07/10/2026
By Lynne Schaufenbil

The Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology is pleased to share this exciting news!

"A NASA satellite the size of a suitcase, which aims to merge different observing systems and lead to more accurate mapping of Earth, launched July 7 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s Transport-17 mission.

This novel CubeSat, known as the Geodetic Reference Instrument Transponder for Small Satellites, or GRITSS, will demonstrate the feasibility of a new technique for connecting three independent observing systems: the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) stations, which use radio telescopes; GPS receivers, which use navigation satellites; and Satellite Laser Ranging, which relies on lasers to measure a distance from the ground to a retroreflector in space. "

Read the full NASA article.