 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
SORCE Shipped To Kennedy
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was shipped to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on October 25 to begin launch preparations. The spacecraft left Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Va., on the 25th and arrived at Kennedy Space Center on October 26 for final tests and integration with a Pegasus XL rocket for launch this winter. "This is a major milestone in our mission and now we look forward to launch preparations," said Bill Ochs, SORCE Project Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This mission serves as an example of how NASA, universities, and industry can partner together and create successful science missions." SORCE is a small free-flying satellite carrying four scientific instruments to measure the solar radiation incident at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. The four instruments include the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Photometer System (XPS). TIM, SIM and SOLSTICE will measure solar irradiance and the solar spectrum to help scientists understand the Sun's role in climate change. The XPS will measure high-energy radiation from the Sun. This mission is a joint partnership between NASA and the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Boulder, Colo. SORCE is a principal investigator led mission with NASA Goddard providing management oversight and engineering support. Scientists and engineers at LASP designed, built, calibrated, and tested the four science instruments on SORCE. LASP subcontracted with OSC for the spacecraft and observatory integration and testing. The Mission Operations Center and the Science Operations Center are both operated at LASP. LASP will operate the spacecraft over its five-year mission life and is responsible for the acquisition, management, processing, and distribution of the science data. SORCE is a key component of NASA's Earth Observing System program. SORCE will address long-term climate change, natural variability and enhanced climate prediction, and atmospheric ozone and UV-B radiation, measurements that are critical to studies of the Sun; its effect on our Earth system; and its influence on humankind. Related Links SORCE ICESat SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Space Weather Forecasting Shifts into High Gear
Boulder - Sep 19, 2002Over the next decade, forecasts of spectacular northern lights and other solar-generated events will become as commonplace as today's thunderstorm predictions, say scientists meeting this week in Boston to plan the first five years of accelerated space weather research.
|
|
| |||||||||
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |
