Written by: Drew Hamilton February 23, 2017 Photo Credit – NASA The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), integrated on the Space Test Program Houston 5 (STP-H5), was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 19,th2017 as part of the Cargo Resupply Mission (CRS-10). The LIS project was Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) partnering with the University of Alabama Huntsville’s Rotorcraft System Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) and Earth System Science Center (ESSC) to retrofit an existing optical sensor to operate on the International Space Station (ISS). The LIS team delivered in February 2015 to STP at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The LIS team worked with STP to integrate the flight hardware and complete system level testing. The STP-H5 payload was delivered to SpaceX for integration onto the Falcon 9 rocket in December of 2016 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The LIS instrument will map lightning strikes globally to support severe weather predictions and to cross reference other lightning sensors.
