NRL-701/LASSII Sortie-Mode Satellite Designed to Exploit the Shuttle in Studies of Natural and Artificial Ionospheric Irregularities and their Associated Effects on Military Systems.
Abstract
The LASSII spacecraft is a sortie-mode satellite designed to be launched and recovered by Shuttle, and instrumented with a complement of plasma diagnostic tools which have been specifically designed to spatially an temporally resolve all the active elements within an ionospheric irregularity. The satellite, configured for maximum flexibility as an investigative platform, will co-orbit in tandem or in overflight with a Shuttle-borne plasma diagnostics complement, making possible separation of space and time dependencies and allowing important determinations of growth and transport mechanisms in turbulent ionospheric plasmas and their associated effects on military systems. The satellite will be able to execute Hohmann and Crocco maneuvers with complete flexibility for selection of time spacing between Shuttle-borne and LASSII free-flyer measurements of a given ionospheric volume. The uniqueness of the LASSII Mission makes it compatible with all Shuttle orbits from 200 to 1000 km and for all inclinations. The nature of the program, with emphasis on naturally-occurring as well as artificially-produced ionospheric irregularities, is accommodated by Shuttle regardless of season or solar conditions. Program planning will focus on short-duration (7-30 days) experiments which will take advantages of built-in flexibility in the LASSII payload complement. The experiment duration will help develop efficiency through a concentrated approach designed to provide near-term solutions to research and development problems. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 22, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA112786
Entities
People
- Edward P. Szuszczewicz
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory