LDCM(Landsat 8)-Atlas V 401- 11.02.13 18:04 UTC-Vandenberg

[Имxотеп]

Кстати говоря, после отделения Центавр опять отправили бороздить межпланетное пространство на неуказанной гелиоцентрической орбите. Зачем они это делают?

[Старый]

Имxотеп пишет:
 Зачем они это делают?

Видимо остался лишний бензин. Наши в ДМ-03 недоливают чтоб потом перелить, а они всегда заправляют полностью, а если останется - выжигают.

[instml]

За астероидом гоняются  

[instml]

LDCM Status Update for March 8, 2013

All satellite and instruments continue to perform normally. The Mission Operations team completed another round of Attitude Control System calibration maneuvers late last week. In addition, they tested the spacecraft's ability to execute uploaded commands while the satellite is out of range of ground stations, called stored command loads.

 The Mission Operations team also conducted a series of data flow tests that exercised the entire image data transmission and processing functionality of the satellite and ground system using test patterns internally generated by the OLI and TIRS instruments. In these tests, the satellite successfully stored the instrument test pattern data in the onboard Solid State Recorder, and then transmitted that data to the ground when it flew back into range of the ground station. The Data Processing and Archive System (DPAS) at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., then successfully processed these test patterns as if they were Earth image data. These tests demonstrate the readiness of the entire LDCM satellite and ground system to successfully collect real Earth imagery.

 The OLI and TIRS instruments continue to progress toward coming online. OLI had a successful checkout of its diffuser mechanism, which is part of OLI's calibration system. The main activities this week, however, focused on TIRS. On March 4, the Mission Operations team successfully deployed the TIRS Earth shield from its launch position. The Earth shield is a large panel that blocks heat from Earth from getting onto the TIRS thermal radiators, thus increasing the efficiency of those radiators. Over the past few days the team has checked out the mid-stage heaters, powered up systems, including the Focal Plane Electronics Box, and tested the Scene Select Mirror. On March 6, the TIRS cryocooler was turned on and successfully cooled the sensors to 43 kelvins (-352 F).

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/main/mission-updates.html

[instml]

For NASA to Build TIRS on Schedule, Every Day Counted
04.22.13


 

Engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center inspect and move the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) after two months of testing in the thermal vacuum chamber. TIRS completed its first round of thermal vacuum testing on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. Credit: NASA

Fr om the very beginning it was a looming ticking countdown clock to get the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instrument ready for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission launch. Even on their very first day, the TIRS development team started a year behind schedule to design, build and test an instrument in three years instead of the more typical four-year development cycle.

 The project began on a tight schedule, but then outside forces intervened. There was the earthquake, hurricane and a near government shut down—but that didn't stop the TIRS team fr om being ready for a successful Landsat launch on February 11. "We received our first image from the TIRS instrument on March 7, and it was just spectacular," said Betsy Forsbacka, TIRS instrument manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

 TIRS came about to help scientists and resource managers monitor water evaporation and transpiration over land surface by measuring radiation emitted in two thermal bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. TIRS operates at a resolution of 100 meters (328 feet), allowing for monitoring fields for agriculture, which is especially important for water managers. The instrument was a relatively late addition to the Landsat mission, which is why there was a tight production schedule.

 "We took three years here at NASA Goddard to take it from initial concept development design, go through all the major reviews to make sure the design was valid, then build and test the instrument, which we did here at NASA Goddard," Forsbacka said. "We delivered the instrument to Orbital Sciences Corp., in Gilbert, Ariz., we integrated onto the spacecraft, and we tested the two instruments and the spacecraft as one large system. In December we delivered the spacecraft with instruments aboard to the launch site and launched on February 11 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California."

