A highly specialized Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) experimental satellite dubbed MightySat II recently (July 19) completed one year in orbit.
With a mission to demonstrate ten advanced space technologies that includes a Fourier Transform Hyperspectral Imager (FTHSI), MightySat II is an economical way for AFRL to try out new spacecraft technologies needed for future satellites and get these technologies into orbit quickly for testing.
“FTHSI, our primary payload, collected the world’s first hyperspectral image from space,” said program manager Randy Kahn. “With such images, the warfighter will be able to more aptly identify objects on the ground and understand terrain when preparing for battle,” he added.
Hyperspectral technology captures a much broader portion of the light spectrum than current imagers and enables researchers to more readily distinguish one object from another because of “spectral fingerprints” all objects emit or reflect. These fingerprints can then be compared to those already stored in data libraries.
MightySat II has now traveled more than 152 million miles in space and collected more than 160 Earth images, including several of the moon.
Because of MightySat II successful year, the MightySat team has been awarded the AFRL Commander’s Cup Team Award, as well as the Space Vehicles Directorate Annual Team Award.
Other payloads on the satellite include a solar array concentrator, a Naval Research Laboratory miniature space ground link system transponder, a multifunctional composite bus structure, and a shape memory alloy thermal tailoring experiment.
