MethaneSAT
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| Mission type | Climatology |
|---|---|
| Operator | Environmental Defense Fund New Zealand Space Agency |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-043D |
| SATCAT no. | 59101 |
| Website | https://www.methanesat.org/ |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | MethaneSAT |
| Bus | X-Sat |
| Manufacturer | Blue Canyon Technologies |
| Launch mass | 350 kg (770 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 4, 2024 |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Launch site | Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous orbit |
MethaneSAT was an American-New Zealand space mission in 2024–25. It was an Earth observation satellite that monitored and studied global methane emissions in order to combat climate change. The spacecraft carried a high performance spectrometer methane sensing system, which allowed high resolution measurements to be taken of global methane emissions from roughly 50 major regions across Earth. It was launched in March 2024 aboard SpaceX's Transporter 10 rideshare mission.[1]
The mission was jointly funded and operated by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an American non-governmental organization, and the New Zealand Space Agency. It marked New Zealand's first space science mission.[2] The Bezos Earth Fund, founded by Jeff Bezos, announced a US$100 million grant to EDF to support critical work including completion and launch of MethaneSAT. Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, a National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) carbon cycle expert, was the mission's lead scientist.[3]
By 20 June 2025, contact with MethaneSAT was lost and by 2 July it was announced that the satellite has likely run out of power, rendering the satellite unrecoverable.[4][5]
