{"id":15881,"date":"2018-04-19T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15881"},"modified":"2018-04-19T00:40:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T04:40:00","slug":"videos-falcon-9-launches-tess-exoplanet-finding-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15881","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Falcon 9 launches TESS exoplanet finding observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.SpaceX.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpaceX<\/a> Falcon 9 rocket successfully put\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tess.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_d\">TESS<\/a>\u00a0(<em>Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite<\/em>)\u00a0on the first (big) step to its final <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Transiting_Exoplanet_Survey_Satellite#Orbital_dynamics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">operational orbit<\/a>, which will have an apogee nearly as far out as the Moon and an perigee far beyond that of geostationary satellites. (See the <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent post here about TESS<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wBCBThgIBmA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here is a NASA release about the launch of TESS:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-planet-hunter-on-its-way-to-orbit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA Planet Hunter on Its Way to Orbit<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched on the first-of-its-kind mission to find worlds beyond our solar system, including some that could support life.<\/p>\n<p>TESS, which is expected to find thousands of new exoplanets orbiting nearby stars, lifted off at 6:51 p.m. EDT Wednesday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At 7:53 p.m., the twin solar arrays that will power the spacecraft successfully deployed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u201cWe are thrilled TESS is on its way to help us discover worlds we have yet to imagine, worlds that could possibly be habitable, or harbor life,\u201d said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. \u201cWith missions like the James Webb Space Telescope to help us study the details of these planets, we are ever the closer to discovering whether we are alone in the universe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Over the course of several weeks, TESS will use six thruster burns to travel in a series of progressively elongated orbits to reach the Moon, which will provide a gravitational assist so that TESS can transfer into its 13.7-day final science orbit around Earth. After approximately 60 days of check-out and instrument testing, the spacecraft will begin its work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u201cOne critical piece for the science return of TESS is the high data rate associated with its orbit,\u201d said George Ricker, TESS principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u2019s (MIT) Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research in Cambridge. \u201cEach time the spacecraft passes close to Earth, it will transmit full-frame images taken with the cameras. That\u2019s one of the unique things TESS brings that was not possible before.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For this two-year survey mission, scientists divided the sky into 26 sectors. TESS will use four unique wide-field cameras to map 13 sectors encompassing the southern sky during its first year of observations and 13 sectors of the northern sky during the second year, altogether covering 85 percent of the sky.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wo-iDcad_LM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>TESS will be watching for phenomena called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/thumbnails\/image\/transiting-exoplanet-with-brightness-graph-anim.gif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transits<\/a>. A transit occurs when a planet passes in front of its star from the observer\u2019s perspective, causing a periodic and regular dip in the star\u2019s brightness. More than 78 percent of the approximately 3,700 confirmed exoplanets have been found using transits.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/kepler\/main\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kepler<\/a>\u00a0spacecraft found more than 2,600 exoplanets, most orbiting faint stars between 300 and 3,000 light-years from Earth, using this same method of watching for transits. TESS will focus on stars between 30 and 300 light-years away and 30 to 100 times brighter than Kepler\u2019s targets.<\/p>\n<p>The brightness of these target stars will allow researchers to use\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov\/educators\/hera\/spectroscopy\/what_is_spectroscopy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spectroscopy<\/a>, the study of the absorption and emission of light, to determine a planet\u2019s mass, density and atmospheric composition. Water, and other key molecules, in its atmosphere can give us hints about a planets\u2019 capacity to harbor life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u201cThe targets TESS finds are going to be fantastic subjects for research for decades to come,\u201d said Stephen Rinehart, TESS project scientist at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cIt\u2019s the beginning of a new era of exoplanet research.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/tess\/proposing-investigations.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TESS Guest Investigator Program<\/a>, the worldwide scientific community will be able to conduct research beyond TESS\u2019s core mission in areas ranging from exoplanet characterization to stellar astrophysics, distant galaxies and solar system science.<\/p>\n<p>TESS is a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/astrophysics\/programs\/astrophysics-explorers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA Astrophysics Explorer<\/a>\u00a0mission led and operated by MIT and managed by Goddard. George Ricker, of MIT\u2019s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, serves as principal investigator for the mission. TESS\u2019s four wide-field cameras were developed by MIT\u2019s Lincoln Laboratory. Additional partners include Orbital ATK, NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. More than a dozen universities, research institutes and observatories worldwide are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tess.gsfc.nasa.gov\/meettheteam.