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NASA’s Largest Satellite Antenna Ever Has Just Unfurled in Space
NISAR, a giant orbiting antenna 39 feet in diameter, will monitor changes to glaciers, forests, and the Earth’s crust, providing data to help improve infrastructure and disaster responses.
It can record the movement of ice sheets and glaciers, crustal deformation caused by earthquakes and landslides, and changes in forest and wetland ecosystems, down to an accuracy of a few centimeters for certain types of terrain. “The successful deployment of NISAR’s reflector marks a significant milestone in the capabilities of the satellite,” Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement. During the four days following the launch, the satellite slowly extended its boom, before the frame of the antenna, which had been held under tension, was released on August 15, allowing the reflector to “bloom” to its full size.
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