Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) Mission
Abstract
The Solar Mass Ejection imager experiment launched 6 January 2003 on Coriolis continues to detect and track Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) A proof-of-concept experiment, SMEI has outlived its planned 2-3 year lifetime and amassed a database of full-sky images with a 102 minute cadence recorded for almost five years. After its first year of operation control of Coriolis was transferred from the Air Force Space Test Program to the Navy who operates the spacecraft today and provides SMEI data to AFRL as well as executing routine operations such as calibrations mask uploads resets etc at no charge to the Air Force Research Laboratory. The Navy plans to operate Coriolis for as long as its experiment Windsat is functional. Because of an irrecoverable failure on its A-side redundant electronics (March 2006) SMEI has been switched to B-side, which is operating nominally Camera 3 (closest to the Sun) has run above predicted/planned for temperatures and performance continually degrades with accumulated radiation dose. In addition to periodic anneals to help alleviate this problem we have instituted a severe on-board masking of hot pixels in Camera 3 since 2006. Despite these problems SMEI has amassed a wealth of detailed Images of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as well as other phenomena such as high altitudes auroras variable stars zodiacal dust, Gegenschein and comet tail interactions with the heliosphere, SMEI has demonstrated that such an instrument can accomplish a 30% and greater improvement in space weather forecasts At the time of this report the SMEI team is working with the Air Force Space Weather Agency to incorporate SMEI data into their operational forecasts. A workshop on future heliospheric imaging missions to meet DoD needs was held in April 2007 at the Air Force facilities at the National Solar Observatory at Sunspot NM, at which the Air Force and Navy agreed to work together to field the next heliospheric imager.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 25, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA485524
Entities
People
- Janet C. Johnston
- Paul E. Holladay
- Thomas A. Kuchar
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory