ICARUS launched into outer space
Space module ICARUS of the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Radolfzell) on its way to the International Space Station ISS
ICARUS has been launched: After the successful start of the carrier rocket on Saturday, 14 October 2017, the space module ICARUS of the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Radolfzell) is on its way to the International Space Station ISS. An unmanned Russian cargo ship is transporting the ICARUS module to the space station - together with food and water, spare parts, fuel and oxygen. The rocket will circle the earth 32 times before docking to the International Space Station, presumably on Monday, 16 October 2017. After its installation on the ISS, ICARUS is expected to be put into operation in May 2018.
The start of the carrier rocket had originally been scheduled for Thursday, 12 October 2017. Due to technical problems, however, it had to be postponed by two days.
ICARUS ("International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space") is a research module on the International Space Station for space-based monitoring of animal movements. The module allows scientists to track animal movement patterns and environmental data across the globe by using animals that have been fitted with a suitable transmitter (e.g. migratory birds, bats, ocean turtles). ICARUS will not only make it possible to trace the exact routes of migratory birds and other animals, but will also answer questions about the interplay between animal migration and the global ecosystem of our planet.
ICARUS is a joint project of the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Radolfzell) in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos and is supported by the European Space Agency ESA. Scientific director of ICARUS is Professor Martin Wikelski, one of the two directors of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell and honorary professor at the University of Konstanz.
You can find more information about ICARUS at: http://www.orn.mpg.de/ICARUS_de