NASA Missions

Agency Spectrum Management: NASA Missions
ACE
Launch Date:	8/25/1997
URL:	http://www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE/
The primary purpose of the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is to determine and compare the isotopic and elemental composition of several distinct samples of matter, including the solar corona, the interplanetary medium, the local interstellar medium, and Galactic matter.
AcrimSat
Launch Date:	12/1999
URL:	http://acrim.jpl.nasa.gov/
The mission is designed to monitor the total amount of the Sun's energy reaching Earth. The ACRIMSAT Mission will fly an EOS ACRIM III instrument on a spacecraft called ACRIMSAT. The spacecraft will be launched as a secondary payload on a Taurus launch vehicle. The purpose of the mission is to monitor total solar irradiance (TSI) as part the U.S. Global Climate Research Program.
AFSCF
Air Force Satellite Control Facility; Service is still available
AIM
Launch Date:	2007/04
URL:	http://aim.hamptonu.edu/
The overall goal of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) experiment is to resolve why Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) form and why they vary.
AIRSAR
An instrument mounted aboard a modified NASA DC-8 aircraft is an all-weather imaging tool. Mission concluded in Jan 2005 but is available on an "as needed" basis.
APM COF DRTS
Launch Date:	2006
AQUA
Launch Date:	5/4/2002
URL:	http://aqua.nasa.gov/
Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission named for the large amount of information that the mission will be collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice.
Aquarius
Launch Date:	2009
URL:	http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS). Scientific progress is limited because conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give the global view of salinity variability that only a satellite can provide. Aquarius will resolve missing physical processes that link the water cycle, the climate, and the ocean.
AQUARIUS
Launch Date:	07/2009
URL:	http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS). Scientific progress is limited because conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give the global view of salinity variability that only a satellite can provide. Aquarius will resolve missing physical processes that link the water cycle, the climate, and the ocean.
ARES-I & ARES-V
Launch Date:	2013
URL:	http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/index.html
ARES-I is the launch vehicle for the Crew Launch Vehicle (a.k.a. ORION) ARES-V is the launch vehicle for the Lunar Surface Access Module (a.k.a. LSAM)
ARISS
No description available.
ATV Proximity
Launch Date:	March 2008
Used only during prox ops with the ISS. ATV: 23Km
AURA
Launch Date:	7/15/2004
URL:	http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Aura is part of the Earth Observing System (EOS), a program dedicated to monitoring the complex interactions that affect the globe using NASA satellites and data systems.
BIGELOW (a.k.a. GENESIS)
Launch Date:	7/12/2006
URL:	http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/index.html
Launched on July 12, 2006, from the ISC Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex in the Orenburg region of Russia, Genesis I ushered in a new era of private space vehicles. The spacecraft was designed to enter space and expand to increase its volume. A one-third scale model of the eventual modules, Genesis I contained various items, photos, and a NASA experiment.
BITS
No description available.
CALIPSO (NASA and CNES)
Launch Date:	2006/04
URL:	http://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/
The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite will provide new insight into the role that clouds and atmospheric aerosols (airborne particles) play in regulating Earth's weather, climate, and air quality.
Cassini
Launch Date:	10/15/1997
URL:	http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
The mission is to intensively study Saturn's rings, its moons and magnetosphere.
CHANDRA (AXAF-1)
Launch Date:	7/23/1999
URL:	http://chandra.harvard.edu/
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. Chandra is designed to observe X-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars.
CHIPSAT
Launch Date:	1/12/2003
URL:	http://chips.ssl.berkeley.edu/
Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) CHIPSat is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft, with a solar-panel array roughly orthogonal to the field of view of the spectrograph. CHIPS will provide key spectral diagnostic information on the cooling process, or processes, that take place in the Local Bubble.
Cloud Detection Radar
An instrument mounted aboard a modified NASA DC-8 aircraft studies the structure of clouds.
CloudSat
Launch Date:	April 28, 2006
URL:	http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/
CloudSat will provide the first global survey of cloud properties that are critical for understanding their effects on both weather and climate. The key observations are vertical profiles of cloud liquid water and ice water. These cloud properties are not obtainable from current satellite measurement systems.
