Final 8 Flock 2e’ Doves Deploy from ISS
It’s a busy week for Planet Mission Control—the final eight Flock 2e’ Doves have deployed into orbit from the International Space Station. These Doves originally launched to the Space Station aboard an Atlas V back in March, 2016 and are eager to stretch their wings.
Nanoracks sent us these shots of the deployment, captured by JAXA astronaut, Takuya Onishi, from onboard the ISS:
Image: NASA
Image: NASA
Image: NASA
Image: NASA
While the Doves in these pictures were traveling at a relative speed of approximately one meter per second from the ISS, their speed relative to Earth is a different story; compared to a stationary object here on Earth, they travel at a speed of 7 kilometers per second, orbiting the globe once every 90 minutes.
I’m pleased to report that the Doves of Flock 2e’ are progressing through their automated commissioning process. In a few weeks, they’ll begin beaming down RGB (red, green, blue) and NIR (near-infrared) imagery into our automated data pipeline.
We’d like to thank Nanoracks, JAXA and NASA for another exciting round of cubesat deployments!
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