Session
Technical Session VIII: The Horizion-- New Small Satellite Missions or Sensors to Broaden Our Understanding of Space: Section I
Abstract
Responding to a growing need to specify (nowcast) and predict (forecast) hazardous space weather events and their deleterious effects on space systems, the authors have developed a prototype suite of instruments that would serve as a key component of a miniature space weather station. Space environment data have been gathered over several solar cycles, and though these data assist space operators in "predicting" hazards to space systems based upon derived climatology, no true forecasting ability yet exists. (As an analogy, consider for example the difference between tropospheric weather reports based on data-driven forecast models versus a "prediction" based upon the average temperature for a given city on a given date over the last hundred years.) True space weather forecasting models require assimilation of space-based in situ data into physics-based models. Data collection of fundamental characteristics, such as plasma density and temperature, neutral wind and bulk ion velocity, and electric and magnetic field strengths is required at multiple grid points, similar to tropospheric weather stations that measure temperature, wind speed, humidity, etc. Recent breakthroughs in fabrication techniques have enabled the development of a suite of instruments that is comprised of 16 individual analyzers, each of which is capable of providing a unique measurement of a partially ionized space environment. The suite is designed to measure ion spectra differential in energy and angle, bulk ion velocities, bulk neutral velocities, and ion and neutral mass spectra. Preliminary functional testing has indicated the ability to resolve He, O, O2, and Ar; separation of O2 and N2 has proved elusive to date. In the prototype suite, the instrument assembly that houses the 16 analyzers is stacked to a conventional Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with anodes and circuit components and an electronics enclosure containing a high voltage power supply, amplifier Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and a Rad Hard microcontroller. The suite configuration, including all aforementioned components, has a total volume of 7 cm ´ 7 cm ´ 4 cm = 196 cm3, a mass of 400 g, and a peak power requirement of 1.5 W (for neutral measurements). Challenges inherent to miniaturization of spacecraft capable of providing real utility are identified and addressed.
Presentation Slides
Progress toward Miniature Space Weather Stations
Responding to a growing need to specify (nowcast) and predict (forecast) hazardous space weather events and their deleterious effects on space systems, the authors have developed a prototype suite of instruments that would serve as a key component of a miniature space weather station. Space environment data have been gathered over several solar cycles, and though these data assist space operators in "predicting" hazards to space systems based upon derived climatology, no true forecasting ability yet exists. (As an analogy, consider for example the difference between tropospheric weather reports based on data-driven forecast models versus a "prediction" based upon the average temperature for a given city on a given date over the last hundred years.) True space weather forecasting models require assimilation of space-based in situ data into physics-based models. Data collection of fundamental characteristics, such as plasma density and temperature, neutral wind and bulk ion velocity, and electric and magnetic field strengths is required at multiple grid points, similar to tropospheric weather stations that measure temperature, wind speed, humidity, etc. Recent breakthroughs in fabrication techniques have enabled the development of a suite of instruments that is comprised of 16 individual analyzers, each of which is capable of providing a unique measurement of a partially ionized space environment. The suite is designed to measure ion spectra differential in energy and angle, bulk ion velocities, bulk neutral velocities, and ion and neutral mass spectra. Preliminary functional testing has indicated the ability to resolve He, O, O2, and Ar; separation of O2 and N2 has proved elusive to date. In the prototype suite, the instrument assembly that houses the 16 analyzers is stacked to a conventional Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with anodes and circuit components and an electronics enclosure containing a high voltage power supply, amplifier Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and a Rad Hard microcontroller. The suite configuration, including all aforementioned components, has a total volume of 7 cm ´ 7 cm ´ 4 cm = 196 cm3, a mass of 400 g, and a peak power requirement of 1.5 W (for neutral measurements). Challenges inherent to miniaturization of spacecraft capable of providing real utility are identified and addressed.
