Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
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NASA and a team of Brazilian space researchers have announced a joint CubeSat mission to study phenomena in Earth's upper atmosphere -- a region of charged particles called the ionosphere -- capable of disrupting communications and navigation systems on the ground and potentially impacting satellites and human explorers in space.
Two phenomena in the ionosphere -- equatorial plasma bubbles and scintillation -- have impacted radio communication systems, satellite technologies and global positioning system (GPS) signals for decades, said Jim Spann, chief scientist for the Science and Technology Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Equatorial plasma bubbles are regions of comparatively low density which may elongate into towering plumes during high-intensity periods. Scintillation is a unique type of atmospheric fluctuation that can interrupt radio frequencies, much like the "twinkling" effect seen in starlight when optical frequencies are disrupted.
....The joint U.S.-Brazilian team, led by Spann as principal investigator, will design and launch SPORT as a CubeSat, a compact satellite about the size of two loaves of bread. It will be launched in 2019 to an Earth orbit approximately 217-248 miles high (350-400 km). Its operational phase is expected to last at least a year.
NASA, Brazil to Jointly Study Scientific Phenomena at Equator
I wonder if our technology will change as a result of the information.
Two phenomena in the ionosphere -- equatorial plasma bubbles and scintillation -- have impacted radio communication systems, satellite technologies and global positioning system (GPS) signals for decades, said Jim Spann, chief scientist for the Science and Technology Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Equatorial plasma bubbles are regions of comparatively low density which may elongate into towering plumes during high-intensity periods. Scintillation is a unique type of atmospheric fluctuation that can interrupt radio frequencies, much like the "twinkling" effect seen in starlight when optical frequencies are disrupted.
....The joint U.S.-Brazilian team, led by Spann as principal investigator, will design and launch SPORT as a CubeSat, a compact satellite about the size of two loaves of bread. It will be launched in 2019 to an Earth orbit approximately 217-248 miles high (350-400 km). Its operational phase is expected to last at least a year.
NASA, Brazil to Jointly Study Scientific Phenomena at Equator
I wonder if our technology will change as a result of the information.
