NASA Launches the ISS RapidScat

Early this morning, NASA launched the Space X Dragon spacecraft carrying cargo supplies as well as a global weather instrument. This instrument, the International Space Station-Rapid Scatterometer (or ISS-RapidScat for short), is the first weather instrument to be docked at the International Space Station. The Rapid-Scat will be used to monitor ocean currents from space through radar pulses reflected from the ocean’s surface, and could thus serve as a beneficial tool for weather forecasters and the monitoring of hurricanes. NASA recently published an article about the mission, detailing why the RapidScat will be such a revolutionary tool:

ISS-RapidScat’s berth on the space station will put it in an orbit that is unique from any other wind measuring instrument currently in orbit. This vantage point will give scientists the first near-global direct observations of how ocean winds vary over the course of the day due to solar heating.

The RapidScat was launched aboard the Space X Falcon 9 rocket at 1:52 AM EDT from Cape Canaveral, after being postponed due to weather conditions. Below is a video of the liftoff of the Space-X Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon, via NASA:

The spacecraft is expected to reach the laboratory at the International Space Station on Tuesday morning, where it will then be captured by a robotic arm. Once the RapidScat is installed, activated, and calibrated, it will begin its two-year mission. For more information on the ISS-RapidScat, be sure to visit NASA’s website.