Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment

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Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
Type: Research satellite
Country: United StatesUnited States United States
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA NASA
Mission dates
Dimensions: 290 kg
Size: Height: 157.5 cm, diameter: 115.5 cm
Begin: January 25, 2003, 20:13 UTC
Starting place: Eastern Test Range
Kennedy Space Center
Launcher: Pegasus XL
Status: Out of service
Orbit data
Rotation time : 97.19 min
Track height: 640 km
Orbit inclination : 40 °
Eccentricity : 0.0024
Construction of the SORCE satellite

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment ( SORCE ) is a NASA satellite observatory that aims to investigate the influence of energy radiation from the sun on the earth's climate and atmosphere. SORCE was part of the Earth Observing Systems .

SORCE continued the long-term measurements of total solar radiation through the Earth Radiation Budget and ACRIM instruments.

construction

The satellite was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles , Virginia on behalf of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder . It is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft with a control system that aligns the satellite to the sun and calibration stars. The dimensions when folded are 100 cm × 160 cm. When the solar panels are unfolded, the satellite has dimensions of 339 cm × 160 cm. The takeoff weight was 290 kilograms. The solar cells deliver an output of 348 watts.

Instruments

  • Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM)
  • Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) A and B
  • Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) A and B
  • XUV Photometer System (XPS)

Mission history

On January 25, 2003, the 632 kg research satellite was launched with an aircraft-based Pegasus XL . The satellite was operated by the LASP in Boulder. The mission was originally designed for five years, but has been extended. After eight years, battery problems arose so that all-day operation was no longer possible. The planned replacement satellite Glory fell victim to a false start on March 4, 2011. Only the TSIS 1 instrument , which was brought to the International Space Station in December 2017 , was able to carry out equivalent measurements. After a period of parallel operation, NASA made the decision to shut down SORCE. The satellite went out of service on February 25, 2020. The re-entry into the earth's atmosphere was Template: future / in 5 yearscalculated for the year 2032 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ESA: SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment). In: eoPortal. Retrieved June 19, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ Stephen Clark: NASA satellite ends 17-year mission measuring the sun's impact on climate. Spaceflight Now, April 10, 2020, accessed June 19, 2020 .