SpaceX’s Falcon9 Launches MethaneSAT to Track Methane Emissions Globally

Current Context: On Monday, March 4, 2024, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the MethaneSAT, a satellite designed to track methane emissions globally from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.

• The MethaneSAT, a washing-machine-sized satellite, was one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission.
• It will collect data about methane leaks from 300 targets worldwide while circling Earth 15 times a day from its orbit 360 miles (580 kilometers) above ground.
• The MethaneSAT is the first satellite by a nonprofit environmental group, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which built and is operating the satellite.
• The satellite will help policymakers independently verify industry reports by pinpointing hotspots of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
• The satellite was developed for $88 million by EDF in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency, Harvard University, British aerospace company BAE Systems, and Google.
• Google will provide the MethaneSAT team with cloud computing services to process the satellite’s data.
• The first images from the satellite are expected in early summer and will be made publicly available later this year.

Question:

Q.1 Who launched the MethaneSAT?
a. Google
b. SpaceX
c. BAE Systems
d. New Zealand Space Agency