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98-470: Scientists in the Heliophysics Science Division develop models, spacecraft missions and instruments, and systems to manage and disseminate heliophysical data. They interpret and evaluate data gathered from instruments, draw comparisons with computer simulations and theoretical models , and publish the results. The Division also conducts education and public outreach programs to communicate

196-690: A sub-orbital spaceflight , a space vehicle enters space and then returns to the surface without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full Earth orbit . For orbital spaceflights , spacecraft enter closed orbits around the Earth or around other celestial bodies . Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit ( space stations ) only, whereas those used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically . Robotic spacecraft used to support scientific research are space probes . Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around

294-588: A 15.2 metres (50 ft) CanadaArm1 , an upgraded version of which is used on the International Space Station . The heat shield (or Thermal Protection System ) of the orbiter, used to protect it from extreme levels of heat during atmospheric reentry and the cold of space, was made up of different materials depending on weight and how much heating a particular area on the shuttle would receive during reentry, which ranged from over 2,900 °F (1,600 °C) to under 700 °F (370 °C). The orbiter

392-588: A January 2013 campaign in Antarctica to study a space weather phenomenon, during which electrons stream down toward the poles from the two Van Allen Belts , which surround Earth. It is a NASA-funded mission. The Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigations ( CINDI ) is a project to understand the dynamics of Earth's ionosphere. CINDI provides two instruments for the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite, which

490-549: A blunt shape, do not usually contain much more fuel than needed, and they do not possess wings unlike spaceplanes . They are the simplest form of recoverable spacecraft, and so the most commonly used. The first such capsule was the Vostok capsule built by the Soviet Union, that carried the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin . Other examples include the Soyuz and Orion capsules, built by

588-541: A liftoff thrust of 2,800,000 pounds-force (12 MN), which soon increased to 3,300,000 pounds-force (15 MN) per booster, and were fueled by a combination of PBAN and APCP , the Space Shuttle Orbiter , with 3 RS-25 engines that used a liquid oxygen / liquid hydrogen propellant combination, and the bright orange throwaway Space Shuttle external tank from which the RS-25 engines sourced their fuel. The orbiter

686-493: A much wider set of important magnetospheric regions than was possible for the initial 2-year mission, improving the scientific breadth of the mission. The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) acquired telemetry and distributed to the online data centers the science data from the spacecraft. The Joint Science Operations Centre (JSOC) at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK coordinated scientific planning and in collaboration with

784-462: A parking orbit from where they maneuvered under their own power into a 19,000 by 119,000 kilometre orbit with a period of 57 hours. Three weeks later on August 9, 2000, another Soyuz-Fregat rocket lifted the remaining two spacecraft (Rumba and Tango) into similar orbits. Spacecraft 1, Rumba, was also known as the Phoenix spacecraft, since it is largely built from spare parts left over after the failure of

882-565: A planetary body are artificial satellites . To date, only a handful of interstellar probes , such as Pioneer 10 and 11 , Voyager 1 and 2 , and New Horizons , are on trajectories that leave the Solar System . Orbital spacecraft may be recoverable or not. Most are not. Recoverable spacecraft may be subdivided by a method of reentry to Earth into non-winged space capsules and winged spaceplanes . Recoverable spacecraft may be reusable (can be launched again or several times, like

980-417: A rendezvous with Intelsat-901 on 25 February 2020. It will remain with the satellite until 2025 before the satellite is moved to a final graveyard orbit and the vehicle does a rendezvous with another satellite. The other one launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on 15 August 2020. A spacecraft astrionics system comprises different subsystems, depending on the mission profile. Spacecraft subsystems are mounted in

1078-607: A scientific payload of 11 instruments designed to study the small-scale plasma structures in space and time in the key plasma regions: solar wind, bow shock , magnetopause , polar cusps, magnetotail , plasmapause boundary layer and over the polar caps and the auroral zones. In 2003 and 2004, the China National Space Administration launched the Double Star satellites, TC-1 and TC-2, that worked together with Cluster to make coordinated measurements mostly within

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1176-662: A spacecraft of their own, the CST-100 , commonly referred to as Starliner , but a crewed flight is yet to occur. China developed, but did not fly Shuguang , and is currently using Shenzhou (its first crewed mission was in 2003). Except for the Space Shuttle and the Buran spaceplane of the Soviet Union, the latter of which only ever had one uncrewed test flight, all of the recoverable crewed orbital spacecraft were space capsules . The International Space Station , crewed since November 2000,

