A success for the company and for the great team of experts behind the project.
NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission has taken its first measurements. These “first light” observations show that EZIE is poised to reveal crucial details about Earth’s auroral electrojets — powerful electric currents that flow through our upper atmosphere where auroras glow in the sky. This information will help us better understand Earth’s connection to space and mitigate the negative impacts of space weather on society.With a trio of CubeSats, EZIE launched in mid-March to map the auroral electrojets up close and in detail for the first time. These intense currents are generated in the northern and southern polar regions of our atmosphere, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) above the ground, when tremendous amounts of energy are transferred into Earth’s upper atmosphere from the solar wind. The same process can also ignite colorful auroras (northern or southern lights) in our skies.The EZIE spacecraft are designed to map the strength and direction of these currents by studying emission from oxygen molecules about 10 miles (16 kilometers) below the electrojets. The oxygen molecules emit microwaves at a frequency of 118 gigahertz. But in the presence of magnetic fields, such as those created by the electrojets, this emission line divides in a process called Zeeman splitting. The stronger the magnetic field, the farther apart the 118 GHz line is split. The polarizations, or wave orientations, of the oxygen emission reveal the direction of the magnetic field.On March 19, one of the three EZIE satellites successfully recorded Zeeman splitting of the 118 GHz oxygen emission line for the first time with its Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram (MEM) instrument. The observations reveal the strength and direction of the responsible magnetic field — in this case, Earth’s own magnetic field near the magnetic equator.“The EZIE team is very excited about these first-light results,” said Sam Yee of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the mission’s principal investigator. “The observations demonstrate that both the spacecraft and the MEM instrument onboard are working as expected.”The EZIE mission is expected to begin its formal science investigations in about a month, following final checkouts and calibrations.
Inbound! Over the next few days, we will work with our partners @RocketLab and @SouthernLaunch to reenter and recover the W-3 capsule. W-3 is Varda’s third mission, and the second this year.
Déjà vu? We must be running another @VardaSpace re-entry mission.Our spacecraft operations team is at it again, executing re-entry maneuvers for our third Pioneer spacecraft to set Varda’s W-3 capsule on course for Earth.Over the next few days, we’ll guide the capsule into its return trajectory. Stay tuned…landing’s coming! 🌍 Learn more: https://bit.ly/43mOqU1
Re-entry maneuvers just started today! [May 10]
At 6:13 pm local time today, the W-3 spacecraft successfully executed its final orbital maneuver. The capsule will deorbit and enter the Earth’s atmosphere, experiencing hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 25. The capsule's parachutes will deploy once hypersonic reentry is complete and W-3 will land in the Australian outback. Unlike last time, this recovery will be during daylight hours.
Inbound to the Koonibba Test Range! Excited to share that at 10:43am local time the Varda Space Industries W-3 spacecraft successfully executed its final orbital maneuver. The capsule will deorbit and enter the Earth’s atmosphere, experiencing hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 25 before it lands in the Koonibba Test Range under parachute. The recovery team is standing by to fly out and bring W-3 back, stay tuned for details.
Around the world in 60 days. ✅ 900+ orbits ✅ 24.5 million miles traveled ✅ Our third successful Earth re-entry missionRocket Lab’s Pioneer spacecraft has released Varda Space Industries capsule safely back to Earth landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. Another Earth re-entry. Another mission complete. 🚀🌍
Rocket Lab successfully supported the return to Earth of Varda’s W-3 capsule at 02:07 a.m. UTC on May 14, the third overall successful operation in the W-series of Varda missions.For the second time this year, Rocket Lab’s highly configurable, medium delta-V spacecraft platform, Pioneer, delivered Varda’s hypersonic re-entry capsule back to Earth. To date, Rocket Lab has successfully built, tested, integrated, and managed on-orbit and de-orbit operations for three of the four contracted missions for Varda.[...]"Managing three successful missions for Varda in just over a year is a testament to our team’s ability to produce tailored spacecraft for our customer’s specific needs quickly and efficiently,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. “Our Pioneer spacecraft consistently proves its rapid re-entry capability, versatility, and reliability, delivering critical mission functions that continually push the boundaries of space technology. Varda’s missions showcase Rocket Lab's commitment to groundbreaking advancements in space manufacturing and re-entry logistics, and we’re immensely proud to be a part of these achievements."“Varda’s third successful reentry represents a new era in the commercialization of low Earth orbit,” said Dave McFarland, Varda’s Vice President of Hypersonic and Reentry Test. “The rapid succession of our missions demonstrates that this is a capability both Varda, and our partners can consistently rely on.”
NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is cleared to begin its 16 -month-long science mission after team members collected “first light” measurements and completed initial checkouts to ensure the satellites are healthy and operating normally after deployment into space.The EZIE mission will be the first space mission dedicated to studying the magnetic fingerprint of the auroral electrojets. These electrojets are produced when geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity release bursts of energetic particles into Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating colorful auroras but can also impact navigation and communications systems, as well as ground-based infrastructure such as power grids. The mission will help solve decades-old questions about the structure and evolution of the electrojets and, by extension, much-debated mysteries about Earth’s space weather.The mission’s three CubeSats — small satellites each roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase — fly in a pearls-on-a-string configuration, following each other over the same spot about 2 to 10 minutes apart. As they orbit from pole to pole approximately 370 miles (590 kilometers) above Earth’s surface , the trio of satellites map the electrojets, detailing their structure and how they change.Studying the auroral electrojets will help researchers answer critical questions about how and where energy from geomagnetic activity is deposited in Earth’s upper atmosphere. This knowledge is essential to understanding how space weather can impact humans and our technology, from creating vivid auroras to triggering power outages or endangering astronauts. Data from EZIE also sheds light on other magnetized planets — such as Saturn and Jupiter — and bolsters our understanding of planets in the solar system and beyond.
First light from Unicorn-2O, 2P & 2Q!Deployed in March, these 3P PocketQubes are showing what the world’s smallest commercial pointing EO satellite can do.
Our Unicorn-2 satellites just shared new imagery testing 1/4 scaling.The latest Africa shot captures Durji Hill and SATBIA Airport 👀
