October 14, 2014

RapidScat installed on the International Space Station using DEXTRE with the robotic arm Canadarm2 (Photo Alexander Gerst)

NASA has announced the successful activation of RapidScat (Rapid Scatterometer), a scatterometer transported to the International Space Station by the Dragon spacecraft and therefore also called ISS-RapidScat. It’s an instrument designed to monitor ocean winds to contribute to climate research, weather forecasting, and the monitoring of phenomena such as hurricanes. It’s an experimental instrument to use the Station as a platform for observations generally made ​​by satellites.