In a significant milestone for a joint Earth-observing mission, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite has successfully deployed its massive radar antenna reflector in low Earth orbit. The unfolding of the 39-foot (12-meter) reflector, a critical piece of hardware, marks a crucial step toward the satellite’s full science operations, which will provide unprecedented data on Earth’s changing surface.
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Seventeen days after its launch on July 30 from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the drum-shaped antenna reflector for the NISAR satellite mission unfurled as planned. The reflector, weighing about 142 pounds (64 kilograms), had been stowed in an “umbrella-like” fashion until the satellite’s 30-foot (9-meter) boom, which supports it, was fully extended and locked into place.
The complex deployment process, which began on August 9, was completed on August 15 when small explosive bolts were fired to release the reflector assembly. This initiated a process called the “bloom,” where the tension stored in its flexible frame caused the antenna to unfold. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the U.S. component of the project, this is the largest antenna reflector ever deployed for a NASA mission.
The NISAR mission, a collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is designed to scan nearly all of Earth’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days. The satellite’s dual radar systems—an L-band system provided by NASA and an S-band system from ISRO—will work together to measure subtle changes in the planet’s surface down to fractions of an inch. This data will be vital for monitoring natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides, as well as tracking changes in ice sheets, glaciers, and ecosystems. The satellite is expected to begin delivering science data by late fall.