Cluster II
Launch Date:	2000
URL:	http://sci2.estec.esa.nl/cluster/csds/world_sites.html
Data obtained from ESA's table dated March 26, 2004
Columbus Communications Terminal
Launch Date:	2005-2006
Crew Launch Vehicle
The Crew Launch Vehicle is a human rated launch system that will deliver the Crew Exploration Vehicle to Low Earth Orbit.
DAWN
Launch Date:	09/27/2009
URL:	http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/
This mission will be launched in 2007 to orbit Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest asteroids in the solar system. Dawn will characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations, Ceres and Vesta.
Deep Impact (Renamed EPOXI)
Launch Date:	1/12/2005
URL:	http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/
Deep Impact is a spacecraft that travelled to comet Tempel 1 and propelled an Impactor into the surface of the comet, creating a crater expected to reveal infomration about the comet nucleus. The mission is in extended phase.
Earth Observing - 1 (NMP/EO-1)
Launch Date:	11/21/2000
URL:	http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Sensor Web / Testbed Initiatives. The concept for sensor web is to link together ground and space-based instruments to enable autonomous collaborative observation collections.
Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS)
Launch Date:	10/4/1984
URL:	http://samadhi.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/QuickLooks/erbsQL.html
ERBS was part of the NASA's 3 satellite Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-emitted by the Earth.
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)
Launch Date:	6/24/1999
URL:	http://fuse.pha.jhu.edu/
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) looks at light in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (approximately 90 to 120 nanometers), which is unobservable with other telescopes.
Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST)
Launch Date:	8/21/1996
URL:	http://sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov/smex/fast/
Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) is probing the physical processes that produce aurorae, the displays of light that appear in the upper atmosphere at high latitudes.
FGB
Not used during nominal ops scenario - backup to SM KURS
GALEX
Launch Date:	4/28/2003
URL:	http://www.galex.caltech.edu/
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history.
Genesis (filed as USAGENESIS)
Launch Date:	8/1/2001
URL:	http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/
Genesis will measure isotopic compositions of oxygen, nitrogen, and noble gases . These data will enable scientists to better understand the isotopic variations in meteorites, comets, lunar samples, and planetary atmospheres. The mission concluded Jan '05 though the "Mother Ship" is still healthy - just not operationally supported.
Geotail
Launch Date:	7/24/1992
URL:	http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/geotail/index.html
Normally DSN supports this mission; Geotail is a spin-stabilized spacecraft utilizing mechanically despun antennas with a design lifetime of about four years. Its primary objective is to study the dynamics of the Earth's magnetotail over a wide range of distance, extending from the near-Earth region (8 Earth radii (Re) from the Earth) to the distant tail (about 200 Re).
GLAST
Launch Date:	6/3/2008
URL:	http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/
With Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST, astronomers will at long last have a superior tool to study how black holes, notorious for pulling matter in, can accelerate jets of gas outward at fantastic speeds.
GLORY
Launch Date:	2009/03
URL:	http://glory.gsfc.nasa.gov/
GPM
Launch Date:	06/2013
URL:	http://gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is one of the next generation of systematic measurement missions that will measure global precipitation, a key climate factor, with improved temporal resolution and spatial coverage.
GPS Receiver
No description available.
GRACE (NASA and Germany)
Launch Date:	2002
URL:	http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), twin satellites, are making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field which will lead to discoveries about gravity and Earth's natural systems. These discoveries could have far-reaching benefits to society and the world's population.
Gravity Probe - B
Launch Date:	4/20/2004
URL:	http://www.gravityprobeb.com/
Gravity Probe B is the relativity gyroscope experiment developed by NASA and Stanford University to test two unverified predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
GTS Timing Updates
No description available.
HETE-2
Launch Date:	10/9/2000
URL:	http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/hete2/hete2.html
The High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2) is designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The suite of instruments onboard will allow simultaneous observations of GRBs to be made in soft and medium X-ray and gamma-ray energies. HETE-2 will compute the location of the GRB and transmit the coordinates as soon as they are calculated. These coordinates will quickly be distributed to ground-based observers to allow detailed studies of the initial phases of GRBs. HETE-2 will also perform a survey of the X-ray sky.