1274-425: A wide range of dayside magnetopause crossing latitudes were sampled. Gravitational effects imposed a long term cycle of change in the perigee (and apogee) distance, which saw the perigees reduce to a few 100 km in 2011 before beginning to rise again. The orbit plane rotated away from 90 degrees inclination. Orbit modifications by ESOC altered the orbital period to 54 hours. All these changes allowed Cluster to visit

1372-523: Is a United States Air Force project. CINDI helps predict the behavior of equatorial ionospheric irregularities, which can cause major problems for communications and navigation systems. Cluster is a joint ESA/NASA mission that provides in-situ investigation of plasma processes in Earth's magnetosphere using four identical spacecraft. The four spacecraft make it possible to better observe three-dimensional and time-varying phenomena, as well as to distinguish between

1470-645: Is a joint venture between Russia, the United States, Canada and several other countries. Uncrewed spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input; they may be remote controlled , remote guided or even autonomous , meaning they have a pre-programmed list of operations, which they will execute unless otherwise instructed. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to lower cost and lower risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations such as Venus or

1568-531: Is a place in the far reaches of the Solar System where the Sun's magnetic field connects to the magnetic field of interstellar space. In this region, the Sun's magnetic field lines are connected to interstellar magnetic field lines, allowing particles from inside the heliosphere to zip away and particles from interstellar space to zoom in. In recent years, the speed of the solar wind around Voyager 1 has slowed to zero, and

1666-432: Is a vehicle that is designed to fly and operate in outer space . Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications , Earth observation , meteorology , navigation , space colonization , planetary exploration , and transportation of humans and cargo . All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket). On

1764-443: Is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder ; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth . Communications satellites are used for television , telephone , radio , internet , and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles (35,900 km) above

1862-644: Is located alongside all the other ESA science archives at the European Space Astronomy Center , located near Madrid, Spain. From February 2006 to October 2014, the Cluster data could be accessed via the Cluster Active Archive . The Cluster mission was proposed to ESA in 1982 and approved in 1986, along with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and together these two missions constituted

1960-519: Is the height required by the international organization Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to count as a spaceflight. This altitude is called the Kármán line . In particular, in the 1940s there were several test launches of the V-2 rocket , some of which reached altitudes well over 100 km. As of 2016, only three nations have flown crewed spacecraft: USSR/Russia, USA, and China. The first crewed spacecraft

2058-608: Is to be replaced by expendable rockets such as the Space Launch System and ULA 's Vulcan rocket, as well as the commercial launch vehicles. Scaled Composites ' SpaceShipOne was a reusable suborbital spaceplane that carried pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie on consecutive flights in 2004 to win the Ansari X Prize . The Spaceship Company built a successor SpaceShipTwo . A fleet of SpaceShipTwos operated by Virgin Galactic

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2156-541: The Deep Space Network . A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Space telescopes avoid the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation which they observe, and avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. They are divided into two types: satellites which map the entire sky ( astronomical survey ), and satellites which focus on selected astronomical objects or parts of

2254-821: The European Space Agency , with NASA participation, to study the Earth 's magnetosphere over the course of nearly two solar cycles . The mission was composed of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. As a replacement for the original Cluster spacecraft which were lost in a launch failure in 1996, the four Cluster II spacecraft were successfully launched in pairs in July and August 2000 onboard two Soyuz-Fregat rockets from Baikonur , Kazakhstan . In February 2011, Cluster II celebrated 10 years of successful scientific operations in space. In February 2021, Cluster II celebrated 20 years of successful scientific operations in space. As of March 2023 , its mission

2352-409: The International Space Station and Tiangong space station. Some spacecrafts can operate as both a crewed and uncrewed spacecraft. For example, the Buran spaceplane could operate autonomously but also had manual controls, though it never flew with crew onboard. Other dual crewed/uncrewed spacecrafts include: SpaceX Dragon 2 , Dream Chaser , and Tianzhou . A communications satellite

2450-440: The International Space Station : Russian Progress , American SpaceX Dragon 2 and Cygnus . Chinese Tianzhou is used to supply Tiangong space station . Space probes are robotic spacecraft that are sent to explore deep space, or astronomical bodies other than Earth. They are distinguished from landers by the fact that they work in open space, not on planetary surfaces or in planetary atmospheres. Being robotic eliminates

