the afternoon constellation*
Header source: https://atrain.nasa.gov/historical_graphics.php.
And to top it all off, here comes the A-Train, aka The Afternoon Constellation
This evocatively named piece of technology comprises a suite of platforms carrying a broad range of instruments which complement each other, flying in formation in order to observe the same footprint. The satellites, currently 6 in number, are in a polar orbit, crossing the equator northbound at about 1:30 p.m. local time, within seconds to minutes of each other. This allows near-simultaneous observations of a wide variety of parameters to aid the scientific community in advancing our knowledge of Earth-system science.
And to top it all off, here comes the A-Train, aka The Afternoon Constellation
This evocatively named piece of technology comprises a suite of platforms carrying a broad range of instruments which complement each other, flying in formation in order to observe the same footprint. The satellites, currently 6 in number, are in a polar orbit, crossing the equator northbound at about 1:30 p.m. local time, within seconds to minutes of each other. This allows near-simultaneous observations of a wide variety of parameters to aid the scientific community in advancing our knowledge of Earth-system science.
The A-Train’s suite of members all have equator crossings in the early afternoon at about 1:30 p.m. (and also in the middle of the night, at about 1:30 a.m.). At the present time, the A-Train consists of five NASA missions and a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission flying in close proximity to one another. PARASOL — a French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) mission — fully exited the A-Train and ceased operation on December 18, 2013.
There are also a variety of geostationary and polar satellites providing observations and data of the Earth’s weather, and a number of other satellites controlled by the European Space Agency plus ground based radiometers.
* General source for all material on this page: https://atrain.gsfc.nasa.gov/intro.php
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* General source for all material on this page: https://atrain.gsfc.nasa.gov/intro.php
Next