HST
Launch Date:	4/25/1990
URL:	http://hubble.nasa.gov
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was originally designed in the 1970s. It orbits 600 kilometers (375 miles) above Earth, working around the clock to unlock the secrets of the Universe. It uses excellent pointing precision, powerful optics, and state-of-the-art instruments to provide stunning views of the Universe that cannot be made using ground-based telescopes or other satellites.
HTV Proximity
Launch Date:	2009/07
Used only during proximity ops; HTV: 30 km
Hubble Space Telescope (filed as ST)
Launch Date:	04/1990
URL:	http://hubble.nasa.gov/
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was originally designed in the 1970s. It orbits 600 kilometers (375 miles) above Earth, working around the clock to unlock the secrets of the Universe. It uses excellent pointing precision, powerful optics, and state-of-the-art instruments to provide stunning views of the Universe that cannot be made using ground-based telescopes or other satellites.
IBEX
Launch Date:	07/2008
URL:	http://ibex.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX). IBEX-Lo is a single pixel atomic spectrometer with a very large aperture. The Conversion Surface Unit supports the conical conversion surface, viewing through an annular aperture, collimator, and charged particle rejector.
ICESAT
Launch Date:	1/12/2003
URL:	http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov
Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) is the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics.
IMAGE
Launch Date:	3/25/2000
URL:	http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/
On December 18, 2005, after 5.8 years of successful operations, Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE's) telemetry signals were not received during a routine pass. Currently, IMAGE has not responded to commands and a press release on this unfortunate event has been issued. The IMAGE mission was designed as a two-year mission but has exceeded all its scientific goals and has produced a fire hose of stunning images of the previously invisible region of space in the inner magnetosphere. IMAGE was the first satellite mission dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field and containing extremely tenuous plasmas of both solar and terrestrial origin. This mission is supported by DSN.
ION-F
Launch Date:	TBD
URL:	http://www.aoe.vt.edu/~hokiesat/
ISS
Launch Date:	11/20/1998
URL:	http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/
Now with a permanent human presence in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the practical benefits to mankind are almost infinite. Not only will there be new advances in space technology, but there will be a chance for all types of different scientific fields to have new theories tested and experiments completed in microgravity.
ISTP POLAR
Launch Date:	2/24/1996
ISTP WIND
Launch Date:	1994
URL:	http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/wind.shtml
WIND is the first of two NASA spacecraft in the Global Geospace Science initiative and part of the ISTP Project. This is a GSFC mission supported by DSN.
JASON-1
Launch Date:	12/7/2001
URL:	http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/jason-1.html
Jason is the successful follow-on to the pioneering TOPEX/POSEIDON mission, which revolutionized our understanding of the dynamics of ocean circulation and global climate. The sea-surface height measurements begun by TOPEX/POSEIDON in 1992 and now carried on by Jason provide an unprecedented 13-year-long record of consistent, continuous global observations of Earth's oceans.
JEM (a.k.a. Kibo)
Launch Date:	2008
JUNO
Launch Date:	2011
URL:	http://ibex.gsfc.nasa.gov/
This mission will be launched in 2011 and orbit the Jupiter in a polar orbit to conduct a first-time, in-depth study of the giant planet.
JWST
Launch Date:	2013
URL:	http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov/
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is designed to study the earliest galaxies and some of the first stars formed after the Big Bang. These early objects have a high redshift from our vantage-point, meaning that the best observations for these objects are available in the infrared. JWST's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.
JWST
Launch Date:	6/2013
URL:	http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov/
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is designed to study the earliest galaxies and some of the first stars formed after the Big Bang. These early objects have a high redshift from our vantage-point, meaning that the best observations for these objects are available in the infrared. JWST's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.
KEPLER
Launch Date:	2009/02
URL:	http://kepler.nasa.gov/
The Kepler Mission will be launched in 2009 to search for Earth-like planets with the "transit" method. The Kepler Mission is specifically designed to survey our area of the Milky Way Galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and larger planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface.
Kepler
Launch Date:	6/2008
URL:	http://kepler.nasa.gov
The Kepler Mission will be launched in 2008 to search for Earth-like planets with the "transit" method. The Kepler Mission is specifically designed to survey our area of the Milky Way Galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and larger planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface.