 

› Larger image  Aleksandra Bogunovic reaches across the instrument to affix the corners of a Multi-Layer Insulation blanket to the TIRS instrument. In January 2012, TIRS was shipped to Orbital Science Corp. in Gilbert Ariz. wh ere it was integrated onto the LDCM spacecraft. Credit: NASA

As the TIRS deputy instrument manager and now instrument manager, the largest unyielding aspect of the project Forsbacka had to manage was time. "For us, it was schedule, schedule, schedule," he said. "Time was the one thing we couldn't make. If we didn't make our delivery date, we would not fly." And then there were the events that couldn't be anticipated. Even with tight project management planning, who could have foreseen an earthquake and hurricane occurring within one week, but that is what happened in August 2011.

 The team was in the midst of thermal vacuum testing, cycling between very hot and very cold temperatures, when the earthquake tremors began. The test team fled the building, and when it was safe to return, the instrument was put into a safe configuration. A couple of days of testing were lost while the team determined if there was any damage. "Actually launch is harsher than the earthquake," Forsbacka commented, "but you don't know that at the time and you wonder what is happening to the instrument."

 Just on the heels of the earthquake, time was lost to planning for Hurricane Irene, which was forecast to arrive only days after the earthquake. The hurricane diverted the schedule by a couple of days for planning essential personnel in the event of a NASA Goddard campus closure and determining what testing would take place and which tests would be put on hold in the event of a severe hurricane. It turns out there was even more unplanned excitement to come for the TIRS team.

 Because TIRS uses Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIPs) to detect specific light wavelengths used to measure surface temperature, TIRS had to be outfitted with a cryocooler to keep the QWIP detectors working at the necessary cold temperatures. The cryocooler supplied by Ball Aerospace—the project's largest procurement—was also being developed on a compressed timetable. To keep TIRS on schedule, members of the NASA Goddard TIRS team worked onsite at the Ball Aerospace facility in Boulder, Colo., for a year to facilitate swift decisions.

 "After going through all of the steps of this very complicated procurement, and the design, build, and all the reviews, and getting it through environmental testing, when it came time to ship the cryocooler, it was the weekend of the potential government shutdown in April 2011 [due to a stalled spending deal in Congress]," Forsbacka said. "How do you plan for that?" So the TIRS team worked at a furious pace with Ball Aerospace to get the unit shipped to the NASA Goddard campus as quickly as possible.

 But the TIRS team faced a host of uncertainties about being allowed to report to work due to moratoriums over weekend work. And the cryocooler was in transit to be delivered on a Friday, on the day of the pending shutdown. Forsbacka said the team had to weigh the options. "Do we delay it? With our schedule, we didn't delay anything if we could avoid it. We couldn't get it delivered earlier. If it arrived on time, would anyone be here to receive it?"

 Simple variables such as the delivery truck being delayed due to getting stuck in traffic at various points from Boulder also had to be considered. As it turns out, the cryocooler arrived that Friday night, barely before the midnight cutoff, and just before the team was no longer allowed to work due to the imminent government shutdown.

 Beyond the earthquake, hurricane and threat of a government shutdown, a host of decisions along the way kept the project on track for meeting the launch deadline. At the beginning during the TIRS design, the team focused on meeting requirements rather than seeking perfection. In some cases when a requirement was hard to meet, they asked the scientist if it was a number they absolutely had to have. "In some cases the answer was yes, but in many cases, what you have is good enough," Forsbacka said. "If you don't communicate with your scientists, you can chew up a lot of time."

 Each requirement builds in a worst-case scenario, said Dennis Reuter, the TIRS instrument scientist who authorized any TIRS requirements changes. Sometimes if one requirement meets specifications, another one can be relaxed to still perform the desired task, he said.

 Testing also helped keep TIRS development on track. "We tested much earlier and more often with TIRS than we normally do to meet the accelerated schedule," Reuter said. Instrument subsystems were also developed in parallel so one delay wouldn't hold up the schedule.

