CHIPS (satellite)

Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer

CHIPS (Explorer 82) satellite
Names	Explorer 82 UNEX-2 CHIPS
Mission type	Extreme ultraviolet research
Operator	NASA/Space Sciences Laboratory
COSPAR ID	2003-002B
SATCATno.	27643
Website	CHIPS
Mission duration	1 year (planned) 5 years, 3 months (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Explorer LXXXII
Spacecraft type	Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer
Bus	CHIPS
Manufacturer	SpaceDev
Launch mass	60 kg (130 lb)
Dimensions	5 × 2.8 × 3.2 m (16.4 × 9.2 × 10.5 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	13 January 2003, 00:45:00UTC
Rocket	Delta II 7320-10(Delta 294)
Launch site	Vandenberg,SLC-2W
Contractor	Boeing Launch Services
Entered service	2003
End of mission
Deactivated	11 April 2008
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	578 km (359 mi)
Apogee altitude	594 km (369 mi)
Inclination	94.05°
Period	96.40 minutes
Explorer program

CHIPS(Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer,alsoExplorer 82orUNEX-2) was aNASAExplorer programsatellite. It was launched on 12 January 2003 fromVandenberg Air Force Baseaboard aDelta IIwith the larger satelliteICESat,and had an intended mission duration of one year. CHIPS was the second of NASA's University Explorer (UNEX) mission class. It performedspectroscopyfrom 90 to 250Angstrom(9 to 26-nm)extreme ultraviolet(EUV) light.

Mission

The primary objective of the science team, led byprincipal investigatorMark Hurwitz, was to study the million-degree gas in the localinterstellar medium.CHIPS was designed to capture the first spectra of the faint, extreme ultraviolet glow that is expected to be emitted by the hot interstellar gas within about 300 light-years of theSun,a region often referred to as theLocal Bubble.Surprisingly, these measurements produced a null result, with only very faint EUV emissions detected, despite theoretical expectations of much stronger emissions. It was the first U.S. mission to useTCP/IPfor end-to-end satellite operations control.

Spacecraft

TheUniversity of California, Berkeley'sSpace Sciences Laboratory(SSL) served as CHIP's primaryground stationand manufactured the CHIPSspectrograph,designed to perform all-sky spectroscopy. Other ground network support was provided by ground stations atWallops Flight Facility(WFF),VirginiaandAdelaide,Australia. CHIPS'ssatellite buswas manufactured bySpaceDev.

Launch

CHIPS (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer) is a NASAastrophysicsspacecraft that was launched by aDelta IIlaunch vehiclefromVandenberg Air Force Baseat 00:45:00UTCon 13 January 2003.The 60 kg (130 lb), triaxially-stabilized spacecraft has aspectrographcovering the 9-26 nm wavelength band at a resolution of 0.1 nm, scanning the entire sky in chunks of 5° x 27° segments during each orbit. The targets are the hot and diffusenebulaat about a million degrees temperature. The band covers several strong emission lines.

Solar observatory

In September 2005, the spacecraft was converted to asolar observatory.From 3 April 2006 to 5 April 2008, CHIPS performed 1458 observations of the Sun.

End of mission

Satellite operations were terminated in 11 April 2008 due to budget constraints.

See also

• Explorer program
• Extreme ultraviolet

External links

Media related toCHIPSatat Wikimedia Commons

• "Good-bye Mr. CHIPS"Chris Thompson, East Bay Express, 2 July 2008
• "CHIPS, the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer".University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory. Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2008.Retrieved3 March2008.
• "Two Years of EUV Observations with the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer".University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory. Archived fromthe originalon 11 March 2005.Retrieved10 November2011.
• "SpaceDev Small Satellites".SpaceDev. Archived fromthe originalon 10 March 2008.Retrieved3 March2008.