No. 1 Story

Telstra adds one million mobile services, but Sensis plummets

Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.

read more

Spacecraft Jason 2 completes first surface maps of Earth’s oceans

Science - Space



According to the NASA news release, “The satellite's first radar altimeter data were acquired just 48 hours after its launch on June 20 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Delta II rocket. CNES processed the first test results, followed by more advanced data results a week after launch. The more advanced results were produced after calculating the precise location of the satellite's preliminary orbits. The satellite, its instruments and ground segment all are functioning properly."

Also, "After it has been fully calibrated and validated, the satellite will begin providing oceanographic products to users around the world.”

NASA discusses some background on the OSTM/Jason 2 mission within its news release: “OSTM/Jason 2 is an international endeavor, with responsibilities for satellite development and launch shared between NASA and CNES. CNES provided the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft, NASA provided the launch, and NASA and CNES jointly provided the primary payload instruments."

In addition, "CNES and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are responsible for satellite operations, while JPL is managing the mission for NASA. Data processing is being carried out by CNES, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and NOAA, depending on the type of product."

It continues, "After on-orbit commissioning of OSTM/Jason 2 is completed, CNES will hand over mission operations and control to NOAA, which then will join with EUMETSAT to generate, archive and distribute data products to users worldwide.”

Additional information about OSTM/Jason 2 is found at NASA Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2’s “Surveying Earth’s Oceans.”

Loading comments ...



- sponsored feature -

The Death of Traditional BI: What’s Next?

How to Make Business Discovery Work for Your Business IP PABX BUYING GUIDE

Business Discovery takes its cues from consumer apps. Like Google, it encourages us- ers to hunt for and explore data without worrying about or even noticing the underly- ing technology. Their entire experience is working within an intuitive interface to get real-time, self-service results with only minimal training. ...more