After a two-day delay, NASA’s PACE climate satellite successfully lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the US state of Florida on Thursday morning at 1:33 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. CET) aboard a “SpaceX” rocket.
About 13 minutes after launch, the satellite, whose navigation system components and thermal insulation come from the Viennese company Beyond Gravity Austria, successfully separated from its launch vehicle.
Technology from Austria on board
According to the director of Beyond Gravity Austria, “the centimeter-precise position of the satellite in space” is determined using technology from Austria. During its three-year operational life, PACE will study the interactions between the world’s oceans, clouds and aerosols to improve understanding of these dynamic processes.
The acronym PACE summarizes the mission’s observation spectrum, as it stands for ‘plankton’, ‘aerosol’ (for example, small dust particles in the atmosphere), ‘cloud’ and ‘ocean ecosystem’.
The company Beyond Gravity previously supplied components for NASA missions. In this case, it is the first direct order from the US space agency, the company said.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
