 Solar Mesosphere Explorer (Explorer 64) satellite | |
| Names | Explorer 64 Solar Mesosphere Explorer |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Earth observation |
| Operator | NASA /LASP |
| COSPAR ID | 1981-100A |
| SATCATno. | 12887 |
| Mission duration | 7.5 years (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Explorer LXIV |
| Spacecraft type | Solar Mesosphere Explorer |
| Bus | SME |
| Manufacturer | Ball Space Systems |
| Launch mass | 437 kg (963 lb) |
| Dimensions | Cylinder: 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) diameter by 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) high |
| Power | Solar panels andnickel-cadmiumd batteries |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 6 October 1981, 11:27UTC |
| Rocket | Thor-Delta 2310 (Thor 639 / Delta 157) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg,SLC-2W |
| Contractor | Douglas Aircraft Company |
| Entered service | 6 October 1981 |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 31 December 1988 |
| Last contact | 4 April 1989 |
| Decay date | 5 March 1991 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 535 km (332 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 551 km (342 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.56° |
| Period | 95.50 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Ultraviolet ozone spectrometer Micrometer spectrometer Nitrogen dioxide spectrometer Four-channel infrared radiometer Solar ultraviolet monitor Solar proton alarm detector | |
Explorer Program ← Dynamics Explorer 2 (Explorer 63) AMPTE-Charge Composition Explorer (Explorer 65) → | |
TheSolar Mesosphere Explorer (also known asExplorer 64) was a 1980sNASA spacecraft to investigate the processes that create and destroyozone in Earth's upperatmosphere. Themesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere extending from the top of thestratosphere to an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi). The spacecraft carried five instruments to measure ozone,water vapor, andincoming solar radiation.[1][2]
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.[3]
Managed for NASA by theJet Propulsion Laboratory, the Solar Mesosphere Explorer was built byBall Space Systems and operated by theLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.[3]
Characteristics:[1]
Launched on 6 October 1981, on aThor-Delta 2310 fromVandenberg Air Force Base, inCalifornia, the satellite returned data until 4 April 1989.[1]
The spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere on 5 March 1991.[1]
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