KOMPARUS
No description available.
LANDSAT Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)
Launch Date:	July 2011
URL:	http://ldcm.nasa.gov/
The LDCM is the follow-on to the existing Landsat satellites. It will continue to provide earth science data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. It will be operated by the United States Geological Survey / Earth Resources Observation and Science (USGS/ EROS) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
LANDSAT-4 & -5
Launch Date:	1982
URL:	http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Landsat is a U.S. satellite used to acquire remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface and surrounding coastal regions.
LANDSAT-7
Launch Date:	4/15/1999
URL:	http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Landsat 7 is a U.S. satellite used to acquire remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface and surrounding coastal regions. This site features Landsat 7 data characteristics, science and education applications, technical documentation program policy, and history.
last test
no info
LCROSS
Launch Date:	10/2008
URL:	http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/
The Mission Objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) are to advance the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) by confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at either the Moon?s North or South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon.
LRO
Launch Date:	2008/10
URL:	http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mission will develop new approaches and technologies to support human space exploration to Mars and other destinations.
LSAM
Launch Date:	2018
URL:	http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html
LSAM is the Lunar Surface Access Module as part of the Constellation program
Lunar Relay System
System to provide NASA and International Partners with an Earth, Moon Communications Data Relay capability.
MAP
Launch Date:	3/30/2001
URL:	http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) is a NASA Explorer mission measuring the temperature of the cosmic background radiation over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy. This map of the reminant heat from the Big Bang provides answers to fundamental questions about the origin and fate of our universe.
Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER1)
Launch Date:	6/10/2003
URL:	http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/
also know as Spirit; searches for evidence of liquid water on Mars. NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERA & MERB). Among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The spacecraft are targeted to sites on opposite sides of Mars that appear to have been affected by liquid water in the past. The landing sites are at Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater, and Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits (hematite) suggest Mars had a wet past.
Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER2)
Launch Date:	7/7/2003
URL:	http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/
also known as Opportunity; searches for evidence of liquid water on Mars. NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERA & MERB). Among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The spacecraft are targeted to sites on opposite sides of Mars that appear to have been affected by liquid water in the past. The landing sites are at Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater, and Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits (hematite) suggest Mars had a wet past.
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Launch Date:	11/7/1996
URL:	http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/
A Mars orbiter studies the Martian surface, atmosphere and interior. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) orbiter is the oldest Mars spacecraft currently in operation, and it has been studying the red planet for nearly a decade. Mars Global Surveyor was the first successful U.S. mission launched to Mars since the Viking mission in 1976. After a 20-year absence at the planet, Mars Global Surveyor ushered in a new era of Mars exploration with its Mars exploration with its five science investigations five science investigations. This mission concluded in December 2006.
Mars Odyssey
Launch Date:	4/7/2001
URL:	http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/
Mars Odyssey is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. The opportunity to go to Mars comes around every 26 months, when the alignment of Earth and Mars in their orbits around the sun allows spacecraft to travel between the two planets with the least amount of energy.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
Launch Date:	8/2005
URL:	http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/
A Mars orbiter focus on analyzing the surface at new scales, and to bridge the gap between surface observations and measurements from orbit. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is on a search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time. While other Mars missions have shown that water flowed across the surface in Mars' history, it remains a mystery whether water was ever around long enough to provide a habitat for life.
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Launch Date:	09/2009
URL:	http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/msl.html
A roving, long-range, long-duration laboratory that will be launched in 2009 and will be a major leap in surface measurements and pave the way for a future sample return mission. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will collect Martian soil samples and rock cores and analyze them for organic compounds and environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life now or in the past. The mission is anticipated to have a truly international flavor, with a neutron-based hydrogen detector for locating water provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency, a meteorological package provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and a spectrometer provided by the Canadian Space Agency.
Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO)
Launch Date:	2009/10
Frequency Assignment under Study
MESSENGER
Launch Date:	8/3/2004
URL:	http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/
Managed by APL, this mission conducts the first orbital study of the innermost planet, Mercury. MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury, the least explored terrestrial planet . Understanding Mercury and how it was formed is essential to understanding the other terrestrial planets and their evolution.