 "Schedule is everything, and we couldn't afford to lose even a day," Forsbacka said. "Over three years, if you lose a day, it turns into a week, then a month and then you don't fly." She said it was particularly challenging to get all of the subsystems delivered so the instrument could be assembled for testing. "If there is one subsystem not delivered, it is a showstopper," she said.

 The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Once LDCM completes its on-orbit check-out phase in late May, the satellite will be turned over to the USGS and renamed Landsat 8. Data from TIRS and the Operational Land Imager will be processed and added to the Landsat Data Archive at the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center in South Dakota, wh ere it will be distributed for free over the Internet.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/about-tirs.html

[instml]

LDCM Status Update for May 2, 2013

 All spacecraft and instrument systems continue to perform normally. LDCM continues to collect more than 400 scenes per day and the U.S. Geological Survey Data Processing and Archive System continues to test its ability to process the data flow while waiting for the validation and delivery of on-orbit calibration, which convert raw data into reliable data products.

 During this period, routine calibrations have continued along with Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor instrument imaging. Lunar calibrations were performed during last week's full moon. As of April 24, 2013, the new system for scheduling image collection, the Collection Activity Planning Element is operational. On April 26, 2013, a 1.2-second thruster burn was conducted to maintain the observatory on the proper ground track and counteract drag on the satellite from the atmosphere.

 Then on Saturday, April 27, 2013, LDCM began a 16-day imaging and calibration cycle that is a demonstration of the operational cycle the satellite will follow for the life of the mission. This dress rehearsal will test the entire image planning, collection and processing system at operational rates to verify everything is ready for handover to USGS for routine operations in late May.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/main/

[instml]

Landsat 8 - Going Operational Social Media Event
 
May 30, 2013

http://landsat.usgs.gov/LDCMSocial.php

[instml]

Landsat Thermal Sensor Lights Up fr om Volcano's Heat
05.06.13
 
As the Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite flew over Indonesia's Flores Sea April 29, it captured an image of Paluweh volcano spewing ash into the air. The satellite's Operational Land Imager detected the white cloud of smoke and ash drifting northwest, over the green forests of the island and the blue waters of the tropical sea. The Thermal Infrared Sensor on LDCM picked up even more.



LDCM image of Paluweh volcano
An ash plume drifts fr om Paluweh volcano in Indonesia in this image, taken April 29, 2013 from the Landsat Data Continuity Misison's Operational Land Imager instrument.
Credit: Robert Simmon, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data from USGS and NASA

By imaging the heat emanating from the 5-mile-wide volcanic island, TIRS revealed a hot spot at the top of the volcano wh ere lava has been oozing in recent months.

The two LDCM instruments, working together, illustrate a quote from Aristotle: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, said Betsy Forsbacka, TIRS instrument manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

"Each instrument by itself is magnificent," she said. "When you put them together, with the clues that each give you on what you're seeing on Earth's surface, it's greater than either could do by themselves."



LDCM infrared image of Paluweh volcano
A bright white hot spot, surrounded by cooler dark ash clouds, shows the volcanic activity at Paluweh volcano in the Flores Sea, Indonesia. This thermal image was taken by the Landsat Data Continuity Mission's Thermal Infrared Sensor on April 29, 2013.
Credit: Robert Simmon, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data from USGS and NASA

The image of Paluweh also illuminates TIRS' abilities to capture the boundaries between the hot volcanic activity and the cooler volcanic ash without the signal from the hot spot bleeding over into pixels imaging the cooler surrounding areas. TIRS engineers tested and refined the instrument pre-launch to ensure each pixel correctly represents the heat source it images on Earth's surface. Otherwise, Forsbacka said, it would be like shining a flashlight in your eyes -- the bright light can leave you seeing spots and halos wh ere it should be dark. The same effect can occur with detectors. But the contrast is sharp on the Paluweh image.

"We can image the white, representing the very hot lava, and right next to it we image the gray and black from the cooler surrounding ash," Forsbacka said. "It's exciting that we're imaging such diverse thermal activity so well."

