Hinode

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Hinode (SOLAR-B)
Hinode (SOLAR-B)
Type: Space telescope
Country: JapanJapan Japan
Operator: Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencyJAXA JAXA
COSPAR-ID : 2006-041A
Mission dates
Dimensions: 900 kg
Size: 1.6 × 1.6 × 4.0 m
Begin: September 22, 2006, 9:36 p.m. UTC
Starting place: Uchinoura Space Center
Launcher: MV-7
Status: in operation
Orbit data
Rotation time : 98.4 min
Orbit inclination : 98.1 °
Apogee height :  705 km
Perigee height :  678 km

Hinode ( Jap.ひので, Sunrise) is a space telescope that of the Japanese space agency JAXA involving ESA , the British research organization PPARC and the Marshall Space Flight Center of NASA initially under the name SOLAR-B has been developed. With the satellite, the interactions between the intended magnetic field of the Sun and the solar corona are investigated. Hinode is the successor to the Yohkoh satellite (SOLAR-A), which operated between 1991 and 2001.

The launch of Hinode took place with a Japanese launcher of the type MV on September 22, 2006 at 21:36 hours UTC from the Uchinoura Space Center on the southern tip of the island of Kyushu . Hinode was the last payload of this missile type, as production of the MV was discontinued after this launch. The satellite, weighing approx. 900 kg, was placed in a 280 × 686 km high transition orbit , which was to be corrected to a 600 km high sun-synchronous orbit with the satellite's own engines in the weeks after the launch . After the start, SOLAR-B was given the name Hinode. The mission is designed for three years.

In February / March 2007, Hinode delivered the first X-ray images that show entangled magnetic fields in the sun's corona. These recordings confirmed the theory that such processes produce high-energy particles.

technology

To this end, three main instruments have been set up:

  • SOT = S olar O ptical T elescope
This is an instrument that evaluates the portion from 480 to 640 nm in the visible spectrum and shows a section of the sun with an edge length of 175 km. The instrument also has a magnetometer / magnetoscope for alignment.
  • XRT = X - R ay T elescope
An X-ray telescope with a total of ten filters, which is triggered by flares ( solar flares ).
  • EIS = E UV I maging S pectrometer
EUV is extremely short-wave ultraviolet radiation that is examined here. EIS is the most complex SOLAR-B instrument .

The recordings and measurements of all three instruments are linked in a common signal processor to form an overall signal, but are also provided individually.

Specifications:

  • Mass: 900 kg
  • Size: 1.6 × 1.6 × 4.0 m
  • Length of the solar panels: 10 m
  • Orbit: 600 km circular orbit (sun synchronous)

International partners

  • the Japanese space agency JAXA
  • the US space agency NASA , Marshall Spaceflight Center . She pays a portion of the cost of 172 million US dollars.
  • the British research organization PPARC
  • the European Space Agency ESA

Web links