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">participants<\/a>\u00a0in the mission.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on TESS, go to:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/tess%0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/tess<\/a><\/p>\n<p>===<\/p>\n<p>Here is a view of the return and landing of the Falcon 9 first stage onto the unmanned droneship &#8220;Of Course I Still Love You&#8221;. The view is primarily from a camera on the rocket with a brief view from the ship before the shaking caused by the engine plume knocks the transmitter antenna off target:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aNs37j6B5kY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">====<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?o=1&amp;p=12&amp;l=ur1&amp;category=echo&amp;banner=146870N94VDD8MAPHT02&amp;f=ifr&amp;linkID=1a66b7640a95795359e192e9c202c69f&amp;t=hobbyspace&amp;tracking_id=hobbyspace\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully put\u00a0TESS\u00a0(Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)\u00a0on the first (big) step to its final operational orbit, which will have an apogee nearly as far out as the Moon and an perigee far beyond that of geostationary satellites. (See the recent post here about TESS.) Here is a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15881\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Videos: Falcon 9 launches TESS exoplanet finding observatory<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,46,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-exoplanets","category-rockets"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-489","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13656,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13656","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":0},"title":"Video: Overview of the TESS mission to look for exoplanets around nearby stars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. George Ricker is the Principle Investigator of the TESS\u00a0(Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)\u00a0Mission, which will succeed Kepler as the primary US space observatory looking for exoplanets. He reviews the mission, which will launch in 2017, in this video: https:\/\/youtu.be\/fyvnXvZMOfA From the caption: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will discover\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exoplanets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exoplanets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=46"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/fyvnXvZMOfA\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9194,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9194","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":1},"title":"TESS exoplanet finder makes a step towards approval + Video: What can SETI learn from Kepler?","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0TESS \u00a0(Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)\u00a0project is developing a follow-on observatory to the Kepler mission to look for planets around other stars using the transit method (i.e. the dimming of the starlight when a planet crosses between the star and the line of sight to earth.) The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exoplanets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exoplanets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=46"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/51S4csx_YK4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16038,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16038","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":2},"title":"TESS: First test image released from new exoplanet orbital observatory","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The new exoplanet finder TESS tries out its camera and gets a shot of a whole lot of stars: NASA\u2019s New Planet Hunter Snaps Initial Test Image, Swings by Moon NASA\u2019s next planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is one step closer to searching for new worlds after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Astronomy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/TESS_FirstImage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15792,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15792","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":3},"title":"Videos: TESS to search nearby stars for exoplanets + Using AI to find exoplanets","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0space telescope\u00a0TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)\u00a0is set to be launched on April 16th on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. TESS will continue the hunt for planets orbiting other stars as the Kepler exoplanet hunter's mission comes to an end. NASA Prepares to Launch Next Mission to Search Sky for New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exoplanets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exoplanets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=46"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/tesslavaplanet1-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10209,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10209","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":4},"title":"TESS will hunt for exoplanets starting in 2017","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Kepler space observatory proved the effectiveness of the transit technique in\u00a0finding exoplanets. After losing one reaction wheel too many, it was assumed that Kepler was an ex-exoplanet finder. However,\u00a0the clever Kepler scientists and engineers found a way to use\u00a0solar radiation pressure to keep the telescope steady in its viewing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Exoplanets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Exoplanets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=46"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mpViVEO-ymc\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16600,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16600","url_meta":{"origin":15881,"position":5},"title":"Carnival of Space #575 &#8211; Universe Today","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Universe Today hosts the latest Carnival of Space. ==== \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/lsp_tess_image-700x4321.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15884,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15881\/revisions\/15884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}