Meteor Radar System
Meteor Observation Radar System Development
MISSE 5
Payload using AMSAT-II radio
MMS
Launch Date:	2014/09
URL:	http://stp.gsfc.nasa.gov/missions/mms/mms.htm
MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE (MMS) MMS will determine the small-scale basic plasma processes which transport, accelerate and energize plasmas in thin boundary and current layers ? and which control the structure and dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere.
Mobile Data (W-LAN)
The Federal Government MUST HAVE an allocation for MOBILE DATA applications (similar to IEEEE802.11 or IEEE802.16 spread spectrum), to preclude sharing our W-LANS with the rest of the world on a non-interfering basis (FCC Part 15). Coordinated frequencies assignments and higher power levels will allow better through-put reliability, better RF coverage, with fewer Access Points...and a whole myriad of other consequential improvements. Required are 200 MHz for a new "Federal Government Mobile Data" allocation. I am recommending 4.2 to 4.4 GHz, for this fast-data application. This spectrum is currently allocated exclusively for airborne radar altimeters, which: 1.) are rapidly being replaced by GPS receivers that are smaller, more accurate, and cost less; and 2.) use high-power, very-narrow vertical RF paths, while W-LANS use low-power, horizontal polarization thus minimizing RFI. The FAA must eventually agree that GPS will logically replace the RADALT equipment and that the Feds MUST HAVE legitimate mission-essential data spectrum assignments (and abandon non-licensed Part-15 devices to teh increasing 2.4 GHz noise-floor).
MoonRise
Launch Date:	2010
New Horizon
Launch Date:	1/19/2006
URL:	http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php
Planetary exploration is a historic endeavor and a major focus of NASA. New Horizons is designed to help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. Then, as part of an extended mission, New Horizons would visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune.
NEXT
Launch Date:	In Orbit
URL:	http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/
A spacecraft flies through the cloud of dust that surrounds the nucleus of a comet, brings cometary material back to Earth. Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon. In July 07, Stardust had new assignment after successfully comleted comet sample return to Earth in January 06. Now known as NEXT, it will flyby Temple 1 in February 2011.
NUSTAR
Launch Date:	2011
URL:	http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time. X-ray telescopes like Chandra and XMM-Newton have peered deep into the X-ray universe at low X-ray energy (X-ray energies less than 10 keV). By focusing X-rays at higher energy; up to 80 keV, NuSTAR will answer fundamental questions about the Universe:
NUSTAR
Launch Date:	2011
URL:	http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time. X-ray telescopes like Chandra and XMM-Newton have peered deep into the X-ray universe at low X-ray energy (X-ray energies less than 10 keV). By focusing X-rays at higher energy; up to 80 keV, NuSTAR will answer fundamental questions about the Universe:
NUSTAR
Launch Date:	2011
URL:	http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time. X-ray telescopes like Chandra and XMM-Newton have peered deep into the X-ray universe at low X-ray energy (X-ray energies less than 10 keV). By focusing X-rays at higher energy; up to 80 keV, NuSTAR will answer fundamental questions about the Universe:
Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)
Launch Date:	2008/12
URL:	http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov/
This mission will make the first space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the accuracy and resolution need to characterize its sources and sinks. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) is a new Earth orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Program. The OCO mission will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas.
ORION
Launch Date:	2013
URL:	http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html
Orion is the Crew Exploration portion of the Vision for Space Exploration
ORLAN
only when Russian EVA suits are used
Phoenix
No description available.
Phoenix Mars Scout
Launch Date:	2007/08
URL:	http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/
The mission was launched in 2007 and send a high-latitude lander to Mars and deploy its robotic arm and dig trenches up to half a meter into the layers of water ice. Phoenix is the first in NASA's "Scout Program." Scouts are designed to be highly innovative and relatively low-cost complements to major missions being planned as part of the agency's Mars Exploration Program. Phoenix is specifically designed to measure volatiles (especially water) and complex organic molecules in the arctic plains of Mars, where the Mars Odyssey orbiter has discovered evidence of ice-rich soil very near the surface.
