Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userFORESAIL-1 cubesat mission to measure radiation belt losses and demonstrate de-orbiting
368
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
Today, the near-Earth space is facing a paradigm change as the number of new spacecraft is literally sky-rocketing. Increasing numbers of small satellites threaten the sustainable use of space, as without removal, space debris will eventually make certain critical orbits unusable. A central factor affecting small spacecraft health and leading to debris is the radiation environment, which is unpredictable due to an incomplete understanding of the near-Earth radiation environment itself and its variability driven by the solar wind and outer magnetosphere. This paper presents the FORESAIL-1 nanosatellite mission, having two scientific and one technological objectives. The first scientific objective is to measure the energy and flux of energetic particle loss to the atmosphere with a representative energy and pitch angle resolution over a wide range of magnetic local times. To pave the way to novel model - in situ data comparisons, we also show preliminary results on precipitating electron fluxes obtained with the new global hybrid-Vlasov simulation Vlasiator. The second scientific objective of the FORESAIL-1 mission is to measure energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) of solar origin. The solar ENA flux has the potential to contribute importantly to the knowledge of solar eruption energy budget estimations. The technological objective is to demonstrate a satellite de-orbiting technology, and for the first time, make an orbit manoeuvre with a propellantless nanosatellite. FORESAIL-1 will demonstrate the potential for nanosatellites to make important scientific contributions as well as promote the sustainable utilisation of space by using a cost-efficient de-orbiting technology.
rate research
Read More
The Radiation Monitor (RADMON) on-board Aalto-1 CubeSat is an energetic particle detector that fulfills the requirements of small size, low power consumption and low budget. Aalto-1 was launched on 23 June 2017 to a sun-synchronous polar orbit with 97.4{deg} inclination and an average altitude of somewhat above 500 km. RADMON has been measuring integral particle intensities from October 2017 to May 2018 with electron energies starting at low-MeV and protons from 10 MeV upwards. In this paper, we present first electron and proton intensity maps obtained over the mission period. In addition, the response of RADMON measurements to magnetospheric dynamics are analyzed, and the electron observations are compared with corresponding measurements by the PROBA-V/EPT mission. Finally, the we describe the RADMON data set, which is made publicly available.
Fast reverse shocks (FRSs) cause the magnetosphere to expand, by contrast to the well-known compressions caused by the impact of fast forward shocks (FFS). Usually, FFSs are more geoeffective than FRSs, and consequently, the inner magnetosphere dynamic responses to both shock types can be quite different. In this study, we investigate for the first time the radiation belt response to an FRS impact using multi-satellite observations and numerical simulations. Spacecraft on the dayside observed decreases in magnetic field strength and energetic (~ 40-475 keV) particle fluxes. Timing analysis shows that the magnetic field signature propagated from the dayside to the nightside magnetosphere. Particles with different energies vary simultaneously at each spacecraft, implying a non-dispersive particle response to the shock. Spacecraft located at lower L-shells did not record any significant signatures. The observations indicate a local time dependence of the response associated with the shock inclination, with the clearest signatures being observed in the dusk-midnight sector. Simulations underestimate the amplitude of the magnetic field variations observed on the nightside. The observed decreases in the electron intensities result from a combination of radial gradient and adiabatic effects. The radial gradients in the spectral index appear to be the dominant contributor to the observed variations of electrons seen on the dayside (near noon and dusk) and on the nightside (near midnight). This study shows that even an FRS can affect the radiation belts significantly and provides an opportunity to understand their dynamic response to a sudden expansion of the magnetosphere.
The design, integration, testing, and launch of the first Finnish satellite Aalto-1 is briefly presented in this paper. Aalto-1, a three-unit CubeSat, launched into Sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 km, is operational since June 2017. It carries three experimental payloads: Aalto Spectral Imager (AaSI), Radiation Monitor (RADMON), and Electrostatic Plasma Brake (EPB). AaSI is a hyperspectral imager in visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength bands, RADMON is an energetic particle detector and EPB is a de-orbiting technology demonstration payload. The platform was designed to accommodate multiple payloads while ensuring sufficient data, power, radio, mechanical and electrical interfaces. The design strategy of platform and payload subsystems consists of in-house development and commercial subsystems. The CubeSat Assembly, Integration & Test (AIT) followed Flatsat -- Engineering-Qualification Model (EQM) -- Flight Model (FM) model philosophy for qualification and acceptance. The paper briefly describes the design approach of platform and payload subsystems, their integration and test campaigns, and spacecraft launch. The paper also describes the ground segment & services that were developed by the Aalto-1 team.
Energetic electrons inside Earths outer Van Allen belt pose a major radiation threat to space-borne electronics that often play vital roles in our modern society. Ultra-relativistic electrons with energies greater than or equal to two Megaelectron-volt (MeV) are of particular interest due to their high penetrating ability, and thus forecasting these >=2 MeV electron levels has significant meaning to all space sectors. Here we update the latest development of the predictive model for MeV electrons inside the Earths outer radiation belt. The new version, called PreMevE-2E, focuses on forecasting ultra-relativistic electron flux distributions across the outer radiation belt, with no need of in-situ measurements except for at the geosynchronous (GEO) orbit. Model inputs include precipitating electrons observed in low-Earth-orbits by NOAA satellites, upstream solar wind conditions (speeds and densities) from solar wind monitors, as well as ultra-relativistic electrons measured by one Los Alamos GEO satellite. We evaluated a total of 32 supervised machine learning models that fall into four different classes of linear and neural network architectures, and also successfully tested ensemble forecasting by using groups of top-performing models. All models are individually trained, validated, and tested by in-situ electron data from NASAs Van Allen Probes mission. It is shown that the final ensemble model generally outperforms individual models overs L-shells, and this PreMevE-2E model provides reliable and high-fidelity 25-hr (~1-day) and 50-hr (~2-day) forecasts with high mean performance efficiency values. Our results also suggest this new model is dominated by non-linear components at low L-shells (< ~4) for ultra-relativistic electrons, which is different from the dominance of linear components at all L-shells for 1 MeV electrons as previously discovered.
RADMON is a small radiation monitor designed and assembled by students of the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki. It is flown on-board Aalto-1, a 3-unit CubeSat in low Earth orbit at about 500 km altitude. The detector unit of the instrument consists of two detectors, a Si solid-state detector and a CsI(Tl) scintillator, and utilizes the textDelta{E}-E technique to determine the total energy and species of each particle hitting the detector. We present the results of the on-ground and in-flight calibration campaigns of the instrument, as well as the characterization of its response through extensive simulations within the Geant4 framework. The overall energy calibration margin achieved is about 5%. The full instrument response to protons and electrons is presented and the issue of proton contamination of the electron channels is quantified and discussed.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
