Kirtland satellite to help with solar storm detection

  • Published
  • By Ryan Stark
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The Kirtland space launch team is preparing for its latest venture: turning a piece of mothballed equipment into a space-weather monitoring satellite.

That's according to Thomas Freeman, launch operations director for the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Space Development and Test Directorate Launch Systems Division.

The project is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR for short. It began
its life as a climate observation satellite and is slated for launch in January.

The satellite in its original incarnation was grounded due to a lack of funding at the time. It will now be pointed toward the sun instead of Earth.

"DSCOVR was originally designed as an earth research mission named Triana," Freeman said. "It had a multispectral sensor to study climate change ... and provide a live feed of the 'blue marble.'"

Put to a new use, the satellite now houses equipment for the solar weather mission, which monitors solar plasma and radiation. DSCOVR also has the same destination as Triana: a spot between Earth and the sun called L1. The location is what's known as a Lagrangian point, which is a place between strong gravitational fields, which help the satellite maintain stable orbit.

"The spacecraft is placed directly between the sun and the Earth. Earth's gravity pulls it in the opposite direction and cancels some of the sun's pull," Freeman said. "With a weaker pull toward the sun, the spacecraft needs less speed to maintain its orbit (around the sun). It can slow down, and the spacecraft will travel slowly
enough to keep its position between the sun and the Earth."

From that vantage point, DSCOVR will detect solar geomagnetic storms that could
cause disruptions to communications, electrical systems and other disturbances on Earth. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will operate the satellite.

NASA has an early-warning system called the Advanced Composition Explorer that has served that purpose for the U.S. since 1997. ACE is currently the only spacecraft doing so.

Freeman said DSCOVR should augment and extend the life of the ACE, which provides a 40-minute warning for the approach of such solar storms. ACE is also stationed at L1.

"ACE is operating 12 years beyond its design life and could fail at any time," Freeman said.

DSCOVR will be riding into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket of the private Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX. The Falcon 9 family of rockets has gained some renown in recent years due to its re-supply missions to the International Space Station.

Falcon 9s, which were acquired by the Air Force via a contract with SpaceX, are ideal for this mission, Freeman said. That's because the vehicles can start and stop their motors, which means they can insert a satellite in a very precise orbit, he said.

"The Falcon 9's liquid-propellant engines and control system provide the exact capability required for the mission," he said.

To learn more about the DSCOVR mission, go to the NOAA mission page, www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR.