Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer

Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer

Names	Explorer-68, SMEX-1
Mission type	Magnetospheric research
Operator	NASA / GSFC Max Planck Institute
COSPAR ID	1992-038A
SATCAT №	22012
Website	http://lasp.colorado.edu/sampex/sampex.html
Mission duration	Planned: 3 years Final:
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	NASA / GSFC
Launch mass	157 kg (346 lb)
Payload mass	45.2 kg (100 lb)
Dimensions	1.5 × 0.9 m (4.9 × 3.0 ft)
Power	102 W
Start of mission
Launch date	July 3, 1992, 14:19 (1992-07-03UTC14:19Z) UTC
Rocket	Scout G-1
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-5W
End of mission
Disposal	Reentered
Decay date	November 13, 2012, 11:42 (2012-11-13UTC11:43Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Near-polar
Eccentricity	0.009999999776482582
Perigee	512 km (318 mi)
Apogee	687 km (427 mi)
Inclination	81.7°
Period	96.7 minutes
Epoch	July 3, 1992
Instruments HILT Heavy Ion Large Telescope LEICA Low-Energy Ion Composition Analyzer MAST Mass Spectrometer Telescope PET Proton/Electron Telescope
---- Small Explorer program FAST →

The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) was a NASA solar and magnetospheric observatory, and was the first spacecraft in the Small Explorer program. It was launched into low Earth orbit on July 3, 1992, from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Scout G-1 rocket. SAMPEX was an international collaboration between NASA of the United States and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics of Germany.

The spacecraft carried four instruments designed to measure the anomalous components of cosmic rays, emissions from solar energetic particles, and electron counts in Earth's magnetosphere. Built for a three-year mission, its science mission was ended on June 30, 2004. Mission control for SAMPEX was handled by the Goddard Space Flight Center until October 1997, after which it was turned over to the Bowie State University Satellite Operations Control Center (BSOCC). BSOCC, with funding assistance from The Aerospace Corporation, continued to operate the spacecraft after its science mission ended, using the spacecraft as an educational tool for its students while continuing to release science data to the public.

Built for a three-year primary mission, the spacecraft continued to return science data until its reentry on November 13, 2012.

Instruments

• Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT)
• Low Energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LEICA)
• Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST) measures the isotopic composition of elements from Li(Z=3) to Ni(Z=283) with energy from 10 to several hundred MeV/nucleon.
• Proton/Electron Telescope (PET)

Collaborators

SAMPEX collaborators included:

• The Aerospace Corporation
  • J. B. Blake, M. Looper, K. L. Lorentzen, D. Mabry, J. Mazur, R. Selesnick
• California Institute of Technology
  • A. Cummings, R. Leske, R. Mewaldt, E. Stone
• Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
  • D. N. Baker, S. G. Kanekal, Xinlin Li
• Max Planck Institute, Garching
  • D. Hovestadt, B. Klecker, M. Scholer
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • T. Von Rosenvinge
• NASA Langley Research Center
  • L. B. Callis, J. Lambeth
• University of Maryland, College Park
  • G. M. Mason
• Washington University in St. Louis
  • J. Cummings

External links

• SAMPEX website by the University of Colorado Boulder
• SAMPEX Data Center by the California Institute of Technology
• SAMPEX archived website by the Goddard Space Flight Center

Template:Explorer program