Magnetosphere observatory cleared for March 25 launch

Assembly of the IMAGE spacecraft

March 14, 2000
Web posted at: 12:20 PM EST (1720 GMT)

From staff reports

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNN) -- A NASA satellite designed to study the Earth's magnetosphere will lift off on March 25, a delay of more than a week caused by concerns over power converters, mission scientists said.

The $153 million Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite should shed light on how the upper atmospheric layer protects the planet from powerful solar storms.

The orbiter was originally scheduled to lift off on March 15, but problems with the power converter pushed back the launch day. Similar converters on two other satellites experienced problems, according to NASA.

NASA and IMAGE engineers, scientists and managers studied the flight hardware that caused the delay. They determined that the chances were extremely low it would not work properly during the two-year mission, according an update posted on the IMAGE Web site.

The Lockheed Martin-built satellite will go into a highly elliptical orbit after blasting into space aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. An eight-minute launch window begins at 12:34 p.m. (3:34 p.m. EST).

The IMAGE mission is the first dedicated to imaging the magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field.

The magnetopause, part of the IMAGE acronym, is the boundary layer between the solar wind and the magnetosphere.

Drawing of the IMAGE spacecraft

The magnetosphere's ions and electrons remain invisible with most astronomical observing techniques. Scientists usually study them with small-scale charged particle detectors, magnetometers and electric field instruments.

Instead of using such localized measurements, IMAGE will use ultraviolet, radio and other instruments to produce the first comprehensive global images of the inner magnetosphere.

The images will allow researchers to observe the large-scale dynamics of the magnetosphere and its plasma, or ionized fields composed of electrons and positively charged ions.

Scientists hope to discover how and where charged particles in the magnetosphere are energized, transported and later lost during magnetic storms.

Normally, the magnetosphere does a good job of protecting Earth from harmful solar radiation. But massive solar storms can flood the planet with enough charged particles to disrupt electrical systems on satellites in orbit and utility grids on the ground.

The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, manages the IMAGE project and leads the IMAGE science investigation.

The IMAGE satellite forms a regular octagon and measures 2.25 meters (7.4 feet) in diameter and 1.52 meters (4.99 feet) in height. It weighs 494 kg (1,087 pounds).

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Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration

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