Earth-observing instrument activated on ISS

• NASA successfully installed and activated its first Earth-observing instrument - the ISS-RapidScat - on the International Space Station (ISS).
• The ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds for climate research as well as weather predictions and hurricane monitoring. The instrument has already begun collecting data.
• “Its antenna began spinning and it started transmitting and receiving its first winds data Oct 1,” a NASA statement said.
• “Most satellite missions require weeks or even months to produce data of the quality that we seem to be getting from the first few days of RapidScat,” informed Ernesto Rodriguez from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California.
• “The quality of these data reflect the level of testing and preparation that the team has put in prior to launch,” Dr. Rodriguez added. ISS-RapidScat instrument was launched aboard the SpaceX CRS-4 mission on September 21.