Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer
 SAMPEX satellite | |
| Names | Explorer 68 SAMPEX SMEX-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Magnetospheric research |
| Operator | NASA / GSFC Max Planck Institute |
| COSPAR ID | 1992-038A |
| SATCAT no. | 22012 |
| Website | lasp |
| Mission duration | 3 years (planned) 11 years, 11 months and 27 days (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Explorer LXVIII |
| Spacecraft type | Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer |
| Bus | SAMPEX |
| Manufacturer | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Launch mass | 158 kg (348 lb) |
| Payload mass | 45.2 kg (100 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.5 × 0.9 m (4 ft 11 in × 2 ft 11 in) |
| Power | 102 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 July 1992, 14:19 UTC |
| Rocket | Scout G-1 (S-215C) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-5 |
| Contractor | McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company |
| Entered service | 3 July 1992 |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 30 June 2004 |
| Last contact | 13 November 2012 |
| Decay date | 13 November 2012, 11:42 UTC [1] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit [2] |
| Regime | Polar orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 512 km (318 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 687 km (427 mi) |
| Inclination | 81.70° |
| Period | 96.70 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT) Low-Energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LICA) Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST) Proton/Electron Telescope (PET) | |
.gif?lang=en) SAMPEX (Explorer 68) mission patch Small Explorer program (SAMPEX) Explorer program | |
The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX or Explorer 68) was a NASA solar and magnetospheric observatory, and was the first spacecraft in the Small Explorer program. It was launched into low Earth orbit on 3 July 1992, from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Scout G-1 launch vehicle. SAMPEX was an international collaboration between NASA and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics of Germany.[3]
The spacecraft carried four instruments designed to measure the anomalous components of cosmic rays, emissions from solar energetic particles, and electron counts in Earth's magnetosphere. Built for a three-year mission, its science mission was ended on 30 June 2004.[4] Mission control for SAMPEX was handled by the Goddard Space Flight Center until October 1997, after which it was turned over to the Bowie State University Satellite Operations Control Center (BSOCC).[1] BSOCC, with funding assistance from The Aerospace Corporation, continued to operate the spacecraft after its science mission ended, using the spacecraft as an educational tool for its students while continuing to release science data to the public.[5][6]
Instruments
- Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT)[7]
- Low Energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LICA)[8]
- Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST) measures the isotopic composition of elements from Li (Z=3) to Ni (Z=28) with energy from 10 to several hundred MeV/nucleon.[9]
- Proton/Electron Telescope (PET)[10]
Collaborators
SAMPEX collaborators included:[4]
- The Aerospace Corporation
- J. B. Blake, M. Looper, K. L. Lorentzen, D. Mabry, J. Mazur, R. Selesnick
- California Institute of Technology
- A. Cummings, R. Leske, R. Mewaldt, E. Stone
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
- D. N. Baker, S. G. Kanekal, Xinlin Li
- Max Planck Institute, Garching
- D. Hovestadt, B. Klecker, M. Scholer
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- T. Von Rosenvinge
- NASA Langley Research Center
- L. B. Callis, J. Lambeth
- University of Maryland, College Park
- G. M. Mason
- Washington University in St. Louis
- J. Cummings
Atmospheric entry
Built for a three-year primary mission, the spacecraft continued to return science data until its reentry on 13 November 2012.[2]
References
- ^ a b "SAMPEX". ESA eoPortal Directory. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Trajectory: SAMPEX (Explorer 68) 1992-038A". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Mason, G. M.; et al. (1998). SAMPEX: NASA's first small explorer satellite. IEEE Aerospace Conference. March 21–28, 1998. Aspen, Colorado. Vol. 5. pp. 389–412. Bibcode:1998aero....5..389M. doi:10.1109/AERO.1998.685848.
- ^ a b "SAMPEX Data Center". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "SAMPEX Mission Returns to Earth". The Aerospace Corporation. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "NASA's SAMPEX Mission: A Space Weather Warrior". NASA. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Experiment: Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT)". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Experiment: Low-Energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LICA)". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Experiment: Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST)". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Experiment: Proton-Electron Telescope (PET)". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Further reading
- Baker, Daniel N.; et al. (May 1993). "An overview of the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) mission". IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 31 (3): 531–541. Bibcode:1993ITGRS..31..531B. doi:10.1109/36.225519.
External links
- SAMPEX website by the University of Colorado Boulder
- SAMPEX Data Center by the California Institute of Technology
- SAMPEX archived website by the Goddard Space Flight Center
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