The TIRS instrument can also pick up subtle shifts of temperatures, within a 10th of a degree Celsius. And, with two different thermal bands instead of the one band on previous Landsat satellites, LDCM is poised to make it easier for scientists to subtract out the effects of the atmosphere on the signal, obtaining a more accurate temperature of Earth's surface.

Taking Earth's temperature from space can be difficult because the atmosphere gets in the way and alters the thermal signals, Forsbacka said. Scientists looking to estimate surface temperatures with the single thermal band on previous Landsat instruments needed measurements or assumptions about atmospheric conditions.

TIRS has two thermal bands, however. The atmosphere affects each band slightly differently, resulting in one thermal image that's a hair darker than the other. By measuring that difference, and plugging it into algorithms, scientists can better address atmospheric effects and create a more accurate temperature record of the Earth's surface.

The Landsat program is a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Once LDCM completes its onboard calibration and check-out phase in late May, the satellite will be handed over to the USGS and renamed Landsat 8. Data from TIRS and OLI will be processed, archived and distributed from the USGS Earth Resources and Observation Science Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., for free over the Internet.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/indonesia-volcano.html

[instml]

http://landsat.usgs.gov/LDCM_Image_Examples.php
 
 http://landsat.usgs.gov/mission_headlines2013.php

[instml]

Красотища  :!:

LDCM in Space

The spacecraft has successfully separated from the booster.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=159677941

[instml]

Пролетая над Россией и другими местами: Кама, Тольятти, Димитровград, граница с Казахстаном...

ВИДЕО

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=163095491


New Animation Marks Arrival of NASA's LDCM Satellite to its Final Orbit
05.15.13

 Have you ever wondered what it might be like to watch the world fly by beneath you fr om space? That dream is elusive for most of us, but the Landsat Data Continuity Mission offers a vicarious flight with a crisper view than our eyes alone would be capable of if we were in space. That view is now available in a new NASA animation.

 After two months of on-orbit testing and calibration, LDCM fired its propulsion system on April 12, 2013, and ascended to its final orbit 438 miles (705 km) above Earth. The animation, made from scenes taken a week later on April 19, allows viewers to fly with the satellite from its final operating orbit.

A 15-minute animation shows 56 Landsat scenes that have been stitched together into a seamless view from Russia to South Africa. The animation was produced at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

 Orbiting at 16,800 mph (27,000 kph), LDCM made this flight in slightly more than 20 minutes. The animation moves faster, covering 5,665 miles (9,117 kilometers) in nearly 16 minutes. You would have to be moving about 21,930 mph (35,290 kph) to get a similar view — only slightly slower than the Apollo astronauts who entered Earth's orbit from the moon at 25,000 mph (40,200 kph).

 The shorter animation shows a few highlights. Starting in the north, irregular brown fields indicative of a long history of agriculture line the ice-bound Volga River in central Russia. The ice and patches of slightly brown snow reveal a landscape still in winter's grip. Moving southwest, the snow and ice disappear in the next highlighted segment, and the braided channels of the Volga River run freely. Long airport runways mark the location of the city of Akhtubinsk on the northeast side of the river.

Спойлер

The next highlighted segment transitions from green agriculture near Iraq's Mosul Dam Lake on the Tigris River to pale desert around the startling blue Lake Qadisiyah behind Haditha Dam on the Euphrates River. Both regions are part of the Fertile Crescent wh ere agriculture was born, and the rivers still support agriculture today even in the desert. Circular fields line the Euphrates River, the pivot irrigated crops incongruous with the surrounding desert.

 The next sign of life in the desert is the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia, which radiates out in circles from its central white mosque complex. The animation passes over Jeddah before crossing the Red Sea and into Africa.

