HelloAt 6:20 am (pacific time) this morning a Delta launch put successfully the SMAP mission (and several cubesats by the same token) into orbit.Separation went smoothly as well as solar panels deployment (seen live on video!) Some pictures should be loaded here soonSo after more than five years in orbit SMOS has a new L Band radiometer companion to estimate also soil moisture.SMAP will now undergo the commissioning phase the deployment of the antenna and after we should have soon even more soil moisture data to study and use. Lots of exciting science to do!I believe we can warmly thank the project team, launch crew and operation team for an outstanding result
