Transition Region And Coronal Explorer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TRACE (Explorer 73)
TRACE (Explorer 73)
Type: Space telescope
Country: United StatesUnited States United States
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA NASA
COSPAR-ID : 1998-020A
Mission dates
Begin: April 2, 1998, 02:42 UTC
Starting place: Point Arguello Western Air Drop Zone
Launcher: Pegasus XL F21
Status: in orbit, out of order
Orbit data
Rotation time : 97.1 min
Orbit inclination : 97.8 °
Apogee height :  652 km
Perigee height :  602 km

TRACE ( Transition Region And Coronal Explorer ) is a space telescope that has been specially designed for exploring the sun's corona . TRACE is a satellite of the Small Explorer program of NASA and contributes as such the name SMEX 4 or Explorer 73 .

Image of a sunspot by the TRACE satellite

The only scientific instrument on board the satellite is a 30-cm Cassegrain - UV - telescope . His task was to follow the development of magnetic field structures from the interior of the sun to the corona, to investigate the heating mechanisms of the outer solar atmosphere and to determine the causes of solar flares and mass ejections.

The satellite was launched on April 2, 1998 (April 1 local time) with an airborne Pegasus rocket . The L-1011 carrier aircraft took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and dropped the missile in the Point Arguello Western Air Drop Zone over the Pacific. TRACE was launched into sun-synchronous earth orbit by the Pegasus rocket . This prevents the satellite from going through the Earth's shadow, allowing continuous measurements of the sun. It was primarily used to supplement the SOHO research satellite, as it was able to display part of the sun's surface with a much higher resolution than SOHO. On June 22nd, 2010 the TRACE mission was completed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TRACE in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on March 17, 2017 (English).
  2. ↑ Thomas Weyrauch: TRACE: Mission ended after 12 years. raumfahrer.net, July 6, 2010, accessed on March 17, 2017 .

Web links