2548-757: The SpaceX Dragon and the Space Shuttle orbiters ) or expendable (like the Soyuz ). In recent years, more space agencies are tending towards reusable spacecraft. Humanity has achieved space flight, but only a few nations have the technology for orbital launches : Russia ( Roscosmos ), the United States ( NASA ), the member states of the European Space Agency , Japan ( JAXA ), China ( CNSA ), India ( ISRO ), Taiwan ( TSA ), Israel ( ISA ), Iran ( ISA ), and North Korea ( NADA ). In addition, several private companies have developed or are developing

2646-850: The Voskhod , Soyuz , flown uncrewed as Zond/L1 , L3 , TKS , and the Salyut and Mir crewed space stations . Other American crewed spacecraft include the Gemini spacecraft , the Apollo spacecraft including the Apollo Lunar Module , the Skylab space station, the Space Shuttle with undetached European Spacelab and private US Spacehab space stations-modules, and the SpaceX Crew Dragon configuration of their Dragon 2 . US company Boeing also developed and flown

2744-434: The corona using spectrometry and imaging. IRIS is designed to provide significant new information to increase the understanding of energy transport into the corona and solar wind and provide an archetype for all stellar atmospheres . The unique instrument capabilities, coupled with state of the art 3-D modeling, will fill a large gap in the knowledge of this dynamic region of the solar atmosphere. The mission will extend

2842-659: The dissolution of the USSR , prevented any further flights of Buran. The Space Shuttle was subsequently modified to allow for autonomous re-entry in case of necessity. Per the Vision for Space Exploration , the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011 mainly due to its old age and high cost of program reaching over a billion dollars per flight. The Shuttle's human transport role is to be replaced by SpaceX 's SpaceX Dragon 2 and Boeing 's CST-100 Starliner . Dragon 2's first crewed flight occurred on May 30, 2020. The Shuttle's heavy cargo transport role

2940-528: The equator , so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit , where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by

3038-423: The magnetosphere . TC-1 stopped operating on 14 October 2007. The last data from TC-2 was received in 2008. TC-2 made a contribution to magnetar science as well as to magnetospheric physics. The TC-1 examined density holes near the Earth's bow shock that can play a role in bow shock formation and looked at neutral sheet oscillations. Cluster team awards: Individual awards: All 3742 publications related to

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3136-417: The satellite bus and may include attitude determination and control (variously called ADAC, ADC, or ACS), guidance, navigation and control (GNC or GN&C), communications (comms), command and data handling (CDH or C&DH), power (EPS), thermal control (TCS), propulsion, and structures. Attached to the bus are typically payloads . Cluster II (spacecraft) Cluster II was a space mission of

3234-463: The solar wind interacts with the magnetosphere and affects near-Earth space and its atmosphere , including aurorae . The spacecraft were cylindrical (2.9 x 1.3 m, see online 3D model ) and were spinning at 15 rotations per minute . After launch, their solar cells provided 224 watts power for instruments and communications. Solar array power gradually declined as the mission progressed, due to damage by energetic charged particles, but this

3332-840: The American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Space telescopes avoid the filtering and distortion ( scintillation ) of electromagnetic radiation which they observe, and avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. The best-known examples are Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope . Cargo spacecraft are designed to carry cargo , possibly to support space stations ' operation by transporting food, propellant and other supplies. Automated cargo spacecraft have been used since 1978 and have serviced Salyut 6 , Salyut 7 , Mir ,

3430-518: The CEO of SpaceX, estimated in a tweet that 8 launches would be needed to completely refuel a Starship in low Earth orbit , extrapolating this from Starship's payload to orbit and how much fuel a fully fueled Starship contains. To land on bodies without an atmosphere, such as the Moon, Starship will fire its engines and thrusters to slow down. The Mission Extension Vehicle is a robotic spacecraft designed to prolong

3528-656: The Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Voyager spacecraft were built and continue to be operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , in Pasadena, Calif. On December 4, 2012, eleven billion miles from Earth, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a "magnetic highway" that connects the Solar System to interstellar space . The "magnetic highway"

