CHIPSat

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CHIPSat (Explorer 82)
CHIPSat (Explorer 82)
Type: Research satellite
Country: United StatesUnited States United States
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA NASA
COSPAR-ID : 2003-002B
Mission dates
Dimensions: 60 kg
Begin: January 13, 2003, 00:45 UTC
Starting place: Vandenberg AFB , SLC-2W
Launcher: Delta-II-7320-10
Flight duration: 5 years
Status: in orbit, out of order
Orbit data
Rotation time : 96.4 min
Orbit inclination : 94 °
Apogee height 594 km
Perigee height 578 km
CHIPSAT during the start preparations

CHIPSat (also Explorer 82 ) is a small research satellite for the investigation of hot gas in space using ultraviolet spectroscopy .

The development of CHIPSat was the only project financed from NASA's ambitious University Class Explorer program . The observation instrument is the CHIPS spectrometer ( cosmic hot interstellar plasma spectrometer ) developed at the Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley , which observes a field of 5 ° × 26 ° with a spectral resolution of 150 in the ultraviolet range between 9 and 26 nm wavelength . The satellite bus was developed by SpaceDev . CHIPSat was launched into low earth orbit on January 13, 2003 (January 12 local time) from Vandenberg Air Force Base with a Delta II 7320 rocket along with another satellite ( ICESat ) .

From the spectra of CHIPSat, the state of the gas with a temperature of around one million Kelvin was to be derived, which fills the local bubble in the interstellar medium of our Milky Way galaxy in the vicinity of the sun . However, the results from CHIPsat showed that this gas does not emit any UV light that can be measured in Earth orbit. The satellite was used to observe the sun's UV spectrum for a short time after it was discovered that the corresponding radiation was lacking.

On April 11, 2008, the still fully functional CHIPSat was shut down by its builders because NASA did not provide any money for further data reception.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. CHIPS in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed on September 6, 2012 (English).
  2. a b Chris Thompson: Good-bye Mr. CHIPS. East Bay Express, July 2, 2008, accessed September 6, 2012 .