Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Names | Explorer 64 Solar Mesosphere Explorer |
---|---|
Mission type | Earth observation |
Operator | NASA/LASP |
COSPAR ID | 1981-100A |
SATCATno. | 12887 |
Mission duration | 7.5 years (achieved) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Explorer LXIV |
Spacecraft type | Solar Mesosphere Explorer |
Bus | SME |
Manufacturer | Ball Space Systems |
Launch mass | 437 kg (963 lb) |
Dimensions | Cylinder: 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) diameter by 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) high |
Power | Solar panelsandnickel-cadmiumd batteries |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 6 October 1981, 11:27UTC |
Rocket | Thor-Delta 2310 (Thor 639 / Delta 157) |
Launch site | Vandenberg,SLC-2W |
Contractor | Douglas Aircraft Company |
Entered service | 6 October 1981 |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | 31 December 1988 |
Last contact | 4 April 1989 |
Decay date | 5 March 1991 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 535 km (332 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 551 km (342 mi) |
Inclination | 97.56° |
Period | 95.50 minutes |
Instruments | |
Ultraviolet ozone spectrometer Micrometer spectrometer Nitrogen dioxide spectrometer Four-channel infrared radiometer Solar ultraviolet monitor Solar proton alarm detector | |
Explorer Program |
TheSolar Mesosphere Explorer(also known asExplorer 64) was a 1980sNASAspacecraft to investigate the processes that create and destroyozonein Earth's upperatmosphere.Themesosphereis a layer of the atmosphere extending from the top of thestratosphereto an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi). The spacecraft carried five instruments to measure ozone,water vapor,andincoming solar radiation.[1][2]
Mission
[edit]Explorer 64 studied the processes that create and destroy ozone in the Earth's mesosphere. Over its 7.5 years mission, SME measured ultraviolet solar flux, ozone density, and the density of other molecules important to the understanding of ozone chemistry. During the mission over one hundred undergraduate and graduate students were involved in nearly every aspect of SME operations, including planning and scheduling spacecraft and science activities, controlling the spacecraft and its ground support system, and analyzing spacecraft subsystem performance.[3]
Spacecraft
[edit]Managed for NASA by theJet Propulsion Laboratory,the Solar Mesosphere Explorer was built byBall Space Systemsand operated by theLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physicsof theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.[3]
Characteristics:[1]
- Mass: 437 kilograms;
- Power:Solar panelsandnickel-cadmium batteries;
- Configuration: Cylinder 1.25 meter diameter by 1.7 meter high;
- Science instruments: Ultraviolet ozone spectrometer, Micrometre spectrometer, Nitrogen dioxide spectrometer, Four-channel infrared radiometer, Solar ultraviolet monitor, Solar proton alarm detector.
Launch
[edit]Launched on 6 October 1981, on aThor-Delta 2310fromVandenberg Air Force Base,inCalifornia,the satellite returned data until 4 April 1989.[1]
Atmospheric entry
[edit]The spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere on 5 March 1991.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcd"Past Missions - Solar Mesosphere Explorer".jpl.nasa.gov.Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2007.Retrieved23 November2021.
- ^Solar Mesosphere ExplorerNASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive
- ^ab"Solar Mesosphere Explorer - Quick facts".Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2007.Retrieved23 November2021.
External links
[edit]- JPL - Solar Mesosphere Explorer
- Launch videoArchived3 October 2006 at theWayback Machine
- Solar Mesosphere Explorer:Nitric oxidemeasurements results
- Daily Solar Irradiance results