3626-515: The Moon in the ARTEMIS mission. The mission also relies on a dedicated array of ground observatories located in Canada and the northern United States. The Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, or TIMED , mission explores Earth's mesosphere and lower thermosphere (40–50 miles up), the least explored and understood region of the atmosphere. Solar events, as well as temperature changes in

3724-512: The Moon's Interaction with the Sun, mission studies the Moon's space environment, surface composition and magnetic field, and core structure. ARTEMIS uses two spacecraft from the THEMIS magnetosphere mission that were moved into place near the Moon. This division is also involved in the Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses ( BARREL ) study. Twenty balloons were launched during

3822-421: The Moon, Mars, and potentially beyond. It is intended to enable long duration interplanetary flights for a crew of up to 100 people. It will also be capable of point-to-point transport on Earth, enabling travel to anywhere in the world in less than an hour. Furthermore, the spacecraft will be used to refuel other Starship vehicles to allow them to reach higher orbits to and other space destinations. Elon Musk ,

3920-439: The Solar System , these are Voyager 1 , Voyager 2 , Pioneer 10 , Pioneer 11 , and New Horizons . The identical Voyager probes , weighing 721.9 kilograms (1,592 lb), were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus and Neptune that would allow a spacecraft to visit all four planets in one mission, and get to each destination faster by using gravity assist . In fact,

4018-630: The Solar Terrestrial Physics "cornerstone" of ESA's Horizon 2000 missions programme. Though the original Cluster spacecraft were completed in 1995, the explosion of the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the satellites in 1996 delayed the mission by four years while new instruments and spacecraft were built. On July 16, 2000, a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launched two of the replacement Cluster II spacecraft, (Salsa and Samba) into

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4116-508: The Soviet Union and NASA , respectively. Spaceplanes are spacecraft that are built in the shape of, and function as, airplanes . The first example of such was the North American X-15 spaceplane, which conducted two crewed flights which reached an altitude of over 100 kilometres (62 mi) in the 1960s. This first reusable spacecraft was air-launched on a suborbital trajectory on July 19, 1963. The first reusable orbital spaceplane

4214-544: The Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the Space Age . Apart from its value as a technological first, Sputnik 1 also helped to identify the upper atmospheric layer 's density, by measuring the satellite's orbital changes. It also provided data on radio -signal distribution in the ionosphere . Pressurized nitrogen in the satellite's false body provided the first opportunity for meteoroid detection. Sputnik 1

4312-468: The Sun as of August 2023. NASA provides real time data of their distances and data from the probe’s cosmic ray detectors. Because of the probe’s declining power output and degradation of the RTGs over time, NASA has had to shut down certain instruments to conserve power. The probes may still have some scientific instruments on until the mid-2020s or perhaps the 2030s. After 2036, they will both be out of range of

4410-500: The Sun's atmosphere by blocking out the bright sun in the middle – remain a key component for forecasting the speed, direction and strength of coronal mass ejections as they erupt from the Sun. In addition to watching the Sun, SOHO has become the most prolific discoverer of comets in astronomical history: as of 2012, over 2000 comets have been found by SOHO. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO , mission employs two nearly identical space-based observatories to provide

4508-480: The acceleration of energetic particles from the Sun and provides information on the structure of the solar wind. THEMIS answers fundamental questions concerning a type of space weather called a substorm that can abruptly and explosively release solar wind energy stored within Earth's magnetotail. Substorms cause auroras at high latitudes, and THEMIS seeks to understand this process. Originally five spacecraft, THEMIS now consists of three, as two were repurposed to study

4606-407: The atmosphere (other flight operations are still being performed with the remaining flying satellites until the satellites have all re-entered). The four identical Cluster II satellites studied the impact of the Sun's activity on the Earth's space environment by flying in formation around Earth. For the first time in space history, this mission was able to collect three-dimensional information on how

4704-511: The back of a Boeing 747 SCA and gliding to deadstick landings at Edwards AFB, California . The first Space Shuttle to fly into space was Columbia , followed by Challenger , Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour . Endeavour was built to replace Challenger when it was lost in January 1986. Columbia broke up during reentry in February 2003. The first autonomous reusable spaceplane

4802-573: The basic physics of particle acceleration and energy release in solar flares. Such information improves our understanding of the fundamental processes that are involved in generating solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These super-energetic solar eruptive events are the most extreme drivers of space weather and present significant dangers in space and on Earth. SOLAR-C is a joint NASA/JAXA mission, along with other international partners, targeted for launch in July 2028. The Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope (EUVST) will study how