Polar
Launch Date:	2/24/1996
URL:	http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar
Normally DSN supports this mission. The Polar was launched to obtain data from both high- and low-altitude perspectives of this active region of geospace. The Polar science team expects to measure and learn how the solar wind plasma energy enters into the magnetosphere through the polar cusp on the dayside of the magnetosphere.
POLSCAT
An airborne radar instrument is designed to measure ocean wind.
Precipitation Radar 2 (PR-2)
An instrument mounted aboard a modified NASA DC-8 aircraft is designed for accurate measure of rainfall.
Progress
No description available.
Quick Scatterometer (QuickScat)
Launch Date:	6/19/1999
URL:	http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/quikscat/index.cfm
An ocean-observing satellite carries a scatterometer, which measures wind velocity by sending radar pulses to the ocean surface and measuring the echoed radar pulses bounced back ot the satellite. NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT). The SeaWinds on QuikSCAT is a "quick recovery" mission to fill the gap created by the loss of data from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), when the satellite it was flying on lost power in June 1997. The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite is a specialized microwave radar that measures near-surface wind speed and direction under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans.
Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP)
Launch Date:	30 March 2012
URL:	http://rbsp.larc.nasa.gov/index.html
The RBSP mission will consist of 2 spacecraft in highly elliptical orbits that will conduct measurements of the ionic activity in the Earth's radiation belts in order to characterize this phenomena. The scientific goal of the RBSP mission is to understand, ideally to the point of predictability, how populations of relativistic electrons and ions in space form or charge in response to the variable inputs of energy from the Sun.
REGUL
No description available.
RHESSI
Launch Date:	2002
URL:	http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/hessi/
The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) mission consists of a single spin-stabilized spacecraft in a low-altitude orbit inclined 38 degrees to the Earth's equator. The only instrument on board is an imaging spectrometer with the ability to obtain high fidelity color movies of solar flares in X rays and gamma rays. It uses two new complementary technologies: fine grids to modulate the solar radiation, and germanium detectors to measure the energy of each photon very precisely.
ROKVISS
Launch Date:	11/20/2005
German Ground Station; will be on the ISS service Module (Russian Segment)
SAC-C
Launch Date:	11/2000
URL:	http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/service/gallery/fact_sheets/spacesci/sac-c.htm
SAC-C will provide multispectral imaging of terrestrial and coastal environments. The spacecraft will study the structure and dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere, ionosphere and geomagnetic field. SAC-C will seek to measure the space radiation in the environment and its influence on advanced electronic components. The satellite will determine the migration route of the Franca whale and verify autonomous methods of attitude and orbit determination . SAC-C is an international cooperative mission.
SAMPEX
Launch Date:	7/3/1992
URL:	http://sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov/smex/sampex/index.html
Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX). The four SAMPEX instruments are a complementary set of high resolution, high sensitivity, particle detectors used to conduct studies of solar, anomalous, galactic, and magnetospheric energetic particles.
SAREX
No description available.
SDO
Launch Date:	2008/12
URL:	http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is being designed to help us understand the Sun's influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.
SEASTAR
Launch Date:	1997
SEASTAR/SeaWiFS
Launch Date:	8/1/1997
URL:	http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/
The purpose of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project is to provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties to the Earth science community.
SELENE
Launch Date:	07/2007
URL:	http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/selene/index_e.html
SELENE, a JAXA mission, consists of three satellites, an orbiter containing most of the scientific equipment, a VLBI Radio satellite (Vstar), and a relay satellite (Rstar). Vstar and Rstar separations will occur at Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI) phase. DSN's prime support period covers LEOP, lunar transfer orbit phase, and LOI phase. After LOI, DSN supports the main module only during contingencies and Lunar eclipse events.
SIM
Launch Date:	2015
URL:	http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/sim_index.cfm
Frequency assignment under study; SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission), will determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. This accuracy will allow SIM to determine the distances to stars throughout the galaxy and to probe nearby stars for Earth-sized planets. SIM will open a window to a new world of discoveries.
SIRTF
Launch Date:	8/25/2003
URL:	http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer/index.shtml
Also known as Spitzer, is using infrared technology to study celestial objects. The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed. from the ground.
SM
No description available.
SM GTS
Permanently shutdown, hardware disconnected from the antenna. Non-compliance to ITU RR and caused interference to teh RA ground stations.
