A sneak peek BTS! 🛰️ The solar array panels that will power @MethaneSAT once in space are currently completing testing at @ballaerospace.
Quote from: Vultur on 02/12/2024 10:06 pmMethaneSAT is a really interesting precedent... basically an Earth science mission done by a private NGO, outside the usual governmental funding structure.It is really interesting. I'm curious what that organization will do going forward now that a bunch of commercial companies are bringing methane sensing capabilities online (which really wasn't the case yet when the MethaneSAT project started.)
MethaneSAT is a really interesting precedent... basically an Earth science mission done by a private NGO, outside the usual governmental funding structure.
We’re counting down the days to the launch of @MethaneSAT. While we’ll be commanding and operating the spacecraft once it’s in orbit, there’s a climate-change-focused science program at @NIWA that’s ready to use MethaneSAT’s data to track agricultural methane emissions in New Zealand.
Feb 14, 2024 NEW ZEALAND“If you're thinking about how fast climate change is happening and how we can slow things down right now, tackling methane is one of the fastest ways we can do this.” NIWA scientists are gearing up for the launch of a satellite that will measure methane emissions from fossil fuels and agriculture from space. The launch is part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s MethaneSAT agricultural emissions programme, a global initiative led by the US Environmental Defense Fund to track and reduce methane emissions around the world. The US project is focused on methane leaks from oil and gas production, while the New Zealand-led programme is studying global emissions from agriculture, such as ruminant farming and rice production. New Zealand is a perfect test ground for the MethaneSAT agricultural programme because of its an unusual greenhouse gas profile. While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important greenhouse gas for most developed countries, New Zealand’s biggest source of emissions is methane, largely due to our high levels of agriculture. The agricultural research programme is a collaboration between experts across New Zealand, including NIWA, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, University of Waikato, and Victoria University of Wellington, and the US based science team at Harvard University, EDF, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The project is funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. Partners RocketLab and the University of Auckland’s Te Pūnaha Ātea-Auckland Space Institute are establishing and operating mission control for the satellite.
Go MethaneSAT! We’re stoked to support this important climate change mission by @EnvDefenseFund in partnership with @MBIEgovtnz, @AucklandUni & @NiwaWeather. We’ll be collecting MethaneSAT’s data to share amongst the international scientists in its program, while also running mission operations from our control room, and training up the next generation of mission operators along the way for them to then take over at the University of Auckland.
MethaneSAT has successfully separated from the @SpaceX #Falcon9! We're in orbit 🌌The spacecraft will now boot up its computer and 'detumble', using its actuators to slow down the spinning caused by the deployment.