4900-419: The chain of events that triggers space-weather effects of interest to NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and the general public. Laboratory staff lead the development of space environment projects and missions, and provide project scientists for NASA flight missions with space weather applications. The Laboratory communicates NASA research results to the scientific community, various space weather interests, and

4998-462: The curve of the Earth. The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between widely separated geographical points. Communications satellites use a wide range of radio and microwave frequencies . To avoid signal interference, international organizations have regulations for which frequency ranges or "bands" certain organizations are allowed to use. This allocation of bands minimizes

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5096-480: The different orbiters had differing weights and thus payloads, with Columbia being the heaviest orbiter, Challenger being lighter than Columbia but still heavier than the other three. The orbiter structure was mostly composed of aluminium alloy. The orbiter had seven seats for crew members, though on STS-61-A the launch took place with 8 crew onboard. The orbiters had 4.6 metres (15 ft) wide by 18 metres (59 ft) long payload bays and also were equipped with

5194-426: The division manages many heliophysics missions on behalf of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters. These include: The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) observes and measures the composition of particles from the solar wind as well as galactic cosmic rays. Its prime objective is to improve measurements of the composition of diverse samples of matter associated with the Sun, the interstellar medium, and

5292-524: The excitement and social value of NASA heliophysics . Goddard's Heliophysics Science Division consists of four separate laboratories. The Solar Physics Laboratory works to understand the Sun as a star and as the primary driver of activity throughout the Solar System . Their research expands knowledge of the Earth-Sun system and helps to enable robotic and human exploration. The Heliospheric Physics Laboratory develops instruments and models to investigate

5390-495: The extreme and dynamic regions of space known as the Van Allen Radiation Belts that surround Earth. The radiation belts intensify or weaken over time as part of the much larger space weather system driven by the energy and material that erupt off the Sun's surface and fill the entire Solar System. The Voyager missions ( Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 ) are a part of NASA's Heliophysics System Observatory , sponsored by

5488-454: The galaxy surrounding us. ACE is capable of providing near-real-time solar wind and magnetic field information that aids in forecasting space weather. Advance knowledge of solar wind disturbances heading toward Earth – of about half an hour – can help mitigate the effects of geomagnetic storms that can overload power grids and disrupt communications on Earth. The ARTEMIS , or Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of

5586-516: The general public. The Space Weather Laboratory also includes the Community Coordinated Modeling Center , which is a multi-agency partnership to enable, support and perform the research and development for next-generation space science and space weather models. This division of Goddard Space Flight Center has interests in various projects and missions. In addition to performing research based on NASA solar observatories in space,

5684-410: The general spacecraft categories. This is a list of these spacecraft. Starship is a spacecraft and second stage under development by American aerospace company SpaceX . Stacked atop its booster, Super Heavy , it composes the identically named Starship super heavy-lift space vehicle . The spacecraft is designed to transport both crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit,

5782-445: The instrument teams provided merged instrument commanding requests to ESOC. The Cluster Science Archive is the ESA long term archive of the Cluster and Double Star science missions. Since 1 November 2014, it is the sole public access point to the Cluster mission scientific data and supporting datasets. The Double Star data are publicly available via this archive. The Cluster Science Archive

5880-546: The intensity of the magnetic field has increased. The Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF) is a project of the Heliospheric Science Division (HSD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. SPDF consists of web-based services for survey and high resolution data and trajectories. The Facility supports data from most NASA Heliophysics missions to promote correlative and collaborative research across discipline and mission boundaries. Spacecraft A spacecraft

5978-426: The life on another spacecraft. It works by docking to its target spacecraft, then correcting its orientation or orbit. This also allows it to rescue a satellite which is in the wrong orbit by using its own fuel to move its target to the correct orbit. The project is currently managed by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. As of 2023, 2 have been launched. The first launched on a Proton rocket on 9 October 2019, and did

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6076-434: The magnetosphere. Because the plasma comprising the magnetosphere cannot be viewed using remote sensing techniques, satellites must be used to measure it in-situ. Four spacecraft allowed scientists make the 3D, time-resolved measurements needed to create a realistic picture of the complex plasma interactions occurring between regions of the magnetosphere and between the magnetosphere and the solar wind. Each satellite carried