SNOE
Launch Date:	2/26/1998
URL:	http://lasp.colorado.edu/snoe/
SNOE ("snowy") was a small scientific satellite that measured the effects of energy from the sun and from the magnetosphere on the density of nitric oxide in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The spacecraft and its instruments were designed and built at LASP, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
SOHO
Launch Date:	12/2/1995
URL:	http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=14
SOHO (SOlar Heliospheric Observatory) is a space-based observatory, viewing and investigating the Sun from its deep core, through its outer atmosphere - the 'corona' - and the domain of the solar wind, out to a distance ten times beyond the Earth's orbit. Data obtained from ESA's table dated March 26, 2004.
SORCE
Launch Date:	1/25/2003
URL:	http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) is a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that will provide state-of-the-art measurements of incoming x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation.
Soyuz
No description available.
SPHERES
No description available.
SSCS
used during Shuttle /ISS rendevous and docking ops and during EVAs
SSO
No description available.
ST-5
Launch Date:	2006/03
ST-5
Launch Date:	2/2006
URL:	http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/st5/
Space Technology 5 (ST5) Project/Code 495 is pushing miniaturization even further by building and testing three small satellites, also known as micro-sats. Development of these satellites will test and validate new technologies and aid scientists in understanding the harsh environment of the Earth's magnetosphere.
ST-8
Launch Date:	2009/11
URL:	http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/st8/index.html
The Space Technology 8 mission consists of four independent experiments on a common spacecraft bus being provided by Orbital Sciences Corporation. The nominal mission consists of two phases: a one-month commissioning phase and a six-month experiment phase for a total mission duration of seven months. Update: In August 2007, ST-8 was directed to to reformulated into a ground validation of the four experiment technologies. As such, ST-8 is no longer a flight mission.
STEREO-A
Launch Date:	10/25/2006
URL:	http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Managed by APL and scheduled to launch in 2006, this mission and STEREO-B will provide the first-ever, 3D images to study coronal mass ejections. STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program ( STP ). This two-year mission will employ two nearly identical space-based observatories - one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind - to provide the first-ever stereoscopic measurements to study the Sun and the nature of its coronal mass ejections, or CMEs.
STEREO-B
Launch Date:	10/25/2006
URL:	http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Managed by APL and scheduled to launch in 2006, this mission and STEREO-A will provide the first-ever, 3D images to study coronal mass ejections. STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program ( STP ). This two-year mission will employ two nearly identical space-based observatories - one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind - to provide the first-ever stereoscopic measurements to study the Sun and the nature of its coronal mass ejections, or CMEs.
STS-121
No description available.
SWAS
Launch Date:	1998
URL:	http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/service/gallery/fact_sheets/spacesci/swas2.htm
The instrumentation carried aboard NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is specifically designed to gather data on features of star formation which, to date, have remained invisible from beneath the obscuring effects of the Earth's atmosphere.
SWIFT
Launch Date:	11/20/2004
URL:	http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/swift/swiftsc.html
Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, optical, and ultraviolet wavebands.
TDRS
URL:	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/multi/tdrs.html
The Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) comprise the communication satellite component of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). TDRSS is a communication signal relay system which provides tracking and data aquisition services between low earth orbiting spacecraft and control and/or data processing facilities. The system is capable of transmitting to and receiving data from spacecraft over at least 85% of the spacecraft's orbit.
TERRA
Launch Date:	12/18/1999
URL:	http://terra.nasa.gov/
Earth Observing System (EOS). In February 2000, Terra opened its Earth-viewing doors to begin one of humanity's largest and most ambitious science missions ever undertaken - to give Earth its first physical check-up. In particular, the mission is designed to improve understanding of the movements of carbon and energy throughout Earth's climate system.
test - edited version 2
Launch Date:	2006
test -please ignore this is a test
THEMIS
Launch Date:	2/17/2007
URL:	http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/
THEMIS answers fundamental outstanding questions regarding the magnetospheric substorm instability, a dominant mechanism of transport and explosive release of solar wind energy within Geospace.
