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Outstanding In-Orbit Performance Of The Terma Star Tracker On TacSat-2
Herlev, Denmark (SPX) Jan 24, 2007 The Terma Star Tracker team has now received the first ever in-orbit live data from the Terma HE-5AS Star Tracker. The data has been recorded onboard the TacSat-2 spacecraft during the first hours following the successful release from the Minotaur I launch vehicle on Dec 16 2006. The Star Tracker was switched-on exactly one hour after the spacecraft release. At this time TacSat-2 was tumbling with an angular rate of more than 0.6 deg/sec 415km above sea level. With no a priori information about the spacecraft attitude the Terma Star Tracker immediately solved the lost in space problem, made an autonomous transition into accurate tracking mode and delivered a continuous stream of precise vital attitude information to the spacecraft. Following the Spacecraft de-tumbling, the Star Tracker has generated numerous series of attitudes with unprecedented accuracy in the order of 0.3 arc-second (rms) verifying the ambitious design goals of the HE-5AS Star Tracker. The first Terma Star Tracker in space launched on June 21 2006 onboard the NRL Micro-Satellite Technology Experiment MiTEx is still reported to be operating according to specifications, but no data have been released so far for unrestricted use. Over the next two years, Terma will deliver a number of star trackers to end-customers including the European Space Agency, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. Related Links Terma All about the technology of space and more News About Space Exploration Programs Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
Decomposition Of Plants Could Shed Light On Climate Change
Washington (AFP) Jan 19, 2007Nitrogen release by decomposing plants is surprisingly similar across the planet and could help shed light on the evolution of climate change, researchers said in a study released Friday. Dozens of researchers worked for 10 years in 27 sites, from Arctic tundra to the tropical forests of North and Central America, in one of the largest studies ever done on nitrogen release during plant decomposition published in the journal Science. |
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