6174-464: The magnetospheres of magnetized planets and on the interaction of the solar wind with planetary magnetospheres. Researchers also study processes, such as magnetofluid turbulence, that permeate the heliosphere from the solar atmosphere to the edge of the Solar System. The Space Weather Laboratory performs research and analysis of the physical processes underlying space weather . It conducts space-based, ground-based, theoretical, and modeling studies of

6272-489: The near-Earth region to the distant tail. Engaging in solar and heliospheric science, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission is intended to study of the solar atmosphere , and in particular, of the interface between the photosphere and corona . The IRIS mission will accomplish this by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the chromosphere and transition region into

6370-621: The need for expensive, heavy life support systems (the Apollo crewed Moon landings required the use of the Saturn V rocket that cost over a billion dollars per launch, adjusted for inflation) and so allows for lighter, less expensive rockets. Space probes have visited every planet in the Solar System and Pluto , and the Parker Solar Probe has an orbit that, at its closest point, is in the Sun's chromosphere . There are five space probes that are escaping

6468-458: The origin and evolution of the solar wind, low-energy cosmic rays, and the interaction of the Sun's heliosphere with the local interstellar medium . The Laboratory designs and implements unique multi-mission and multidisciplinary data services to advance NASA's solar-terrestrial program and our understanding of the Sun-Earth system. The Geospace Physics Laboratory focuses on processes occurring in

6566-472: The original mission. After commissioning of the payload, the first scientific measurements were made on February 1, 2001. The European Space Agency ran a competition to name the satellites across all of the ESA member states. Ray Cotton, from the United Kingdom , won the competition with the names Rumba , Tango , Salsa and Samba . Ray's town of residence, Bristol , was awarded with scale models of

6664-432: The other planets ). SDO is helping us understand where the Sun's energy comes from, how the inside of the Sun works, and how energy is stored and released in the Sun's atmosphere. By better understanding the Sun and how it works, we will be able to better predict and better forecast space weather events. A joint ESA/NASA mission, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory , or SOHO, studies the sun, from deep inside its core to

6762-441: The outer corona and solar wind. SOHO has been capturing images of the dynamic flares and coronal mass ejections on the Sun since 1996. The mission has provided an unprecedented breadth and depth of information about the Sun, with a unique combination of instruments that study its interior through the hot and dynamic atmosphere to the solar wind and its interaction with the interstellar medium. Its coronagraphs – images that observe

6860-458: The planet, controlled by Earth's magnetic field and containing the Van Allen radiation belts and other energetic charged particles. TWINS enables three-dimensional global visualization of this region, leading to greatly enhanced understanding of the connections between different areas of the magnetosphere and their relation to the solar wind. The Van Allen Probes consist of twin spacecraft studying

6958-427: The region by measuring the energetic neutral atoms that are created near the boundary, creating a new map every six months. After completing and analyzing the first maps, IBEX now monitors changes that correspond to variations in solar activity. The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager , or RHESSI, combines high-resolution imaging in hard X-rays and gamma rays with high-resolution spectroscopy to explore

7056-471: The risk of signal interference. Cargo or resupply spacecraft are robotic spacecraft that are designed specifically to carry cargo , possibly to support space stations ' operation by transporting food, propellant and other supplies. Automated cargo spacecraft have been used since 1978 and have serviced Salyut 6 , Salyut 7 , Mir , the International Space Station and Tiangong space station. As of 2023, three different cargo spacecraft are used to supply

7154-513: The rocket that launched the probes (the Titan IIIE ) could not even send the probes to the orbit of Saturn , yet Voyager 1 is travelling at roughly 17 km/s (11 mi/s) and Voyager 2 moves at about 15 km/s (9.3 mi/s) kilometres per second as of 2023. In 2012, Voyager 1 exited the heliosphere, followed by Voyager 2 in 2018. Voyager 1 actually launched 16 days after Voyager 2 but it reached Jupiter sooner because Voyager 2

7252-454: The same way as a spaceship, as they coexist with numerous micro-organisms, and these micro-organisms are also hard to contain within a spaceship or spacesuit. Multiple space probes were sent to study Moon, the planets, the Sun, multiple small Solar System bodies (comets and asteroids). Special class of uncrewed spacecraft is space telescopes , a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. The first operational telescopes were

