Class
Article
Department
Physics
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Understanding the lower thermosphere, the range of 90km to 140km above the surface of the Earth, is a growing interest for many areas of research within space weather. The Optical Profiling of the Atmospheric Limb (OPAL) mission is funded by NSF to gather global thermosphere temperatures. OPAL will be able to resolve the temperature profiles through observing day-time emissions of O2 A-band (~760nm) emissions. This is done by using integrated line-of-sight measurements of the A-band through a tangential view of the atmosphere down to 90km. The OPAL instrument is on a 3U CubeSatellite (30cm×10cm×10cm) and is expected to follow the International Space Station (ISS) orbit (~400km altitude). Having an accurate model of the OPAL CubeSatellite’s position and the attitude of its optical system are crucial in checking the instruments’ ability to detect space weather signatures in the temperature data (i.e. solar flares and gravity waves). Using Matlab and Analysis Graphics Inc.’s (AGI) System Tool Kit (STK) for mission modeling and analysis, we will have the proper position of OPAL and its line of sight to combine with other information about the data interpretation and collection.
Start Date
4-14-2016 10:30 AM
End Date
4-14-2016 11:45 AM
Included in
OPAL CubeSatellite Flight and Line of Sight Integration Modeling
Understanding the lower thermosphere, the range of 90km to 140km above the surface of the Earth, is a growing interest for many areas of research within space weather. The Optical Profiling of the Atmospheric Limb (OPAL) mission is funded by NSF to gather global thermosphere temperatures. OPAL will be able to resolve the temperature profiles through observing day-time emissions of O2 A-band (~760nm) emissions. This is done by using integrated line-of-sight measurements of the A-band through a tangential view of the atmosphere down to 90km. The OPAL instrument is on a 3U CubeSatellite (30cm×10cm×10cm) and is expected to follow the International Space Station (ISS) orbit (~400km altitude). Having an accurate model of the OPAL CubeSatellite’s position and the attitude of its optical system are crucial in checking the instruments’ ability to detect space weather signatures in the temperature data (i.e. solar flares and gravity waves). Using Matlab and Analysis Graphics Inc.’s (AGI) System Tool Kit (STK) for mission modeling and analysis, we will have the proper position of OPAL and its line of sight to combine with other information about the data interpretation and collection.