11/12/2009, 16:44
12/12/2009, 14:34
14/12/2009, 15:14
14/12/2009, 15:25
15/12/2009, 09:17
29/12/2009, 13:32
Prepping WISE to Pop Its Lens Cap
All systems are behaving as expected on NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which rocketed into the sky just before dawn on Dec. 14 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The mission will undergo a one-month checkout before beginning the most detailed survey yet of the entire sky in infrared light. Hundreds of millions of objects will populate its vast catalog, including dark asteroids, the closest "failed" stars and tremendously energetic galaxies.
Shortly after the space telescope reached its polar orbit around Earth on Dec. 14, it acquired the sun's position and lined up with its solar panels facing the sun. Engineers and scientists continue to check out the spacecraft's pointing-control system in preparation for jettisoning the instrument's cover, an event now scheduled for Dec. 29. With the cover off, WISE will get its first look at the sky.
READ MORE: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20091222.html