Solar Mesosphere Explorer Explained

Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Names List:Explorer 64
Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Mission Type:Earth observation
Operator:NASA / LASP
Cospar Id:1981-100A
Satcat:12887
Mission Duration:7.5 years (achieved)
Spacecraft:Explorer LXIV
Spacecraft Type:Solar Mesosphere Explorer
Spacecraft Bus:SME
Manufacturer:Ball Space Systems
Dimensions:Cylinder: diameter by high
Power:Solar panels and nickel-cadmiumd batteries
Launch Date:6 October 1981, 11:27 UTC
Launch Rocket:Thor-Delta 2310
(Thor 639 / Delta 157)
Launch Site:Vandenberg, SLC-2W
Launch Contractor:Douglas Aircraft Company
Entered Service:6 October 1981
Deactivated:31 December 1988
Last Contact:4 April 1989
Decay Date:5 March 1991
Orbit Reference:Geocentric orbit
Orbit Regime:Low Earth orbit
Orbit Inclination:97.56°
Orbit Period:95.50 minutes
Apsis:gee
Instruments:Ultraviolet ozone spectrometer
Micrometer spectrometer
Nitrogen dioxide spectrometer
Four-channel infrared radiometer
Solar ultraviolet monitor
Solar proton alarm detector
Programme:Explorer Program
Previous Mission:Dynamics Explorer 2 (Explorer 63)
Next Mission:AMPTE-Charge Composition Explorer (Explorer 65)

The Solar Mesosphere Explorer (also known as Explorer 64) was a NASA spacecraft to investigate the processes that create and destroy ozone in Earth's upper of the atmosphere of Earth. The mesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere extending from the top of the stratosphere to an altitude of about . The spacecraft carried five instruments to measure ozone, water vapor, and incoming solar radiation.

Mission

Explorer 64 studied the processes that create and destroy ozone in the Earth's mesosphere. Over its 7.5 years mission, SME measured ultraviolet solar flux, ozone density, and the density of other molecules important to the understanding of ozone chemistry. During the mission over one hundred undergraduate and graduate students were involved in nearly every aspect of SME operations, including planning and scheduling spacecraft and science activities, controlling the spacecraft and its ground support system, and analyzing spacecraft subsystem performance.

Spacecraft

Managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Solar Mesosphere Explorer was built by Ball Space Systems and operated by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of the University of Colorado Boulder.[1]

Characteristics:[2]

Launch

Launched on 6 October 1981, on a Thor-Delta 2310 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, the satellite returned data until 4 April 1989.[2]

Atmospheric entry

The spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere on 5 March 1991.[2]

See also

Explorer program

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Solar Mesosphere Explorer - Quick facts . https://web.archive.org/web/20070713231350/http://lasp.colorado.edu/mission_history/missions/past/SME.htm . dead . 13 July 2007 . 23 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Past Missions - Solar Mesosphere Explorer . jpl.nasa.gov . https://web.archive.org/web/20070712094829/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/past/sme.html . dead . 12 July 2007 . 23 November 2021.