 Clouds begin to dot the scene over Kenya and Uganda in East Africa in the next segment. Mount Elgon with its broad circular base is a notable landmark on the left side of the scene. Paler green and tan grasslands encroach on dark green forest growing on the sides of the 14,177-foot-high (4,321-meter) ancient volcano. The satellite then crosses over the eastern shore of Africa's largest lake, Lake Victoria. The shallow water is clouded with tan sediment and green plant growth.

 The final highlighted region features the Great Dyke, which runs from northern to central Zimbabwe. This 2.5 billion-year-old formation is an intrusion of igneous rock that pushed into the older rocks that form the core of the African continent. The Great Dyke is rich in minerals and supports an active mining industry.

 The instruments on the Landsat Data Continuity Mission collect data in strips, called paths, as shown in the animation. The strips are divided into smaller chunks or scenes for cataloguing and storage at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources and Observation Science Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The beginning, end and center of the scenes are predetermined to correspond to the scenes collected by Landsat 4, Landsat 5 and Landsat 7, and are catalogued by the path-row system called the Second World-wide Reference System.

 A joint U.S. Geological Survey and NASA mission, LDCM launched on Feb. 11, 2013, and is still in its onboard calibration and checkout phase. The images shown here are considered test data. Once LDCM completes its check-out phase in late May, the satellite will be handed over to the USGS and renamed Landsat 8. After this point, the satellite will be considered operational and data will be available from USGS at no cost over the Internet.

[свернуть]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/russia-south-africa.html

[instml]

May 30, 2013 – Landsat 8 Data Available!

 NASA has declared that the Landsat Data Continuity Mission's on-orbit checkout is complete, and it has been renamed Landsat 8 with the hand-off of operations to the USGS! Starting at 1 pm CT on May 30, data collected by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) onboard the spacecraft will be available to download from EarthExplorer, and the LandsatLook Viewer. Data will be available on GloVis by 2 pm CT.

http://landsat.usgs.gov/mission_headlines2013.php

[instml]

Спутник Landsat 8 под оперативный контроль Геологической службе США

Спутники дистанционного зондирования Земли (например, серии Landsat) помогают ученым изучать и следить за всеми изменениями земли, которые происходят под воздействием естественных или человеческих причин, выявлять критические тенденции и изменения в состоянии природных ресурсов, которые невозможно определить человеческому глазу, пишет Вестник ГЛОНАСС.

30 мая 2013 года НАСА передало оперативное управление над спутником Landsat 8 Геологической службе США (USGS) на церемонии в Су-Фолс, Южная Дакота.

Это событие знаменует начало миссии спутника по расширению уникальной сорокалетней записи данных мониторинга ландшафта Земли из космоса. Спутник Landsat 8 является последним спутником из серии спутников дистанционного зондирования Landsat, которые обеспечивали глобальный мониторинг ландшафта Земли и её изменений с 1972 года. Программа Landsat является результатом совместных усилий НАСА и Геологической службы США.

НАСА запустило спутник Landsat 8 11 февраля в рамках продолжения миссии Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). С тех пор инженеры и ученые НАСА в сотрудничестве с Геологической службой США вывели спутник на орбиту, выполнили калибровку детекторов и получили тестовые снимки. Теперь спутник получил все сертификаты, предусмотренные миссией, и был передан под оперативный контроль Геологической службе США.

Спутник Landsat 8 проходит вокруг Земли 14 раз в день и, в сочетании со спутником Landsat 7, ученые смогут получать данные с улучшенной частотой с двух спутников.

На борту спутника Landsat 8 находятся два прибора наблюдения, которые, по сравнению со своими предшественниками, существенно улучшают возможность сбора информации, совместимой со снимками, сделанными за 41 год другими спутниками серии Landsat.

Как сообщает imena.ua, командование NASA позволило любому жителю Земли совершенно безвозмездно изучать фотоснимки, сделанные спутником дистанционного зондирования Земли Landsat 8.