TIMED
Launch Date:	12/7/2001
URL:	http://stp.gsfc.nasa.gov/missions/timed/timed.htm
The TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) mission is studying the influences of the Sun and humans on the least explored and understood region of Earth's atmosphere - the Mesophere and Lower Thermosphere/Ionosphere (MLTI). The MLTI region is a gateway between Earth's environment and space, where the Sun's energy is first deposited into Earth's environment.
TOMS-EP
Launch Date:	7/2/1996
URL:	http://jwocky.gsfc.nasa.gov/eptoms/ep.html
Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (EP-TOMS) , along with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard AURA, are currently the only NASA spacecraft on orbit specializing in ozone retrieval.
Topex/Poseidon
Launch Date:	1992
URL:	http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/topex.html
A Joint effort between NASA and CNES, this mission allows scientists to chart the height of the seas across ocean basins with an accuracy of less than 10 centimeters. TOPEX/Poseidon is a joint venture between CNES and NASA to map ocean surface topography. Its main objectives are: three-year global view of Earth's oceans, improved understanding of ocean currents, andimproved forecasting of global climate. This mission concluded in Jan 2006.
TRACE
Launch Date:	1997
URL:	http://sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov/smex/trace/index.html
Transition Region and Coronal Explorer(TRACE) will explore the three-dimensional magnetic structures that emerge through the visible surface of the Sun - the Photosphere - and define both the geometry and dynamics of the upper solar atmosphere: the Transition Region and Corona.
TRANZIT
No description available.
TRIANA
No description available.
TRMM
Launch Date:	1997
URL:	http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall.
UARS
Launch Date:	1991
URL:	http://umpgal.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) measures ozone and chemical compounds found in the ozone layer which affect ozone chemistry and processes. UARS also measures winds and temperatures in the stratosphere as well as the energy input from the Sun. Together, these help define the role of the upper atmosphere in climate and climate variability.
UAVSAR
The UAVSAR 1.26 GHz, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar is designed to acquire airborne repeat track SAR data for differential interferometric measurements. This system operates on an "as needed" basis.
Ulysses
A joint project between NASA and ESA, Ulysses for the first time sent a spacecraft out of the eliptic - the plane in which Earth and other planets orbit the Sun - to study the Sun's north and south poles.
Voyager-1
Launch Date:	1977
URL:	http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/
Launched in 1977, this spacecraft is now heading out of the solar system. In 1998, Voyager-1 becasme teh most distant human-made object in space. The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. After making a string of discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended. Voyager 1, more than twice as distant as Pluto, is farther from Earth than any other human-made object and speeding outward at more than 17 kilometers per second (38,000 miles per hour).
Voyager-2
Launch Date:	1977
URL:	http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/
Launched in 1977, this spacecraft is now heading out of the solar system. The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets. The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), wil explore the outermost edge of the Sun's domain. And beyond.
Wind
Launch Date:	11/1/1994
URL:	http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/wind.shtml
WIND is the first of two NASA spacecraft in the Global Geospace Science initiative and part of the ISTP Project.
WIRE
Launch Date:	3/4/1999
The Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) was a small satellite carrying a cryogenically cooled infrared telescope designed to study starburst galaxies -- vast clouds of molecular gas cradling the sites of newborn stars. Developed under NASA's Small Explorer Program, WIRE was intended to have a four-month primary mission.
WISE
Launch Date:	11/2009
URL:	http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/index.html
WISE is a NASA-funded scientific research project that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies.
WMAP (filed in the ITU-R as MAP)
Launch Date:	6/30/2001
URL:	http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) team has made the first detailed full-sky map. It is a "baby picture" of the universe. The cosmic microwave background radiation is the light left over from the Big Bang. The whole Universe is bathed in this afterglow light. This is the oldest light in the Universe and has been traveling across the Universe for 13.7 billion years. The patterns in this light across the sky encode a wealth of details about the history, shape, content, and ultimate fate of the Universe. This mission is supported by DSN.
WVS
used only during EVAs
X-38
No description available.
XTE
Launch Date:	1995
URL:	http://rxte.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/xte_1st.html
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) is a satellite that observes the fast-moving, high-energy worlds of black holes, neutron stars, X-ray pulsars and bursts of X-rays that light up the sky and then disappear forever.