Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsa23c..02s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SA23C-02
Physics
Plasma Physics
[0358] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Thermosphere: Energy Deposition, [0394] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Instruments And Techniques, [7837] Space Plasma Physics / Neutral Particles, [7949] Space Weather / Ionospheric Storms
Scientific paper
The concept of the Storm Time Energy and Dynamics Explorers (STEADE) mission is to close the link in our scientific understanding of how electromagnetic fields, energized by geomagnetic storms, deposit energy, heat and redistribute the Earth's charged and neutral atmosphere. To accomplish this goal, the STEADE mission concept would primary focus on three scientific questions: 1. What is the spatial and temporal distribution of the high-latitude electromagnetic energy input? 2. What is the spatial and temporal distribution of the electric fields that drive the global ionosphere during periods of geomagnetic activity? 3. How does the global thermospheric temperature respond to energy input at high latitude? STEADE is a serendipitous opportunity allowing the scientific community to obtain the required observations of the Earth's upper atmosphere to address these questions. Iridium Communications Inc. provides global voice and data services through a constellation of 66 active satellites at 781 km altitude in six orbital planes. The current constellation, launched beginning in May of 1999, is being replaced with the new Iridium NEXT satellites to be launched in 2015-2017. The STEADE team has worked with Iridium Communications Inc. to define a hosted payload capability for the Iridium NEXT spacecraft bus allowing scientific instruments to fly along on this commercial constellation. This mission will place relatively simple in situ and remote sensing instrument suites on ten Iridium NEXT spacecraft to measure electric fields (E) via ion drift meters, magnetic fields (B) via magnetometers, and thermospheric temperatures via imaging photometers. The ten instrument suites will be placed in a single orbital plane of the Iridium NEXT constellation in a string of pearls constellation. The separation between satellites of just over 9 minutes allows simultaneous, global, pole-to-pole, day-and-night repeating observations of critical regions of the Earth's upper atmosphere. STEADE achieves its scientific objectives from the synergy of these distributed measurements on commercial satellites that is completely different than any previous ionosphere/thermosphere mission concept. Within this paper we discuss the constellation concept as well as how the constellation would provide the needed data to address the science objective posed.
Anderson Benjamin J.
Carlson Herbert C.
Christensen Andrew B.
Crowley Geoff
Dyrud Lars P.
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