The second satellite of the Sentinel-1 mission, Sentinel-1B, was successfully launched from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on April 22, 2016.
3D-Printed UAS Aiding Antarctic Navigation
A 3D-printed UAS built by the University of Southampton is helping the British Royal Navy's ice-patrol ship HMS Protector navigate through Antarctic seas.
Landsat Data Document Pavement Increase in D.C.
A study recently published in the Remote Sensing of Environment journal used Landsat data from 1984 and 2010 to show how paved surfaces in the Washington, D.C., area have increased dramatically.
Antarctic Icebergs Break Free
On April 7, 2016, multiple satellites captured the birth of two large icebergs that were shed along a crack on Antarctica's Nansen Ice Shelf during persistent strong offshore winds. The icebergs currently pose no threat to shipping, but they may pose a threat to scientific instruments moored to the seafloor to monitor climate change.
CubeSat Maps Global Air Traffic
The GomX-3 CubeSat, which was ejected from the International Space Station on Oct. 5, 2015, has been tracking aircraft in flight across Earth. Built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by GomSpace in Denmark, the CubeSat's distinctive helical antenna has detected millions of signals from aircraft.
Mysteries of Wobbling Earth Solved
Using satellite data on how water moves around Earth, NASA scientists solved two mysteries about wobbles in the planet’s rotation. Earth's spin axis drifts slowly around the poles; the farthest away it has wobbled since observations began is 37 feet (12 meters). These wobbles don't affect daily life, but they must be taken into account to get accurate results from GPS, Earth-observing satellites and ground-based observatories.
European/Australian Partnership to Provide Satellite Data Hub
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Australia's national geological survey, Geoscience Australia (GA), partnered to ensure data from EU's Sentinel satellites are accessible in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
Free Report Examines UASs in Precision Agriculture
The Commercial UAV Expo published a free report, UAVs in Precision Agriculture, which describes how drone/UAS/UAV technology is reshaping how farmers and growers perform crop scouting, nutrient management, field mapping, drainage assessment and more.
SkyTruth Tracking Poachers in Palau via Satellites
An article in the New York Times Magazine chronicles how data analysts, the government of Palau and a nonprofit organization called SkyTruth are using satellite data to fight fishing poachers in the nation made up of 250 separate islands.
Cloud-Seeding UAS Successfully Tested in Nevada
A team of Nevada scientists and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) engineers successfully flight tested the first-ever autonomous cloud-seeding aircraft platform.
