NASA To Launch Lighting-Studying Firefly Satellite Later This Month

NASA is preparing to launch an inexpensive, football-sized probe to study lightning, including its effects on the atmosphere and the possible link between the phenomenon and powerful energy bursts known as terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs), the US space agency announced on Friday. The probe has been dubbed Firefly, and it is currently scheduled for a launch later this month. The mission is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is part of the organization’s CubeSat program, which allows NASA officials to launch smaller satellites that are less expensive but still capable of performing quality space-related scientific research. More

(Source: RedOrbit - Nov 17)