Фотографии, сделанные новым спутником Landsat 8, будут выкладываться в свободный доступ. Воспользоваться ими сможет кто угодно – причём совершенно бесплатно. Первые фотоснимки, сделанные «спутником-шпионом» уже можно скачать.

http://gisa.ru/95901.html

ИТЦ «СКАНЭКС»: снимки со спутника Landsat 8 открыты для свободного доступа

Геологическая служба США предоставила всем заинтересованным пользователям возможность бесплатного доступа к снимкам Земли, получаемым с помощью нового американского спутника ДЗЗ Landsat 8. Снимки находятся в открытом доступе на трех интернет-порталах: EarthExplorer ( http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov ), GloVis ( http://glovis.usgs.gov ) и LandsatLook Viewer ( http://landsatlook.usgs.gov ).

Это исключительно важное для всего сообщества ученых и специалистов, опирающихся в своей деятельности на данные космической съемки, которую на протяжении вот уже более 40 лет ведут спутники системы Landsat, событие произошло после успешного окончания этапа предэксплуатационнных испытаний аппарата Landsat-8, и проведения 30 мая официальной церемонии передачи управления спутником от NASA Геологической службе США.

Landsat 8 был запущен 11 февраля 2013 г., имеет расчетный срок активного существования 5 лет. Однако запас топлива на спутнике позволяет использовать его намного дольше — до 10 лет. На борту Landsat 8 установлены многоканальный сканирующий радиометр OLI (Operational Land Imager) и сканирующий двухканальный ИК-радиометр TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor). Радиометр OLI предназначен для ведения космической съемки на основе усовершенствованных технологий с максимальным разрешением 15 м, а ИК-радиометр TIRS — для получения «теплового» изображения земной поверхности с разрешением 100 м.

Ежедневно спутник передает на Землю более 400 снимков, которые обрабатываются в соответствии с единым стандартом, принятым для продуктов системы Landsat, и хранятся в центре Earth Resources Observation and Science Center Геологической службы США в Sioux Falls (шт. Южная Дакота).

Ввиду использования дополнительных спектральных диапазонов на спутнике Landsat 8 файлы изображений имеют увеличенный объем, который в сжатом виде составляет около 1 Гбайт. Также следует иметь виду, что комбинации спектральных поддиапазонов, используемых для получения цветных изображений, у спутника Landsat 8 иные, чем у Landsat 5 и Landsat 7. Так, например, цветное ИК-изображение со спутника Landsat 8 формируется из данных спектральных поддиапазонов 5, 4 и 3, а со спутников Landsat 7 и 5 — из данных поддиапазонов 4, 3 и 2.

Всего, начиная с 2008 года Геологическая служба США предоставила для свободного доступа через Интернет более 11 млн архивных и текущих данных космической съемки с помощью спутников серии Landsat.

Инженерно-технологический центр «СКАНЭКС» оказывает услуги по предоставлению данных со спутников Landsat 5 и Landsat 7 как из внутреннего архива центра, так и из глобального архива Геологической службы США. Кроме того, «СКАНЭКС» планирует осуществлять прием данных с аппарата Landsat 8 с помощью собственной сети станций «УниСкан» в России. В настоящее время проводятся испытания и отладка получения и обработки данных. При организации приема данных Landsat 8 на сеть станций ИТЦ «СКАНЭКС» космоснимки будут доступны в оперативном режиме для пользователей из России, ближнего и дальнего зарубежья.

Кроме того данные Landsat 8 планируется широко использовать в новой системе космического общественного мониторинга «Космический патруль». Данная система является общественно значимой инициативой и направлена на формирование качественно новой культуры взаимодействия власти и гражданского общества; комплексное социально-экономическое развитие России и совершенствование работы в области экологии и охраны природы, образования, разработки и внедрения инновационных технологий, снижения уровня коррупции в государственных и коммерческих структурах, повышения степени самосознательности граждан.

http://gisa.ru/95999.html