7350-501: The satellites in recognition of the winning entry, as well as the city's connection with the satellites. However, after many years of being stored away, they were finally given a home at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory . Originally planned to last until the end of 2003, the mission was extended several times. The first extension took the mission from 2004 until 2005, and the second from 2005 to June 2009. The mission

7448-413: The scientific output of existing heliophysics spacecraft that follow the effects of energy release processes from the Sun to Earth. The IRIS mission launched June 27, 2013. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer , or IBEX, images the outer boundaries of the heliosphere, focusing on how the solar wind interacts with the interstellar medium and its magnetic fields at the very edges of the Solar System. IBEX maps

7546-504: The shuttle was a rather dangerous system, with fragile heat shielding tiles, some being so fragile that one could easily scrape it off by hand, often having been damaged in many flights. After 30 years in service from 1981 to 2011 and 135 flights, the shuttle was retired from service due to the cost of maintaining the shuttles, and the 3 remaining orbiters (the other two were destroyed in accidents) were prepared to be displayed in museums. Some spacecraft do not fit particularly well into any of

7644-583: The sky and beyond. Space telescopes are distinct from Earth imaging satellites , which point toward Earth for satellite imaging , applied for weather analysis , espionage , and other types of information gathering . A lander is a type of spacecraft that makes a soft landing on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth . Some landers, such as Philae and the Apollo Lunar Module , land entirely by using their fuel supply, however many landers (and landings of spacecraft on Earth ) use aerobraking , especially for more distant destinations. This involves

7742-457: The solar atmosphere releases solar wind and propagates eruptions of solar material, and its influence on the radiation throughout the solar system. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission was launched in 2010 and is currently studying solar activity and how it causes space weather . Space weather affects not only our lives on Earth, but Earth itself, and everything outside its atmosphere ( astronauts and satellites out in space and even

7840-415: The spacecraft using a fuel burn to change its trajectory so it will pass through a planet (or a moon's) atmosphere. Drag caused by the spacecraft hitting the atmosphere enables it to slow down without using fuel, however this generates very high temperatures and so adds a requirement for a heat shield of some sort. Space capsules are a type of spacecraft that can return from space at least once. They have

7938-437: The spacecraft's launch weight. The highly elliptical orbits of the spacecraft initially reached a perigee of around 4 R E (Earth radii, where 1 R E = 6371 km) and an apogee of 19.6 R E . Each orbit took approximately 57 hours to complete. The orbit evolved over time; the line of apsides rotated southwards so that the distance at which the orbit crossed the magnetotail current sheet progressively reduced, and

8036-444: The stereoscopic measurements to study the sun. With a pair of viewpoints, scientists are able to see the structure and evolution of solar storms as they blast from the Sun and travel out through space. STEREO's instruments provide a unique combination of observations to help understand the causes and mechanisms of coronal mass ejections and to characterize how they propagate through the Solar System. STEREO also helps determine what powers

8134-491: The stratosphere can perturb this region, but the overall structure of and responses to these effects are not understood. Advances in remote sensing technology employed by TIMED enable it to explore this region on a global basis from space. The instruments on the Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers, or TWINS , provide stereo imaging of Earth's magnetosphere—the region surrounding

8232-682: The technology for orbital launches independently from government agencies. The most prominent examples of such companies are SpaceX and Blue Origin . A German V-2 became the first spacecraft when it reached an altitude of 189 km in June 1944 in Peenemünde , Germany. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite . It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit (LEO) by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments; while

8330-422: The two as it moves through space in its orbit around Earth. The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) is aimed at studying how the electric currents in the Earth's atmosphere, linking the aurora to the Earth's magnetosphere. It is expected to launch no earlier than June 2024. Geotail is a joint JAXA/NASA mission. Its primary objective is to study the dynamics of the entire length of Earth's magnetotail, from

8428-420: The vicinity of Jupiter are too hostile for human survival. Outer planets such as Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune are too distant to reach with current crewed spaceflight technology, so telerobotic probes are the only way to explore them. Telerobotics also allows exploration of regions that are vulnerable to contamination by Earth micro-organisms since spacecraft can be sterilized. Humans can not be sterilized in

