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Solar Mesosphere Explorer

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Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Solar Mesosphere Explorer (Explorer 64) satellite
NamesExplorer 64
Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorNASA/LASP
COSPAR ID1981-100AEdit this at Wikidata
SATCATno.12887
Mission duration7.5 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftExplorer LXIV
Spacecraft typeSolar Mesosphere Explorer
BusSME
ManufacturerBall Space Systems
Launch mass437 kg (963 lb)
DimensionsCylinder: 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) diameter by 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) high
PowerSolar panelsandnickel-cadmiumd batteries
Start of mission
Launch date6 October 1981, 11:27UTC
RocketThor-Delta 2310
(Thor 639 / Delta 157)
Launch siteVandenberg,SLC-2W
ContractorDouglas Aircraft Company
Entered service6 October 1981
End of mission
Deactivated31 December 1988
Last contact4 April 1989
Decay date5 March 1991
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude535 km (332 mi)
Apogee altitude551 km (342 mi)
Inclination97.56°
Period95.50 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

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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

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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

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Launched on 6 October 1981, on aThor-Delta 2310fromVandenberg Air Force Base,inCalifornia,the satellite returned data until 4 April 1989.[1]

Atmospheric entry

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The spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere on 5 March 1991.[1]

See also

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Explorer program

References

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  1. ^abcd"Past Missions - Solar Mesosphere Explorer".jpl.nasa.gov.Archived fromthe originalon 12 July 2007.Retrieved23 November2021.
  2. ^Solar Mesosphere ExplorerNASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive
  3. ^ab"Solar Mesosphere Explorer - Quick facts".Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2007.Retrieved23 November2021.
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