ICESat Laser Sensor Issue

Artistic image of ICESat

NASA's ICESat was launched on January 12, 2003 on board Boeing's Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. On February 20, the first of the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System's (GLAS) three lasers was activated. The ICESat GLAS instrument has three independent lasers for redundancy and lifetime considerations. Only one laser is in operation at any time. On March 29, instrument sensors indicated the active laser stopped emitting laser pulses. Ground controllers subsequently powered down the laser. The GLAS instrument team is studying the data to better understand the situation.

The mission has a 3-year design lifetime with a 5-year design goal. The projected lifetime of each laser is 18 months, so the 5-year goal may be affected. Fortunately, GLAS measurements show the reflected laser signals from the ice sheets have been stronger than predicted. It may be possible to operate each of the remaining lasers longer as their transmitted energy declines through normal operation. There is enough fuel onboard ICESat for 8 years of operations.

The GLAS instrument was developed at Goddard in partnership with a science team form universities, government and industry. The major mission objective is determining whether the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are growing or shrinking and their current contribution to global sea-level change will be met with a three-year mission. Longer term monitoring of the ice sheets and changes in response to climate change requires successive missions.

For more information on the ICESat project, visit: http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov

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In observance and in celebration of marking a century of flight in 2003, Goddard News will feature historical NASA flight tidbits throughout the year. This Week in History: Gemini 3 was the first crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series launched on March 23, 1965. Astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and John Young were the pilots. Some the primary objectives were to evaluate the two-man Gemini design, the worldwide tracking network, the orbit attitude and maneuver system, the control reentry flight path and the landing port. For more on the Gemini 3 mission, go to: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/
MasterCatalog?sc=1965-024A

For more information on the Centennial of Flight celebration events, go to: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/