8526-503: Was Vostok 1 , which carried Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, and completed a full Earth orbit. There were five other crewed missions which used a Vostok spacecraft . The second crewed spacecraft was named Freedom 7 , and it performed a sub-orbital spaceflight in 1961 carrying American astronaut Alan Shepard to an altitude of just over 187 kilometers (116 mi). There were five other crewed missions using Mercury spacecraft . Other Soviet crewed spacecraft include

8624-596: Was a spaceplane that was launched at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre and landed mainly at the Shuttle Landing Facility , which is part of Kennedy Space Centre. A second launch site, Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 6 in California , was revamped so it could be used to launch the shuttles, but it was never used. The launch system could lift about 29 tonnes (64,000 lb) into an eastward Low Earth Orbit . Each orbiter weighed roughly 78 tonnes (172,000 lb), however

8722-453: Was due to expensive refurbishment costs and the external tank being expended. Once a landing had occurred, the SRBs and many parts of the orbiter had to be disassembled for inspection, which was long and arduous. Furthermore, the RS-25 engines had to be replaced every few flights. Each of the heat shielding tiles had to go in one specific area on the orbiter, increasing complexity more. Adding to this,

8820-405: Was extended until September 2024. The China National Space Administration /ESA Double Star mission operated alongside Cluster II from 2004 to 2007. The first of the satellites of Cluster II to re-enter the atmosphere did so on 8 September 2024. The remaining three are expected to follow in 2025 and 2026. The scientific payload operations of all satellites ended as the first satellite re-entered

8918-599: Was launched during the International Geophysical Year from Site No.1/5 , at the 5th Tyuratam range, in Kazakh SSR (now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome ). The satellite travelled at 29,000 kilometres per hour (18,000 mph), taking 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002  MHz While Sputnik 1 was the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth, other human-made objects had previously reached an altitude of 100 km, which

9016-595: Was manually operated, though an autonomous landing system was added while the shuttle was still on service. It had an in orbit maneouvreing system known as the Orbital Manoeuvring System, which used the hypergolic propellants monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and dinitrogen tetroxide , which was used for orbital insertion, changes to orbits and the deorbit burn. Though the shuttle’s goals were to drastically decrease launch costs, it did not do so, ending up being much more expensive than similar expendable launchers. This

9114-445: Was planned for and the power level remains sufficient for science operations. The four spacecraft maneuvered into various tetrahedral formations to study the magnetospheric structure and boundaries. The inter-spacecraft distances could be altered and varied from around 4 to 10,000 km. The propellant for the transfer to the operational orbit, and the maneuvers to vary inter-spacecraft separation distances made up approximately half of

9212-439: Was planned to begin reusable private spaceflight carrying paying passengers in 2014, but was delayed after the crash of VSS Enterprise . The Space Shuttle is a retired reusable Low Earth Orbital launch system. It consisted of two reusable Solid Rocket Boosters that landed by parachute, were recovered at sea, and were the most powerful rocket motors ever made until they were superseded by those of NASA’s SLS rocket, with

9310-403: Was taking a longer route that allowed it to visit Uranus and Neptune, whereas Voyager 1 did not visit Uranus or Neptune, instead choosing to fly past Saturn’s satellite Titan . As of August 2023, Voyager 1 has passed 160 astronomical units , which means it is over 160 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. This makes it the farthest spacecraft from the Sun. Voyager 2 is 134 AU away from

9408-518: Was the Buran -class shuttle , launched by the USSR on November 15, 1988, although it made only one flight and this was uncrewed. This spaceplane was designed for a crew and strongly resembled the U.S. Space Shuttle, although its drop-off boosters used liquid propellants and its main engines were located at the base of what would be the external tank in the American Shuttle. Lack of funding, complicated by

9506-560: Was the Space Shuttle orbiter . The first orbiter to fly in space, the Space Shuttle Columbia , was launched by the USA on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin 's flight, on April 12, 1981. During the Shuttle era, six orbiters were built, all of which have flown in the atmosphere and five of which have flown in space. Enterprise was used only for approach and landing tests, launching from

9604-457: Was ultimately extended until September 2024, when the scientific payload operations on the satellites ended. The ultimate end of the Cluster project (especially the Cluster II satellites) will happen in 2026 as the last satellite enters the atmosphere and is destroyed. Previous single and two-spacecraft missions were not capable of providing the data required to accurately study the boundaries of

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